THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
TEXT: MATTHEW 11:2-11
SERMON TITLE: Panicked? Impatient? Christ is in Control.
Two of our readings this morning surround us with the call to be patient! In Matthew, the patience that is referred to is one that surrounds life issues. In James, the patience that is referred to reflects upon the coming of Christ. If you have difficulty being patient in either area, then this message is for you.
John the Baptist, the man called and assigned to be the prophet who would prepare the way for the Lord, finds his freedom has been restrained. But this is not the reason why He prepared all those years to be the Messiah’s witness. John wants to be out there in the world, continuing to spread the news of repentance and the good news of the coming Savior. Yet, with all his desire to serve the Lord, John finds himself restrained. But in John’s mind, this restraint should not be happening for you see, Jesus the Messiah was now out and about, so surely He would free John from prison.
How can we apply this message to our life? Let’s say you lose your keys and thus you can’t get in your house and your family is coming shortly for a visit in order to celebrate Christmas. This messes with your entire day. You had plans to clean the house, to wrap presents, and basically get things ready for your family to arrive. And so, you call your spouse, or friend who has a spare set of keys to the house and tell them of your predicament. When you relay the message, and your situation you are able to calm down a bit. But then an hour goes by and your still locked out of your house. The keys have yet to have been delivered. What will start to go through your mind, during such a situation? How patient would you be able to be if you only had a few hours to prepare for the arrival of your guests? How patient would you be with your spouse or friend?
I know of many people, including myself, that would in one degree or another, become a bit unstable. I am usually a person that wants to get from point “A” to point “B” as quickly as possible. And if something impedes my journey, especially if I am in a hurry, I admit that I can become a prisoner of panic and a slave to impatience. And I have rarely met the soul who can remain patient in a time crunch.
When you are in the prison of panic, you can lose all sense of reality. When impatience starts to control you, all bets are off. You can start to worry. You can begin to stress out and you can become angry. Think upon the imaginary person who lost her keys. What would she be thinking after waiting outside for an hour, for her keys to arrive? Maybe something like, “Where is he, where are my keys, what is taking so long?” “He knows I am in a hurry, doesn’t He care?” When things are going well and you are not rushed, you would most likely not have such thoughts. You would still think of your friend/spouse as trustworthy. You would most likely have no doubt that your keys would get there, eventually. But when you are under a time constraint, like the one in this scenario, you might start to question your spouse/friends ability to come through in the clutch. You might wonder if that person cares enough about you to aid you in a time of crisis.
Why do I suggest these possibilities? Well, because that is exactly what John was going through. If you remember, not too long ago, John knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. He said to Jesus, “I am unworthy to even tie your shoes, it should be you to baptize me.” But now, John is in prison and all his certainties are going right out the window. He has, at this time, lost patience and at the very least, doubts that Jesus really is the Messiah. Maybe he was thinking in this way, “If Jesus was the Messiah, he would get me out of this prison. He would see to my needs. He would come through for me!”
And so John calls upon his disciples to find Jesus and ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or shall we expect another?”
Wow! Talk about being in prison! The greatest prison we can ever get ourselves into is the prison of panic, especially if it causes you to doubt, or think negatively of a loved one. And even more so, if that loved one is Jesus. But that is exactly what we do, when we allow our impatience to consume us. We can forget that Jesus is in charge of the situation. In the case of the missing keys, Jesus would be in charge of the situation in that he would give peace to calm the distraught spirit.
Jesus knew of John’s plight! He knew John was in prison but the plan of salvation was not for John to be set free. So instead, Jesus gave to John, what He also gives to us when we find ourselves in a moment of impatience. Jesus speaks of His power. In our text this is what Jesus said to John, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
We do not have a written account of John’s response but I can tell you that it surely brought John comfort, at least to His Spirit. Jesus’ Words gave to John the sure and certain patience that he needed in order to get through his panic. Jesus helped John to know that His Messiah was indeed in control.
Jesus does the same for us. When we become trapped in the prison of panic, when our impatience just seems to be adding more fuel to our despair or anger, the same words that Jesus spoke to John can release us from our prison as well. And how this is done, again, revolves all around the fact that Jesus is in control. That is what Jesus ultimately conveyed to John. “I, Jesus, am in control! I am healing, aiding, and preaching the Gospel, and nothing can stand in my way.” This is also what He now conveys to us.
Now, if nothing can stand in Jesus’ way, and you are assured of that, then if He wants you to get into your house to clean and prepare for your family, wouldn’t you think He would find a way to do it? If Jesus needs you to get from point A to point B, would he be able to take care of it? Let’s bring some more examples into this scenario. What about the times when you are sick? What about our sister in Christ, Francis who has had a number of trials in a row, or our Elder Frank who is now in the hospital with Pnemonia, if Jesus wants them to be healed, right now, don’t you think he would bring such a healing? And if the healing does not come, can he provide patience and trust to us that He is still in control and that He has another plan for us that may not answer our will but His?
And what about the patience that James refers to in chapter five verse seven, when he refers to the coming of our Lord? Does the same comfort apply? I think it does. James writes, “You too, stand patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” Again, as we wait for the day of our Lord’s return, we are assured that He is still in control and that that control is active not passive. Jesus is actively coming near and nothing is impeding him.
For you and I, Jesus is actively feeding us with His Word’s of power and with His Holy Spirit, and this happens whenever we hear the Word of God or receive His precious Body and Blood James says, “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” In other words, stay in the Word of God, let it speak to you the same way that Jesus spoke to John. When it does, you will find that you will no longer be a prisoner of panic or a slave of impatience. And remember, the greatest comfort that His Word brings to us, is the one that reminds us that our sins, like those of impatience, have been forgiven.
In the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this is God’s Word to His people. Amen
