Sunday, December 05, 2010

"Who Warned You?" Sermon: Matthew 3:1-12

“Who Warned You?”
[Matthew 3:1-12]
December 5, 2010 Second Reformed Church

Last week we began our Advent look at Jesus by considering His Second Advent and how Jesus would come as a thief in the night – so we ought to be ready for whenever He returns. Today we look at John the Baptist’s preparation for the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry and what that means for us in this season of Advent.

We will remember that John the Baptist was Jesus’ older cousin, and God had called him to prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus. Matthew tells us that John is the fulfillment of prophecy – he is the prophet that Isaiah prophesied would come before the arrival of the Savior to prepare His Way.

John’s message of preparation had two points: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”

First, repent. The word that is translated “repent” means to make a 180 degree turn. So, we see that Jesus, the Savior, will not receive anyone who does not repent of his or her sin and turn around – live in a different way – stop persisting in sin.

Second, “make straight.” The image is that of reconciliation. No longer will their be heights and depths, but through Jesus, all those who believe in Him Alone for salvation will be reconciled to God – we will be made right with the Father. And He will truly be our Father and we will be His sons and daughters.

John the Baptist was a typical prophet in the sense that he came out from his place and came to the people dressed in rough clothes, eating sparse food. The prophets tended to be ascetics – living with very little, having their needs met solely in the worship and work of the Lord.

The people recognized John as a prophet, and they flocked to him from all over Israel to be baptized by him in the river Jordan, and there they confessed their sins before God before being baptized.

This, again shows us that we cannot come to God and His Savior based on how good we are. We must come to God, asking for forgiveness, understanding that we are not good, but we have sinned against God and our neighbor, breaking all of the commandments. We cannot come to the Savior until we understand that “[we are] dead in [] trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1a, ESV). It is when we realized that we cannot come before our Holy God that we can come to Him through Jesus because of the work Jesus accomplished on our behalf.

So here we have the picture of this prophet, taking people into the Jordan and baptizing them for the forgiveness of their sins, as they weep and confess their sins to God and honestly ask for forgiveness and promise to change their ways. But then, some others come towards the river. These are not the common people of the crowd. These are the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Everyone could tell by their splendid dress who they were. And John flew into a rage:

“You brood of vipers Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

What was John saying? Why was he so angry?

“You brood of vipers Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

John accused them – rightly – of being hypocrites. They were not repentant of their sin. They had no intention of asking for forgiveness or changing their ways. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not coming to John to be baptized because they saw the need for forgiveness – the need to be reconciled to God. No, they came to John because it was what the people were doing, and they knew that if they did not get baptized by John, the people would want to know why. They would begin to question whether the Pharisees and Sadducees really knew what they were talking about – if they were truly men of God. So they came to John as a show. And John was enraged.

“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

John understood that the Pharisees and Sadducees rested their hope of being right with God on their heritage – on being biological descendants of Abraham. But John tells them that their biology cannot save them. Salvation comes through faith, not biology. God is able to raise up sons of Abraham from the rocks around them – to replace them – if they do not live up to the faith of Abraham.

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John tells them that faithfulness – true belief in the Savior – is proven through fruit – through the way that we live and the good things that we do in response to salvation. For them to base their hope of salvation on Abraham and being his descendants is to be fruitless tress. And fruitless tress – people who do not have faith in the Savior for their salvation – will be thrown into the fire. They will not be received into the Kingdom. Instead, they will be cast into Hell – into the lake of fire – into the place of darkness and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:1-6, ESV).

Have you ever seen a grape vine? If not, picture a tomato plant, or even a flowering plant. As a plant grows, some branches die or prove to be unfruitful, and these are cut off and thrown away so the good branches can grow more fully and bear more fruit. If you have a flowering plant – as the flowers die, you cut off the dead flowers to allow the plant and its living flowers to flourish and have the whole strength of the plant.

Jesus and John are saying that humanity is like branches on the vine Who is Jesus. All those branches who do not bear fruit through faith – all those branches who do not confess Jesus Alone as Savior and evidence that belief by doing good in thanksgiving to Jesus – all those who do not believe, and continue in their unrepentant sin – they will be removed and eternally cast away. And John warns them that the time is now – and we don’t know how long we each have to live – today is the Day of Salvation. If you have not believed savingly in Jesus Alone – today is the day – don’t wait hoping to be alright based on your parent’s faith – don’t wait believing that you can believe another day. John says the axe is laid to the root – now.

John continued by telling them that he only baptized with water for repentance – he symbolically washed people for the forgiveness of their sin – but they would have to come back when they sinned again – John’s baptism was not a baptism forever. But Jesus, the Mighty, the Savior Who was coming – He would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus came and gives the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit to all those who will believe in Him Alone for salvation. Jesus gives anyone who is dead in their sins life through faith. And He also baptizes all those who believe with fire – He begins the process of purifying us – of making us holy – of sanctifying us. Jesus does not leave us to fall hopelessly to death in sin again, but indwells us with God and works in us to make us more like Him.

From this interchange, let us understand three things:

First, Jesus came to earth to make us right with God.

Before anything existed except for the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Trinity decided to create everything that is – knowing exactly what would need to be done. And when the time was right, the Son came to earth in the Person of Jesus. The Little Baby that we remember this season is God Almighty in human form. He came to earth, fully aware and intending to endure everything that He did endure. Jesus’ earthly parents knew that Jesus would cause pain, as Simeon prophesied, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34b-35, ESV).

Second, Jesus does not require us to be sinless to come to Him.

Jesus calls the sinner to Himself. As we heard in our call to preparation for the Lord’s Supper, we do not come to this table believing that we are righteous in ourselves, but that we are made righteous only through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12b-13, ESV).

What great news this is: that Little Baby is our Great Physician, and through His Life and Death and Resurrection and Ascension, He heals us.

Third, Jesus does require us to acknowledge that we come to Him with nothing – that we are sinners – dead in our sins – unable to help ourselves.

This is where the Pharisees and the Sadducees failed: we cannot come to Christ boasting of ourselves – that we are well and good and right with God – otherwise, there would be no need for Him and His Salvation. As Jesus said in the passage I just read – the healthy don’t need a physician; the sick need a physician. If we were truly healthy – sinless – we wouldn’t need Jesus. But if we understand that sin has effected every part of our being, then we know we are sick and broken, unable to help ourselves, and we will fall before this Little Baby and wait on His Mercy – and He will give it to us, because we acknowledge our inability to become right with God.

The world says this doesn’t make sense – but that’s only because they deny their sinfulness.

We know and believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that is why that Little Baby was born two thousand years ago.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, as we gather around Your communion table, we ask that we would come boldly, not because we have something to offer You, but because we understand that we have nothing to offer, and in knowing that, You cause us to become right with God. Increase our joy as we remember all that Jesus did and has promised. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

No comments: