Today’s Scripture

Psalm 146       Isaiah 35:1-10 James 5:7-11     Matthew 11:2-15

 

            Isaiah’s prophecy looks forward to the Savior’s coming.  As we read that passage we see the transformation from a world of sin to the glorious beauties of heaven.  Being Christlike which appears so vulnerable in this sinful world is now strong and prevails.  This complete victory over Satan and sin is what we await today.  We live lives of Advent, awaiting the appearance of Jesus in all of his heavenly splendor, power and glory on that last day. 

            In Matthew’s gospel John the Baptist sends his followers directly to Jesus to ask those questions to which Jesus responds that yes, he is the promised Savior.  As the Holy Spirit led Matthew (and Luke in chapter 7) to record this account it is there for all today to know and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Son of Man, our Lord and Savior.  The witness through his being, his miracles, and his word bear that truth out.  Who else but God himself can and does do these things?

            It is the anticipation of our Lord’s coming at that time in history and for his return on the last day that Charles Wesley wrote the text to the hymn we have just sung.  Charles Wesley was the brother to John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church.  Both were influenced by the Moravian movement that had its roots as far back as the ninth century (Slavic populations in Bohemia and Moravia) and later were followers John Hus.  The name “Methodist” comes from a ninth century leader Mothodius). 

 

Charles Wesley:

• 1707-1788 England
• Youngest of 18 children in his family
• Oxford University
• Secretary to James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony/state:  Georgia
• Went to Georgia as a missionary (with his brother John) in 1735 (arrived February 1736, and returned to England later in 1736
• w/ brother John Wesley founded Methodism
• Published text of over 5,500 hymns w/ an additional 2,000 not published
• Well known hymns include: 
• Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
• Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
• Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today
• Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
• Jesus Lover of My Soul

 

• Hymn first appears in 1744
• Tune by William Walker in 1835, an American composer

 

Texts:

• Isaiah 9:6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

• Luke 1:67-75  Zechariah’s song of prophecy at John the Baptist’s birth
• Isaiah 61:1-2  The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
• 2 Peter 1:3-4  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 

v. 1            Long expected, to set us free from fears and sins, find our rest in thee.

                  Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of earth, desire, joy

v. 2            born to deliver people, a king to reign forever and bring the kingdom

                  by your merit raise us to your glorious throne.

 

      As I had Bible study with our teaching staff this Thursday, the annual teacher talk was about the excitement in the students who anxiously await Christmas and all of the excitement that goes with it.  It seems like Christmas is never going to come.

 

      Imagine God’s people of the Old Testament, hearing from generation to generation, from century to century over four thousand years that the Messiah is going to come.  Then there is the period of four hundred years without a prophet.  Those faithful to God’s word are so anxiously waiting.  John the Baptist appears and the excitement increases.  It has been so long.  Is he Elijah?  Is he the Messiah?  John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  In today’s Gospel, the Baptist sends his disciples to verify that Jesus is the one whom they have expected to be here.  Jesus answers with what should be the obvious, miracles and great teaching can be done only by God himself. 

 

      We see this anticipation alive at the time of Jesus as Andrew follows the Baptist’s direction and spends the day with Jesus.  Immediately he runs to his brother, Simon (Peter) and tells him, “We have found the Messiah!” [Matthew John 1:41].  At Jesus’ birth the shepherds left the fields to see the wonderful thing the angels told them about and they told others.  They too were waiting for the promised king.  The Magi followed the star who knows how long to see this new king.  Simeon sang for joy as he held the Savior whom the Holy Spirit promised he would see in his lifetime.   Thomas, a week after the resurrection, sees his crucified Jesus alive and confesses, “My God and my Lord!” [John 20:28].  Peter who had just a couple of nights before denied knowing Jesus ran as hard as he could and was the first to boldly enter the empty tomb.  Mary, Jesus’ mother, was given the grace and strength to hold all these things she knew in her heart, trusting that God would reveal all things in his time.

 

      The disciples went out after Pentecost confident that Jesus would come in final judgment in their days.  Their zeal to proclaim the Gospel message was driven by the anticipation in that immediacy.  Two thousand years later we still wait for that glorious moment when as Peter’s words tell us we will, “…participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” [2 Peter 1:4].

 

      Today we live in a world that so completely distracts us from the anticipation of the moment Jesus will come again to take us from this corruption to the glorious kingdom Christ won for us.  We work.  We vacation.  We sport.  We shop.  We do family activity.  We entertain and seek entertainment.  We find comfort in pleasures that abound in our environment and entice us away from realizing God’s truth in this world and in each one’s personal life.  As a people and as a Christian culture we have forgotten the most important thing in our lives, Jesus is coming again, and soon!

 

      Yes, we are as good stewards to plan for tomorrow as the world turns.  We know that in God’s wonderful creation the sun will come up again - - - but only as God wills it to be.  Plan also for today and tomorrow and the day after as Jesus has promised he will come again to take you to be where he is [John 14:3]. 

 

      As we anxiously await Christmas Day, let us not forget or put aside the same anxious expectation that Christ is coming soon [four times in Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20]. 

 

      In this hymn we pray for this coming, for being set free from the bondage of sin.  We rejoice that the coming babe in Bethlehem is our king, our eternal king, and by his merit and not our own has won for us to share in his glorious throne forever.

 

      In Jesus’ undying love.           Amen.