Sunday, December 04, 2011

Advent 2: A New Hope

A New Hope

Matthew 3: 1 – 17.

Introduction

It may look like Christmas, but it’s not Christmas yet. The stores in town and the commercials on TV want us to think of Christmas as a season. But, Christmas is a day of the year. Advent is a season.

During the season of Advent, we focus our attention on the coming of Christ. That is what Advent means…Approaching or coming. On one hand, we focus on the first coming of Christ, which happened on Christmas Day. On the other hand, we focus on the second coming of Christ, which can happen at any time.

The first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ are important components of the Gospel (or Good News) message. This is the Gospel. God loved us and pursued us by sending his only Son, Jesus. Jesus lived his life in fulfillment of the entire Old Testament Law and gave his life as a sacrifice to fulfill the Old Testament sacrifices. After the crucifixion, Jesus rose again to claim victory over Satan and death. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven and promised that he would come back to take us to be with him in Heaven.

During Advent, we celebrate the fact that this Gospel story promises us true Hope, true Peace, true Joy and true Love.

The Hope that God offers us in Christ is more than “wishful thinking.” Hope is the assurance that God has kept all his promises in the past and will keep his promises in the future. Since Christ rose from the grave, all who have faith in Christ will experience the same kind of resurrection life. The Presence of God in our lives is just a little taste—a deposit guaranteeing—that will keep his promises.

The Peace that God offers us in Christ is more than the “absence of conflict.” The biblical idea of Peace comes from the Hebrew word “Shalom,” which means “whole” or “complete.” Peace which is wholeness is only possible when our lives are “made complete” by the Presence of God. Jesus was born to be Immanuel—God with us. There is no peace without the Presence of God.

The Joy we celebrate is the Joy of Christ. It does not depend on the circumstances of our lives. The world tells us the secret to happiness is to put difficult circumstances behind you—make plenty of money, get along with other people, and live a healthy life. The Joy of Christ is a product of the Presence of God. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. We won’t avoid the valleys. But we experience Joy in God’s companionship—to rise above the difficult circumstances of life.

The Love of God was demonstrated in the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection. God loved us and did not leave us to figure things out for ourselves. First, he gave us his Law. When we could not live up to God’s expectations, God sent Jesus to show us how to live according to the Law. By fulfilling the Law, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins…so that we might live in perfect relationship with God.

The Scripture we read this morning is one of anticipation. We know who Jesus is, because we have heard the story before. We know who Jesus is, because we have the advantage of 2,000 years of Christian history and theology to interpret Jesus for us. But in the Gospel of Matthew, we read about a time when John the Baptist was preparing the people to discover who Jesus is. The unique Son of God and the Promised Christ / Messiah.

Matthew 3: 1 – 17.

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea

2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.

6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

(NIV)



A New Baptism.

John got his name from the act of baptism. We know him as “John the Baptist,” but he could also be known as “John the Baptizer.” He got this name, because he practiced baptism and not because he invented baptism.

More than likely, baptism was something the Jews already knew about. It was something required of Gentile people who converted to the Jewish religion. These new converts would commit themselves to the teachings of the Old Testament, the Jewish dietary laws, the Jewish forms of worship and, then, they would be baptized. Baptism marked the end of their conversion and the beginning of their new life as a Jew. However, John was not baptizing Gentiles who wanted to become Jews. John was teaching something new by demanding that Jews needed to be baptized!

We can understand a little about what John’s baptism meant by looking at the ways Matthew describes it for us.

First, Matthew tells us in Matthew 3: 5 – 6, “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.”

It was the Jewish people who were coming from Jerusalem and Judea to be baptized. And, they submitted to baptism AFTER confessing their sins. The baptism was not intended to wash away their sins. Baptism came after confession of sin.

Second, Matthew quotes John in Matthew 3: 11, “I baptize you with water for repentance.”

This is confusing. It sounds like baptism is necessary for repentance. Jesus didn’t need to repent, but he indicated that it was important for him to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. Since Jesus did not sin, he didn’t need his sins washed away. Since Jesus was and is the Unique Son of God, he didn’t need to repent. Repent means “to turn around.” It is turning away from our previous life of sin and turning toward the life God wants us to live.

The best way to understand baptism in general—and the baptism of Jesus specifically—is to think of baptism as an outward sign of an internal reality. Baptism symbolizes that the person being baptized has ALREADY entered into a proper relationship with God.

Jesus already had that relationship. Therefore, he was baptized to symbolize it to the rest of the world. You and I don’t have that relationship until we have placed our faith in God’s plan for our salvation—the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Baptism does not wash away our sins. Baptism is not an act of repentance. It’s actually the other way around. Forgiveness of sins is necessary for baptism, and repentance is necessary for baptism. Baptism is an outward sign that a person has ALREADY confessed their sins and repented.

The Apostle Paul takes this a step farther and explains in Romans 6 the reason why we baptize.

Romans 6: 1 – 4, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we too may live a new life.”

According to Paul, the act of baptism symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. On one hand, we can say that our baptism is a way that we participate in the death, burial and resurrection. We are dead to sin and its effects. Our old self is buried in the waters of baptism. We are raised to live a new and resurrected life. On the other hand, we can say that the baptism of Jesus was an important symbol at the beginning of his ministry. It was a foreshadowing of what Jesus—the Unique Son of God and Promised Christ / Messiah—would do. He would die; he would be buried; and he would rise again.

A New Message.

Since John had a role to play in God’s plan, all of John’s preaching fit into that plan. He basically preached one message, “Get ready, because the Messiah is coming.”

On one hand, John told us what would happen when the Messiah came. John told us that the Messiah would have a similar ministry to his own. John preached and baptized. The Messiah would preach and baptize. The difference between John and the Messiah was in the way they baptized. John baptized with water. The Messiah would baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.

The two images of Spirit and fire are intended to remind us of God’s judgment. John was warning the Jews about the coming of God’s judgment. We might not like to talk about the judgment of God. We prefer to talk about the love of God. But you can’t have one without the other.

God is holy and righteous. He does not sin. He does not commit evil deeds. Human beings are not holy, not righteous, and we are plagued with sin. If God enters into a relationship with sinful human beings, something must be done about our sin problem. If God accepts us as sinners, then we have every right to question his holiness and righteousness.

This is where judgment becomes necessary. In order for God to maintain his character as holy and righteous, God must hate sin. God must do everything to eradicate sin from human beings with whom he has relationship.

John tells us that the judgment of God is an all-consuming fire. God’s judgment destroys sin. In this sense, we can think of God’s judgment as a purifying fire. It burns away all the sin and the evil in our lives. Yet, that is not true for those who do not repent. The unrepentant will be consumed—along with their sins—by the purifying fire of God’s judgment.

The crowds of people from Jerusalem and Judea came out to hear John preach about God’s judgment and our need for repentance. Matthew tells us that the crowds were not the only ones who came. The Pharisees and Sadducees came as well. The Pharisees were the group of men who had devoted their lives to the written Law and the oral interpretations of the Law. The Sadducees were the men who had devoted their lives to the priesthood and the integrity of Temple worship.

Interestingly, John told the Pharisees and the Sadducees that they needed to repent as well. No one in ancient Jerusalem thought the Pharisees and Sadducees needed to repent. They represented the very best that Judaism had to offer in the first century. They were devoted to the Law and the Temple… But, John told them that wasn’t enough.

John even told them not to appeal to their biological connection to Abraham. John said, “Sure. You really are children of Abraham. But if God wanted to turn these stones into children of Abraham, he could do that.”

If God can turn stones into children of Abraham, then God can turn Gentiles into children of Abraham. If God can cause stones to turn into the people of God, then none of us can tell God whom he can save and whom he cannot save. John understood that the work of the Messiah included the people of Israel, but was not limited to the people of Israel.

A New Kingdom

Matthew, more than any other biblical author, makes a point to use the Old Testament to prove that all aspects of Jesus’ life fulfill the hopes of Israel. In Matthew’s day, the Jewish people were hoping that the Messiah would come.

The Hebrew word “Messiah” means “the anointed one.” Its Greek equivalent is the word “Christ.” When we confess that Jesus is the Christ, we confess that Jesus is the One God promised in the Old Testament to be the savior of Israel. But we also confess that God’s salvation extends beyond the geopolitical boundaries of the nation of Israel and beyond the race of people we know as the Jews. In fact, this is what Matthew was showing us in his Gospel.

Matthew 2: 15, “…And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my Son.’”

Matthew 3: 17, “And a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”

In the Book of Exodus, God refers to Israel as his son. When God’s son was held in Egyptian slavery, God rescued his son. Now, Matthew makes a clear connection between Israel as God’s son and Jesus as God’s Son. God protected Jesus from Herod—who wanted to kill Jesus—by sending him into Egypt and leading him back to Nazareth when the coast was clear. If this was not clear enough, Matthew tells us about a voice from Heaven which unambiguously identifies Jesus as the Son of God.

Matthew 3: 13, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.”

Matthew 4: 1, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

In the Book of Exodus, we read the details of how God rescued the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery and formed them into the Nation of Israel. God parted the waters of the Red Sea and led his people through the water on dry ground. After crossing through the Red Sea, the Israelites entered into the desert, where they were tempted. In the same way, Jesus walked out of the waters of baptism and went into the desert to be tempted. The difference between Israel and Jesus is the fact that Jesus faced temptation and resisted. He remained faithful, while Israel failed over and over again.

Matthew 4: 23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

There are a couple of important points to note about this Scripture. First, Jesus began his preaching ministry in Galilee. Because of its location in northern Israel, Galilee was home to many Gentiles. It was often referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Jesus did not begin his ministry in the city of Jerusalem, in the religious and political capitol. Jesus went to the place where Gentiles lived. Second, notice that Jesus began by preaching to Jews in their synagogues. Jesus preached to the Jews about the Kingdom of God. In other words, the Jews were not already a part of God’s Kingdom by virtue of their race or their politics. God’s Kingdom cannot be defined by race or politics

This ought to remind us of what John the Baptist told the Jews in Matthew 3: 9, “And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children of Abraham.”

Conclusion

Jesus is the Promised Messiah for Israel. But, Jesus is much more than that. Jesus is a New Hope for all the peoples of the world. Jesus did not come to establish a political kingdom of Israel or a racial kingdom of Jewish people. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God—a spiritual Kingdom which includes people of all races and politics, who place their faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ.

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