Isaiah 35:1-4
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Matthew 11:2-11
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “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.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
“The Real Joy of Christmas”
(Oops – Jesus wasn’t acting like the messiah… Was he?)
“Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another?” Are you REALLY the Christ? Are you REALLY the messiah? Cause I gotta tell you… we have some serious concerns here. Our teacher, John, has been an awful mess in prison… and to add insult to injury… you haven’t met any of our expectations of the messiah. When John baptized you… he said he was unworthy to even tie your sandals… but what happened to you?
We had such high hopes. We thought the prophet Isaiah had finally been fulfilled. We read the words, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’” We thought that was you! But where is your vengeance? Where is your divine retribution? Where is our salvation? Last we checked Rome was still here, we were still an oppressed people, and salvation has come to no one!
So we come from John to ask this one question. “Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another?” Are you going to start acting like the messiah, or should we give up on you?
But the truth was… they had already given up on Jesus. He was not… nor would he ever be the messiah that they wanted. They were disappointed that their vengeance – their retribution – their salvation from Rome… had still not come. From their view… it was a world… still without a messiah – and they waited.
(Ugh – What if Jesus wasn’t the Christ, forever winter – the ughs of winter)
A world without a messiah… how sad, how bleak, how desolate. It would almost be like the world of Narnia. Do you all remember the Christian movie that came out a few years ago… “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?” Well… that box-office hit was originally a book written by one of the greatest Christian authors ever, C.S. Lewis. The book and movie both take place in the fictional land of Narnia… a land that is desolate and depressing… because it is forever in the season of Winter. The evil White Witch held the world under her thumb, making it forever winter, but never ever Christmas. Think of that! (from p 20) All the downs of winter, without the joy of Christmas… without the hope of spring!
You know Winter is often people’s least favorite season. It is a grey season that is cold and harsh. It is a season marked by “seasonal depression.”
[Illustration From Keeney Dickenson sermon Narnia: Winter Without Christmas]
“Winter is a time of death and dormancy. Trees go from brightness to bleakness, from beauty to blah. Memories of green vibrancy create a longing within us for the newness of spring. What would it be like to live with no hope of greener days? Would the chill of winter gradually become unbearable? Would hope become dormant under the crushing weight of despair and be pushed to the brink of death? Winter is bearable because spring is inevitable. The sunshine of spring will dispel the shadows of winter, and life will begin anew! Birds will sing, flowers will bloom and mountain streams will flow with the melted remains of winter. But, what would life be like if winter did not give birth to spring?” What would it be like… to have eternal winter… with no hope of Christmas… with no hope of spring?
That is what it is like, when we go through life without a savior, when we go through life without a messiah. Without Christ, our lives from start to finish, would be in an eternal winter. There would be no reconciliation with God. There would be no forgiveness of sins. There would be no life eternal. There would be no victory over pain, suffering, and death. There would only be… the harsh and cold reality of an eternal winter, with no hope of Christmas.
(Aha – Jesus IS the Christ)
But brothers and sisters… here is the very… VERY good news. We no longer live in the midst of an eternal winter. For our messiah has come. You see… time and time again Jesus DID fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah!
Isaiah 53:4
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for out transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Sound like anyone we know? Jesus fulfilled the role of suffering servant told time and time again in Isaiah… yet many of the people of his time were reading Isaiah in a different light. They wanted a conqueror over Rome… and Jesus brought them a conqueror over death. They wanted a mighty warrior who would fight courageous battles on the battlefield, and Jesus gave them a mighty warrior who fought courageous battles against evil. They wanted a king to rule the Hebrew nation, and Jesus gave them a king of kings who would rule in heaven.
When they read, “God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you” they were thinking RAMBO! God was thinking suffering savior. So naturally, they rejected Jesus… and continue to this day… to wait for their savior to come. So when John’s disciples asked, “Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another,” Jesus knew what they were getting at… and he did the only thing he could do… he gave them the truth.
From verse 2, Jesus replied to them, “Go and tell John all that you see and hear… I am healing, I am raising those who have passed away, and the good news of the Lord is being given to everyone! Blessed is anyone who looks on these actions and believes.”
(Yeah – It is not winter but Christmas, we have a Christ, we have a Savior)
Then… he left it up to them to look at his actions and judge for themselves who he truly was, and you know what folks… he does the same thing for us. He leaves it for us to look at his life… look at his actions and judge for ourselves if he is the Christ.
Do we see Jesus as we should see him? Do we look to that babe in the manger waiting for us in Bethlehem for what he really is? Do we look to those words in Isaiah and see our messiah in the person of Christ. If the answer is no… then you sit besides John’s disciples… and continue to wait in an eternal winter. If the answer for you is yes… YES Jesus is our messiah, YES Jesus is our savior, YES Jesus is our Lord… then winter for you turns into a splendid Christmas… where joy enters the harsh and cold winter in the form a baby in a manger.
(Wee – Therefore there is great joy for Christmas)
Hear the words of celebration and joy once more from Isaiah at the arrival of the Savior. “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.”
Much in similar form… listen to the arrival of Aslan (The figure of Jesus Christ) as he returns to land of Narnia and finally brings Christmas to the forever-winter land of Narnia.
[Illustration from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”]
“And in that silence Edmund could at last listen to the other noise properly. A strange, sweet, rustling, chattering noise – and yet not so strange, for he’d heard it before – if only he could remember where! Then all at once he did remember. It was the noise of running water. All round them though out of sight, there were streams, chattering, murmuring, bubbling, splashing and even (in the distance) roaring. And his heart gave a great leap (though he hardly knew why) when he realized that the frost was over (129).”
“Only five minutes later he noticed a dozen crocuses growing round the foot of an old tree – gold and purple and white. Then came a sound even more delicious than the sound of the water. Close beside the path they were following a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree. … Within five minutes the whole wood was ringing with birds’ music (132).”
“This is no thaw,” said the dwarf, suddenly stopping. “This is Spring! What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed. This is Aslan’s doing (133).”
Joy… Joy at the coming of our savior… joy so great the entire world rejoices. That’s why we sing JOY TO THE WORLD, the Lord has come! It is joy so great that creation itself joins us in song! Joy… overwhelming… up springing… overflowing… joy. For we live no longer in Winter… we have a Christmas… we have a Christ… and for this… there is JOY! This Christmas… we have joy, for our Lord HAS come.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
