Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.              Psalm 119:2

Neon Signs & Emails

Matthew 11:2-3

Third Sunday in Advent

December 16, 2007

Matthew 11:2-3 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

We often ask God to give us what we might call neon signs or divine emails to help us make decisions in difficult situations. What I mean is that we ask God to show us the way or decision that he would have us make. Ideally, we would like a big bright flashy sign somewhere in our path or perhaps a divine email marked “urgent” with a little red flag that signals to us that it is “important”. We want God to tell us exactly what He wants us to do for particular situations.

As I studied the text for this morning I realized that John is asking his disciples for a neon sign or “divine email” from Jesus. John wanted Jesus to tell him plainly who He was.  Personally, I know I have done this on many occasions. I want to see proof and a direct message from God saying: Eric William Kolonich, I want you to do this for Me. Love, God. Then I can humbly say, OK God, I will do whatever you say. I have yet to receive an email from God or any strategically placed neon signs in my path. In my past experiences, and you can probably relate—I have certainly received answers to my questions or plights, but it was a little more subtle than in flashing neon or a email message marked with high importance. Sometimes, we refuse to see the answer that God puts before us because it is not what we wanted or expected.

            Last week, we heard the story of John and how he became the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Today, we jump forward 30 or more years and we hear that John is now in prison. In order to find out why John is in prison, we need to look in chapter 14 of Matthew. We hear that Herod has thrown John in prison. When I first read this, my mind immediately went to the Herod that was more familiar; Herod the Great who killed the babies in Bethlehem , and who the wise men consulted before they honored the baby Jesus in Nazareth . However, after careful study of the text, I realized that this was not Herod the Great, but rather his son who was referred to as Herod the tetrarch or Herod Antipas.

            When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided into four parts among four of his sons, which is why he was given the title tetrarch. Therefore, Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee and Perea, which was located east of the Jordan River . Chapter fourteen of Matthew tells us that Herod Antipas or Herod the Tetrarch arrested John and had him put in prison.

            So, now that we have our Herods straight, we can understand that Herod Antipas or Tetrarch was responsible for putting John in prison.  Prison in those days was not a punishment, but rather a holding place for people until their fate was decided. John was put in prison because he had told Herod that it was not lawful for him to be married to his wife, Herodias.

            The story behind Herodias is that she was married to Philip, Herod Antipas’ brother. While a guest in their home, Herod Antipas convinced his brother’s wife, Herodias, to leave Phillip for him. Marriage to one’s brother’s wife, while the brother was still living, was forbidden by the Mosaic law. John the Baptist was condemning Herod for this action. Herod Antipas, in response, put John in prison to keep him quiet, but he was afraid to kill him because the people considered him a prophet. So, now we know the reasons why John is in prison.

            Matthew tells us in chapter four that Jesus’ ministry began around the same time that John was first put in prison. John’s disciples have been giving John the lowdown on Jesus’ ministry, since John is in prison. John has been watching Jesus’ ministry very carefully and he has decided to send his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if Jesus is the one who is to come, or should they be waiting for another. John was asking for Jesus to give him what we could consider a neon sign, or divine email.

            John already had a few neon signs regarding Jesus—some subtle and others not so subtle.  For the first of John’s clues we need to go to the book of Luke chapter 1 verse 41. John has not yet been born. Elizabeth is about 6 months pregnant with him. Mary, the mother of Jesus has come to visit Elizabeth , and Mary is pregnant with Jesus. When Mary entered the room, John leaped in Elizabeth ’s womb. Not that John remembers any of these things happen, but we see here an example of a childlike faith. Before John was even born, before he even saw the light of day, he knew who Jesus was. I have no doubt that Elizabeth shared this story with her son John when he was young.

For John’s second clue, we can look back to when John baptized Jesus in chapter 3 of Matthew.  John actually tries to deter Jesus, saying that he needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. Jesus told him that it needed to be done in order to fulfill all righteousness. At that, John consented and baptized Jesus. Matthew then tells us that as soon as Jesus went up out of the water, heaven was opened and John saw the spirit descend on Jesus in the form of a dove, and heavenly light was shining on Jesus. Then, to make the neon sign even clearer, a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

            John leaped even before his and Jesus’ birth because he knew who Jesus was. John baptized Jesus and witnessed the Spirit descending on him like a dove, and light shining on Jesus, accompanied by the voice from heaven saying that “This is my Son, who I love; with him I am well pleased.” John had already received his “neon signs”, yet he was second guessing his “signs”.

The neon signs John had received were not what he wanted or expected.  We, right along with John, often lack faith. We receive the neon signs we are asking for, yet they are not always what we want or expect.

            Maybe you think that your life could not get any worse. You are stuck in a dead-end job, doing meaningless tasks day after day. You feel like your talents are being wasted while you sit behind a desk pushing papers all day long, or traveling all over the country-side. You have asked God for deliverance from your plight, yet He appears to be silent. No neon signs, no emails.

            Perhaps you are struggling with illness or disease. It seems that one thing after another keep happening to you—first this, and then that. Your health seems to be snowballing out of control, and nothing seems to be helping. You have asked God to heal you yet here you are still struggling with the same disease, or you keep getting diagnosed with something else. No neon signs, no emails.

            Often times, we wait for the neon signs and emails to hit us over the head, until we are completely and utterly dumfounded by the answers we are given. John was asking Jesus for a neon sign. He was having second thoughts about Jesus being the Messiah. These second thoughts were because the Messiah wasn’t shaping up to be exactly what he had expected. He, like everyone else, was waiting for Jesus to save the people from the perils of the earthly government. He was looking for an earthly Messiah and deliverer, and Jesus wasn’t fitting that role.

            What is interesting is that Jesus doesn’t rebuke John for his lack of faith, or call him out on the carpet saying—what about when you baptized me—did you think you were just hearing things? But Jesus calmly answers saying: tell John what you see, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. This is a direct prophecy of what we heard in Isaiah 35 this morning verses 4 thru 6: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

            The neon sign and email is staring them in the face, and Jesus is pointing John and his disciples in that direction. Take a look at the prophecies of the Messiah; I am fulfilling each one of them to the letter. The Messiah was not fulfilling the criteria that man had placed with all his intellectuality and thinking. Mankind’s thoughts and ideas had gotten in the way of the faith that they had that the Messiah was to come. They wanted Jesus to walk around with a big flashy neon sign saying, YES I AM THE MESSIAH. BELIEVE ME.

            When we think of all the struggles and difficulties we go through in this world, we often are looking for someone to care for us, and love us. God gave us a neon sign; however, the sign is not in bright, flashy neon, and it’s not in your email inbox. The sign that God gave you is a couple of pieces of wood, splintery and jagged. These pieces of wood are tied together in the form of a cross. It is not in flashy neon, but rather it is coated in the blood of your Savior, Jesus Christ.

            Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah that everyone was waiting for; it just didn’t happen the way the people in their intellectuality had envisioned it to happen. If God would have come and fulfilled all the earthly standards that the people had in store we would still lack payment for our sins. Our human thinking often gets in the way. But thanks be to God our human thinking did not get in the way of His plan for His creation.

            Jesus came in the way that no one expected. He came in the form of a baby, born of a virgin, born in a stable. No one expected the Messiah to enter the world in such a humble manner. They didn’t expect Jesus to be a “normal little boy” doing what all normal boys do. Jesus came to this earth and he experienced everything that you experience.

He experienced pain, hurt and suffering. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. We weep over those loved ones that we have lost.  Jesus had pity and mercy on the poor, sick and dying. Jesus had pity on you in your sinful state, helpless to do anything about your plight.

            Jesus did all this for you. Jesus came and he shattered human expectations of a Messiah and he did so much more for you and for me. Not only did Jesus shatter human expectations, but Jesus also shattered sin and death for you. Jesus came to this earth so that he could die on a tree. Jesus took all your sins. Jesus took all your hurts and pain. Jesus took everything that you struggle with straight to the cross. Jesus paid for your sin and he suffered death, so that you wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate he suffered. He took on the punishment of sin and death, so that you didn’t need to suffer the punishment that you deserved for your sin.

And then He rose again, to give you hope – hope of life eternal with him, hope of a restored relationship with our Father, hope that this life is but a blink of an eye when compared to the time, eternity, we will spend with our Savior and Lord.

            Jesus knew us all too well. He knew that we would soon forget the suffering and pain he went through for us. We would quickly forget everything that he went through to pay for our sins. That is why Jesus gave us and instituted for us the sacrament of His body and blood.

            As we kneel around this rail in a few minutes, we will be fed the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is through this sacrament that we are reminded of all our Lord and Savior suffered for us. In Holy Communion, Christ’s body and blood is washing us clean from all of our sins. The signs are all there, flashing before our eyes.

            Every morning, after Josiah wakes up, for some reason he never wants to go down the stairs by himself. He always wants to be carried down the stairs. Sometimes he will stand at the top of the stairs while Jen or I start to descend the stairs. He will stand at the top of the stairs pleading and whimpering with his arms outstretched asking us to carry him down. When we turn around to come and get him, often times he will simply fall into our arms. We don’t have to grab him, or even be touching him yet, however he has the complete faith and assurance that Mom-mom or “D” will safely catch him and carry him down the stairs.

            This is a demonstration of the faith that we should have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. John had the faith of an infant when he leaped in Elizabeth ’s womb. John was given the signs that Jesus was the Messiah, but his intellectuality got in the way. Sometimes our intellectuality gets in the way of our faith and our trust in our Creator, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We don’t fall into our Lord’s outstretched arms that are opened, waiting.

So let us, when we struggle with our lack of faith and our wanting of neon signs and divine emails, look to the cross and the empty tomb.  Let us thank Jesus for His selflessness, his obedience to the Father in our stead, and the hope and promise of so much more that is to come.  He will renew us, strengthen our faith through the Holy Spirit, and walk with us each step of the way.  When His word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our paths, we will have no need for additional, flashy lighting.  He will illuminate our way one step at a time, and we can be certain, because of his great love for us shown in his death and resurrection, that His way, even when we cannot see far down the road, is the only way to go. 

Let us step forward in faith.  AMEN.