12-11-22 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

Come, Lord Jesus! – As Messiah

December 11, 2022

Doubt No More!

Matthew 11:2-11 1) Who Jesus Is 2) Who You Are How do you like it when you’re all alone? You probably like it in small doses if you come from a large family, crowded living quarters, or have a busy schedule. It’s nice to be alone because you finally have time to breathe, relax, and think just for yourself. After a while though, at least for most people, you’re ready to not be alone anymore. Because when you’re alone, there’s no one to care for or to experience life with. You’re more likely to fixate on problems or spiral downward. You can even begin to doubt what you once firmly held to.

That’s how we find John the Baptist this morning as he languishes in prison and struggles with doubts about his life’s prophetic work. So he turns to Jesus for answers. And what does Jesus do? He shows him why he is to doubt no more. For Jesus explains who he is and, as a result, who we are.

Who Jesus Is When we talk about the Coming One, we’re talking about the Promised Messiah who would come and save all people from their sins. God’s people had been waiting for him to come since the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As God revealed more details about who the Messiah would be and what he would do throughout the Old Testament, people became increasingly hopeful to meet him.

John the Baptist was one of these expectant people. He was also blessed to be a prophet so he could inform people what the Messiah would do: take our sins away as the Lamb of God and judging the living and dead on the basis of their faith. Since becoming King Herod’s political prisoner, John’s been stuck in prison.

And Jesus has been busy healing the sick, raising the dead, and teaching the people.

That’s not what John expected Jesus to do. As the Coming One, John expected Jesus to save people’s sins and to deliver eternal justice. And what is Jesus doing? Healing, resurrecting, and teaching! Was Jesus truly the Coming One? John also expected Jesus to get to action. Yet it appears that Jesus is taking his sweet time. Did John prepare the way for the wrong person? John was also 1

Pastor Tim Patoka

Come, Lord Jesus! – As Messiah

December 11, 2022

suffering from prolonged loneliness as Herod’s absconded political prisoner. The further he spiraled downward on his doubts, the more he wondered, “Did I have it all wrong?”

John was not the first believer to have doubts like this. So too have other role model believers like Job, David, Elijah, and Peter. And so have we. Jesus doesn’t always meet our expectations of what he should do as the Coming One. Have you viewed Jesus as a broken vending machine who freely dispenses whatever you want so you can live however you please? Do you take offense at Jesus for not just teaching you how you’re saved but also how you are to live?

Perhaps we doubt Jesus is the Coming One because his timetable doesn’t match ours. How many times have you been impatient with God to do what he’s promised? Did you also doubt God’s ability to follow through on what he said?

Maybe it’s your current circumstances that tempt you to doubt Jesus as the Coming One. With the tripledemic, rising costs, and holiday drama, then why does life feel like Jesus never came at all?

No matter why we doubt if Jesus is the Coming One, remember who sets the expectations for the Promised Messiah. It’s not us. Rather, it’s God. When John’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the Coming One, Jesus knew how to respond. By showing John and us the expectations God laid out for the Promised Messiah. In our First Reading, we heard about the miracle healings the Messiah would do and Jesus had since done. While there’s no prophecy about raising the dead, Jesus does it to further show how he indeed is the Coming One. Jesus was also fulfilling Isaiah 61(:1) by preaching the gospel to the poor who were often overlooked or left out for glad tidings. As for the expectations John had mentioned the Messiah would do, saving people’s sins and judging all, Jesus would later fulfill those by dying on the cross and one day coming back for the second and last time. By listing God’s expectations of the Promised Messiah and how Jesus fulfilled them, Jesus was telling John, “Doubt no more! For I am the Coming One just as you earlier said and believed.”

That’s what he says to us as well when he blesses we who do not take offense at him as the Coming One. There is no doubt in our minds as who to place our hope in. For it’s Jesus and him alone. As the Promised Messiah, Jesus fulfills the expectations that God laid out before him: to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies, to take our sins away, to teach us how to live as his children, and to judge us not guilty for all eternity.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

Come, Lord Jesus! – As Messiah

December 11, 2022

As Jesus told John the Baptist, so he tells us: doubt no more who Jesus is!

He is the Coming One. And as a result, he tells you who you are.

Who You Are The nearby crowds of people must have heard about John’s doubts. They likely were doubting the same thing too as a result. So Jesus addresses them and clarifies who John was. He was not a flip-flop believer whose convictions were as shaky as a reed shaken by the wind. Nor was John a domineering figure from a king’s palace dressed in soft clothing who compelled people to listen to him.

Instead, he was a prophet who boldly spoke God’s Word to the people. And these currents doubts John was having were nothing more than a weak moment of faith like we ourselves have.

John was more than just your average prophet. He was the greatest that has ever been born, the prophet whom others prophesied about. John wasn’t the greatest because of the miracles he performed or the thunderous words he spoke.

Rather, it’s because of his connection to the Coming One. He literally saw the Promised Messiah whom all the other prophets had spoke about. And John was blessed to prepare the way for Jesus at the start of his public ministry.

Yet whoever is in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist, even if they are the least. There’s honest discussion on who exactly this includes. I understand it as any Christian since Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. That includes you and me. We are greater than John the Baptist because we have both faith and knowledge of what John prophesied about. Not only do we believe in Jesus as our Savior, but we have seen the historical details of how he earned that title by living a perfect life, dying the cross, rising from the grave, and forever proving that he alone is the Coming One. Do you view yourself as Jesus does, as greater than even John the Baptist?

Or do you doubt that as you’re your own worst critic? We know how shaky our faith sometimes is. When peer pressure comes, how often do we act the opposite we do on Sunday morning like a wispy reed shaken by the wind? When we invite our unchurched friends and family to worship with us, we see our failure when they politely ignore us. If only we could compel them to listen to us as a person coming from a king’s palace dressed in soft clothing could! Perhaps we’re hesitant to tell others what God says because we’re not too sure ourselves what God has said. Surely you can remember times when you’ve unintentionally replaced God’s Word with our words.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

Come, Lord Jesus! – As Messiah

December 11, 2022

Though we may doubt our place in the kingdom of heaven, remember why Jesus considers us New Testament Christians greater than even John the Baptist.

It’s not because of what we’ve done, but because we’ve seen Jesus fulfill every expectation of the Coming One. As such, we don’t call Jesus “the Coming One” but “the One Who Came” who came for you and me! And this historical reality helps us treasure who we are as a result. We’re citizens of the kingdom of heaven who have both faith and knowledge in Jesus as the Promised Messiah. We’re sustained through the forgiveness that Jesus won on the cross. We’re emboldened to point people to Christ and gladly tell others about him just as John the Baptist did before he was thrown into prison.

That in turn rids us of doubt. When peer pressures tries to shake your faith in Jesus, stand on the solid rock of Christ, let your light shine, and happily endure whatever crosses you have to bear. When loved ones politely ignore your gentle words, don’t compel them to listen. Rather, remain patient and pray that they will one day listen to your invitation to hear the gospel. When you unintentionally replace God’s Word with your words, repent, learn from your mistake, and study up on God’s Word so that you may be his messenger to your personal mission field.

Closing Encouragements It’s not good to be alone for too long. Not only is life less fun, it can be harmful as we spiral downward in doubt. That’s how John the Baptist found himself while languishing in prison. Though he once boldly proclaimed Jesus to be the Promised Messiah, he now was doubting if Jesus truly was the Coming One after all. So Jesus responds by telling him to doubt no more who Jesus is. For Jesus is the Promised Messiah whom God’s people have been waiting for a long time to come. No one else has fulfilled the expectations that God has laid out. Because Jesus is “the One Who Came,” we therefore doubt no more who we are. For we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, greater than even John the Baptist, for we have both faith and knowledge in Jesus as our Savior and receive all the blessings that come from that.

As we prepare to welcome Jesus as Messiah, may we do so doubt free in who he is and who we are as a result. Amen.

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