Is This What You Are Expecting? Introduction: We need do very little to tell the world Christmas is approaching; the media does it for us very effective and efficiently. The media announces that the season is approaching loudly and effectively. TV does the announcement and countdown by the movies and programmes to watch. SBS buses carry big advertisements telling people of Christmas sales, and late night shopping hours. Every district in Singapore has at least a shopping mall, and these malls have been decorated with trees, bells and glitter since November. When a person looks at the type of frenzy that people get into over Christmas, the long queues to almost everything: food, cashiers, taxis, hospitals; look at the number of people who get injured on Christmas eve and Christmas morning after a night of partying and drinking, one starts to think: Is what this what we expect of Christmas? The Bible names a few people who were heralds of the coming King - Jesus. Isaiah, Malachi were among them, and the New Testament opens with the angel of the Lord bringing news to Mary about her unborn son. As Jesus grew, John the Baptist took on the task as the herald and forerunner of the Messiah. People in the past also had an expectation - they had an expectation of the coming Messiah. John the Baptist: Last week, we heard about John's preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John's mission was to gather and prepare a remnant of Israel for the judgment and salvation of God. Like Elijah, John attracted a following whom he discipled. King Herod Antipas ruled the districts of Galilee and Perea. He left his first wife to marry Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. John criticized Herod for this. So Herod had John arrested and imprisoned. Today we read about an episode involving John the Baptist and Jesus. Matthew 11:2-11 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 4Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The 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. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." 7As 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? 8If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' 11I 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. Herod has a big fortress on the southern border of his territory east of the Dead Sea. This land was wild and desolate, known to be filled with strange legends and believed to be haunted by demons. It was here, that Herod apparently imprisoned John. As the long days passed in prison, questions arose in John's mind: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Why did John ask such a question? What was John's problem? Perhaps John expected more of the Messiah? John knew the Hebrew Text well. He would have known in his heart what the prophets said of the Messiah who was to come. Isaiah 61 included the promise of "release to the prisoner" and the "day of vengeance". The "day of vengeance" according to Israel's beliefs, was sure to come upon the Romans and Jewish "sinners" in the messianic age. Sure enough, the lame were walking, the deaf were hearing, the blind were seeing. But if Jesus really is the Messiah, there where was the vengeance? Where was the vengeance against the Roman, against Herod, who left his won wife to marry his brother's wife? And where was the release of the prisoners? Why was John still rotting away on death row in Herod's prison? Where was the justice that was promised? John came fasting; yet Jesus came feasting with the sinners! Is this for real? Is this what to expect when the Messiah comes? Seemingly, Jesus had not fulfilled John's expectation of the judgment of the enemies of God. I believe it is not hard to understand John's personal struggle and difficulty; there are times you and I ask the same question. " If God is so loving and good, why then do so many unfortunate things happening? " Why are my prayers not heard? " Why does my father have to suffer painfully from illnesses even when he has been such a good man all his life? " Why do the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer? " If God loves children so much, why do they still have to die from dreadful diseases like Aids & Cancer, hunger and poverty? " If the Bible teaches about a life of victory in Christ, why do I still suffer from depression and loneliness? " My friends don't believe in Jesus, and yet they do well in life. Good results, good looks, good families. Successful careers, promotion and a very healthy account in the bank. Look at me! How do I fare in comparison with them? For all the things I have shared about a life of abundance and blessings, why do I still have to struggle with finances and paying the bills? Is Christianity for real? Like John imprisoned in Herod's prison, this questioning can go on for as long as we are imprisoned in our thoughts. What was Jesus' answer? Jesus' answer: "Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me." The Message paraphrases: Is this what you were expecting?" Jesus' responses Jesus' responses to John's question are a composite of prophetic promises concerning the time of salvation in Isaiah 35:5ff Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped 29:18f In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Jesus' works lined up with these messianic prophecies. So His responses in verse 5 to the question John asked, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" was meant to confirm that Jesus was the Messiah, although it failed to address John's personal difficulty. You may find it hard to believe still: Blind see? Lame walk? Deaf hear? Miracles don't exist in this age anymore! Take a look again - the person sitting next to you. Look at the changes that have taken place in his life. When did he begin to see the truth? When did he begin to hear the truth of the Lord? When did he start to pick himself up to walk forward again, after being crippled by depression? Isn't this what you were expecting? The rest of the passage for today tells us what Jesus thought and said of John; 1. A prophet and more than a prophet. (Mt 11:7-11) 2. The messenger who prepares the way of the Lord - his role was to prepare for the coming of Jesus (Mt 11:10) 3. The greatest born of women before the kingdom - great in his place in God's purpose, not necessarily in his own worth. His purpose was leading to a new order, the kingdom of heaven of which John was only the herald, and which is the fulfillment of all that went before. (Mt 11:11) 4. "Elijah who is to come" Mt 11:14 (The final prophet before the day of the Lord (Mal 4:5) 5. The last prophet under the order of the law and prophets (Luke 16:16) 6. The first to preach the kingdom (Luke 16:16) Despite the greatness of John as being in God's plan, he was also subject to his human struggles during those moments in prison. We are all part of the plan of God that is advancing. As we begin the countdown towards this Christmas, what gifts can be bring to the community around us? What can we give to the friends and loved ones who walk into the sanctuary next week for the celebration service, that the world cannot give? " The Truth of Christmas " The Gift of Caring (poor, sick and the elderly) For those at work, the end of the year spells bonuses for many. Let's do something a little different this year: Before you rush to beat others in the line to pay for the many presents you wish to bless your loved ones with, stop and ponder: what is the greatest Christmas gift they can expect? How else can the blind see, the deaf hear, the sick healed, and the crippled walk again, if no one brings them the good news that John the Baptist preached, that Jesus came to deliver?

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