Gaudete (3rd Sunday of Advent) 2025

Text: “6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matthew 11:6).

I. John’s Question: Faith in a Dark Prison

John the Baptist is one of the main figures at this time of year.

He is a natural fit, with the image of him standing in the Jordan River, calling on the nation to repent:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

(Matthew 3:2, ESV)

His one job was to point—to point away from himself and toward another.

To point to the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

To point to the One who would establish that kingdom forever.

But as we come to the beginning of today’s Gospel, John is not standing in the Jordan anymore.

He is not preaching repentance to crowds or pointing his finger and saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

John is in prison.

The prophet who once spoke with fire now sits in chains.

The voice that called Israel to prepare the way of the Lord has been silenced by Herod.

And from that place—from the darkness, from the waiting, from the confinement—John sends a question to Jesus:

“Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

(Matthew 11:3, ESV)

This is not the question of a man who has forgotten who Jesus is.

John knows who Jesus is.

He has already confessed it.

He has already staked his life on it.

This is the question of a man who knows the promises—

the promise that the kingdom of heaven is near,

the promise that God is finally coming to set right what is broken.

John also preached judgment.

He preached fire and an axe laid at the root of the tree—not because he delighted in destruction, but because everything that ruins God’s good creation must finally be removed.

John proclaimed the promise of a new kingdom breaking into this world of injustice, violence, sickness, and death.

A kingdom of righteousness instead of corruption.

Peace instead of fear.

Life instead of death.

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” John was sent to proclaim.

And yet John waits.

The kingdom has been announced—but the world still looks the same.

And if you are honest, you know this tension well.

You hear Isaiah say, “Comfort, comfort My people.”

You hear of sins forgiven, guilt removed, strength renewed.

You confess that you are a child of God, redeemed, baptized, belonging to the kingdom of heaven.

And then Monday comes.

The illness remains.

The work is tedious.

The grief lingers.

The prayers seem unanswered.

The days grind on.

And this is often where you reach for a phrase that is true, but thin.

You tell yourself, “God has a plan.”

And He does.

Scripture never denies that.

But when suffering presses in, that truth can feel like poor comfort.

Because knowing that there is a plan is not the same as knowing why this hurts.

And God does not promise to explain that to you.

So Jesus answers John.

Not with anger.

Not with disappointment.

But with a word meant to steady faith that is being tested.

John does not receive an explanation.

He receives Christ.

And the best news is that, here, today, you do, too.

II. Jesus’ Answer: The Quiet Works of the Christ

Jesus does not send John a theory.

He does not offer an explanation of God’s timing.

He does not say, “Be patient,” or “Trust the process.”

Instead, He sends evidence.

“Go and tell John what you hear and see:

the blind receive their sight and 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.”

(Matthew 11:4–5, ESV)

Jesus answers John by pointing to His works.

Quiet works.

Merciful works.

Works that do not look like judgment day—yet.

These are the promises Isaiah spoke long ago.

The signs of the kingdom arriving.

The marks of the Messiah being present.

But notice what Jesus does not point to.

He does not point to armies being overthrown.

He does not point to prisons being emptied.

He does not point to rulers being unseated.

John is still in his cell when this answer is delivered.

And Jesus does not explain John’s suffering.

He does not justify God’s timing.

He does not answer the question, “Why this pain?”

Jesus does not give explanations.

He gives Himself.

The Christ has come.

But He has come gently.

He comes opening blind eyes one by one.

He comes lifting broken bodies from the dust.

He comes speaking good news to the poor—those with nothing to offer in exchange.

And so Jesus adds a single sentence:

“Blessed is the one who is not scandalized by Me.”

(Matthew 11:6, ESV)

III. The Scandal of Christ: His Cross and His Ways

The scandal is not a misunderstanding.

It is not simply disappointment.

The scandal is Jesus Himself.

To be scandalized is to stumble—to trip over something you did not expect to be there.

And Jesus knows that His way will become exactly that.

Because the Messiah does not ascend a throne.

He walks toward a cross.

This is where the promises of Isaiah 40 strain human faith to its limit.

Isaiah speaks of comfort.

Comfort for weary people.

Comfort grounded in the coming of the Lord Himself.

And yet the Lord comes—not with thunder—but with humility.

Not with vengeance—but with wounds.

Not with immediate deliverance—but with suffering.

Here—on the cross—the judgment John awaited finally falls.

Not on Rome.

Not on Herod.

But on Christ.

Here—on the cross—the comfort Isaiah promised is actually given.

Because sin is not ignored.

It is borne.

The cross looks like weakness.

It looks like failure.

But it is the very place where God keeps His promises.

And this is why the cross remains scandalous even now.

You are baptized—and yet you suffer.

You are forgiven—and yet you wait.

You belong to the kingdom of heaven—and yet your days are often ordinary, heavy, and unfinished.

The scandal is not that God has forgotten you.

The scandal is that He saves you through the cross.

Blessed are you when you do not stumble over a Christ who suffers.

Blessed are you when you do not reject Him because His way is slower, quieter, and more hidden than you expected.

Blessed are you when you cling to Him even when His cross offends your hopes for something easier.

IV. The Greatness of John—and the Greater Gift Given to You

Jesus does not allow John’s question to diminish John.

“Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

(Matthew 11:11a, ESV)

If greatness were a matter of faithfulness, courage, or obedience,

John would stand alone.

He spoke the truth without fear.

He remained faithful even when it cost him his freedom.

He did not abandon his calling when the world turned against him.

John stands at the hinge of history.

The last prophet.

The forerunner of Christ.

And yet Jesus immediately adds:

“Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

(Matthew 11:11b, ESV)

This is not a criticism of John.

It is a declaration that something has now changed.

John stood before the cross.

You stand beyond it.

John pointed to the Lamb of God.

You receive the Lamb of God.

The difference is not your faithfulness.

It is Christ’s finished work.

You do not surpass John because you are stronger, braver, or more obedient.

You are greater because you live on the far side of the cross—

forgiven, baptized, fed, and claimed by the Crucified and Risen One.

You belong to the kingdom now.

V. Go and Tell What You Hear and See: The Kingdom Comes to You

When Jesus answers John, He tells John’s disciples to do something very simple:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see.”

(Matthew 11:4, ESV)

Jesus does not say, “Go and explain.”

He does not say, “Go and reason it out.”

He says: listen—and look.

Because the kingdom of heaven is recognized by signs.

John’s disciples saw blind eyes opened.

They heard good news preached to the poor.

Those signs were proof that the kingdom had arrived.

And the same is true for you.

You are not asked to peer into heaven to see whether God’s kingdom is real.

You are told where to look.

You are told what to listen for.

You see people being baptized.

Water poured.

A name spoken.

A life claimed.

You hear words of absolution spoken out loud.

Not wishes.

Not encouragement.

But forgiveness declared in the name of Christ.

You see bread broken.

You taste wine poured out.

You hear the promise: “Given and shed for you.”

These are not religious symbols meant to stir your imagination.

They are signs—real, tangible, audible proof—that the kingdom of heaven has come to you.

Blessed are you when you recognize the kingdom not by spectacle,

but by what you hear and see—

water poured,

forgiveness spoken,

bread broken,

Christ given.

Blessed are you when you trust these signs more than your circumstances.

VI. Not an Explanation, But Signs—and a Cross

When suffering presses in, you want answers.

You want reasons.

You want clarity.

And often you are told, “God has a plan.”

He does.

But that plan is not first revealed in an explanation.

It is revealed in signs—and finally, in a cross.

Jesus does not explain suffering.

He shows you where He is in it.

He shows you water that washes sinners.

He shows you words that forgive the guilty.

He shows you a table where broken people are fed.

And then He shows you Himself—

lifted up, wounded, crucified,

bearing the judgment that makes the kingdom possible.

Blessed are you when you trust a Savior who does not explain everything,

but has given everything—has given Himself, body and blood—for you.

These signs do not remove all pain.

They do not make waiting disappear.

But they do tell you something unmistakable:

The kingdom of heaven is not far away.

It is not delayed.

It has come to you.

You see it.

You hear it.

You receive it.

And the One who comes to you this way

will come again—not with signs this time,

but with resurrection.