When the Lord Comes Near -- He Humbles His Enemies

Gospel Means: In Holy Baptism, Jesus washed us clean by his Word and Spirit. There, his Calvary-won victory over sin, death, and the devil was freely poured into our hearts. Today that Baptism still stands. It is the Lord’s decisive act in our lives. Daily it empowers faith to turn away from our own efforts and instead trust in Christ alone for strength and comfort.

Introduction/Opening

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Introduction: A few years ago, the newspapers covered a story about a man named Bill, a delivery truck operator from Michigan. Bill said: “I thought I could handle anything,”—until an unknown assailant stuck a .22 caliber gun in his chest and fired. “There was a burning sensation. I felt like somebody kicked me in the chest. As a matter of fact, I thought he’d shot me with a blank gun, so I figured I’d jam it in his nose . . . [Then] I thought, enough is enough. So I got up and walked two steps and my legs were like rubber bands and down I went.”

In our text for this morning, we see John the Baptist—whom Jesus later describes as the greatest preacher of all time— Luke 7:28 —preaching against those who think they are strong but in reality are not strong enough. With the Law, John shows them their inherent weaknesses and utter inadequacy; and with the Gospel, he comforts them with the promise of “the Stronger One”—Jesus Christ—who will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. In short, John shows them “When the Lord Comes Near — He Humbles His Enemies.”

What does it mean to be an enemy of Christ? It’s more than denying His deity, or discrediting His Word, or standing in the way of His cause. The enemy of Christ is one who refuses His gifts of grace and forgiveness that are received humbly in repentant faith. Therefore, the objective of John is for people to

Trust In Christ Alone

Luke 3:7–9 EHV

7 So John kept saying to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruits in keeping with repentance! Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John the Baptist is the forerunner of Christ — His job is to point people to Jesus —

John describes Jesus as one mightier than him, whose sandals he is not worthy to stoop down and untie.

The Lord, Christ Jesus, is coming to bring salvation to all who will REPENT and believe.

So John is preaching a baptism of repentance in order to stir their conscience so they will turn to God in faith.

But John takes it further and calls them snakes, “offspring of vipers” (γεννήματα ἐχιδνω̂ν). In doing so he is pointing to their spiritual father, the poisonous snake who deceived Eve in Eden. (See also Mt 13:38; Jn 8:44; Ac 13:10.)

And this is just as true today — For all who refuse God’s gifts of grace and forgiveness — not trusting in Christ alone — are spiritual children of this poisonous snake, the devil.

Obviously, John is not trying to win friends, but he is trying to influence people. His desire is to instill fear in his hearers consciences, so that they might stop and realize their lost condition without Christ.

Then he says, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath — The ax is ready to strike the root of the tree."

There is a strong sense of urgency in John’s message.

And for us today, the ax is even closer to striking the root of the tree than it was when John first spoke this word of warning.

The fact is, Jesus is coming. But this time he is not coming as a meek child to save the world; He is coming as judge — to separate the repentant from the non-repentant.

When that time comes, every man, woman, and child will bow the knee to our Judge and King, some to glory and others to their shame.

The question is — Is your life today producing fruits in keeping with repentance?

This is what John the Baptist was sent to proclaim, in preparation of the One who is mightier. Unfortunately, many people today are satisfied with their lives, resulting in hiding their sinfulness. This includes some Christians. Contrition is needed from everyone.

The problem is, we are not strong enough.

We Are Not Strong Enough

Many of the Jews did not come to John to repent and receive the mercy of God. They came instead for approval and commendation, because they thought they were good children of Abraham.

This attitude of pride hid from them their true condition, that of being under the judgment of God because of their sins.

“Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.”

Christians today are also beset by the sin of pride, which if left uncorrected, leads to self-satisfaction — you know, where we become pleased with ourselves. All this does is cover our sin and our need for contrition before God.

Our church membership isn’t going to keep the ax from swinging for the tree, to cut it down and throw it into the fire. The fact that we are “Lutheran” gives us no standing before God.

This idea of self-satisfaction does not prepare us for Jesus Christ, but for a life of gratification and death.

John saw through the lack of repentance fostered by the attitude of pride.

He saw how barren his audience was of good works, how dead they were in faith.

No appeal to their outward status of being children of Abraham was going to cut it.

As a result, they had coming the title, “offspring of vipers.”

When the stubble is set on fire in the fields in preparation for the winter sowing, snakes of all kinds try to flee.

In like manner, John’s audience in the face of God’s judgment would try to flee.

Because of their hardhearted state of unrepentance displayed by their lack of good works — fruits of repentance — God could more easily turn stones into His own children.

And we Christians can claim no status or good conduct by which we can hope to have a place in the kingdom of heaven. Our sins and lack of good works — again, fruits of repentance — testify against us.

The purpose of preparing for the Lord to come near is to strip away everything that would lead to self-satisfaction by recognizing our sins in godly fear and sorrow. Daily repentance over our sin, together with a realization of our unfruitfulness before God, will be brought about by the Holy Spirit through our reading and meditating upon the Word of God.

It’s not easy to recognize as the object of the ax of God’s judgment, to realize that the ax could possibly hit us. But such a realization is a necessary part of Repentance.

Christ Is the Stronger One

The message of Advent points us to Jesus Christ — the Stronger One — as our only Savior.

John’s message of baptism was the means of preparing his hearers for the One coming after him, who is Mightier.

John’s baptism cannot be separated from his message of judgment and hope, that urged the people to turn from their sins — Repent — and look to the One who is Mightier who was coming to deliver them.

The Advent message brings John’s ministry as one of preparation, while the ministry of Jesus is to bring that work to completion by purify His people from their sins.

John baptism is different than Jesus’, in that John was preparing the people for Jesus.

The baptism Jesus instituted completes what John started by the giving the Holy Spirit and purifying from sin, the blessing that now belongs to Faye Valentine.

The Advent message is of a Mighty One who has come to deliver His people.

Jesus is coming a Judge — the separate the believer from the non-believer — the Repentant from the non-Repentant — to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Jesus is also coming as Savior — for the purpose of gathering the harvest of wheat to take home to heaven.

In response to this Advent message we ask, “What Shall We Do?”

We ask this question because we have already been delivered by the Mightier One, and we desire to serve Him.

We live for others, instead of self-gratification.

We desire to serve Jesus for the sake of the Gospel, so that other might be directed to Him.