{"id":10209,"date":"2004-12-07T19:49:17","date_gmt":"2004-12-07T18:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=10209"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:17:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T09:17:26","slug":"matthew-31-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/matthew-31-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 3:1-12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Advent 2 | 5 December 2004 | Matthew 3:1-12 | Samuel Zumwalt |<\/h3>\n

Matthew 3:1-12 [NRSV Text from The Word for Today<\/em>, Eugen Lehrke] <\/strong><\/p>\n

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, [2] „Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.“ [3] This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
\n„The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:<\/em>
\n‚Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.‘ “ <\/em>
\n[4] Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. [5] Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, [6] and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. <\/em>
\n[7] But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, „You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruit worthy of repentance. [9] Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‚We have Abraham as our ancestor‘; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. [10] Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. <\/em>
\n[11] „I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.“<\/em><\/p>\n

KEEP LOOKING <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lutheran Church in the 21 st Century USA needs a strong dose of John the Baptist. But don\u2019t look for a lot of applicants for the job. When you consider that John ended up dead for telling the truth, the stack of submitted resumes gets notably thin.<\/p>\n

The reason John lost his head was he knew nothing about subtlety. He clearly had not been listening to Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziegler, or any other sales gurus. John clearly was a naively fearless man, going right into the belly of the beast, telling everyone from King Herod right on down the line to the manure scoopers that they were no better than a bunch of stinking Gentiles. So much for unconditional positive regard! So much for speaking no evil of one\u2019s neighbors!<\/p>\n

What has been said about noted preacher, Methodist bishop Will Willimon, could be applied to John the Baptist. The central message of John\u2019s preaching is: \u201cI\u2019m not OK, and you\u2019re not OK either.\u201d<\/p>\n

John\u2019s good news sounds pretty bad to us, and it should. After all, most Lutherans will shift their bottoms in the pews and clear their throats a few times if the words devil<\/em> or hell <\/em>are used in a sermon. We\u2019re all too educated and sophisticated to believe that there is a personal malevolent force promoting chaos in the hearts of women and men, young and old. We\u2019re all too educated and sophisticated to believe that there might be a final separation of sheep from goats. We\u2019re all too media savvy to be taken in by someone that\u2019s giving an unpleasant message in an edgy tone of voice.<\/p>\n

Think about it. All that presidential hopeful John Dean had to do to sabotage his campaign was to be caught on camera sounding like a cowboy trail boss yelling \u201cYee Haw!\u201d They played that scene over and over until the man was political road kill within 24 hours. Imagine what the media would do to John the Baptist today. Eye rolling with a smirk, a touch of elitist repartee, comments about his personal hygiene, who-dresses-this-man, and perhaps even the Bubba label would be permanently affixed to John the Baptist like a bull\u2019s eye the very first time he dared to suggest that people were going to hell.<\/p>\n

And we<\/em> are so media savvy that we don\u2019t need a professional to tell us what to think about John the Baptist and those like him. We all have a feel of what\u2019s just not said or done if you want to get your message across effectively.<\/p>\n

In the musical Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>, Judas remarks, \u201c Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication.\u201d Then Judas asks Jesus: \u201cWhy\u2019d you come to such a backward time and such a strange land?\u201d Maybe lyricist Tim Rice hit on something there. Maybe God didn\u2019t send John the Baptist or his only begotten Son to a media savvy time for a reason. Neither man would have been able to sell his message today.<\/p>\n

So here we have this period piece, this Gospel lesson from a man that clearly doesn\u2019t care about public opinion. John the Baptist has no media pollsters. John the Baptist has no image consultants. John has no speechwriters or political operatives. John simply speaks the truth without any concern for his own well-being. You can\u2019t stop a man who has no ambition, no family to support, no fear, and no need to be liked. John the Baptist says, \u201cRepent \u2013 turn around \u2013 have a change of heart and mind \u2013 God\u2019s kingdom is at hand and your lives are far from the kingdom!\u201d<\/p>\n

John the Baptist didn\u2019t say, \u201cLook at me. I\u2019m the Messiah. Follow me. I\u2019ll take you to the Promised Land.\u201d John said, \u201cI\u2019m not<\/em> the one. If you\u2019re looking for the Messiah, you need to keep looking. I\u2019m not worthy to carry his<\/em> sandals. I\u2019m the one who\u2019s here to tell you that if you don\u2019t turn your lives around you\u2019re going to be kindling in the devil\u2019s fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, I began by saying that the Lutheran Church in the USA could use a strong dose of John the Baptist. If John the Baptist were here today, he would say, \u201cDon\u2019t tell me that you\u2019re baptized children of God whose hearts are full of justification by grace through faith. Please don\u2019t tell me that the only word that God has for you sounds like Billy Joel singing: \u2018I love you just the way you are.\u2019 If you\u2019re buying that message, I can get you a great deal on swampland in Arizona and a certain bridge in Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou Lutherans are so quick to say \u2018God loves and forgives me\u2019 that you never actually do more than say a few \u2018I\u2019m sorrys\u2019 as you read a general confession now and again. Whatever happened to sin? (Karl Menniger asked.) Do you think God loves you so much that he really doesn\u2019t hate your sin? Do you think God is so dimwittedly lovesick for you that he doesn\u2019t notice that you don\u2019t love him enough to even ask him to help you amend your life? Science seems to be your god, because all you have to hear is that groups of scientists somewhere have theorized that there is a genetic predisposition to this or that, and then you think that lets you off the hook for your behavior. Science isn\u2019t God, and scientists aren\u2019t infallible. You smirk at the idea of an infallible Pope while buying whatever makes you feel good about yourself right where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBear fruits that befit repentance. Demonstrate that someone other than you is the center of the universe. Stop saying that God forgives you even when you aren\u2019t sorry and you have no intention of asking God to amend your life. If all that being a child of God is about is getting some water thrown on you in God\u2019s name, then why aren\u2019t the stone jetties at the beach all children of God?\u201d<\/p>\n

+<\/p>\n

When God\u2019s Son Jesus was baptized by John in solidarity with us sinners, God was not discrediting John\u2019s message. God wasn\u2019t saying that God was revoking his NO to sin. Rather God took his judgment upon himself. God in human flesh died for sinners. God said \u201cI love you enough to die in your place.\u201d Martin Luther called it the froehliche<\/em>Wechsel<\/em>, the happy exchange; God in Christ graciously takes our sin and death to his cross and gives us his life and his righteousness as a free gift!<\/p>\n

In the washing of Holy Baptism, we are buried with Christ and raised with him to new life. It is not magic. It is a pattern. It is a way of life until our bodies draw their last breath.<\/p>\n

21 st century Lutherans are so confused about what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and what it does. God doesn\u2019t say, \u201cI love you just the way you are.\u201d God says, \u201cYou are not OK, but I love you in spite of what you are, which is, a sinner.\u201d God doesn\u2019t say, \u201cOnce you\u2019re baptized, you\u2019ve got it made.\u201d God says, \u201cBaptism is daily drowning the old sinner in you by confessing your sins and asking for my help to amend your life.\u201d God doesn\u2019t say, \u201cWhat you do with your life really doesn\u2019t matter, because good works will never save you.\u201d God says, \u201cGood works are the way you say \u2018thank you.\u2019 Good works are the sign that my Son is alive in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The heavenly No, spoken by John the Baptist, is God\u2019s continuing Word that remains valid. The purpose of that NO is to show us that we are indeed sinners. The purpose of that NO is to show us that we need a Redeemer \u2013 not once but everyday! Only God\u2019s Son Jesus is able to set us free by God\u2019s Word of forgiveness. Christ has died for these particular sins today \u2013 here and now. And he has a better way for us!<\/p>\n

The forgiveness of sins isn\u2019t some kind of routine affirmation for those with low self-esteem. The forgiveness that Jesus extends to sinners always does something. The forgiveness of sins took a hated tax collector like Matthew and turned him into a disciple \u2013 he left the old life behind. The forgiveness of sins took a hated tax collector like Zacchaeus and he gave away 50% of his wealth \u2013 he left the old life behind. The forgiveness of sins took lepers and transformed them into different people \u2013 they left the old life behind.<\/p>\n

The forgiveness of sins can heal a drunk, free an addict, rescue somebody from a lifestyle of casual sex, change a crooked professional, save a condemned killer from the pits of hell, renew self-control among both the married and unmarried, turn a greedy miser into a happy donor, transform a spoiled pampered child into a contented worker at a shelter or a Habitat for Humanity build. The forgiveness of sins can take someone headed into a lucrative but lifeless profession and turn that person into a seminarian, a future pastor. The forgiveness of sins can even take a brilliant but very wrong theologian and turn that person into a passionate proclaimer of the forgiveness of sins. She or he can turn from being an inspirer of sins! Do you want to believe that even though you don\u2019t yet believe it?<\/p>\n

Forgiveness works \u2013 people leave the old life behind. Sometimes the forgiveness of sins stops a person from entering into a disastrous marriage with an unbeliever. Sometimes the forgiveness of sins changes a disastrous marriage into something that reflects God\u2019s everlasting faithfulness. And sometimes the forgiveness of sins gives a new beginning to those who are heartbroken over the failed marriages they never should have entered into. As one who knows the failure of divorce, I confess that divorce is not God\u2019s will. Nevertheless, it is not an unforgivable sin for those who throw themselves upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness in Jesus\u2019 name no matter where you have been or what you have done or how you have failed!<\/p>\n

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, has the power to change the world one life at a time. That\u2019s the Holy Spirit power that the baptized can draw upon to bear fruits that befit repentance. That\u2019s the Holy Spirit power that the unbaptized can feel drawing them towards the life that God wants to give them in Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? Will you stake your whole life on that?<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look at me,\u201d says John the Baptist. Keep looking! Keep looking for Jesus Christ. Keep looking at Jesus Christ, crucified and raised, for your sins and mine. Keep looking at Jesus Christ leading you and me into a new life that demonstrates we have been changed and turned around today<\/em>, here<\/em>, now<\/em> by the forgiveness of sins, by the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n

\n

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Zumwalt
\nSt. Matthew\u2019s Evangelical Lutheran Church
\nWilmington, North Carolina USA
\nszumwalt@bellsouth.net<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advent 2 | 5 December 2004 | Matthew 3:1-12 | Samuel Zumwalt | Matthew 3:1-12 [NRSV Text from The Word for Today, Eugen Lehrke] In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, [2] „Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.“ [3] This is the one of whom the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,612,727,157,853,108,110,676,349,3,109,160],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-10209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-matthaeus","category-2-advent","category-archiv","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-03-chapter-03-matthaeus","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten","category-samuel-david-zumwalt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10209"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23938,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10209\/revisions\/23938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=10209"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=10209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}