{"id":25679,"date":"2025-12-10T18:13:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=25679"},"modified":"2025-12-10T18:14:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:14:52","slug":"25679-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/25679-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 11:2-15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Third Sunday of Advent | 14.12.2025 | Matthew 11:2-15 | David H. Brooks |\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Matthew 11:2-15 English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles<\/a><\/p>\n

11<\/sup><\/strong>When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Now when John heard\u00a0in prison about the deeds of\u00a0the Christ, he sent word by\u00a0his disciples\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and said to him, \u201cAre you\u00a0the one who is to come, or shall we\u00a0look for another?\u201d\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cGo and tell John what you hear and see:\u00a05\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers[<\/sup>a<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and\u00a0the poor have good news preached to them.\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And blessed is the one who\u00a0is not offended by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John:\u00a0\u201cWhat did you go out\u00a0into the wilderness to see?\u00a0A reed shaken by the wind?\u00a08\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>What then did you go out to see? A man[<\/sup>b<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings‘ houses.\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>What then did you go out to see?\u00a0A prophet?[<\/sup>c<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>This is he of whom it is written,<\/p>\n

\u2018Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
\nwho will prepare your way before you.\u2019<\/p>\n

11\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,[<\/sup>d<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0and the violent take it by force.\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and if you are willing to accept it, he is\u00a0Elijah who is to come.\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>He who has ears to hear,[<\/sup>e<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0let him hear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–A MESSIAH FOR THE REST OF US– <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are a fan of the comedy Seinfeld, then you are probably familiar with the holiday (or, more accurately, anti-holiday) that the show introduced in December of 1997: Festivus. Invented by the bad-tempered father of one of the characters, the Seinfeld gang readily embraced the quirky holiday as a \u201cFestivus for the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Festivus has real-life roots, for it was created by the father of one of the show writers to push against the perceived pressures and commercialization of the Christmas season. Even funnier, the originator of this observance coined \u201cfestivus\u201d as the name because it sounded quirky and offbeat, not realizing that it is an actual Latin word meaning \u201cexcellent, jovial, lively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gives a real twist to the airing of grievances, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Perhaps you won\u2019t be surprised if Jesus senses some pressure in this moment as he is quizzed by the disciples of John. Earlier in his account, Matthew says that John is deferential to Jesus, responding to the Lord\u2019s desire to be baptized with a plaintive \u201cyou should be baptizing me.\u201d But now, John is in Herod Antipas\u2019s dungeon, and from that small, dank space things that once seemed certain look less solid.<\/p>\n

Matthew says that it was because he had heard of the Lord\u2019s deeds that he decided to question Jesus. John had preached that one was coming with an axe and with fire, and warned his audience that it would do no good to proclaim your ancestry, assert your education, your credentials or your expertise, or even point to your desire to be right with God\u2014your confession of sin is worthless without deeds demonstrating the same! The one who is approaching\u2014the Messiah, God\u2019s Anointed\u2014would bring righteous judgment and punishment.<\/p>\n

While John\u2019s expectation conveyed in his preaching spoke of God\u2019s righteous judgment, the public\u2019s expectations were more straightforward. The Jews of Jesus\u2019s day expected a political\/military leader, someone who would free them from the hated Romans and give them back their home. Rooted in the memories of the House of David, fed by apocalyptic writings that looked for God\u2019s vindication of his chosen people, and egged on by the regular appearance of Messianic imposters, those that followed Jesus\u2014including his own disciples\u2014held out hope that Jesus would reveal himself as the hero the people desperately desired.<\/p>\n

But Jesus does not capitulate in the face of pressure, whether from the populace or his own cousin, whom Jesus himself declares to be a prophet and more so. Pushing against the expectations, Jesus declares that the truth of his anointing is found in what is heard and seen, echoing the words of Isaiah 61 that declared the one anointed by the Spirit of God would<\/p>\n