Hear the Constant Call to Reformation :: Matthew 11:12-19

From the days of John the Baptizer until now the kingdom of the heavens is itself being forceful, and the violent have seized it (v 12).

There was nothing nice and soft about John the Baptizer. He was bold and forceful in everything he said and everything he did. Matthew recorded his first word as Repent! That’s right, Repent! For the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (3:2). There are not many words that are more forceful than repent. 

Like his bold and forceful call for reform, because repentance is reform, there was nothing nice or soft about his appearance. He had long hair and a long beard because he was a Nazirite by birth. That means he never cut it. He arrived along the banks of the Jordan River wearing rough camel hair clothing. His diet was just as wild and rough: grasshoppers and honey; so he was probably a stringy looking man. Yet everyone who was anyone wanted to see and hear him preach, including those of the establishment ... the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

The Pharisees were pious folks. The Sadducees were the chief priests of the day. They all came to see and to hear John preach ... not that they could see or hear. But his message was compelling enough ... It was a call for reformation.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were proud of their reformation movements. The Pharisees were the laymen of the day. They had started their reformation in the second century before Christ. Their goal was to reform the faith life of the Jews, whose fathers had essentially become pagans. They were focused on right living and tradition. The Sadducees on the other hand were Levitical. The Levites you should remember were priests. But these Sadducees saw a need for reformation, too. So they started a reformation to cleanse the temple of corruption. Sadly, the Pharisees and Sadducees were both going about Reformation the wrong way. The Pharisees added to God’s Word. The Sadducees ignored large portions of God’s Word.

So when John the Baptizer saw them coming to the river, he cried out ... O brood of Vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is about to come? Produce fruit worthy of repentance! And don’t think to say in yourselves: We have Abraham as Father. For I say to you, God is able out of these stones to raise children of Abraham! (vv 3:3-7)

Yes, the Kingdom of the heavens is itself being forceful. 

As we observe Reformation Day we need to remember this: John the Baptizer didn’t have nice words for nice living. He was forceful in his call to repentance and reformation. He was unashamed of the Gospel. He knew that those who had ears to hear would hear this call (v 15). So he spoke boldly knowing God’s Word always achieves the purpose for which he sends it. 

GOD’S WORD IS CONSTANTLY CALLING US TO A REFORMATION OF REPENTANCE

This is our theme because, from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is itself being forceful, and the violent have seized it (v 12). 

I.

John the Baptizer was not an innovator in calling the people into the reformation of repentance. All of the prophets before him did that. And just as importantly, so too did the Great Prophet after him. Like John, the first words of Jesus were not, I Love You. They were not, Don't worry, I've got your back. Just be you. Nor were the first actions of Jesus hugs. Instead, the kingdom of the heavens, which is found only in the person Jesus, came forcefully.

In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son Jesus. He did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but he also did not send Jesus to ignore your sin. The first first words of our Lord were a call for reformation. Repent! he cried, For the Kingdom of the Heavens has drawn near (4:17). And he maintained that forceful call throughout his ministry. In Matthew 10, just before or reading, he said: Do not think that I came to cast peace upon earth. I came not to cast peace, but a sword. For I came to cause a separation: a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law .... The one loving father or mother more than me is not worthy of me (10:34-37). Jesus then went on to denounce cities that failed to repent (11:21). And he commended those who did repent (12:41).

But let’s face it, we don’t like this Word of the Lord. It rubs against the picture of a Shepherd cradling a Lamb. We want only a soft word ... a nice word of God ... not something forceful. So it is not surprising that the establishment did not like it for even one second! 

Who do you think you are, the religious establishment asked Jesus at every turn. 

What gave you the right to call me out for adultery, King Herod told John the Baptizer. 

Why on earth do you think we even need the forgiveness of sins all the time, we still say.

II.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in constant need of Reformation ... because our violent hearts are always seeking ways to seize the church by force and re-cast it in our own image. First, we tried to silence John the Baptizer by seizing him, imprisoning him, and beheading him. We seized Jesus, and crucified him. Then we stoned the apostles who came after him.

Look at them, the world around us still says! (John) came neither eating nor drinking ... He has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, he is a glutton and a wino, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (vv 18- 19). Yes, we will say and do anything to oppose and to silence God’s Word and his call to repentance and reformation. 

Yet wisdom is justified by her works (v 19). 

So ask yourselves ... Why are you here? Why did you come to Trinity Lutheran Church? 

We Lutherans certainly love our tradition and heritage. We certainly love to sing. Is that why you are here? Is that what you have come to see and hear? We Lutherans are pretty proud of our theology, too. Is that why you are here? Why did you come? For something soft (11:8)?

Don’t tell me you are here because this is where you were baptized. Don’t tell me it’s because this is where your great, great, great, great grandpa came. Don’t tell me it’s because this is the way we’ve always done it. Those answers didn’t cut it for John the Baptizer ... or for Jesus! All the Law and Prophets prophesied until John (v 13). Instead, I pray you are here because you recognize a constant need for reformation and repentance ... to turn away from wicked living. ... to turn away from ungratefulness. ... to turn away from pride in tradition. ... to turn away from self-righteousness ... to turn away from your sin, whatever that sin may be. And then to turn toward the forgiveness of sins purchased and won by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

III.

Please now turn to page 322 and join me in confessing this faithful doctrine of the Reformation as outlined in the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed.

What do you believe in the Second Article? And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

IV.

And it is most certainly the Gospel that gives you faith for the reformation of repentance. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, take these words to heart and reform your memory of your Lord and why you have the forgiveness of sins. It is a marvelous thing that the Kingdom of the Heavens has come in such a forceful way. While the world tries to seize Jesus and deny Jesus and take Jesus away from us ... while the world tries to recast the Kingdom of the Heavens into its own image ... the Lord of Lords and King of Kings begins the reformation of all of creation by turning toward us first so that we can apprehend the Gospel of a crucified and risen Lord. 

The only Son of God was born not just to die but to be crucified. He came to atone for sin with his blood ... the sin that causes blindness, deaf ears, and lame living. He came to drown your sin, and to destroy death itself. He came to raise us all into New Life. Jesus not only washes away your sin in baptism ... he forgives your sin with his body and blood given and shed for you. That is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. Your sin, my sin, the world’s sin ... yesterday’s sin, today’s sin, tomorrow’s sin ... it all was punished in the body of Jesus. Thus, it is no more. Jesus lived for you, died for you, and was raised for your justification. 

He is now risen! Risen indeed! Hallelujah! 

And now the true reformation can continue. The Gospel is being preached and the sacraments are being administered in accord with God’s Word. Together, God’s Word and Sacraments, which are one and the same thing, proclaim the Gospel boldly. So thank God that he offers these means to us, and have confidence in what he says they do for you. They reform us so that we are free to be the people of God, holy and dearly loved.

The one having ears, let him hear (v 15) ... in Jesus’ name.