3rd Sunday in Advent + Matthew 11:2-10 + December 16, 2018
In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, “ Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another? ” These men doubted whether Jesus could actually be the promised Messiah. John had preached, “ One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire ” ( Luke 3:16-17). None of that was happening. Jesus preached repentance, just as John had done. But there was no baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, at least at that point. There was not sweeping out the threshing floor in judgment. Jesus had not gathered the wheat, believers, into His heavenly garner while burning the chaff, unbelievers, in unquenchable fire. That would come at Christ’s second ...