In another place Jesus says that the entire Old Testament is about Him and that we should find and hear of Him in every passage. Thus, Jesus speaks to us today of St. John the Baptizer, the last of the Old Prophets, being in prison and of Jesus preaching the Gospel to the poor.
Is that it? John the Baptizer; the man in the spirit of Elijah; the Forerunner of the Lord; able to pick out Jesus in a crowd and point the entire world to Him, is in prison and Jesus says,
“the blind receive
their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the
dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
In this reply to St. John, Jesus gives what the Messiah is to be about, when He comes. This list, in turn, comes from the Old Testament. St. Isaiah speaks of these things. However, Jesus leaves out something that St. Isaiah says, “…to bring out the prisoners from prison…” (42:7)
You can just hear St. John’s disciples, “Is that it?” All this time we have been waiting for this Coming One and He can’t even spring someone from the slammer? All this time waiting for the Lord’s Messiah and He sends us a man?
Adam and Eve, upon getting turned out of the Garden, heard the Lord say He would send a seed to crush the serpent’s head. Now they both were thinking that immediately, God would send this savior and get them back in the Garden that very afternoon. But, it didn’t happen that way. Is that it? Noah, knowing of the Seed, then had to witness the entire earth destroyed in a flood, but the Lord promised to save him and his family. Is that it?
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, and David all had promises made to them in increasing complexity all detailing and, one by one, revealing who the Christ of God would be. In this slow, sure process, the Lord kept His Promises to His people and kept promising them of the time of forgiveness.
This is the reason we light the Advent candles at the reading of the Old Testament. As God reveals more and more of His plan for salvation to His people, He never leaves them nor forsakes them. The Light of the Old Testament is constantly revealing who Jesus is and what He is doing.
So that when we get to Christmass, we have a little better idea of things, but it is only when we reach Easter that the full and perfected picture is revealed to us, after we have witnessed the cross of Christ.
But St. John has not, and will not, reach Easter, before he is beheaded. Just as we have not nor will we reach the Last Day, or even Christmass, unscathed or possibly even dead. Repent. Sin and death also cloud our vision of Salvation and we wonder if Jesus even knows who we are, doubting in His work that He came to do on the cross and always asking, “Is that it?!”
So what does it mean that the Old Testament is enough for salvation? Take a look at St. Isaiah 40, which we heard today. In it, St. Isaiah promises that Jerusalem’s warfare is ended and her iniquity is pardoned. That from the Lord’s hand, not her own, will she receive double.
The key is the Glory of the Lord in verse 5 and the Word of God standing forever in verse 8. We know who the Word of God is and we know that His glory is revealed on the cross as He sheds His precious blood for sinners. In St. Isaiah’s words, already, the Christ is Promised to suffer and die in order to Comfort God’s people. That would be you.
Last Sunday, Jesus spoke to us through St. Malachi, saying,
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with
healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.”
You can already guess that the sun of Righteousness is Jesus and the healing He wins for you is complete reconciliation with God. Again, Jesus is promised to us.
Finally, the First Sunday in Advent starts the season of preparation with St. Jeremiah. Through Him, Jesus says that He will raise up a Righteous Branch for David and in Him Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely.
Really, any Old Testament, as Jesus has said, proclaims the Gospel already planned, willing, and waiting for us all. And the Gospel is not, “accept Jesus as your personal Savior” or else you won’t be saved. The Gospel is that while we were yet dead in our sins, Christ died for us.
While St. John sits, rotting in prison; awaiting his execution; millions sit hungry, sick, persecuted, or oppressed. Jesus accomplishes His work of removing the power of sin, death, and the devil from the earth. Even though we may feel we are in the midst of those things, the Gospel is being preached, producing Faith. Though we sin, we are free. Though we die, we will live.
Our Savior lives. Our Righteous Branch, our Sun of Righteousness, and our Glory of the Lord has been lifted up upon a cross, brought low into the grave, and raised Himself three days later. True, we look back from the cross of Christ to see and hear all this correctly, but without the Old Testament, we would not have the full picture.
The next time you feel the need to question God asking, “Is this it”, meaning, “God, if you’re so powerful, shouldn’t you be able to get my job back, bring my loved one to health, or keep peace in the world”, the Lord will answer you , “Yes”.
Because He has accomplished all those things in Jesus. In Jesus the worker never has to work again, for God has given him the Priceless Treasure. In Jesus, the body never gets sick, for God has perfectly completed it. In Jesus, true and everlasting peace has been accomplished.
Jesus is God’s answer to all of life’s troubles, because, in Jesus, none of the troubles have any power or even exist. As long as we are in Christ and Christ is in us, the world has no pleasure I would share. For the Gospel has been and will continue to be preached to the poor. The poor of means, the poor in spirit, and the poor of fortune.
Therefore, the Gospel that the Old Testament preached to St. John the Baptist tells him, even though he is imprisoned, he is free; even though he faces his impending death, he will yet live and he has the very Words of Jesus to assure him.
We have Jesus’ testament in Body and Blood pointing us back to the cross, back to the Old Testament, and back to Jesus. For in this Supper, given by Jesus’ hand, we find the true medicine against sin and death in our lives. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also eternal life, light and salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment