Bible Passage: Matthew 11:2-6
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: December 14, 2025

Bulletin – December 14, 2025

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Last week we heard about John the Baptist.  We heard how John the Baptist came on the scene in the spirit and power of Elijah and preached repentance to the people.  We heard how he baptized people for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan River.  We heard how he pointed people to the One coming after him, the One whose sandals John felt unworthy to untie.

Today we see what his preaching and baptizing got him.  It got him thrown in jail!  John’s preaching had upset King Herod, so Herod imprisoned him.  And it is from prison that John sends two of his disciples to Jesus with a question.  It really is THE question!  The question they are to ask Jesus is this:  Are you the Coming One or should we wait for someone else? (v. 3)

Now, there are some who are unsettled by this action of John.  Could John really be asking this question?  They will try to insulate John.  They will explain, “John was really doing this for the sake of the two disciples.  John just wanted them to know for sure.”  But it is not impossible that John needed reassurance.  He had discharged the ministry given to him by God.  He had proclaimed the Kingdom of God come near.  He had proclaimed the advent of the Messiah-King.  It was all going so well.  At this point one might have expected to hear, “And they all lived happily ever after.”  But here he is, the Forerunner of the Christ, rotting in prison.  “Jesus, is this the plan?  Are you really the One?  Should I be pointing at someone else and saying, ‘Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’?”

Maybe you have asked the question in your heart.  You are a thinking person.  You have thought about the fact there are many religions on the planet, each one convinced they are right.  Maybe you have asked John’s question:  Is Jesus the One?  Let’s see how Jesus dealt with the question.

John’s two disciples come to Jesus and ask John’s question, Are you the Coming One or should we wait for someone else?  Upon hearing this question, Jesus does not erupt in an angry outburst, “Impertinence!  How dare you ask such a question of me!” Jesus answers these two disciples of John!  Jesus answered them, “Go, report to John what you hear and see.” (v. 4)  Jesus doesn’t just tell them, “Well, you go and tell John that I said…”  He sends them back as witnesses.  “Go, report to John what you have seen with your own eyeballs and heard with your own ears.”

The events that are the basis of the Christian faith – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – can all be verified by eye witnesses!  The apostle John emphasizes this very thing in the opening words of his first letter:  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard. (1 John 1:1-3a)  Or consider just the resurrection of Jesus.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes about the many witnesses who saw Jesus alive after his death:  He was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve.  After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:4-6)  Is Jesus the one?  The most powerful evidence in any court of law is eye witness testimony.  The saving acts of Jesus Christ are backed up by eye witness testimony!

So Jesus sends the disciples back as witnesses.  And here is what they have seen and heard:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor. (v. 5-6)  Do Jesus’ words sound familiar?  They should.  You just heard some of them in the Old Testament lesson today from Isaiah 35.  Jesus’ answer also draws from Isaiah 61.  Jesus points them to the predictive prophecies of the Old Testament.  He points them to the fact they are seeing him fulfill these prophecies!  There can be only one conclusion.  “Jesus is the One!”

Fulfillment of prophecy is a powerful evidence that Jesus is the one.  Estimates vary about how many prophecies there are in the Old Testament about the Messiah.  It all depends on how you define “prophecy.”  For example, do you count the Passover lamb as a “prophecy”?  It certainly finds fulfillment in Jesus.  Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament that predict details about the Coming One.  It was prophesied that he would come from the family line of King David.  He would be born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem.  He would heal the sick and raise the dead.  He would be betrayed by someone close to him.  He would suffer violence but would not resist or protest.  He would be pierced for our transgressions.  He would die.  And he would rise again.  All of this was prophesied in advance!  I just mentioned nine prophecies.  A scholar and mathematician calculated the odds that one person would fulfill just eight prophesies is 1 in 10¹⁷.  That’s 10 with 17 zeroes after it!  Now remember, there are hundreds of prophecies that are all, and only, fulfilled in Jesus!  There can be no doubt…Jesus is the One!

The implications for us cannot be overstated!  God does not want you to sit in the prison-house of sin and guilt, of shame and fear, of doubt and uncertainty, and wonder, “Is Jesus the One?  Or should I be expecting someone else to save me?”  You can be certain!  God made promises!  God gave prophecies – hundreds of them!  Jesus fulfilled them all!  And there are witnesses who can corroborate the whole thing!  Be at rest, O troubled soul!  Jesus is the One!

Amen.