Companies pay big money to get their product endorsed by a famous face. We see these ‘celebrity endorsements’ all the time in the media – especially at this time of year, in the run up to Christmas. (Andy Murray seems to feature in a lot of adverts this year, for example, following the end of his tennis career!)
As the divinely appointed witness to the Messiah, it was John the Baptist’s task to offer a first-century celebrity endorsement of Jesus of Nazareth. John’s celebrity credentials are alluded to in our gospel reading this morning, from Matthew chapter 11. John is identified as a true prophet, as a new Elijah, as the last in a long line of divine spokesmen stretching back centuries through the long history of Israel.
Indeed, Jesus goes so far as to say that ‘among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist’ (Matt 11:11). With his powerful preaching and his camel’s hair clothing, John was ‘a voice in the wilderness’ who drew a crowd. He was a famous face with a unique endorsement to offer.
Of course, what John came to promote was not a Christmas present but a person. His vocation was to herald the coming of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel reading explicitly identifies John’s ministry as the fulfilment of Malachi’s famous prophecy: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you’ (Matt 11:10, c.f. Mal 3:1).
In each of the Gospels we read of John’s remarkable testimony to the authority and power of Jesus, an authority and power far in excess of his own:
- ‘One who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ says John in Luke’s Gospel (Lk 3:16);
- ‘I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit’ are words of John recorded by Mark (Mk 1:8); and
- ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ is how the Baptist describes Jesus in John’s Gospel (Jn 1:29)
Taken together, John the Baptist’s testimony constitutes an astonishing endorsement of Jesus of Nazareth, a powerful witness to his Messianic identity.
But I wonder whether we truly believe John’s endorsement of Jesus? After all, its easy to doubt many of the extravagant claims made by celebrity salespersons on TV! Indeed, it would seem that John himself had second thoughts about the identity of the Messiah. Because after his imprisonment by Herod Antipas, John sent a message to Jesus, asking: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ (Matt 11:3).
Languishing in Herod’s jail, having been imprisoned for criticising Harod’s marriage to his brother’s wife, John seems to have and doubts about Jesus’ identity. Had John put his eggs in the wrong basket? Had he placed his faith in the right person?
In response to John’s questions and concerns, Jesus supplies compelling evidence for his Messianic identity. Evidence that should reassure us today, just as it did for John and his first disciples.
Listen again to Jesus’ words in verses 4 to 6: ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.’
These miraculous events demonstrated that Jesus really was the Messiah. They represented the fulfilment of multiple Old Testament prophecies – including the one from Isaiah 35 we heard in our first reading this morning. For Isaiah had said that when the Lord comes to his people, “the eyes of the blind [will] be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
In other words:
- Christ’s miracles were compelling evidence of the kingdom of God that Jesus had come to inaugurate.
- Jesus’ healings were a foretaste of the perfect world that will be ushered in when he comes again in glory.
- Jesus’ miraculous abilities were a signpost to his divine identity as the Son of God.
In short, Jesus truly possessed all the qualities claimed in John’s celebrity endorsement. No wonder Jesus says in verse 6: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me”. Or, to phrase it more clearly, Jesus is saying:“Happy are those who have no doubts about me!” John the Baptist need not have any doubts about Jesus – and nor should we.
Indeed, unlike John the Baptist, we stand on the other side of Jesus’ greatest miracle – his own resurrection – a miracle which provides the ultimate confirmation of his identity, and the supreme vindication of all his claims.
And Jesus’ miraculous power to change lives hasn’t gone away since John the Baptist’s day. Even today, in 2025, Jesus offers us all sight, healing and life:
• Jesus can give us true SIGHT – by enabling us to see clearly what God is really like.
• Jesus also offers us deep HEALING – by taking away our guilt and shame, granting us full forgiveness and reconciling us our heavenly Father.
• Thirdly, Jesus offers us new LIFE – by showing us how to live “life to the full”. And its a life that will go on forever, because the risen Christ, the conqueror of the grave, offers his people everlasting existence in the Kingdom of Heaven – where sickness and disease will be no more.
And so, this Advent season, we need not ‘stumble’ over Jesus. We need not doubt his identity nor question his power to save. We can have complete confidence in the person and work of Christ. We can wholeheartedly commend Jesus to our community, just as John did.
May we all be faithful witnesses to Christ this festive season, by speaking of him to our family, friends and neighbours. One easy way to do this is to invite them along to one of our Christmas services – whether its to our Christingle this afternoon, to our Carol service next Sunday evening, or to one of our special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Advent provides ample opportunity to bring those we know and love within earshot of the Gospel. As they attend services here at St John’s this festive season, may they discover the ‘Christ’ in Christmas!