Review of Martin Luther's Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent

This study reviews Martin Luther's Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent, discussing John the Baptist's faith in Christ and the importance of gospel and faith in leading a righteous life.

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Theology and Religious Studies
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1THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Theology can be described as the study of the ancient discipline along with the
momentous social significance in the world today. The major themes of theology include
eschatology, salvation and world. The word theology is translated from the Greek work
theologia, which means the utterances of God. The Christian theology explicitly deals with the
study of Christianity and the related belief and practice. Such studies are related and dependent
on the New Testament and Old Testament1. This study is based on reviewing a sermon presented
by Martin Luther called the “Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent”.
Review of Sermon- the sermon of Martin Luther begins with the question that John puts
towards Christ. Luther threw the question that how come John the Baptist recognised Jesus to be
the Christ. Considering the fact that there was no one else who was claiming to be the Messiah.
Thus, it was natural for John to ask about whether Jesus is the Christ. This section of the sermon
can be explicitly found in Luke 7: 18-23. Here, John the Baptist directs his followers to go to
Jesus whether he is the Messiah. Jesus replied by saying that go tell John that what have you
seen regarding people are cured of leprosy, the crippled can walk, the blind can see and the dead
are brought back to life2.
Now, to elaborate the whole incident on why John asked about Jesus being the Christ is
that Christ at the period of time was not very known to the people but only to John. Also, at that
time, no other person performed any miracle, no person was highly esteemed other than John
himself. While one important aspect that was mentioned in the sermon of Luther is that people at
that time used to revere John and he used to preach the word of God to the mass. John used to
1 Ox.ac.uk. "Theology And Religion | University Of Oxford". Ox.Ac.Uk, Last modified 2018.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/theology-and-religion?wssl=1.
2 Trinitylutheranms.org. "Third Sunday In Advent; Matthew 11,2-10". Trinitylutheranms.Org, Last modified 2018.
http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/mlsemt11.html.

2THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
say the mass that he must decrease himself so that Christ can rise up. However, people were
reluctant to accept Jesus as their new found leader. People used to fear that their beloved leader
(John the Baptist) would grow less in esteem. John was even willing to let his disciples point
away from himself to Jesus. Thus, the important part is that why would John be willing to send
his disciples to Jesus. The reason was clear, John wanted to convey the message that being
dependent on Christ is far better than being dependent on John. It was clear to John that being
now matter hoe pious man can be, without Christ there is no remedy. John the Baptist, actually
was kind to his disciples because he could see the weak faith of the disciples and he wanted their
faith to grow strong. Although it is clear John does want to condemn the faith of his disciples
even though they were weak. Thus, it can be said that the men should deal with their consciences
that are entangled within the regulations and examples of the pious men until they are freed3.
When the disciples of John came to Jesus, they asked him about the identity of Christ.
Jesus asked the disciples about the miracles that they have seen. Jesus also told the disciples to
deliver the same message to John about what they have witnessed. Jesus replied with both the
words and deeds. This an important considering the situation that Jesus answered in a twofold
way. First by the works and then by his words. Jesus did the same thing when he replied to the
queries of the Jews in the temple. Jesus wanted to imply that the even though we have not seen
me but if we want to believe him then we must believe his works and this is explicitly mentioned
in John 10,24. It is also logically more accurate to consider the works of Christ because the
works of Jesus were no less than a miracle and it was not being accomplished anybody before.
3 jw.org, "John Wants To Hear From Jesus", Jw.Org, Last modified 2018,
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/ministry-in-galilee/john-the-baptist-asks-about-jesus/.

3THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Secondly, the works have already been predicted and thus there was a need for the people to
believe on to such work4.
Priests and the kings were anointed by the Priesthood and Kingdom. Thus it is necessary to
bring highlight that Isaiah said that this King will be anointed by the God himself. Isaiah had
already said that the deaf will be able to hear, lame will be able to walk and blind will be able to
see and the dumb will speak again. Thus, the predictions were correct and the people were able
to see them with their eyes. Thus after comparing the scriptures with the prophecies, it has can be
said that the John’s witnessed the works of Christ and found that Jesus is the true messiah5.
Major Points- Jesus has said try to follow what the Pharisees are trying to teach and convey but
do not follow their life, because they are hypocrites. They themselves know the truth but still,
they will not follow the truth. The sermon also talks about the difference between law and gospel
and laws are the words that the God teaches us to follow. For example, the Ten Commandments
are the laws that act as a guide for Christian life. The laws became a part of Christian life right
from the time when Adam had sinned in the paradise. Thus, the humans require a law to guide
their life and their path in order to achieve salvation as because it is always easy to lead a sinful
life. However, this law will prevent and hinder a person from committing a sin. Gospel, on the
other hand, is like a daily bread which helps a Christian to stay alive. Gospel act as inspiration
and a force to reckon with, because gospels are actually the word of God. Next, in the sermon,
Martin Luther mentions about the doctrine of faith and good works. Gospels teach us two
different teachings, one is love and the other is faith. Thus, we have two options, whether we can
exercise faith or extol faith. Thus, it can be said that the love will bestow good works upon our
4 jw.org. "John Wants To Hear From Jesus". Jw.Org, Last modified 2018.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/ministry-in-galilee/john-the-baptist-asks-about-jesus/.
5 mormon.org, "Prophets From The Bible And Their Prophecies", Mormon.Org, Last modified 2018,
https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/bible-prophecies.

4THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
neighbour and faith receives good works of Christ. Firstly, faith will increase when Christ will
hold forth a person in his natural work. When Christ attached himself with the blind, lepers, deaf,
poor and dead; then it will be a pure show of love for the people in misery and need. Christ will
be seen nothing but a refuge and as a consolation for the distressed and the ones that are troubled
in conscience. Thus the believers in Christ can feel an increase in faith when they rely upon the
gospel as their daily food6.
Thus, form the above study it can be concluded that theology and the religious studies deal with
the study of the holy scriptures. The scriptures are the word of God that acts as gospel and daily
bread for the Christians. Believing in the gospel help the believers in increasing their faith and
lead a righteous life. This study deals with one of the sermons presented by Martin Luther and it
speaks about the John the Baptist his perceptions regarding the Messiah. Along with the John the
Baptists' faith upon the Christ, he also wanted his disciples to have the similar kind of faith upon
the Christ.
6 Bucey, Camden. "The Benefits Of The Gospel Are In Christ". Reformed Forum, Last modified 2018.
https://reformedforum.org/benefits-gospel-christ/.

5THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Bucey, Camden. "The Benefits Of The Gospel Are In Christ". Reformed Forum, Last modified
2018. https://reformedforum.org/benefits-gospel-christ/.
jw.org. "John Wants To Hear From Jesus". Jw.Org, Last modified 2018.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/ministry-in-galilee/john-the-baptist-asks-about-
jesus/.
mormon.org. "Prophets From The Bible And Their Prophecies". Mormon.Org, Last modified
2018. https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/bible-prophecies.
Ox.ac.uk. "Theology And Religion | University Of Oxford". Ox.Ac.Uk, Last modified 2018.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/theology-and-religion?wssl=1.
Trinitylutheranms.org. "Third Sunday In Advent; Matthew 11,2-10". Trinitylutheranms.Org,
Last modified 2018.
http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/mlsemt11.html.