Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
In this episode of The Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on four apologetical themes that appear in the Liturgy of the Word for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A: 1) The divinity of Jesus; 2) The nature of Christian baptism; 3) Hell; and 4) The importance of good works once we’re converted. All four themes come from the Gospel reading from Matthew 3:1-12.
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Voiceover:
This is the Sunday Catholic Word, a production of Catholic Answers, the only podcast to look at the Sunday mass readings from an apologetics perspective.
Karlo Broussard:
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending our Catholic faith. In other Words, what are the details that are relevant to doing apologetics? I’m Karlo Broussard, staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers and the host for this podcast.
In this episode, we’re going to focus on four apologetical themes that arise out of the liturgy of the Word for the Second Sunday of Advent, year A. All four themes come from the gospel reading, which is Matthew 3:1-12. So I’ll read the gospel passage and then our outline by way of summary, and introduction the four apologetical themes, and then we’ll dive into each.
Here’s the gospel reading, starting Matthew 3:1, “In those days, John the Baptist appeared preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ It was of him that the Prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said, ‘A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.’ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
“At that time, Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance and do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now, the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire, His winnowing fan in His hand. He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.'”
Now, the four apologetic themes that we’re going to talk about here is as follows. First, the divinity of Jesus. The second is the nature of Christian baptism. The third is the topic of hell. And the fourth is the importance of good works once we are converted, once we’re initially saved.
So let’s start with the divinity of Jesus. Here, Matthew tells us about John the Baptist ministry of preaching and baptism in the wilderness. And then in verse three, he identifies John the Baptist as the fulfillment of an Isaian oracle from Isaiah chapter 40, verse three, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” That John the Baptist fulfills this Isaian Oracle is affirmed by the other three gospels as well. Check out Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23.
Now, what’s interesting is that the context of this Isaian prophecy involves a voice crying on in the desert to prepare a way for God, Yahweh, the Almighty, to return to Jerusalem and to begin His reign and reveal His glory to all the world. Check out Isaiah 40:5 and 9-11. So just a little hint, here. Verse five, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” Verses nine through 10, “Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God, behold the Lord God comes with might.'”
So, here’s the thought. If the voice is preparing a way for God, Yahweh, and the gospel writers, here in Matthew in particular, present John the Baptist as that voice preparing a way for Jesus, then what does that reveal about how the gospel writers view Jesus? They believed He was God. This is a way in which Matthew is telling his audience, his readers, that Jesus is Almighty God. He is the Lord who shall be revealed. He is the Lord God who comes with might, referring to Isaiah chapter 40:5 and 9-10. So He is the almighty whose way is prepared by this voice whom Matthew identifies as John the Baptist. So, clear indication that Matthew believes Jesus is divine or that He is God made flesh.
Now, our next apologetical theme is the nature of Christian baptism. And this, of course, comes about in light of Matthew talking about John the Baptist baptizing and the nature of his baptism. So notice in verse 11, Matthew records John the Baptist saying, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Clearly, there’s something about John’s baptism that lacks what Jesus’s baptism will bring, namely the Holy Spirit.
Now, think about this. John’s baptism is merely a sign of repentance and did not communicate the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s baptism, on the other hand, will be different. It will not be merely a sign, but it will be a sign of repentance that actually communicates the Holy Spirit. So if we were to put this line of reasoning into a syllogism, it would run like this.
Premise one: if Jesus’s baptism were purely symbolic… And the baptism that we’re talking about here, by the way, is the baptism that He commands the apostles to go out and perform in Matthew chapter 28:19. That is what the early Christians and the New Testament authors refer to as Jesus’s baptism, right? Not His baptism in the Jordan River, but the baptism that His ordained ministers are going to administer. Again, if Jesus’s baptism were purely or merely symbolic, well then it would be no different than John’s baptism.
Premise two: but Jesus’s baptism is clearly different than John’s baptism. Given John the Baptist teaching, Jesus will come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit. The implication being that the baptism that I’m giving you and administering to you does not give the Holy Spirit. So Jesus’ baptism is clearly different than John’s baptism. Therefore, the conclusion, Jesus’s baptism is not purely or merely symbolic.
Now, we have further supporting evidence of this so we can go beyond this gospel passage and supplement what we have here in this gospel passage with more evidence to underscore the idea that Jesus’s baptism is not merely a symbol of repentance but is doing something more in communicating the Holy Spirit. So check out Acts 2:38. On the day of Pentecost, when 3000 people were moved to repentance and requested what must they do to be saved, Peter says this, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” And you shall receive what? The gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the gift of the Holy Spirit is promised to be given in response to them being baptized.
And we can even go to Paul’s exchange with new believers in Ephesus in Acts 19:2-5, when we see the same thing: the Holy Spirit being a gift communicated through baptism. Upon meeting these new believers in Ephesus, Paul asks them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And then the men respond, “No, we’ve never even heard that there’s a Holy Spirit.” And then Paul immediately asks them, “Well then, into what then were you baptized?” The men answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Luke then records in verse five, “On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” The phrase “in the name of the Lord Jesus” refers to Jesus’s baptism. That’s to say a baptism administered with Jesus’s authority. And this becomes clear when we juxtapose it with the believer’s statement that they were baptized into John’s baptism.
It’s the kind of baptism received that’s in question. And notice that Paul assumes these men would have received the Holy Spirit if they had received Jesus’s baptism. The implication being that Jesus’s baptism gives the Holy Spirit unlike John’s baptism. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?” “No.” “Whoa. In whose name were you baptized?” “In John’s baptism.” “Oh, well, you need to be baptized with Jesus’s baptism, in the name of Jesus.” In other words, with John’s baptism, you did not receive the Holy Spirit. With Jesus’s baptism, you will receive the Holy Spirit. That’s what’s going on here.”
And it’s not just that they should have received the Holy Spirit, but notice it’s also that they should have heard of the Holy Spirit. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?” “Well, you never even heard of the Holy Spirit.” “Well, in whose name were you baptized?” In other words, if they were baptized with Jesus’ baptism, not only would they have received the Holy Spirit, but they would have heard of the Holy Spirit.
As we saw there in the exchange, upon hearing that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit, Paul immediately inquires as to which baptism they received. Again, implying that if they had received Christian baptism, the baptism of Jesus, they would have heard of the Holy Spirit. And of course, the only way that they could have heard of the Holy Spirit in receiving Christian baptism or Jesus’s baptism is if the Trinitarian formula was being used for such baptism. So there we have an implicit hint that even in the ministry of Paul, these Christians were baptizing folks with the Trinitarian formula. That was the formula that these early Christians were using. “In the name of Jesus” signifies “with the authority of Jesus.” Jesus’s baptism distinct from John’s baptism. That’s what “in the name of Jesus” refers to: with Jesus’s baptism. But the formula being used was the Trinitarian formula as implied in this exchange between Paul and these believers in Ephesus.
So the juxtaposition between John’s baptism and Jesus’s baptism in this upcoming Sunday’s gospel reading provides us with evidence that Christian baptism is not merely a symbol of repentance as some Christians assert it is, but rather it’s a symbol that communicates divine realities such as the Holy Spirit and all of the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings with Him. So if one is to say that baptism is merely a symbol, well then that baptism is no different than John’s baptism. But clearly, the baptism that Jesus comes to administer is different than John’s baptism. Therefore, Jesus’s baptism is not merely a symbol like John’s baptism.
Okay, let’s now focus on the topic of hell. Matthew records John the Baptist describing Jesus as follows: His winnowing fork is in His hand and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the grainery, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire, there in verse 12. Now, one would think that the unquenchable fire means or refers to hell, right? But there’s a counter-argument here or an objection. One would say, “Well, maybe the fire is not the fire of hell, but rather a metaphor indicating in general the punishment reserve for those who do not take the present opportunity. So, more of a temporary punishment rather than an eternal punishment. Now, one would respond and say, “Well, the scripture says it’s unquenchable. It’s an unquenchable fire, so that would indicate it’s an everlasting fire, therefore not a temporary fire. And consequently, not a temporary punishment, but an everlasting punishment.” That’s basically what we mean by hell.
Now, in response, or as a counter, someone might say, “Well, wait a minute. You can have an unquenchable fire and it still not be a reference to hell.” How so? Well, you have the unquenchable fire, the fire that’s burning everlasting. And then the person is put in the fire, but then taken out of the fire. Put in the fire for some time temporarily and then taken out. So maybe that’s what’s going on here. But the problem with this counter is that in verse 10, the tree is said to be thrown into the fire. That tree that is thrown into the fire, it is cut at its root. The image of an ax cutting the tree at its root signifies more than just pruning, like a temporary punishment. It’s a felling of the entire tree. That’s permanent. There’s no suggestion that the cut tree is going to be replanted.
So it’s not only the unquenchable fire that indicates the reality of hell in this passage, it’s the unquenchable fire along with the image of the tree being cut at its root and thrown into the unquenchable fire, implying that the tree’s going to be totally, permanently cut down and permanently be placed in the unquenchable fire. And of course, that tree being planted that’s cut at its root is a reference or a metaphor to us. And you might even say here, you could take this and apply it to us Christians who are planted, who are rooted in Christ through our initial stage of salvation, but yet steal the possibility to be cut at its root, to be cut off from Christ and be thrown into the unquenchable fire. The implication being that it’s possible for a justified, saved Christian to lose the gift of salvation. Hints: yet another indication in the scriptures of the once saved, always saved doctrine being unbiblical. Another hint to refuting the eternal security doctrine. Given that the unquenchable fire is reasonably identified as the fires of hell, we have evidence that Jesus taught the real possibility of hell and its eternity.
Now we move to our last topic, and our last topic here is good works and their role in our salvation. What is this coming from? It’s coming from verse eight in the gospel passage where John tells the Pharisees bear fruit that befits repentance.
Let’s start off with what the church teaches. The Catholic church teaches that works have no meritorious value before our conversion, or that is to say before we are initially saved and enter into communion with Christ. The catechism states this in paragraph 2020. “Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification at the beginning of conversion.” The implication being it’s only after our conversion initiated by grace that our works begin to have meritorious value. Again, the catechism teaches in paragraph 2010, “Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity and for the attainment of eternal life.”
Notice our works have meritorious value for increasing grace and charity and attaining eternal life only after our initial conversion, only after we have been incorporated into Christ and thus received charity by the Holy Spirit and sanctifying grace, because it is only charity that is the principle and virtue of which we can actually merit an increase of grace and charity and the attainment of eternal life in heaven.
Now, what does this all have to do with John saying, “Bear fruit that befits repentance”? Well, it has everything to do with it. As the catechism teaches, repentance is entirely due to God’s initiative of giving the grace. But after that repentance, good works are necessary. Since our works not only express what’s in the heart but flow from our hearts, this being the case, if the work is not befitting of repentance, then the heart is not truly repentant and thus not saved.
So as John says, “Bear fruit that befits repentance. Repentance is the initiating stage of entering into communion with Christ by God’s grace. And after that repentance, after that initial conversion, we must bear fruit, bearing fruit that will merit, in virtue of the principle of charity, increase of grace and charity and the attainment of eternal life.
Well, that does it, my friends, for this episode. We have four themes here to take to heart and share with others in this upcoming Sunday’s liturgy of the Word: the divinity of Jesus, the nature of Christian baptism, the reality of hell, and the importance of good works in the Christian life. Thank you for subscribing to the podcast. And my friends, please be sure to tell your friends about it and invite them to subscribe as well. And be on the lookout for next week’s episode, and I hope that you have a great and blessed Second Sunday of Advent. God bless you.
Voiceover:
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