Sermon for Advent 4

Philippians 4:4-7  +  John 1:19-28

Last week we heard Malachi’s prophecy about John the Baptist: “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” There it was Jesus identifying John as God’s messenger. In today’s Gospel, we hear John identifying himself in the same way from a similar prophecy found in the book of Isaiah: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD!” On this, our final Sunday of the Advent season, we turn to John the Baptist once more, examining his ministry to see how he prepared the people of Israel for Jesus’ first coming. Because the same preparations are necessary for us, as we await Christ’s second coming, and as we would seek to celebrate His coming at Christmas in just a few days. Let John prepare the way for you to meet the Lord.

John’s role in God’s plan of salvation was unique. As we just saw, he was more than just a prophet. He was the prophet who was to hold the door open, as it were, for the Messiah, as the herald of His arrival. And he began to perform that service even before he was born!

When newly pregnant Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth, who was already six months pregnant with John, Elizabeth informed Mary that as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Yes, already in his mother’s womb, John was filled with the Holy Spirit, as the angel Gabriel had told John’s father Zacharias that he would be. There he was, already celebrating the arrival of the One who was greater than he, rejoicing in the salvation Mary’s Son would bring, and showing us that, even in his or her mother’s womb, it’s possible for a little baby to have faith in Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word.

Some thirty years later, John headed out into the wilderness to live by himself. But not to be alone! He traveled up and down the Jordan River, preaching to all who came by, and his powerful preaching attracted more and more people. In fact, St. Mark begins his Gospel of Jesus’ life with the ministry of John the Baptist: John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. John was fulfilling what the angel had foretold about him: He came in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, waking them up from their spiritual slumber. They had forgotten about the Lord for too long, had neglected their souls for too long, had become too focused on this world, with its pleasures, and with its troubles. Here’s a sample of his preaching:

“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. A strong warning to repent, to turn away from their sins before the Lord comes in judgment. But also strong comfort in this new Sacrament called “baptism,” which God had directly sent John to administer, through which God promised to forgive them their sins. Finally, a strong warning not to go on sinning after receiving God’s forgiveness, but to mend their ways and bear fruit consistent with repentance. In other words, if you say you’re sorry for living in adultery, then stop living in adultery! If you say you’re sorry for stealing, stop stealing! If you say you’re sorry for neglecting God’s Word, then stop neglecting it!

After preaching for many months to sinners who needed to repent and receive God’s forgiveness, John was surprised to see Jesus finally step forward to be baptized—the only man in history who had no need of repentance or of forgiveness. We’ll hear about that in a few weeks, during the Epiphany season. After He was baptized, Jesus disappeared for the next 40 days to face the devil’s temptations alone in the wilderness. The events of our Gospel apparently took place just as those 40 days were coming to an end, as Jesus was just about to return.

Well, the scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders in Jerusalem) hadn’t yet heard of this “Jesus.” But they had heard a lot about John and were nervous about his popularity with the people of Judea. So they sent to ask him who he was and by whose authority he was preaching and baptizing—because they certainly hadn’t authorized it! As you heard in today’s Gospel, John didn’t for a moment claim to be more than he was. In fact, he came right out and denied being the Christ. But what he claimed about himself was still extremely important. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD!” That meant that the Lord was just about to appear on the scene. And, sure enough, the next day, He did!

But before we move forward, we should pause and consider what John meant when he said to the Pharisees’ envoys, “I baptize with water, but there stands among you One whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” John had said something similar earlier, Yes, I baptize you with water unto 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 fire.

Evangelical churches tend to teach wrongly about “water baptism.” They make it something inferior to the “real” Baptism, which, according to them, has nothing to do with water. But was John’s baptism inferior to Jesus’ baptism because John baptized “with water”? No, it wasn’t inferior. It was a “baptism for the forgiveness of sins,” according to Scripture. Jesus would soon institute a similar water baptism “for the forgiveness of sins,” and it’s this “water baptism” that is a “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” as St. Paul writes. Baptism in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is and has always been “water Baptism.” So there’s nothing insignificant about it!

But, as John says, Jesus would also “baptize with the Holy Spirit.” In fact, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus explained to His apostles exactly what that meant: For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. He was referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the believers on the day of Pentecost—the same Spirit who is now given in connection with “water Baptism,” as Peter told the crowds on the day of Pentecost: Repent and be baptized…for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

As for the baptizing “with fire,” that’s referring to Jesus sending forth His Gospel into the world after the Day of Pentecost, a Gospel that would spread like wildfire as the Holy Spirit accompanies the Word of God and works through it to spread the kingdom of God. As Jesus once said, I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

So John wasn’t minimizing his divinely-ordained baptism. He was simply confessing to the Pharisees that the Christ would do far, far more than he would. While John baptized a relatively small number of people in the Jordan River, the Christ, who was far superior to him, would send the Spirit of God to convert sinners to repentance throughout the world.

The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, apparently returning from His 40-day fast in the wilderness, and John told some of his disciples, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Finally, Jesus had arrived on the scene to begin His ministry, and John was the one holding the door open for Him, pointing people to the Christ who had come. From then on, John began to send his own disciples away to follow Jesus, the Savior of the world. From then on, John, as a faithful messenger, told people plainly, He must increase, and I must decrease… For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. In this way, John prepared the people of Israel to receive their Savior in repentance, in faith, and in joy.

His preaching prepares the way for us, too. “Christ is coming,” John declares. He’s almost here! It’s time to wake up from the daily routine that so easily lulls us to sleep. It’s time to hear the Word of God and truly pay attention to it. It’s time to recognize sin for the deadly snare that it is. It’s time to repent and, either be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, or cling to the promise God made to you when you were baptized, because Jesus is the Son of God, sent by the Father to save the fallen world, including you, the Lamb of God who took the sins of the world upon Himself and suffered for them on the cross, and who now holds out the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit of God. And, Christians, it’s time to bear fruit consistent with repentance, to live each day as the children of God, as the Christians you proclaim yourselves to be, because Christ is coming soon in judgment against the sinful world, and He’s given you this time before His coming to prepare, so that you may escape the judgment and go with Him, rejoicing, into a new and glorious world. This preaching, this message, is how John the Baptist prepared the people of Israel for the Lord’s first coming. May it also serve to prepare you, so that you may be a people ready to receive the Lord on the Last Day, and before then, a people ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth. Amen.

Source: Sermons

Sermon for Advent 4 – Rorate Coeli

Philippians 4:4-7  +  John 1:19-28

The King is coming! Jesus, the King, is coming! And He’s almost here. In just a few days, we’ll celebrate His first coming. But we always, always need to be preparing for His second coming. And so we turn to the preacher of preachers, John the Baptist, for help, because just as God used him to prepare the people of Israel for Christ’s first coming, so He uses the preachers who follow in John’s footsteps to prepare the Church for Christ’s second coming.

Last week we met John, at the end of his ministry, in prison, sending his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was, in fact, the One who was to come. Today we go back in time a couple of years, to when John first began to preach and to baptize, before Jesus began His own ministry being baptized by John. Who was this strange preacher, living out in the desert, wearing camel-skin clothing, eating a diet of locusts and wild honey, who came “neither eating nor drinking” at banquets or feasts, but led a solitary, ascetic life?

John tells us the most important thing about himself in today’s Gospel. Who was he? He was the preacher, the voice, who made straight the Lord’s way, and in that way, he was the model for all preachers who would come after him.

If you recall, John had been making straight the way of the Lord since before he was born. When the newly pregnant virgin Mary greeted her relative Elizabeth, the baby John leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, announcing to his mother that they were even then in the presence of the Lord.

Some thirty years later, John would leave his home and go out into the wilderness to continue preparing the Lord’s way. His strange lifestyle and his bold preaching began to draw people out to him from all over Israel, until large crowds were gathering around him on a regular basis to hear him. Many were also baptized by him. That got the attention of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They were supposed to be in charge of the Church of Israel, but they had never sent John out to preach, and certainly not to baptize. So they sent a delegation out to him, to question him.

Who are you? they asked. And he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” The Apostle John is careful to note John’s testimony, emphasizing his strong confession that he was not the Christ. He was not the one Israel was supposed to be waiting for or hoping in or trusting in.

Not the Christ…Then, are you Elijah? No. Not Elijah. The prophet Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come ahead of the Lord, and according to Jesus, John was that figurative Elijah. But he wasn’t the literal, famous, miracle-working prophet who was taken to heaven with a fiery chariot some 800 years earlier. That would have made John something supernatural and impressive. But he didn’t want or claim that kind of fame.

Are you the prophet? they asked, apparently referring to the prophet about whom Moses had prophesied: The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. That was a reference to the Christ Himself, which they didn’t seem to understand. No, John said. I’m not the Prophet. In every way possible, John pointed away from himself, not seeking popularity, not seeking fame, not wanting at all to be the center of attention, except for the briefest moment, as people focus briefly on a road sign telling them which way to go, and then the sign has served its purpose and is quickly and appropriately left behind in the background.

John’s only desire was to be a sign like that. He told them, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.

There were three ways in which John did that “making straight the way.”

First, he preached repentance. He preached to the Jews, but we’re told that Roman soldiers also came to hear him. He told them what God’s holy Law demanded of them: obedience to the Ten Commandments, and he wasn’t afraid to point out that they had all gone astray, and where. He preached especially against adultery and sexual sins, against mistreating others, against stealing from others, against deceitful business practices. He exposed the people’s sin of putting their own interests first and taking advantage of one another. And he exposed the many ways they committed idolatry, not with idols of wood and stone anymore, but with idols of money, idols of family, idols of tradition, idols of pride in themselves. He warned them to repent, to recognize and to turn from their sins, before God came against them in judgment. And so John made straight the Lord’s way, so that He might come with healing and forgiveness for the penitent.

Second, John baptized the penitent. Mark and Luke both describe John’s baptism as a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Those who confessed their sins, those who wanted God’s forgiveness and who wanted to amend their sinful lives, were invited to be baptized by John, to be baptized with water as a means by which God would wash away their sins and make them ready for Christ, who would actually take their sins on Himself and pay for them, eventually, on the cross.

Third, John pointed the people of Israel toward the Christ, who was already on the earth at that time and was just about to reveal Himself. He said, There stands among you one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, who has been ahead of me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie. Don’t look at me, John said. I’m only here for a moment to point you to Him. He is the great One. He is the Savior. He is the Lord, true God and the Son of God. He is the One who remains forever and whose word does not pass away. He’s the One we’ve all been waiting for. Hope in Him. Trust in Him, and you will not be disappointed.

And so John has become a model for all the true Christians preachers who have come after him, so that he, through us, continues to make straight the Lord’s way in the hearts and lives of all who hear, so that, when Christ comes again, He may come in deliverance for us instead of judgment against us.

First, like John, true Christian preachers preach repentance. They point out sin—the sin that dwells in your flesh and influences your every thought, word, and deed. They preach against obvious sins, and they preach against secret sins, including self-righteousness and hypocrisy. They warn you of God’s coming wrath against sinners. They urge you to “change your mind” about sin (that’s what the Greek word “repentance” actually means), to view it, no longer as something desirable or innocent, but as something ugly, harmful, and detestable.

Second, like John, true Christian preachers preach and administer Baptism, God’s indescribable gift to mankind, where He invites penitent sinners to wash and to actually be made clean, to be forgiven for the sake of Christ, by being united with Christ in His death and in His resurrection. And now we also have that other great Sacrament, the Sacrament of the Altar, where Christ gives His body and blood with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins.

Finally, like John, true Christian preachers point away from themselves. They may make much of their ministry, as St. Paul also did, but they don’t make much of themselves. They don’t make much of their opinions, or their personal stories, or their degrees, or their charisma. They don’t seek the spotlight for themselves. Don’t look at me! Instead, look at Jesus Christ, the One who came, true God and true Man, who suffered for you and died for you that you might live forever with Him. They point to Jesus Christ, the One who is now to be sought, not standing among you, not whispering in your ear, but speaking to you through the Word and ministering to you through the Office of the Holy Ministry. They point to Jesus Christ, the One who is coming again soon, the One whose Advent you should be expecting and longing for, far more earnestly than any earthly success or joy or relief.

So make straight the Lord’s way! Make sure you’re not living in any form of impenitence or idolatry, but, in daily contrition and repentance, drown the Old Man and let him die. And rise again as the Christians God has made you to be, to live according to the New Man, who follows in the earthly footsteps of Jesus, determined to live for God, to suffer for God, to live as a holy person in the world. Then you will be ready to follow in the heavenly footsteps of Christ, the King, when He comes. Hope in Him! Trust in Him! Rejoice in Him! The King is coming soon! Amen.

Source: Sermons