SERM: Historic Advent 4 - John 1:19-28
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit Anticipation can be the pits. Ask any child right now if he is ready for Christmas and more than likely you’ll see their body twitch and shake. A child knows what’s coming; nevertheless, he must mark time and wait for the big day. That’s exactly where the Christian Church is today. She is on the verge of a big moment, but that big moment is not quite here. The Scripture readings burst with pregnant anticipation. The Lord your God will raise you for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from Your brethren. Him you shall hear….I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. Rejoice in the Lord always. The Lord is at hand. I am not the Christ. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. You know Who He is. You know how He is born according to the flesh. You know what He does for you. Yet you have to wait to welcome Him. The world rushes His welcome, leaving you very little time for anticipation. They can’t wait. You can, for the Christian Church has all the time in the world to wait for the coming of the Christ Child. However, you adopt the way of the world and want to rush things on a bit. You are like Abraham, who thought God would tarry concerning His promise of a son from Sarah. Abraham took matters into his own hands, lay with Hagar, and produced his own offspring not of the promise. Abraham’s lack of anticipation brought trouble into his house. A child of the Law and a child of the Promise lived under one roof. One was cast out so the other could remain. God provided for the child of the Law and his mother, but they had to go in order that the Promise might be made sure to all the Seed of Abraham, those by blood and those by faith. Anticipation is good. Embrace it, for it builds up into a wellspring of great joy once the time of waiting is over. Repent of wanting to turn the hands of time forward for premature joy. Live in the moment, for the Savior of the nations is near. Rejoice that His name is not John, though John has every chance to claim to be the Coming One. John’s Gospel says that John the Baptist made a confession in denying he was the Christ. He had the opportunity to rush things on a little bit. John could remove one little word from his confession I am not the Christ and seize the moment. All eyes were on him as he preached repentance and baptized beyond the Jordan. Maybe, just maybe, this is the guy. John wouldn’t take the bait. No, I am not the Christ. However, there stands One among you whom you do not know. The anticipation of Advent is not so much on John as it is on the shadowy figure that John talks about in today’s Gospel and points out twice in the same chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. John the Baptist is a spectacle, but he’s the opening act. Actually, he’s the closing act because he is the last and greatest of the prophets. Soon John will step aside and Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High God, will take center stage. Jesus Christ is the One Whom Moses prophecies when he says, He shall speak to [His people] all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Listen to John the Baptist’s words, because they are words of anticipation for the Savior. Listen especially to the Savior’s Words, for they are Spirit and Truth proceeding from our heavenly Father. The Pharisees are given the excellent opportunity to listen to Jesus’ Words, for He is the One they await. We hear in the Gospels that most of the Pharisees will not listen to the Words Jesus speaks. They hear, but do not listen. Instead, they try to trap Him in His talk and attempt to do away with Him. They succeed. Their success is their undoing. Their success is our redemption. John the Baptist cannot take away the sins of the world. Only Messiah can do it. This is why John’s message of repentance is imperative this time of year. It’s time to sweep yourself clean in order to welcome Jesus Christ according to the flesh. It’s time to follow the shepherds to Bethlehem to see this thing that has happened. It’s time to listen to this Child conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary live the perfect life you and I cannot live in order to suffer and die for the sins of the world. What Child is this? This is Christ, the Son of God, the Savior long foretold, and the One promised to Adam and Eve, the Word of the Father that created the heavens and the earth. No wonder today’s Divine Service is full of anticipation, joy, and hope that comes from above to lift the burden of sin that weighs us down by His grace and mercy. Jesus Christ is about to pitch His tent, His tabernacle, among us and dwell according to the flesh. In this tabernacle, th
SERM: Historic Advent 4 - John 1:19-28
In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit Saint Paul asks in Romans chapter ten, how shall they hear without a preacher? How shall the priests and Levites sent from the Jews hear? They come to John the Baptizer with open mouths and closed ears. They ask two questions: Who are you? and Why do you baptize? John gives them the right answers to their questions, but they won’t hear the right answers because John’s answers are not the answers they want to hear. The Levites and priests do not hear Moses confess The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. Moses and John speak the same words: Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Moses and John bear the same burden. They both prepare God’s people for the Seed of the woman Who will crush the head of the serpent. Like those sent from the Jews, you look for different answers to your questions. You ask, “Who is the Lord? Are you really the Christ promised in Holy Scripture? Are you just another messenger? Are you truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Or are you a way, a truth, and a life among other ways, truths, and lives?” When you hear the right answers to your questions, perhaps you close your ears just as the priests and Levites did. John the Baptizer’s message of repentance and preparation might not sit well with you. His is an uncomfortable message in a comforting time of the year. The world is joyful and it seems like Christians should wear mourning clothes. Mourning over sin is a fine way to prepare for the birth of the Savior according to the flesh. John’s preaching clears the underbrush of sin and death out of the way so the way of the Lord is made straight. As the beloved Christmas carol “Joy to the World” says: “No more let sins and sorrows grow/ Nor thorns infest the ground; / He comes to make His blessings flow/ Far as the curse is found.” Who is John? He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord.” The way of the Lord is made straight when the Word of the Lord is preached in all its sternness, yet also in all its sweetness. The stern word sounds through Moses from God Almighty, Who appeared before His people in the wilderness in cloud and majesty and awe: whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of Him. Moses and John preach harsh words. You need to hear them. These words cut you to the quick because you set your heart on created things rather than the Living Bread that comes down from heaven. If you do not listen to what John is preaching, you will not find Jesus. The sweet word sounds through the angels that appear to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds by their flocks outside Bethlehem. The sweet word sounds also through John the Baptizer. John baptizes. John beckons you out of sin, into the wilderness of repentance, and leads you to the river of life. John has done his job once you are at the river. Standing in the middle of the river like an oasis in the desert in Jesus Christ. John points to Jesus and proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away your sin. Behold the Lamb of God, Who gives you the life of absolution in the water of Baptism.” Ever since the day John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, our Lord has been found in the water. He locates Himself there for you. Flowing through the desert of repentance is the water of life. This water of life is where your sin-scorched conscience finds the soothing coolness of forgiveness. This water of life is where your sin-parched heart finds shade and refreshment in the shadow of the cross. This water quenches your mouth with the sweet drink of the compassion of God. Jesus is found in the river of absolution. Jump in the river. The water is fine. Drink it all up. Bathe in it. Swim in it. Soak up the water in the fountain of immortality. Jesus Christ has been baptized in blood, sprinkled on the Font of the cross by His own sliced veins. A soldier braced himself and thrust his cruel spear upward into the side of the Son of God. From our Savior’s side flowed water and blood. One fork fills the chalice; the other fork fills the font. When you desire forgiveness, you go to the blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. The life of God is in the blood of His only-begotten Son. The life of God is in the font, the chalice, and the absolution. Rest in these means of grace. Rest in His life. Rest in your merciful God. Now you see why John was unworthy to stoop down and undo the sandal strap of the One among them Who was yet to come. John the Baptizer cannot make the perfect sacrifice our Father in heaven expects. You cannot make that sacrifice either. Only Jesus Christ, God in
SERM: Historic Advent 4 - John 1:19-28
Revised and shortened from 2004. In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit Like all royalty, our Lord Jesus does not simply sweep into the room. He is announced. Jesus is announced first to Adam and Eve in the Garden after they fell into in. Then He is announced by a long line of prophets named Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, Moses, and others. Then He is announced by the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Last of all, Jesus is announced by John the Baptist. All these preachers make the same announcement: Jesus Christ is the Seed of Abraham, the Son of David, the Lord’s Christ, the Anointed One, the everlasting King, the Prince of Peace. All these preachers proclaim the same message: His Kingdom shall never end. Since John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the prophets, his announcement of Christ’s coming is unique. John doesn’t merely preach. John also baptizes. John doesn’t simply say, “Look over there! There’s Jesus!” John prepares the royal highway for the King of Kings by preaching and baptizing with a baptism of repentance toward the forgiveness of sins. But what good does it do for us to hear John’s preaching year after year? What does it mean for us when John makes the good confession by denying that he is the Christ while quoting Isaiah’s words about Jesus while saying that he is not worthy to loosen Jesus’ sandal strap? For that matter, what good does it do us to hear two weeks of John after several weeks of end times prophecies? Christmas is mere hours away. Shouldn’t our focus be on the stable in Bethlehem? Shouldn’t our focus be on what Jesus is still doing in the Church today? Jesus’ birth has happened. We don’t need to ask questions about John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph, the angels, the shepherds, or any other person in the familiar accounts of Matthew, Luke, and John. The story hasn’t changed since we were younger, let alone last year. We hear John’s preaching year after year because we often forget what his preaching means when the familiar Words of Scripture are read this time of year. We hear the Gospel writers “repeat the sounding joy” as the Christmas hymn says. But those familiar Words of Scripture seemingly go in one ear and out the other because there isn’t much joy in our world. We are thankful for our health, our family and friends, and many other gifts. But there is often something missing when Christmas comes here. For some it is family members lost this year or in years past. For others it is family members separated by distance or by disagreement. We know Jesus’ name. We know how the account of His birth according the flesh goes. We may even know some facts about His birth that could stump the pastor! But what we often forget is that the King has indeed arrived. His Kingdom has come and still comes among us today. His good and gracious will is done. The gates of hell did not prevail against Him and, by faith in Christ, will not prevail against us. We get so busy right about now that we forget all about John’s preaching of repentance and John’s confession of Christ. We live in Advent fear rather than Advent hope. This is not a happy time for many people. Christmas and New Year’s are the worst times of the year for many who suffer from clinical depression. There’s so much expectation and so little execution of that expectation. Whether or not someone suffers from depression, all of us tend to compartmentalize Jesus. We pull Him out when we need Him then wrap Him up and put Him away until we need Him again, just like we do our Christmas decorations and Christmas tree. Yet here stands John the Baptist with his persistent preaching of repentance toward the forgiveness of sins. Once again he urges you and me not to take Jesus out of the Jesus-box for a little while. John doesn’t want you to dust our Lord off when you dust off those childhood memories of the perfect Christmas filled with love and joy. John’s preaching puts us face-to-face with the Savior of the Nations lying in a manger. He wants us to call upon Him in every trouble. John wants us to rely exclusively on Jesus every day of the year, not just for a few weeks toward the end of the calendar year. Saint Paul gives us encouragement in the Epistle: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. We might want to learn those two verses from Philippians by heart before Christmas. If there’s a moment when the world is about to fall apart, whether it be this Christmas or in the middle of summer, we can turn to Paul’s comforting words. The peace of God lies in a lowly barn in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ is born according to the flesh to submit Himself under the Law and to pay the ultimate price for our breaking the Law. Though Jesus w
