John 1:19-28 19 This is the testimony John gave when
the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He
confessed and did not deny. He
confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And
they asked him, “Who are you then? Are
you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered. 22 Then they asked
him, “Who are you? Tell us so we can
give an answer to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?” 23 He
said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the
wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as Isaiah the prophet
said.” 24 They
had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 So
they asked John, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, or
Elijah, or the Prophet?” 26 “I
baptize with water,” John answered. “Among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one
coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things
happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (EHV)
Dear friends in the living Word,
Zechariah’s
son was shaking things up in Judea. John’s
unusual style drew crowds out to the wilderness east of the Jordan, where he was
“preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Luke
3:3) John admonished the people, and
especially the leaders who came to test him, saying, “You offspring of
vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruits in keeping with
repentance!” (Luke 3:7-8)
John the Baptist was unorthodox in his preaching,
his manner, his clothing, and lifestyle.
Yet, it was the power of the message God sent him to proclaim that drew
the crowds. People small and great
wondered about him. John’s preaching
reminded the people that the Messiah was coming. The ordinary folk considered John a prophet
sent by God, but the Jewish leadership had questions. You can almost hear the sneer in their voices
as the investigators of Jerusalem met with John asking, “Who are you?” In other words, “Who
do you think you are?
Luther once preached that their questions were a
test of John’s character. Would he
succumb to the temptation to put himself in that honored position of Messiah? Would the Jews accept him as their leader if
he did? John, however, didn’t dabble
with any such notion. From the moment John
heard Mary’s voice in the womb, the Lord was moving John to do the work he was
appointed to do, to go out before the Savior of the world calling people to
repentance so that they could be saved. He was in the world to Make straight the way of the
Lord.
Like John, you and I, too, might be tempted to
put ourselves in Christ’s place. I know
that sounds farfetched, at first. Yet,
consider what happens when a person puts his own thoughts or desires above the
clear word of our God. In essence,
whenever God’s word is bent, broken, or set aside, we have put ourselves in the
place of the Almighty, but without His power or wisdom.
Happily, John didn’t succumb to that
temptation. Likewise, we too should be as
bold in our faith as the Baptizer who “when the Jews from Jerusalem sent
priests and Levites to ask him, ‘Who are you?’
He confessed and did not deny. He
confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’” This
is the first step in getting our own hearts straight in the way of the
Lord. We confess, “I am not the
Christ. I am not holy. I am not God’s equal. I am a sinner through and through who can
only be saved by the Son God sent to be my Redeemer and Savior.” That is the essence of our confession every
Sunday. It is the only thing we really
have to offer in the equation of salvation.
John answered his critics, “I am the voice
of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just
as Isaiah the prophet said.” What
does that mean to you and me? It means
that we must clear out those stumbling blocks to our faith. All those pet sins that so tempt us, those
voices in our heads that lead us to question the Word of truth, all the things
in this world that seem so desirable on the surface, but underneath lead us to
treasure something other than Christ—all of these things need to be expelled
from our hearts in our repentance before God.
Here too, the devil likes to jump in and entice
us to think ourselves more than we are.
He tries to convince Christians that because they believe in Jesus, we
can make ourselves holy in our living.
It’s an insidious temptation, because we know we should live holy lives,
and as Christian believers, we really do want to live according to God’s will,
but if we are honest, we must stand with John again saying, “I am not the
Christ.” Jesus is the only Man who could
live in this world without sin. Our
holiness comes not from living perfectly according to the law, but by trusting
in the righteous life of Jesus as our holiness.
Since John readily admitted that he was not
God’s appointed Rescuer, the Jewish leadership was offended in a different
way. If John wasn’t the Christ, where
did he get his authority? Who gave him
the right to preach? Who told him to
baptize? Why was he, a son of a priest,
out there in the wilderness instead of working at the temple in the regular
rotation? Oh, so many questions, but
none asked honestly.
They first questioned whether John was some
famous prophet from the past; was he Elijah? (As Malachi had said would come.) Or was he the prophet? (Referring to the
Prophet Moses had foretold saying, “The
Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your
brother Israelites. Listen to him.”) (Deuteronomy 18:15)
John simply said, “No.” “I am
not.”
Like John, you and I too often face questions
from the world: Why do you worship a Savior who died? Why do you baptize children? Why do you hold to the words of the Bible so
tightly? You can hear their mocking
voices all around us: “Who do you think you are?”
The truth is, however, we know exactly who we
are, and that’s the reason we hold so tightly to the Bible. We know that we are sinners who deserve
nothing but condemnation. At the same
time, we know that we are children God Himself has claimed as His own by faith
given to us first in Baptism. And, by
the faith the Holy Spirit has given us, the Father credited us as holy for
Jesus’ sake.
Why do we worship a Savior the world once crucified
and continues to crucify in its unbelief?
Because our Savior didn’t stay dead.
Rather, He rose from the grave on the third day, just as He said He
would, and there is no other Savior who could ever do that for us. Not only did He rise from the grave, but
Jesus ascended to heaven where He lives and reigns on our behalf forever, and
He is coming back in power and glory to judge the world. It is on Jesus’ authority that we preach in
the wilderness of the world. It is on
His authority that we baptize. It is by
His invitation that we became citizens of the kingdom of heaven and eagerly
await His return in glory.
To the questions of the Pharisees, John
answered boldly, “Among you stands one you do not know. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal
strap I am not worthy to untie.” John
later faithfully pointed to Jesus saying, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world! This is the one I was talking
about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because He existed
before me.’ I myself did not know who He
was, but I came baptizing with water so that He would be revealed to Israel.”
(John 1:29-31)
For the present time, God has left you and me
and other Christians in the world to Make straight
the way of the Lord. We are not
here to change this world into a land of peace and contentment. We are not here to blend in with the
arrogant, self-centered crowds. We are
not here to pretend to be Jesus either by imagining that we do miracles, nor by
broadcasting our weak efforts as the holiness of God. Rather, we are here to be like John, pointing
to the One who came from God to inhabit human flesh among the people of
Judea. We are here to proclaim God’s law
in full force so that the Holy Spirit may slice deep into the hearts of sinners
so that their deadness can be removed.
And then, we are to follow that heart-rending law with the sweet
medicine of the Gospel though which the Holy Spirit heals the brokenness and implants
a new life that will never die.
John said he wasn’t worthy even to be the
lowest servant in Christ’ household, not even worthy to untie the Master’s
shoes at the end of a hard day. Yet, Jesus
later declared about John, “Yes, I tell you, among those born of women there
is no prophet greater than John. Yet the
one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28) No prophet was ever greater than John the
Baptist, but even John could contribute nothing toward his salvation. At the same time, John didn’t have to work to
gain forgiveness or salvation, because that was won for him and for all by the
Shepherd who made Himself the holy, sacrificial Lamb destined to die for the
sins of the world.
Our Great High Priest, who had no sin that
required a sacrifice of blood to come before the throne of God, made Himself
the sin-bearer for the world, so that you and I could be carried into heaven on
the wings of angels. This is the Christ
John came to proclaim. Jesus, born to
poor parents in the meanness of a stable, a Man with no home on earth to call
His own, is the Priest, Prophet, Shepherd and Lamb who by His holy life and
sacrificial death became our everlasting King.
This is the Savior we proclaim.
This is the message we live by.
Dear Christian friends, for your own soul, for
the blessing of everyone you love, and for the benefit and hope of even the
worst of sinners and avowed enemies, Make straight the way of the Lord. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life
everlasting. Amen.
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