Sermon - Advent 4 - John 1:19-28 - 2017

“‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed.” John was a real man’s man. Not a wimp, not a sissy. As we heard last week, he wasn’t dressed in soft clothing in kings’  houses, or in other words, John wasn’t a eunuch, an effeminate man. John was a real man and he didn’t hesitate to confess the faith, to be a martyr for the Christian faith. No, he confessed his faith boldly and clearly to all, the regular people, the pharisees, the priests, the levites, the kings. John didn’t hold any punches, but he proclaimed the full stinging bite of the law to all people.

John wasn’t like most people. He wasn’t like the fathers who are afraid to confront their children’s sins, he wasn’t like the mothers who are afraid to tell their kids no. He wasn’t like the cowardly politician who hides behind policies so as to never actually accomplish the good that they told others they sought. He wasn’t like the brothers and sisters who care more about eating a meal in silence versus actually discussing the problem that is leading their sibling to the fires of hell. He wasn’t like cowardly Peter who after spending years with Jesus, denied his Lord in the most vital hour. No, John “he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed.”

John is the one who prepares the way of the Lord by confessing the Christ, and we are the ones who are prepared for the way of the Lord and as we look to the Christ, we also confess the Christ. When John was faced with the question “Who are you?” he first answered in the negative. When asked if he’s the Christ, he says quite clearly “I am not the Christ.” John isn’t a crazy egotistical cult leader who believes himself to be the messiah, instead he never assumes that authority for himself.

Then when he’s ask if he’s Elijah, he says “I am not.” Which is fascinating, because the Old Testament prophet Malachi calls John the Baptist Elijah. Even Jesus calls John the Baptist Elijah, “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” While Jesus is willing to elevate John the baptist to the position of being the greatest of those born among women, John is too humble to allow himself that honor.

Thirdly, John is asked if he’s the Prophet. Jesus calls him not just a prophet, but more than a prophet! Yet, John replied with a simple “no.” It’s not that John isn’t a prophet, but he isn’t the Prophet long foretold of by Moses: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you… I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” The Prophet that Moses long foretold was the Coming One, the Messiah Jesus the Christ, and John was not He.

So who do both Jesus and John confess that John is? “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”” Who is John? He is the one who confesses that Jesus is the Christ and prepares the way for the Christ by preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins. He makes straight the way of the Lord by calling all people to repentance. 

When I say that John didn’t hold any punches, I mean it! After the Pharisees had sent the priests and Levites to talk to John, they went themselves. When John saw them, do you know what he said? “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John has no fear of these people who hold incredibly powerful influence in Jerusalem. When he’s even faced with king Herod, he calls him to repentance for marrying his brother’s wife. Who in the world says that kind of a thing to a king?! John the Baptist, a man’s man, one who is more than a prophet and makes straight the way of the Lord by calling all people to repentance. 

John has been tasked by the Lord to make straight the way of the Lord. This would be a simple thing on settled farm ground that surrounds us, but John is to make straight the way in the wilderness; a place filled with trees and thickets, hills and valleys. John is to make straight the way of the Lord in the wilderness of our hearts by calling us to repentance. 

Our sins are like thorns and brambles in a woodland. A few years ago I was helping my father-in-law clear away wild locust trees in some pasture land. The Honey Locust we have growing in town are thornless, they just have those long obnoxious seed pods. But the wild locust trees are covered in 3-6 inch long thorns, sharp enough to pierce tires and cripple a cow. Before the land can be used for pasture or farming, those trees need to be cleared, because with them in the way life is nearly impossible.

The only way to clear those trees from the land is by cutting them down. “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree”, says John. Our sin must be cleared from the road, repentance must begin. John the Baptist is the voice of one crying out today in the wilderness of your hearts. The axe has been laid to the root of the tree for you to repent of your thorns. John is more than a prophet, but he is the voice that cries out every time you hear the call to repent and feel the threats of hell’s eternal fires. 

His voice does more, however, than call to repentance, he calls you to faith and forgiveness. John always points away from himself, and instead says “among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’””

John is the voice who calls us to repent of our sins, to repent of ourselves, so that our eyes may be lifted up and focused on the Christ. Within our sins we are always navel gazing, focused on ourselves. But in repentance we are turned away from ourselves and pointed to something outside of us, we are pointed to Jesus who is the way of the Lord. 

Just as John was asked the question: “who are you?” Permit me to ask you the same question: Who are you? But don’t let this question be some sort of philosophical exercise in ontology as you try to determine your relevance in a cosmic universe. Instead let this question lead you to make straight the way of the Lord by confessing your sin. 

“I a poor miserable sinner.” Just minutes ago we confessed our identity saying “we are by nature sinful and unclean.” We recognized our humility before the Lord as we pleaded to Him, “Lord have mercy.” Who are we? We are the ones who are prepared for the way of the Lord through repentance. We are the ones who are forgiven of our sins through Jesus’ body and blood. We are the ones who believe that Jesus has risen from the dead and shall return again for us to raise us from the dead. 

Tomorrow is Christmas, when we rejoice that Christ has come into this world as an infant in order to atone for our sins, to clear the thorns from our past. Tomorrow we rejoice as we recognize that Christ will come again, He will return, and when He does we must be ready for His arrival.

John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord through baptism. So you have been baptized into the same preparation for Christ’s coming. Who are you? You are a baptized child of God! Your baptism has prepared you for Christ’s arrival. Your baptism has washed you with water and the word, cleansing you of your thorns, making straight the way of the Lord, making you capable of repenting and confessing. 

That’s right, your baptism has given you the strength to not just repent of your sins, but to confess Christ before the world like John the Baptist. Your baptism emboldens you to confess, not deny, but confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Don’t be a wimp, don’t be a sissy, don’t be a eunuch cut off from God’s Word, instead be a Christian like John the Baptist. Stand up against sin, speak your conscience, let others know of the danger that faces them; remind them that the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Do it with love, not selfish conceit. And let them know you love them, don’t just say it but show it!

Men, this means you gotta man-up like John the Baptist! Our culture already encourages women and the government to be the men in our homes, so you women are probably already pretty good  at leading your family in the faith. Men, this is the greatest travesty of our country, we have dropped the ball. So repent and pick it back up again! Be fathers to your children, be husbands to your wives, be the head of your household. Not because you want slaves, but because you’re the pastor in your home, the one who has been called to catechize the kids (not only if they’re under 18). Talk theology with your wife, consider the tough questions with them. Read the bible, read the catechism, and read it outloud together. Teach them about sin, teach them about repentance (and that begins with us men repenting to them first), and teach them about Jesus who has come to forgive their sins. 

“The Lord is at hand.” Tomorrow we celebrate Christmas, one day we will celebrate the greatest Christmas when Jesus comes again. Prepare for that day by repenting and by rejoicing in the Lord always. “Do not be anxious about anything,” don’t be afraid, but repent and rejoice. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”