Sermon – December 13, 2020 – Advent 3
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David R. Clark ~ December 13, 2020 ~ John 1:6-8, 19-28 ~ Advent 3
A VOICE STILL CALLS
6There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. …19Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Dear friends in Christ,
Have you ever been outside the city limits at night, beyond the lights and the sound of traffic? Something you might hear is the howling of coyotes. And not just hearing them but also seeing them. They’re really a mangy looking creature.
Some might say John the Baptist was a mangy looking creature with his rough clothing and bristly look. What he said was also bristly, a voice crying for repentance.
As Christians we might look a little different because we wear more modest clothing, but I don’t think anyone would say we have a mangy look. But our message qualifies! The voice of John the Baptist comes from us today.
- A faithful voice. (verses 19-22)
In what sense? John’s voice was a faithful voice. 19Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
Did you notice a temptation there? The rest of the religious community wanted to know who John was. But John was not there to talk about himself.
His identity was not the important question. So he answered by telling them who he was not. He was not the Christ, even though he preached about him. He was not Elijah, even though he probably looked like him. He was not the Prophet, even though he was sent by God. He was a faithful voice warning them to get their spiritual house in order.
Sometimes it’s better that we define ourselves by who we are not. Although we have a heart for the poor, we don’t exist to feed them. Although we want to be good citizens, politics are not our main concern. Issues like that can be so tempting for a church that many churches make them the heart of why they exist. Many people in our community think that’s why we are here.
But that’s not even close to why we are here. Just like John we are here to be a voice crying in this wilderness. Like John, we are here to point to Jesus. And that’s not always easy. When you consider all of the different concerns that people who are members of our church have, or the concerns of all those who visit us or who watch us online have, it would be easy to stumble. But like John, we are here to faithfully point to Jesus and what he has done for us.
- A humble voice. (verses 23-27)
Faithfully sharing that message can be a very humbling experience. John certainly found that to be true. 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
Most of us are proud of what we have accomplished in life. From an athletic trophy to our trophy families, we all have something to point to.
John the Baptist had so much of which to be proud. John was related to Jesus. Jesus himself said there was no one on earth that was greater than John the Baptist. But John didn’t use his fame or his notoriety to draw attention to himself because he knew that’s not why he existed. He was in this world to point to Jesus, the Savior of the world.
We have parts of our ministry of which we can and should be proud. We have had a ministry with formal Christian Education for almost a century in this congregation. We have a building of which many would be envious. We have a music program that makes us stand out. There are many more we could point to. But these are only important when they point to Jesus. God has placed us here to humbly do his work and preach his message. Our strength and our glory is not in ourselves, but in God who claimed us as his own, called us as his own, and who equips us with his Word to carry out his work.
- A voice with a mission. (verses 6-8)
John recognized first and foremost why he was on earth. 6There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
John came to bring the light of the gospel into a world overwhelmed by the darkness of sin. His mission was not to be the light, but to be the vessel that pointed to the light.
We are here to tell people about Jesus, to be the vessels through whom the light of the gospel shines into all of the confused and searching hearts in this world. It’s our job to show them that the answer to life’s problems is a Savior who is coming to rescue us from this sin-darkened world. Our message is the message of repentance, a recognition that our hearts need first, more than anything.
They don’t know it, but the whole world is counting on us. We are John the Baptist. We are the coyote. We are the voice that still cries in the wilderness. Amen.