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 flesh, can
give His life to cover your sins. Only Jesus Christ can deliver healing
in His wings as the hymn “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” says. Only Jesus
Christ lays His glory by the wayside to raise the sons of earth through
the second birth of Holy Baptism into life everlasting when He returns
to judge the living and the dead.
Blessed are you who hear the message John the Baptizer brings! John
proclaims righteousness by preparing the way for the One Who comes
after Him. This One shall place the crown of everlasting life on your
head when He returns to raise you from the dead, transform your lowly
body into the likeness of His immortal body, and hold your hand as you
enter the joy of paradise forevermore. Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to
you, O Israel!
In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit
(Adapted from 2005, with gratitude to Chad Bird for some of his thoughts. SDG)
-------------------------------------------
Rev. David M. Juhl
Our Savior, Momence, IL
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