I am not the Christ
John 1:19-28
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Amen.
His name is John, and he was a prophet of the Most High, sent to prepare the
way for the promised Messiah. That preparation included preaching and
baptism-a washing of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This
preparation caught the attention of the religious powers that be in
Jerusalem. When they heard about John and his words and actions, the
Pharisees sent men to him to look for something dangerous: a man who would
testify concerning himself. You see, John was something the Jews thought
they could understand. He was the son of a priest, one who had served in
the presence of God in the very Holy of Holies itself. That was pedigree
enough for the Jews. To them, John was nearly royalty himself. This was a
man who they-and the world-could see as the Christ: a powerful speaker, a
man of a holy lineage, a man with charisma, a man the people could rally
around as one of their own, maybe even a man with enough influence to
challenge their Roman overlords.
As we heard in the Gospel reading last week, Jesus said that "among those
born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist". If
ever there was a man who was blessed to know his place in the Kingdom of
God, it was John. Scripture laid out for him who and what he was to be; and
even before he was born, he was doing what his father had prophesied that he
was supposed to spend his life doing: pointing to Christ and saying, "There
He is! He's the one!" His entire life was spent in preparation for the
culmination of his role as the final prophet of the Old Testament Church.
When people came to find out what this John guy was all about, he clearly
confessed, saying, "I am not the Christ." When he was forced to expand on
that answer, even that answer pointed away from himself to the Word of God
and to the Christ whose way John had come to prepare. Even with his role
clearly laid out for him, as a sinner, the temptation must have been there
to claim more for himself than he was meant to claim. His final word on the
matter was, "He must increase, but I must decrease." He did not speak with
reluctance or false modesty; it was merely the truth.
There is a danger in being a preacher of the Word, and that is the danger of
self-promotion, the danger of thinking of yourself as indispensable, the
danger of thinking of yourself as Christ. Like John, a true preacher of the
Word knows that he is not worthy to even untie the sandals of the Christ.
But when a preacher says, "MY preaching does it; MY baptizing does it; MY
officiating does it; MY teaching does it"-the preacher is setting himself up
as a false Christ. Such a preacher imperils his own soul and the souls of
his hearers. We all know those preachers exist. We see them on television
all the time, whether it's men like Joel Osteen who preach a "gospel" of
prosperity or those like Benny Hinn who promote healing for those who have
enough faith. And these false prophets are very popular. You see, there is
also the danger of being a hearer of the Word-the danger of seeking after a
false Christ. Do you come here to hear the Word? Do you come here to
receive the gifts of absolution and eternal life? Or are you here because
of the personality and talents of the preacher? Do you come-or do you stay
away-because of the preacher's charisma or lack thereof? Do you come here
to be seen and acknowledged, to remind the Lord that you exist? Who is the
Christ you come here today to see?
Your pastor is not the Christ, nor does He claim to be. Your pastor is a
sinner. He is not a charismatic man. He is not a powerful man. He cannot
save you, nor will he try. Any word that he speaks to you apart from the
Word of God is only his own word. And if he (or any other preacher) tries
to convince you that his own words are words of power or salvation, he has
no business in this pulpit, in your classrooms, in your lives. And for your
part, do not look to any mere mortal for salvation. You can tell the marks
of a real and faithful preacher by comparing him to John the Baptist. Does
the preacher point to himself? If so, he is not worthy of your attention.
Does the preacher seek to entertain you instead of convicting you of your
sins? If so, he is not a faithful man of God. Does the preacher seek your
good will and generosity by saying things from the pulpit that you want to
hear? Does he surrender the preaching of the Law under the pressure of
financial hardship? If so, he does not belong in this pulpit.
But God provides faithful preachers to His people. He Calls men who do not
point to themselves. He Calls men like John: men whose voices He uses for
preaching the Word and speaking Holy Absolution to His people, men whose
hands He uses for faithful administration of the Sacraments. He uses these
men, but Jesus is the one doing the work. He is the one who washes you and
raises you to new life in the waters of Holy Baptism. He is the one who
speaks to you the Word of Holy Absolution. He is the one who gives you His
very body and blood in the Holy Supper. The preacher is just another
instrument He uses-an instrument like the water of Baptism and the bread and
wine of His Holy Supper. Your pastor is not the Christ-he isn't even John
the Baptist. But like John, he is "a prophet of the Most High", for, like
Zechariah said of his son, your pastor "will go before the Lord to prepare
His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of
their sins". As He did with John, Christ uses your pastor to give Himself
to you.
This is the last Sunday in the season of Advent. Christ is coming. He has
already come as a humble Infant, come as the Word made flesh to dwell among
us, come as the One who bore our sins, come to set us free. He comes to us
now in hidden ways, hidden in the water of Holy Baptism, hidden in the
humble words spoken by a sinful preacher, hidden in the ordinary means of
bread and wine. And we look forward to that last great day when He will
come again in glory-neither humbly nor hidden-to set us free forever from
sin, death and the power of the devil. Thanks be to God for John the
Baptist, who clearly confessed that he was not the Christ and firmly pointed
to Jesus as the promised One. Thanks be to God for faithful pastors who
point us to Christ and His gifts. And thanks be to God for Jesus: the One
who has come, the One who comes to us today, the One who will come again as
He has promised. In the name of the Father and of the Son (?) and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
--
Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.
Pastor, St. Peter Lutheran Church, Campbell Hill, IL
[email protected]
http://pastoralkorn.blogspot.com
___________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless
otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors;
posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for
redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by
the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is
not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use
in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
