In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Satan is quite clever in today’s Gospel reading. The
messengers from Jerusalem are willing to grant St. John the Baptist any title
he might desire. They ask if he is the Christ and they would willingly treat
him as such. When he declines this title, they ask if he is Elijah, that is, if
he is Elijah returned from heaven. Remember that Elijah did not suffer death.
He was carried by a fiery chariot into heaven. Thus these Jews interpreted
Malachi 3 as prophesying that the great prophet Elijah would return from heaven
just prior to the arrival of the Messiah. John again declines this title.
So, they ask if he is the Prophet. Here is an interesting
question. Because they are asking about the Prophet and just a Prophet,
it seems most likely that they are asking if John is the prophet like Moses,
promised by God in our reading from the Old Testament. On the other hand, the
Prophet like Moses, raised up by God, having the Word of God in His mouth,
and speaking all that the Father commands Him, is clearly a title for the
Messiah. Even the priests and Levites, the scribes and the Pharisees would have
known this to be a title for the Messiah and John has already denied being the
Messiah.
Thus, this third title is highly deceptive. It seems the
Jews are giving John the opportunity to interpret their words for them. He has
a second chance to claim to be the Messiah. He also has an opportunity to
simply claim to be a prophet. Yet once again, John denies being the Prophet.
In the fourth question, “What do you say about yourself?” the
Jews give John the opportunity to define himself. He is granted the freedom to
choose his own title and we are given no reason the Jews would disbelieve his
response. Given this freedom, when asked what he says about himself, John
confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.”[1]
He refused to answer in his own words. He says about himself only what
Scripture says.
Frustrated by John’s unwillingness to define himself
according to their will, the Jews demand to know why, that is, by what
authority, John is baptizing. John uses this opportunity to turn their
attention away from himself and toward Christ. John has already begun to
decrease that Christ would increase.
God truly blessed His Church in sending St. John to be the
forerunner of the Christ. He was unafraid of kings, priests, Levites,
Pharisees, soldiers, and crowds. He was unafraid and unashamed. The man wore
camel’s hair and a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild honey. He preached in
the wilderness. Everything about St. John was beyond countercultural. He was
what today, we would easily call a zealot, freak, or weirdo. And John wouldn’t
bat an eye at these names.
Would you? We are quick to complain about the world around
us—the failing morality, the perversity taught in schools, and the manipulation
of media. You have heard it said many times, that the Church is set in the
world but is not of the world. The Church is to stand out as a shining beacon
on the hill. The Church does not give in to the culture nor seek the approval
of the culture.
And yet we are all afraid to be considered too weird, too
distinct from the culture, too separate. “Train up a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”[2]
When we have given the training of our children over to Caesar, that is, over
to the government, why are we surprised they choose to live of the world
instead of the Church?
Or when we give the training of our children over to 35
hours of government-run schools, 5-10 hours a week in sports training and
competition, and just maybe give them 2 hours of time in the church, why are we
surprised when a college with a scholarship sports team but without a faithful
church anywhere nearby is their first choice? Or when Church is the last thing
on their minds? Or when they complain that Sunday is their only day to sleep
in?
Why is it that homeschooling children is too weird? “I want
to be counter-cultural, but not that countercultural.” Why is it that giving
children “the best education possible” or training them for “real-world skills”
is more important than training up their faith? Why is it that when a child is 5
or 6, the primary concern is which school district you live in, so that they
will have a “successful high school career”? Shouldn’t the goal of education be
to give children a foundation in the truth, which begins and ends in Jesus
Christ?
Why are crucifixes “too popish” but mangers are cute? If
Jesus isn’t still on the cross, He certainly isn’t still in the manger. It's
because crucifixes show what happened to that baby in the manger because of
your sin. They are unpleasant for your sinful nature to look at because the
crucifix makes your sins unavoidable. The manger scene is cute enough that you
can convince yourself it doesn’t smell like animals and manure.
If we truly believe that the Scriptures are the inerrant
Word of God, why do we not read them in line at the DMV? Why does everyone own
a TV and a phone, both of which almost certainly get more time and attention
than your bible?
Why do pastors struggle to confront sinners? Why do pastors
try to soften the blow when someone manifestly sins in front of him? Why are
Christians afraid of spending more than one or two hours a week at the Church
building?
Why do we have any question or hesitation about men having
God-given authority over women? Scripture repeatedly speaks of such male headship in the home, in the church, and in the state. Even in the most
“conservative” congregations, this topic must always be treated with kid
gloves. Why is that?
If you come to church, if you come to this church, it
ought to be because Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and this
Church rightly proclaims this One thing needful along with the whole counsel of
God. If that is the case, then when you are confronted with a biblical doctrine
that accuses your conscience, you will repent, ask forgiveness, and seek to
conform your will to the Will of God.
There are many ways to answer these questions, each
deserving of serious study and contemplation. What is common to them all is
that we hesitate in these, and many other matters, because we don’t want to
seem too far outside the norm. We don’t want to be zealots, freaks, or weirdos.
We are afraid of the opinions of men. We are too afraid of the opinions of
women. It is uncomfortable to be too distant from the world because our flesh
still loves the world and craves its approval.
It is uncomfortable to be different and our world has
trained us to seek comfort at all costs. This is how we have become catechized
by the world. Our innate priorities are those taught to us in school and
perpetuated by all forms of media.
Thanks be to God He sent a forerunner before the Christ. He
sent John into the world not as the Christ, not as Elijah, nor as the Prophet,
but as a voice. God sent a voice to preach a message of repentance and the
forgiveness of sins. God placed that voice in St. John and gave him such faith
that he was unafraid and unashamed of what anyone would say about him. He
didn’t care if you didn’t like the hymns he sang, the way he spoke, how he
dressed or how he smelled. He didn’t care because the Word of God and the truth
he was sent to proclaim were far more important that the opinions of men.
Thanks be to God He sent this forerunner before the Christ. It
is uncomfortable, unpleasant, and even downright painful to hear the preaching
of repentance. No on likes it. The preaching of repentance makes your sins
plain. You cannot hide from them. Your sins deserve eternal damnation, and they
must be revealed. They must be revealed so that they might be forgiven. John
preached a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. A wound must
first be cleaned, a very painful process, before it can be healed.
How then can you receive the preaching of St. John? How can
the example of St. John be brought to you? Begin by simply contemplating the
Word of God. Intentionally spend time talking to your husband, children,
friends, and neighbors about the sermon you heard that week. Read the
Scriptures more than you are comfortable doing. Choose a time when you would
watch television and read instead. Speak to your children about Christ. Ask
them to come to church with you. If they don’t go to church, ask them about it.
If your children are living in a manifest sin, talk to them about it. Ask if
they know they are sinning.
None of this is comfortable. No one ever said it would be. A
camel hair shirt is not comfortable either. Wild honey might be sweet, but a
diet of locusts cannot satisfy much for taste. The Christian life is promised
to be uncomfortable. You are promised to bear crosses and suffer in this life.
Yet these promises are for the sake of your salvation. The crosses you bear are
because of your knowledge of sin.
You know sin thrives in this world and you desire to be rid
of it. You know sin thrives in this world and the Holy Spirit, who dwells
within you, desires to be distinct from the sins of the world. You know sin
thrives in this world and you know that this world has already been conquered.
This world and its master have been conquered by the death
of Jesus. No matter what crosses you must bear; no matter how uncomfortable you
must be, Jesus has died for your sins and has called you out of the darkness
and into marvelous light. You are not the Christ. You are not Elijah. You are
not the Prophet like Moses. You are not even the voice crying in the
wilderness. But the one who stands among you, you do know. You know Him because
He has called you by name. He has baptized you into His glorious name. Stop
letting the opinions of the world and your discomfort stop you from the fullness
of Christ and all that He has to give you.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
