In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John the Baptist is the voice of Advent. He gives us the motto for this season: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” He was only 6 months older than his cousin Jesus, but he also began his ministry before Jesus began His own, precisely because that was his job: He was the Forerunner of the Christ, the one to go before the Lord and prepare His way.
And even though the Lord came some 2000 years ago, John the Baptist still has a lot to say to us as well. We must still prepare the way of the Lord. Not only do we make the final preparations to celebrate our Lord’s birth, we must also prepare our hearts as we receive the Lord in His Word and Sacraments, and we prepare ourselves for that Day when our Lord will come in glory. We do all this preparation because we are Christians. We believe John’s preaching. We are baptized into the forgiveness of sins. And we want to separate ourselves from sin and live lives worthy of the name “Christian.”
But not all people believe John’s preaching today, just as not all the Jews believed John’s preaching in his day either. Some of the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” Well, why didn’t they go to see John for themselves? John had come to preach repentance to every individual, so clearly, they didn’t pay much attention to what he said. They were just like politicians (or anyone who likes holding onto their power). They care more about procedure than getting things done. They are people who want to stay in control, so don’t risk changing anything, especially if it means reevaluating themselves.
But later on, Jesus will point out the real problem. Jesus would say to the Jews, “You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth… He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light” (John 5:33, 35). The problem is that these unbelieving Jews were only interested in John for the sake of their own honor. They just wanted to make use of his light, his famous name, his holy reputation, in order to make themselves look good to people. John’s holiness would have been the greatest cover for their sinful lives, if only they had gotten him on their side.
This is like people who only associate with the Church because it makes them look good. They show–up or pitch–in and do charitable deeds because it makes others admire them. Or they like the Church activities because they get something out of it for themselves. But they don’t have any real interest in the preaching of the Church, the message of sin and forgiveness through Christ. And there’s not much we can do about all that, except do what John did and what the Church has always done: confess, do not deny, but confess. Own up to what the Church is. Don’t try to pander to the world and pretend to be something we’re not. Be firm and confess the truth: Christians are who we are, and the message of Christ is always what you’ll hear from us.
Well, these unbelieving Jews ask John several questions, trying to figure him out. But his honest answers don’t satisfy them, and finally, frustrated that John and his message are disrupting their lives and not fitting in neatly with their own ideas, the Jews ask again: “Who are you?” And John confessed the truth just like we should. He answered with Scripture just like we should. He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” It’s as if he said, “Your salvation is much too close for a prophet to be needed. Do not look far into the future, because the Lord of all the prophets is Himself already here. The Lord is coming, treading on my heels. I’m crying out as a forerunner to make room for Him. I don’t just speak words about Him but I can actually point to Him with my finger.”
But the unbelieving Jews would not receive John’s message. Far from clearing a path for the Lord, they got in His way, closing themselves off from Him in their own high opinions of themselves. They preferred having their own way. Eventually they would even kill both the forerunner and the Lord Himself for daring to speak the truth to them.
And people still do this today. They resist the Lord and shut their ears to His Word. In their hearts, they murder the Lord’s prophets and the Lord Himself. So, John’s job is still not done. His kind of preaching must humble all the world and proclaim that they are all sinners – lost, condemned, poor, needy, miserable people. There is no life, no work, no position (no matter how beautiful and good it may appear) that is not condemned unless Christ dwells with that person—unless Christ works, walks, lives, and does everything in that person through faith. John’s preaching still shows that we all need Christ and should desire His grace.
Preparing the way of the Lord is truly humbling work. It cuts sin out, and destroys overconfidence, and tears down our self-importance. But this preparation is not something you do to make yourself worthy. It’s not your own prayers and efforts and desires that will prepare the way of the Lord. John’s work still goes on with us because it is a work that God Himself performs through His Word when we hear and believe.
Preparing the way of the Lord is a spiritual preparation that begins with a right understanding and confession that you are unfit to receive Him. There is nothing more spiritual then listening to what God says in His Word so that we can then confess the truth: confess our unworthiness, and confess our faith in Him.
But to the sinful Old Adam, John’s voice is intolerable. It seems the more he says to prepare the way for the Lord, the more people resist it. You invite them to church and they don’t come. You read them God’s Word and they don’t listen. You want to teach and they don’t want to learn. But for the poor sinners with troubled consciences who fear their sin and God’s just punishment, then John’s voice is thrilling and makes glad, because he announces that the Savior and His Kingdom are here for sinners.
The unbelieving Jews, like all unbelievers, questioned this news and they challenged John: “Why are you baptizing?” But once again John confessed the truth: “I baptize with water, but 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.” He pointed to Jesus, the One far greater than John, the One who gives us His Holy Spirit and makes us God’s children. In baptism we are prepared for the Lord and made worthy to receive Him. John or the minister are the ones to pour the water, but the Lord Himself is the One who cleanses us from sin and gives us His righteousness. John preached and baptized to prepare the way of the Lord, all the while warning and comforting people with the message that the Lord Himself is at hand. It’s as if he said, “Don’t let your eyes look at the future. The One that the prophets foretold has been among you in the Jewish nation for about thirty years. Pay attention and do not miss Him. You do not know Him; therefore, I have come to point Him out to you.”
This is no less true for us today. The Lord’s Church has been actively preaching throughout the world for some 2000 years. But still people do not know the true Lord, or they do not want to know Him. So, the Church continues the work of John the Baptist, preaching and baptizing, pointing the Lord out to us, directing us to the Christ, our Savior.
To sum it up, John’s job as the forerunner of Christ has two parts. First, we are told that the Kingdom of God is at hand, here, now. It’s time to repent. John tells us, “You are all sinners and don’t know the way of the Lord.” When we believe this, the second part follows: John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He tells us, “Look to Christ and receive Him. Believe in Him. He will free you from your sins.” In fact, we hear his words every time we prepare for the Lord’s Supper. We sing the Agnus Dei—“O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.” John’s words point our eyes toward that Lamb who comes to us now in the bread and wine. If we believe the message from John, the same message we hear today from the Scriptures and preachers and Sacraments, then we have the forgiveness of sins in Christ—the Lord who came, is coming now, and will come again.
Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA & Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
Partially reused from December 22, 2019
Adapted from Luther’s Church Postil for Advent 4 (Luther’s Works 75:172–186)
