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Pastor Tom Johnson, December 16, 2018
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| The Preaching of John the Baptist Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526-1569) |
Our Scripture about John the Baptist ends with the words, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” And we even affirmed that after the reading when I said, “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” And we responded with the words, “Praise to you, O Christ.” But I hope you smiled when you heard John the Baptist’s words described as good news—or at the very least wondered how that can be.
John begins his message to the crowds by calling them “a brood of vipers.” He called them a family of venomous snakes! They think they are daughters and sons of Abraham but John says they are the offspring of poisonous and fanged reptiles. Don’t think for a moment, John says, that you can rely on your pedigree. Just because you can trace your lineage to Abraham does not impress this prophet or God. He can make a child of Abraham out of inanimate objects like the stones that litter the ground. What does God want? He wants our lives to bear good fruit—fruit that comes out of true faith and repentance. He wants our lives to be a blessing to others. When people ask John what they should do. He is very descriptive and concrete. If you have more clothing than you need or more food than you need, share. When we see people in need and we have the resources, we should simply do the right thing and help out our neighbor. Tax collectors are told not to collect more money than they are supposed to. Soldiers are told not to intimidate, threaten, or falsely accuse and to be content with their wages. John simply tells people to see their jobs not as personal gain but as a way of glorifying God and blessing others. This is really John connecting their lives with the spirit and letter of the Law to love your neighbor as yourself.
How different it would be if we saw our various jobs and callings in life not as personal gain but as a way of blessing our neighbor! Sadly, there is something that prevents us from fulfilling the prophet’s vision of a more loving world. The bad news. John must preach the bad news because we cannot understand the good news unless we come to grips with our darker side. The common thread throughout John’s message is sinful self-centeredness. When we are so busy getting more stuff, money, and power that we lose our way. Our energy is all directed at ourselves. We are so preoccupied with personal gain that we do not see the need, suffering, and injustice around us. John makes a connection between our daily lives and the Word of God. He wants us to see relevance of the Royal Law—to love your neighbor as you would want to be treated. In other words, John wanted common folk, tax collectors, and soldiers to see that what we do in life has a real impact on people. That we are either filling this world with more venom and toxicity or we are helping to create a better world.
How relevant that is today! Who of us would not like to see less needy people around us—less abuse of power—less preoccupation for personal gain—less greed—less threats—less accusations? Who of us could not use more generosity, more kindness, more empowerment, more contentment for what we have, MORE LOVE? The good news is that is what John came to prepare us for! He called us to imagine a better world—more loving communities—more selfless people—a society that is not in competition with one another but a team working for the common good. And so people came to John for a Baptism of repentance. They came to have the ugliness, filth, and poison of sin washed away. They walked away with forgiveness and a clearer vision of how each individual life can make a real difference in the Kingdom of God.
But the good news gets even better. There is one coming who is even more powerful than John. He is so mighty that John is overcome by his own unworthiness. John baptizes with water. The one coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The one coming will produce even more fruit worthy of repentance. The impact of his ministry will be even more far reaching. The life transformation he brings will not just be for those who are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will wash away the sin from those of every tribe, nation, tongue, and people. So, John points to Jesus and says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He is the one who comes to make all things new—a better world today and a brand new world soon and quickly.
Startled at the solemn warning,
Let earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
(“Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding,” LSB 345 v. 2)
And so we pray, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
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