Category: Advent 4

Reducing John, Not Jesus

12/23/2024

Advent 4
John 1:19-28 (29)
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
December 22, 2024

John the Baptist refused to speak of himself when asked by the priests and Levites who he was. He wanted only to tell them that He was a voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord!” “I am not the Christ!” John confessed, demonstrating the power of his preaching that he even needed to dispel that rumor. “Are you Elijah?” they then asked. Malachi prophesies in chapter 4, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” And Jesus tells us that John is indeed Elijah to come (Matthew 11:14). By this Jesus means that John comes in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). John denies that he is Elijah from heaven. They then ask John if he is a prophet. Jesus indeed calls John more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9). Yet, John denies to be the Prophet, of whom Moses prophesies in Deuteronomy 18, because that Prophet is the Christ Himself, who is our Prophet, Priest, and King.
John does a lot of denying who he is not. He wants to be known only as a voice, because he wants them to listen to his voice. John doesn’t want to talk about himself, he wants to talk about Jesus, for whose way he has been sent to prepare. The priests and Levites are entirely unimpressed by John’s answer. “This guy doesn’t want to make anything out of himself except that he is a voice? Why then are these great crowds coming to hear him? Why are they weeping with sorrow over their sins as he preaches, and weeping with joy over their forgiveness when they leave him? Why is he making disciples by baptizing them?”
John answers, “I baptize with water…” Now, there are many today, who will jump and say, “John’s baptism doesn’t do anything. It’s just a symbol.” And they’ll say the same about Baptism today. “Baptism can’t save you,” they’ll say, “It’s only water. You need the Baptism of the Spirit!” But John is not saying that his baptism is nothing, let alone calling the Baptism into which we are baptized today, nothing! Jesus tells us that John’s baptism was from heaven (Matthew 21:23-27). And John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). Both repentance and forgiveness cannot come from man but must be granted by God! And John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus as a dove and he heard the voice of God the Father from heaven declare Jesus His beloved Son when he baptized Jesus. John knew that his baptism was not nothing!
So, why does John say that he baptizes with water, while Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit? (John 1:33) Because John is confessing to be only a tool, an instrument. He’s like a hammer or a saw. He is useful to the one who sent him. It is as St. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 3, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (vs. 6) John pours water, but the Holy Spirit is sent by Christ. So also, John is a voice which preaches repentance, yet it is the Holy Spirit who comes and changes hearts. And so, we should not despise Baptism today, or the Lord’s Supper, or the preaching of the Gospel, because it is just water, or just bread and wine, or just a man talking. No, the Holy Spirit comes to us through these means. God points us to Christ through these means. Jesus is given to us by these instruments.
We need John’s preaching as we begin to celebrate Christmas. John wants to preach nothing but Jesus. He doesn’t want you to consider himself at all. He’s just a voice. But listen to the content of that voice. It is all about Jesus! Christmas is all about Jesus. It’s not about Santa and reindeer. It’s not about your mom’s special recipes or the movie you love to watch as a family. It’s not about the presents.
And while this may seem obvious, this is a great comfort to hear! Because this also means that we still get to celebrate Christmas even if all these other things are taken away, if you must cancel your travel plans because of bad weather or sickness or poverty, if you spend Christmas caring for a sick loved one or even sitting at a loved one’s deathbed, or mourning the death of someone you lost this year. You can celebrate Christmas without presents, without a Christmas tree and without spending a fortune. It’s not about all that extra stuff. Christmas, and indeed, our entire life, is all about Jesus. What great peace this gives!
Yet, beware lest you dismiss John’s message as being overly simple. Here I must warn you against Gospel reductionism. Gospel reductionism is the practice of eliminating anything in the Bible that doesn’t have to do with the Gospel. It may originally have had a good intention of focusing on the Gospel, but it results in eliminating useful teachings of Scripture and even the Gospel itself! Gospel reductionism is practiced by many liberal churches, which don’t want to offend people by teachings of the Bible that they think are not relevant to the Gospel. And Gospel reductionism is practiced by individuals, who do not want to confront their own sin or ignorance of God’s Word.
Call it what you will, this is a popular practice. “All we need is Jesus!” Doesn’t that sound nice! “Just so long as we believe in Jesus, that’s all that matters.” “Just as long as we all love Jesus! It doesn’t matter what we believe, whether we go to church, where we go to church. Let’s just focus on what’s important: Jesus!” But this is not what John is preaching when he points only to Jesus! Who is Jesus? What has He done? Why has He done it? These are important questions that need to be answered. So, when John reduces himself to only a voice, only a pourer of water, he is not reducing Jesus in any way. Rather, he wants to proclaim everything we need to know about Jesus!
John preaches three particularly important things that lead us to Jesus. First, John preaches repentance. Most people think they know what repentance means. It means to say sorry for doing something wrong. Yet, repentance is not simply saying sorry. The word for repentance means to change your mind. To turn from what you are doing and to live and think differently. Luther stated in his first thesis of his 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Our Lutheran Confessions teach, from Holy Scripture, that repentance has two parts. First, is contrition, that is, terror of conscience from the knowledge of sin. The second is faith, which believes the Gospel that God forgives us our sins for Christ’s sake. It then says that good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance (Augsburg Confession XII).
This was not the mere opinion of the Lutheran reformers, but what John the Baptist preached. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Luke 3:8), John preached to the crowd. “Give your extra tunic to him who has none. Tax collectors, collect no more than you are authorized to. Soldiers, do not threaten or extort money, but be content with your wages.” John preached a change of life! And this is what all of Scripture teaches about repentance. St. Paul tells us to put off the old self and put on the new, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, to put away fornication, slander, drunkenness, and to put on humility, gentleness, and truth. You have not repented properly if you think that you have finished repenting. Because your old self with its sin and unbelief continues to cling to you until you die, you are not done repenting until you have put your old self off once and for all! St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 that Christ gave the church teachers of the Gospel so that we may be equipped “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (vss. 13-14) So, when John teaches us to repent, he is teaching us to continue to conform ourselves to Christ our entire lives.
Second, John preaches the two natures of Christ: His divinity and His humanity. He says that Jesus came after him, but he also says that Jesus was before him. How can Jesus come after John and yet be before John? Jesus was born about six months after John and He began his ministry about a year or so after John began his. Yet, Christ is before John, because He is the eternal Son of the Father. He is the Word, who was with God and was God from the beginning. John is teaching that this Jesus is both God and man. This is significant when we talk about only Jesus being important. That is true. But which Jesus are we talking about? The Muslims believe in Jesus. They think He was a great prophet. But they deny that He is God or that He died for our sins. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in Jesus. But they deny that He is God and they deny that He rose from the dead bodily. Just saying you believe in Jesus or that you love Jesus is not enough, if you do not define what you mean by Jesus. John preaches the Jesus who is true God and true man.
This teaching that Jesus is true God and true man is important for the third thing John preaches about Jesus. John preaches that Christ Jesus is the Redeemer who makes atonement for our sins. In Ruth chapter 4, Boaz wanted to redeem Ruth, so that he could marry her. Yet, she had a redeemer closer than Boaz. Yet that man did not desire to marry Ruth, so he refused to redeem her dead husband’s land. So, he took his sandal and passed it over to Boaz, which is how they legally indicated a passing of the right of redeemer in those days. John says that he is not worthy to carry Jesus’ sandals. He is saying that he is not worthy to be our Redeemer, because John is just a voice. He is only a man, even if the greatest man born of woman. But Jesus is both God and man, He both comes after and is before John. This is why John points to Jesus and proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus redeems us from sin, death, and hell by taking our sins away from us. He suffered and died for them in our place, thus making atonement for them. Because He is God, His death is a sufficient price to pay for all our sins. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.
John wants to reduce himself to just a voice, who pours water. John only wants to preach about Jesus. But John does not want to reduce Jesus in anyway. John doesn’t want to reduce Scripture in any way. Jesus is the reason for the season. This means that Jesus is our Redeemer, who has atoned for our sins. It means we are celebrating the birth of our God in human flesh. It means we continue our constant practice of repenting, that is, changing our minds from those set on earthly things to having the mind of Christ. There is a lot that we can eliminate from our lives, that we can reduce, so that we can focus on what is truly important. But we ought never reduce Jesus and His Word. We want only Jesus, and we want all of Jesus. Only He will give us true peace and a merry Christmas. Amen.

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How To Listen to a Sermon

1/2/2023

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Isenheim Altarpiece, Matthis Grünewald, 1512-16, public domain.

Advent 4| John 1:19-28| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| December 18, 2022

No, no, no. That’s what John answers to the messengers of the Pharisees. “I’m not the Christ.” Well, we knew that already. “I’m not Elijah.” Wait, but doesn’t Jesus tell us that John is Elijah? (Matthew 11:13 and 17:11-13) Indeed, he does. So, John must mean that he is not literally Elijah and Jesus simply means that John comes in the spirit of Elijah, as the angel Gabriel explains (Luke 1:17). “I’m not the prophet.” But hold on again. Doesn’t Jesus say that John is more than a prophet? Why does John deny being a prophet? Perhaps because John’s inquisitors are asking if John is the Prophet as prophesied in Deuteronomy 18, which God will raise up from among the Jews. John is not the Prophet, because that Prophet is the Messiah Himself. Whichever way we explain John’s negative answers, there is one positive answer John does give about himself. He says, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
It’s evident that John doesn’t want to talk about himself! He’s a voice; that’s it! John doesn’t want to talk about himself. He wants to talk about Jesus, just as he did in last week’s Gospel lesson, pointing his disciples to Jesus. Yet, if John doesn’t want to be focused on, why did the ancients appoint two Sundays in a row focusing on John the Baptist? And why did the Holy Spirit cause all four evangelists to give us extensive information about John’s ministry? Because John is the voice to which we should all pay attention.
Christ Jesus is our Savior. He has done everything necessary to save us, because we poor sinners are incapable of saving ourselves. And this salvation from Jesus is delivered to us as a gift through words, as St. Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” So, in order to hear the word of Christ, there must be a voice. We must learn about John the Baptist, so that we learn to listen to the voice God sends us, which proclaims salvation. There is no other way to receive saving faith and be saved than to listen to the voice God sends.
I have a bad habit, if you don’t mind me sharing. My mind often goes astray while I’m reading. Without me realizing it, my mind will wander so that I will sometimes have to go back and reread a couple pages, because my eyes were glancing over the words, but my mind was distracted by something else. And a similar thing plagued me back when I was a student listening to lectures for hours a day. And one thing I’ve learned in life, is that I’m not special. If I’ve got a problem, chances are lots of other people have had that same problem.
Scripture emphasizes the importance of the voice. John is the voice who prepares the way of the Lord for us. Jesus tells His apostles that whoever hears them hear Him (Luke 10:16). And so, Christians go to church to hear sermons preached to them. Yet, people increasingly go to church less frequently and hear fewer and fewer sermons. And when they do go, how much do they get out of the sermon? Do they recognize the theme or is the sermon to them just a jungle of unrelated sentences? Can they distinguish between the law and the Gospel? Do they even listen to the whole sermon, or does their mind wander in and out until the pastor says, “Amen”?
Listening to a sermon is in fact a learned skill. This is why I give my catechism students service reports, where they have to identify the theme, law, and Gospel in each sermon. So, on this Sunday in which the Holy Spirit reminds us to take heed of the voice sent by God, let us review how to listen to a sermon. Every good sermon should do three things. It should preach the law, the Gospel, and teach you something.
First, what is the law and what does it do? The law is the Word of God, which commands us to love. The law commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We summarize the law in the Ten Commandments. So, the law in this sermon is obviously the Third Commandment, which commands us to fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and God’s Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Next, what does the Law do? The law does three things. First, it curbs, that is, it threatens punishment to those who transgress God’s commandments, so that they do not break the commandments. So, when you hear that those who refuse to hear God’s preaching anger God, you fearfully go to church. That is the law acting as a curb.
Second, the law convicts you of sin, that is it accuses you of sin and threatens punishment. The law behaves like a mirror, showing you clearly what you have done wrong. This is why St. Paul says that no human being will be justified in God’s sight by works of the law, because through the law comes knowledge of sin. So, when you hear the preacher describe those who frequently miss church and do not listen to God’s preaching, or who come to church, but their mind wanders so that they do not listen or pay attention to what God is actually saying your conscience is convicted. So, you repent of your sin of despising God’s Word and you ask God for forgiveness. This is why the chief function of the law is to convict us of our sin, so that we may be saved through faith.
Finally, the law guides you. Christians, who have repented of their sins and believe in Christ’s forgiveness have been reborn of the Holy Spirit. This means that they desire to do what pleases God. Yet, Christians are still weak and the sinful flesh persuasive. So, Christians having been freed from the burden of the law’s convictions now use the law as a guide. They gladly learn God’s law, so that they can live God-pleasing lives and to keep their sinful flesh in check.
Every good sermon should preach the Gospel. The Gospel is the Word of God, which proclaims our Savior. The main purpose of the law is to prepare a sinner for the Gospel. The Gospel saves sinners. If you aren’t a sinner, then you don’t need the Gospel. And if you don’t believe you are a sinner, then you’ll despise the Gospel. This is why a good sermon does not preach only the Gospel without the law. Yet, it is imperative that you distinguish between the law and the Gospel. The law demands your works. The Gospel does not demand any works. Rather, the Gospel is the good news that Jesus has done all the work needed to save you. The law demands work from you and it is never accomplished. The Gospel tells you of the work already accomplished for you. The law cannot save you. Only the Gospel can save you.
When we speak of the Gospel, we must speak of how salvation is gained, given, and received. Salvation is gained by Christ Jesus alone, who by His death made satisfaction for our sins. Yet, that salvation Jesus won for you can do you no good unless you receive it. So, this salvation must be given to you. Salvation is given through the Word alone. This is why Jesus commanded that the Gospel be preached to the whole creation, so that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:15-16). Jesus also joins His Word to physical elements, such as water in Baptism and bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. So, salvation is also given through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, because Jesus has joined His promise of forgiveness and salvation to them.
Finally, salvation is received through faith alone. When you believe and trust in the Gospel declared to you, then you receive the salvation Jesus gained for you on the cross freely as a gift. So, faith does not compete with Baptism or the Lord’s Supper. Faith receives the salvation given in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. So, when a sermon preaches the Gospel it may not only express how salvation is gained, but also how it is given and received. So, a sermon preaching on Baptism or the Lord’s Supper or even on the preached Word is a Gospel sermon.
Thirdly, every good sermon should teach you something. The teaching in a sermon relates to both the law and the Gospel. There is a bit of confusion regarding the teaching in sermons, because people tend to be unduly proud of themselves. They often think that they know more than they do. And they think that if they’ve learned something once, then they don’t need to learn it again. However, that isn’t true even in non-spiritual matters. Yet, in spiritual matters, it is doubly untrue. Because what you learn in a sermon is not simply knowledge that you keep in your brain like how to do long-division. The knowledge you learn from listening to God’s Word goes to battle against Satan and your sinful flesh, curbs evil desires, convicts you of sin, guides you and comforts you, rescues you from doubt and despair, and strengthens your faith. You can’t say that you’ve learned something once in a sermon, so you don’t need to hear it again unless after hearing a sermon once, you stop sinning entirely and have perfect faith in Christ. Of course, then you would still desire to hear God’s Word out of pure pleasure.
So, what does this Gospel lesson teach us. Regarding the law, we’ve already learned that God commands us to listen to His Word. Yet, with regard to the Gospel we learn a couple of things. First, we learn that God’s salvation is given to us through a voice. God sends a voice to prepare His way. As He did with John, so He does today. If you are to receive God’s salvation, then you must listen to the voice which gives you God’s salvation.
Second, this voice itself teaches us something. John says, “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.” Here John refers to Deuteronomy 18, where God tells Moses that He will raise up a prophet from among them. This prophet is Christ. But what does it mean that John is not worthy to remove the straps from His sandals? It means a couple things. First, it means that Jesus is God. John is not even worthy to remove Jesus’ sandals, even though John came preaching before Jesus. Later in this same chapter, John tells us that Jesus is the one who came after him, but is before him. How can Jesus be both before and after John? He is after John, because He was born six months after him and began His ministry after John began his. Yet, He is before John, because Jesus is God Himself, the Word made flesh. This teaches us how our salvation is gained. If Jesus is not true man and true God, then He cannot pay for the sins of all mankind on the cross.
Next, it means that Jesus is the Redeemer. In the book of Ruth, Boaz tells the next of kin to Ruth’s dead husband that he is Ruth’s redeemer. Yet, the man was not willing to take Ruth as his wife. So, Boaz became Ruth’s redeemer. In order to legally confirm this exchange of redeemers, the man drew of his sandal and gave it to Boaz to mark Boaz as the legal redeemer of Ruth, and so Ruth became Boaz’s bride (Ruth 4:7ff). When John says that he is not worthy to loosen Jesus’ sandal strap, he is saying that he is not worthy to be the Redeemer. This means that Jesus and Jesus alone is the Redeemer of the world, as John himself proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The voice makes straight the way of the Lord into your heart by proclaiming Christ Jesus, true God and true man, as the only true Redeemer to pay for your sins on the cross and take them away.
Sometimes people complain that they don’t learn anything from sermons. And there are some lousy preachers out there. However, often the problem is not in the preacher, but in the hearer, who isn’t listening to what is being taught, the law or the Gospel. Today, the Holy Spirit tells us to take heed of the voice preparing our Savior’s way to us. And when you take heed of this voice, you’ll recognize your Redeemer. Amen.

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Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

12/23/2021

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"Saint John The Baptist In A Landscape Pointing At The Figure Of Christ", Annibale Carracci, 1580s-90s. Public Domain.

Advent 4
John 1:29
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
December 19, 2021

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

When John the Baptist declared that he was the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said, he was calling himself a preacher. John prepares the way of the Lord Christ by preaching. This is the only way to make way for the Lord, because Christ can only be received through faith. And faith comes by hearing. John prepares the way of the Lord by bringing sinners to repentance. We are familiar with John’s Law preaching. He calls the Pharisees broods of vipers. He warns that the axe is laid to the root of the tree ready to cut down any tree that does not bear good fruits. He tells people who have plenty to share with those who have little. He tells tax collectors not to collect more than they are authorized, and soldiers not to extort money, but to be content with their wages. John dies preaching the Law, as he preached against King Herod’s sexual immorality, which led to his head being cut off.

Yet, John is also the greatest Gospel preacher who ever lived. As he preached the Law in unwavering strictness, so he proclaimed the Gospel in sweet purity. John preached the Law in order to make way for the preaching of the Gospel; he exposed people’s sins, so that he could share with them the remedy for their sin-sick souls.

There are plenty of popular televangelists and radio preachers, with swaths of listeners, clinging to their “practical” advice and feel-good preaching. For centuries, churches have heard nothing from their pulpits but lists of rules and virtues they must follow in order to live a Christian life and be saved. And even today, although churches tend to be mostly empty, podcasts multiply continuously with innumerable listeners seeking knowledge and advice that will make their lives better. Yet with thirteen simple words, John the Baptist preaches more than these talking heads on television, radio, podcasts, and yes, in pulpits say in their countless hours of yammering and blabbering.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is a sermon that gives more hope and comfort than a thousand sermons, books, or podcasts. This is a sermon you cannot hear too many times. It has sustained the church for two thousand years. It has been cemented into our Sunday liturgy. It is a message that will prepare your heart to face death and meet your Maker.

Behold! This means, “Look!” John is not one of those Old Testament prophets, who look and inquire into their own prophecies, trying to inquire what person or time the Christ would come (1 Peter 1:10-12). No, John can see Jesus Christ before his very eyes. You can follow the direction of his finger and see Jesus before him. “Behold! Look. He stands in the midst of you, he who comes after me, who was before me!”

And this address is as urgent to us today as it was to those who could see Jesus walking along the banks of the Jordan River. Behold! Look! Whatever you were looking at before, stop and give your attention to Jesus. Whatever is occupying your mind right now, set it aside. Something more important demands your attention. Christ Jesus is here. We are not ignorant as the saints in the Old Testament were of when or who he would be. We know him. His Gospel has been given to us. We have his Baptism. He offers us his body and blood. And so, the call of John rings out into a twenty-first century with no sign of being silenced anytime soon. Behold! Turn your attention to Christ!

The word, “behold,” is a call to repentance. There are two words most commonly used in the Bible for repent. The one literally means to turn. The other literally means to change your mind. The word, ‘behold,’ demands that you turn away from what you are doing, what you are thinking, and focus on the one, who alone can save you.

What are we supposed to turn our gaze to? “The Lamb of God.” The title, “Lamb of God” has implications easy to recognize for anyone who knows the Old Testament. Lambs had been sacrificed to God since God first commanded Adam to sacrifice a beast, so that he could clothe himself and his wife and cover their shame (Genesis 3:21). Abel continued this practice by offering the first of his flock and their fat portions (Genesis 4:4). And God established the Levitical Priesthood and commanded the priests to offer a lamb sacrifice every morning and evening, not to mention the yearly sacrifice of the Passover lamb and many other sacrifices to be carried out by the descendants of Levi and Aaron.

John the Baptist, of course, is a Levite, the son of a priest named Zechariah. His mother was a daughter of Aaron, the first High Priest. Yet, John does not grow up to be a priest. He does not sacrifice lambs at the temple as his fathers before him did. Rather, John points to the Lamb who ends all lamb sacrifices. John acknowledges that the priesthood of Aaron must decrease and the priesthood of Melchizedek must increase.

By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, he is calling Jesus the Christ, the anointed sacrifice, prepared by God to make atonement for all sin. God commanded that they shed the blood of lambs, because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Sacrificial lambs needed to be without blemish, the best of their flock. The connotation was obvious. Lambs had their blood shed in order to save the lifeblood of people. The blood of lambs was smeared on the doorposts of the Israelites as death passed over their houses and then struck the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12). The firstborn of Israel were ransomed with the blood of lambs.

And so, by calling Jesus the Lamb of God, he is calling him a sacrifice without blemish. He is blameless before God. He is without sin. By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, he is declaring that he will shed his blood for others, that he will forfeit his life to save others. There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood, but the blood of bulls and goats and countless lambs cannot take away sins (Hebrews 9:22; 10:4). Only the Lamb of God can take away sins. Only the true Shepherd of his sheep, who takes on human flesh and fulfills the Law in their stead, the only man ever to live without blemish, who truly is their God, can wash away their sins with his blood. This is a unique Lamb of God. He is the only one. And John tells us to look to him.

What will this Lamb of God do? John answers us, “He takes away the sin of the world.” Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would lay upon the Christ the iniquities of us all and that he would die for our transgressions, going forth silently as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53). Christ is blameless as a lamb prepared for sacrifice. Yet, he bears the sins of all, so that he may take them away with his own blood.

There is no message more comforting and pressing than this. You have no greater need than the forgiveness of sins. Sin is the cause of your death. Sin is the cause of your anxiety. The reason you have a troubled marriage, why you have enemies, why you feel pain, why you feel guilt and shame, why you are afraid to talk about certain things, why you fear death, why you are going to die. This all has to do with your sin. Your sin separates you from God. It creates doubt in your heart. Your sin warrants you eternal punishment in hell. We use euphemisms to cover up the ugliness of sin. We talk about being broken, imperfect, flawed, and many other expressions meant to soften the accusations of the Law. But it is sin. This is convicting. Sin means that you have committed the wrong. It is your fault. Sin means that you have broken God’s Law, that you have harmed others with your selfish words and actions, that you have lacked love and been rich in hate. Even worse, sin means that your offense is against the righteous God, who has the right to throw you in hell. Whoever thinks his sin is no big deal, not something worth addressing or worrying about, is a fool. Unless it is taken away, your sin will damn you to hell.

Yet, John proclaims that this Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. Well, are you in this world? Then this Lamb of God takes away your sin. Now you see why John tells you to drop everything and look to him. This Lamb of God sheds his blood for you, so that your sin will be washed away. This is the heart of the Gospel. This is what we sing every Sunday. And we will sing his sermon as a hymn of praise to the Lamb of God as he sits on his throne for ever and ever.

He takes away the sin of the world!  This gives you confidence to speak to God, to call Jesus your friend. Pop-culture has re-casted Jesus as a soft-spoken nice guy, who is accepting of everyone, who doesn’t rebuke, but ignores sin. This is how churches and religious organizations, who support and defend the most horrendous sinful behavior condemned by Scripture, still claim Jesus as their leader. They simply have reimagined Jesus. But Jesus is not approachable, because he doesn’t call sin, sin. Jesus isn’t your friend, because he calls wickedness good and ignores what the Law of God says. No, Jesus is approachable, because he has removed from you what is offensive to God. Jesus is your friend, because he has taken your sins away.

This proclamation of John truly is the greatest sermon preached by a mortal man. These are words that you can shout to Satan to get him to slither back into his fiery hole. These are words you can use to bind up the broken heart and comfort the troubled conscience. This sermon draws you near to God to pray to him in confidence, to praise him as your God and Lord. This message of comfort causes true repentance, a turning away from evil, and a change of mind. This message prepares the way of the Lord into your heart, so that you receive him in faith.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The time to behold him is now. The time to believe on him and call upon him is now. He is your Savior. He is your victory over sin and death. Let this sermon be imprinted on your heart forever, so that you may dwell with Christ in victory forever.

Let us pray,
On my heart imprint Your image,
Blessed Jesus, King of grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures
Never may Your work erase;
Let the clear inscription be:
Jesus crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope’s foundation,
And my glory and salvation! Amen.

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John the Baptist Teaches Us to Confess

12/22/2020

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St. John the Baptist Preaching, Mattia Preti, circa 1665, Public Domain

Advent 4
December 20, 2020

John the Baptist confesses and, in his confession, he teaches us how to confess. To confess means to speak the same. John repeats back the same message that God gives him to speak. And we, by repeating the words of John the Baptist, confess Christ. John the Baptist speaks the truth. So, when we speak what he speaks, we too confess the truth.
John confesses and does not deny, but confesses. Of course, whenever you confess, you deny something. By confessing to be a voice sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord, John must confess himself not to be the Christ. Yet, the priests and Levites sent by the Pharisees were not satisfied with this answer. “Are you Elijah?”, they ask. John certainly comes in the spirit of Elijah, so that even Jesus Christ calls him Elijah, yet, John answers, “No.” He is not Elijah sent down from heaven. “Are you the Prophet?” they then ask? John is neither the Prophet promised by Moses, whom God would raise up from among the Jews (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). That Prophet is the very Christ, whom John has already said he is not. Nor is John like the prophets of the Old Testament, who longed to see that which they prophesied, yet died before its fulfillment. John is preparing the way of the Christ who is come, who has arisen, who stands among the people! John is a voice preparing his way!
But these priests and Levites are not satisfied with this answer either. They despise John for being a voice. “If you’re just a voice and you’re not someone important like the Christ, or Elijah, or one of the prophets, then why are you baptizing? Why do you have so many people coming out to hear you?” John answers in a way saying, “Yeah, you’re right. I am just a voice. I baptize with water. But pay attention to the one whose way I prepare! He is much greater than I am, and he is already standing among you!” John of course, is speaking of Jesus Christ, true God, who has joined our human race in fulfillment of the prophecies.
Yet, the priests and Levites should not despise John for being a voice, because he is the very voice sent by God to prepare the way of Christ our Lord into our hearts. John says he baptizes with water. That’s a way of saying, “Yes, I am only a tool, like a hammer or saw.” Yet, John is not saying that his Baptism is nothing. Rather, Jesus himself indicates that John’s Baptism is from heaven (Matthew 21:25). So, while John is just a man baptizing with plain water, his Baptism is from God himself! Likewise, John is just a man, not the Christ, Elijah, or one of the prophets of old back from the dead. And he is speaking in ordinary language that even the tax-collectors, sinners, and soldiers can understand. Yet, his words are from heaven! And his message raises valleys and lowers hills to prepare the way of God’s Son.
And this is indeed the way it always is. Those who consider themselves wise and important despise the voice God sends out into the word for its meager appearance, so that Isaiah the Prophet himself declares, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” (Isaiah 53:1) Yet, those who do believe the voice God sends declare, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7). Why? Because, this good news grants forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe it! The voice is despised by those who cannot look past the man wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey. The voice is ignored by those who will not consider it the voice of God. Yet, Jesus says to his disciples, “The one who hears you hears me.” And God himself made John the voice crying in the wilderness. This is why the Prophet Moses rebuked the people of Israel by saying, “What are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD.” (Exodus 16:8)
And so, we should not only listen to this voice from God, but we should repeat the words this voice proclaims, that is we should confess what he confesses to us. We should make his sermon our personal confession. St. John the Baptist and all of Holy Scripture, teach us to confess two things: 1). something about ourselves and 2). something about Christ.
First, what do John and Holy Scripture teach us to confess about ourselves? That we are sinners. Scripture tells us that John told his hearer to repent. Now, the word repent has a broad and a narrow meaning. I spoke about the broad meaning of repent last week in my sermon. The broad meaning of repent has two parts: first, sorrow over sin and second, faith in Christ. The narrow meaning of repent, however; only includes the first part: sorrow over sin. When John preaches this narrow repentance, he is telling his hearers to confess something about themselves, that they are sinners. That is why St. Matthew’s Gospel records that John’s hearers were confessing their sins to John in the Jordan (Matthew 3:6).
This is what Scripture consistently teaches us to confess about ourselves. Psalm 32 states, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” This is what Scripture tells us to confess about ourselves. And this is what the Voice, who prepares the way for the Lord tells us to confess. In this way, the way is made straight for Jesus.
Isaiah says that the Voice will raise valleys and flatten mountains and hills to make way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:4). Yet, this is spoken as an analogy. The way of the Lord is the way to our hearts. And the valleys are raised and the mountains flattened when we are brought to repentance, that is, when we confess that we are sinners.
Now, it is not true that all sins are the same. Some sins are worse than other sins. Some sins have worse consequences, cause more harm, drive you further from repentance, harden your hearts, and so forth. Everyone knows this. This is why you get a ticket for illegal parking, but you get put in prison for armed robbery. Yet, all sins are the same in one respect. They all separate you from God and bar you from heaven. “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”, Jesus tells us. (Matthew 5:48). The Law of God makes no distinction, but declares that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And St. James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. (James 2:10) This is what it means for the valleys to be raised and the hills be made low. We are all on the same level ground. God has imprisoned everyone under sin, so that he may have mercy on all (Romans 11:32; Galatians 3:22).
Before the judgment seat of God, it doesn’t matter who is a better or worse sinner. Quibbling about that is like fighting to get on the bow or stern of the Titanic while it is sinking. No, we are all sinners. None of us can save ourselves. We all need a Savior. That is why John the Voice was sent from God first tells us to confess about ourselves that we are sinners, so that we know we need a Savior.
Now that we have confessed ourselves to be sinners, who deserve nothing but punishment, John teaches us to confess something about Christ. The very next verse after our Gospel lesson, the Evangelist writes, “The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Now, you see why it is so important that you first confess about yourself that you are a sinner before you then confess who Christ is! If you do not confess yourself to be a sinner, then this Christ will be of no help to you. Yet, since you confess and the Voice has taught you that you are a sinner, then what this Voice teaches you to confess about the Christ is the most wonderful message your tongue can declare!
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of God, that is, he is the appointed sacrifice, who makes atonement for our sins. He takes away the sin of the world. Which sin? The sin of the world. All of it. Whatever sin there is in the world, Jesus takes it away. So, are you a sinner in the world? Then, Jesus has taken your sin away! He bore it as he went to the cross. His dying took it away forever. Now, through faith in this Lamb of God, you are free from the eternal consequences of your sin. You have no fear of hell. You are forgiven and redeemed.
The voice is not finished with his task by only teaching you to confess that you are a sinner. He must also teach you to confess about the Christ, that he takes away your sins. This is why the Prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” This is the instruction God gives to John, the Voice in the wilderness, to make straight the way of Christ Jesus into our hearts. And this is the instruction God gives to every voice he sends to proclaim the Gospel. Our hearts are not prepared to receive Christ simply by confessing about ourselves that we are sinners. Our hearts are prepared to receive Christ when we confess about him that he takes our sins away.
“Cry to her” our God says, “that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” God’s warfare against us is over, because his wrath is taken away. Our iniquities are forgiven. We have received double for our sins, meaning, not only has the price of our sins been paid on the cross, so that we do not have to suffer the punishment for them, but we also receive the reward as heirs of the Kingdom of God. All this is communicated to us sinners by the words, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This is why we not only confess our sins each and every Sunday, but we confess these same words of John the Baptist, “O Christ, thou Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!” This is the confession of those whose hearts have made way for the Lord. This is the confession of those who are saved. Amen.

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The Voice Prepares the Way of the Lord into our Hearts

12/22/2019

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Isenheimer Altar, ehemals Hauptaltar des Antoniterklosters in Isenheim/Elsaß, Werktagsseite, Mittelbild: Kreuzigung Christi, Mathias Grünwald, 1512-16, Public Domain

John 1:19-28
December 22, 2019

Last week we learned about how great John the Baptist was. Here, we see that even those who do not follow John have noticed that there is something special about him. So, the Pharisees send priests and Levites to investigate and ask John, who he is. Yet, John is not interested in talking about himself. John wants to talk about Jesus, the Christ, who has come to save sinners.
“I am not the Christ,” John confesses. Christ is the Greek translation of the word Messiah, which means anointed one. The Jews were waiting for the promised Messiah, the son of David, who would lead the people Israel and sit on an eternal throne. John is not the Christ. Rather, he comes to bear witness about the Christ.
“Are you Elijah?” they then ask. You might remember that the prophet Elijah never died. He ascended into heaven in a whirlwind riding a fiery chariot as he passed his mantel onto Elisha. Moreover, the last prophesy given in the Old Testament was given by the prophet Malachi, who said, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” Since Elijah never died, many thought Elijah would return from heaven. Yet, John is not the same Elijah who ascended into heaven. John was born of Elizabeth the wife of Zechariah, the priest. However, the angel Gabriel did tell Zechariah that his son John would go before the Lord in the spirit and the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17) and Jesus himself calls John, Elijah (Matthew 11:14). So, John does fulfill this prophecy of Malachi concerning the coming of Elijah, but he is not the same Elijah from the Old Testament, rather, he carries out the office of Elijah by pointing the way to Christ.
Yet, instead of explaining all this, John simply says, “No.” Knowing that these priests and Levites do not understand what they are asking.
“Are you the prophet?” they ask. This shows again the confusion of these inquisitors. The prophet is not just any prophet, but a specific prophet foretold of in Deuteronomy 18, which was our Old Testament lesson. God told Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”
This is called a Messianic Prophecy. A Messianic prophecy is a prophecy about the Messiah, that is, it is God promising through a prophet to send the Christ. This Prophet, whom God will raise up from among the Jewish brethren is the Christ. John does not fulfill this prophecy, but rather Jesus, born of Mary to the house of David does. Jesus is the Prophet. So again, John answers, “No.”
So, they ask, “Who then are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” John says, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah says.”
This is a huge statement! John is claiming to be that voice promised by the prophet Isaiah. The voice, who would lift up the valleys and lower the mountains; who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord! We heard this prophecy last week. Isaiah said the voice would call all the people grass, which will wither away. This means that you cannot trust in any human being. You cannot trust in yourself. You cannot earn your way to heaven, rather all your works will fade away like the grass in the field. This voice will tell the people to prepare the way of the Lord by repenting of their sins and looking to the Lord, who comes with comfort and forgiveness.
Yet, these priests and Levites completely miss the point. John has clearly moved the discussion away from himself and over to the coming of the Lord, but these so-called experts of the Law are still dwelling on John. “Why then are you baptizing,” they ask, “If you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John must be astounded at their one-dimensional mind.
“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.” This is as if John said, “Why are you still asking about me? I just told you that the Lord is near! I’m nothing! I just pour water. But I tell you of one who is so great, I’m not even worthy to untie his sandles!
This isn’t to say that John’s baptism is nothing. Jesus himself tells us that John’s Baptism is from heaven. But John speaks as any minister of Christ. “I’m nothing. Don’t focus on me. Focus on Christ Jesus! He has the real power. I just pour water, but he is the one who is doing the real work in Baptism. I just speak words, but he is the one who is really forgiving sins through my words. Don’t look at me. Look to Christ!”
This is John’s entire ministry. He says of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) For John to become nothing, so that Jesus may become everything in the hearts of his hearers is John’s greatest desire. Jesus is the bridegroom. The Church is his bride. John the Baptist says in John chapter 3, “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.” And so, John rejoices at the coming of the Lord as people flock to Jesus.
John’s ministry is all about Jesus. John says of Jesus, “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’” With these words John confesses Jesus to be true God and true man. Jesus comes after John. His ministry began after John’s. He was born after John, being about six months younger than him. John knows that Jesus is a man. Yet, John also knows that Jesus is God. He confesses that he is before him. He calls him the Son of God. (John 1:32-34) John confesses that Jesus comes from above and is above all; that he gives the Spirit without measure; that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life!” John unwaveringly confessed Jesus to be the Christ.
And John also confessed Jesus to be the Savior, who would take away all sins. He pointed to Christ and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” And to John’s great joy, a couple of his disciples stopped following him and began to follow Jesus.
This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet said that John would do. He writes, “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:9-11)
When Isaiah prophesies of John, he speaks more about Jesus than he does of John. Jesus is our God who comes to shepherd us. It is John’s job to proclaim this. And that he does. This is the most important job in the world, because faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). This is why Scripture says, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news.” The way we receive Jesus into our hearts as our Savior and Redeemer is by hearing and believing his words. And for this reason, God sends out his ministers to be his voice, to echo John the Baptist, and proclaim the coming of the Lord. This involves raising valleys and flattening mountains by preaching repentance from sins; and it involves comforting those trapped in darkness with the light of the world, Jesus Christ.
Yet, just as the priests and Levites were distracted by John and his funny way of dressing and eating (He wore camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey), and his odd way of preaching (He called those who came out to him brood of vipers! And he even preached against the sins of the king!), so people today become distracted by men and things and do not focus on Christ. People let that which is superficial distract them from Christ Jesus, who is the substance of our faith. And many get distracted by different voices that sound more appealing than the voice, which points to Christ.
Yet, we must not listen to any voice than that which points to Jesus Christ. John has set a standard for us. He points us to Jesus and to no one else. He makes straight the way of the Lord into our hearts by showing us our sins and need to repent. He tells us to bear fruit worthy of repentance, meaning, don’t just say you’re sorry, but actually mean it by stopping the sin you are committing and trying to do better! And he points to Jesus Christ alone, who is the Lamb of God, who takes your sins away. He preaches the truth and will not budge, even if his head is literally on the chopping block. John does this so that you look not to him, but to Jesus.
John did not confess himself. He confessed Christ Jesus. Jesus says that whoever confesses him before men, Jesus will confess before his Father in heaven. And Scripture also says, “With the mouth one confesses and is saved. John teaches us to be like him. John confessed Christ, and so Jesus confessed John before his Father and the whole world. John teaches you to confess Christ and no one else. Listen to Christ and do not get distracted by things that will fade away like grass.
This week we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners. He is the fulfillment of all Scripture. Our Savior. Our Prince of Peace. But we won’t find him in a manger wrapped in Swaddling Clothes. We find him in the voice of John, which proclaims Jesus and makes a way for Christ Jesus to dwell in our hearts. May Jesus dwell in our hearts through faith until we see him return to gather us home. Amen.

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Rev. James Preus

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