The Testimony of John The Baptist

Series

Prepare the way. Advent means “coming.” We are preparing the way for Jesus Christ to come to us.

First Reading

Isaiah. 6th BCE. Preaching to the people coping with exile in Babylon. As Isaiah describes God’s promised redemption, he overflows with joy.

Isaiah 61:1–4 ESV

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:8–11 ESV

For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Second Reading

Over the past few weeks of Advent we have been slowly pivoting from a view of Jesus Christ coming to us at the end of history, to celebrating his first coming to us as a babe born in Bethlehem.

Our reading today comes from the gospel of John. John the Evangelist does not begin with an infancy narrative. Rather he begins with a description of the ministry of John the Baptist. He describes John’s ministry as pointing to Jesus the divine Son of God, who was coming into the world.

Before reading, I need to explain a technical word that John employs: Word. In Greek, logos. John borrows this term from Greek philosophy. The logos was understood as the governing principle of the universe. We say everything happens for a “reason.” The “reason” is the logos, the Word. Word is the “wisdom of the ages”; “the light of reason”, “the life-force” of the universe.

John 1:1–18 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Prayer

Lord God, Almighty and Eternal Creator of all that exists. You sent your Son into the world to give light and life. Graciously enable us right now to speak and to hear your Word and to receive Jesus your Son. Open our hearts and our minds and our whole lives with your Spirit, so that we might be and become your sons and daughters, as you so desire us to be, In Christ. Amen.

Introduction

An alien comes and visits. All the decorations. What is the big deal?

Exegesis 1: God the Son has come into the world

In the beginning was the Word.

“Logos” in Greek. Loaded philosophical word that would have been familiar to John’s readers in the ancient graeco-Roman world. Word was the organizing power/principle for why the cosmos is the way it is.

In our context, Star Wars fans would say, “In the Beginning was the Force.” Yellow Scroll. An energy field, it surrounds us, penetrates, and binds the universe together.

John also offers an allusion to Genesis 1.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

John bringing together two ways human conceive of ultimate reality:

Divinely revealed religion of Jews. Top down knowledge. God speaks. Reveals.

philosophy of the Greeks. Bottom up knowledge. We listen to nature, reason, and speculate.

Evangelist: That super, transcendent reality is what the Gospel is about.

Gospel is that God, the Word, has done something:

The Word, God, source of light and life, became flesh and dwelt among us. (v.14)

This is the one to whom John the Baptist testified.

v.7 John was not himself the light, but he pointed to the true light that was coming into the world, the light of all people.

John the Baptist was a prophet, like many before him, like Isaiah, like Elijah, and many others. They all directed people’s attention toward God, spoke a word from God to them.

But John was special in this way: he was able to point to God himself and say “There he is!”

Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth.

v. 15. He ranks ahead of me, before me, before all things.

A man of flesh and blood..is also the Divine God, the true light of all people, the central force and reason of the universe!

No one has ever seen God…until now. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father’s heart, makes him known.

When John the Baptist was preparing the people for Jesus the Christ, he was preparing them for God among us.

Application 1 - What does that mean?

We are — all of us humans— a searching people. Most deeply, looking for our connection with God.

We pursue religion, philosophy, science, speculation.

We desire to connect…can we… how will know?

Christmas message: we can connect with God because of Jesus Christ.

Example: Seeing a concert live. Same room as Bono. We saw Jackson Browne. My daughter saw Stevie Nicks. The 1975.

Why see them in concert. The actual artist. Connection. They are real. The talent all of it. Real.

We are in the same space and time. I am in the same room as Bono.

BIG DEAL: Christ God has come among us. Christmas — God with us. Advent — God comes to us! God has come into our space and time.

EXEGESIS 2: He came humbly

How he comes. Not with all the fanfare of a rock star.

v. 5 Light in the midst of darkness. Jesus always surrounded by darkness

at his birth, hunted by Herod. But protected by God.

in his ministry, tempted by the devil. But he overcame.

at the last, crucified by the Romans, but God raised him from the dead.

A light that the darkness cannot overcome.

But a light, nevertheless, in the midst of darkness.

Jesus, the Son of God, took on this stranger hood, to make is possible for us to receive him, rather than be compelled by him.

If he came in all his power it would be too overwhelming. When Jesus displayed the smallest fraction of his power, it provoked not love and intimacy, but fear:

Fish and Peter — depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!—

Driving out demons, and they begged him to depart their territory!

But calming the wind, causing the fish to catch. Who is this?

Rather than with power, he came with grace and truth.

Teaching. Beatitudes, greatest commandment, strive to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Healings, a providing food and drink. Tenderest of displays of power.

Presents a choice.

Can be rejected

v. 10, the world did not know him.

v. 11-12. To his own people, did not accept him.

But to there were also those who did receive him, there were those who did believe in his name — his nature that he was the Son of God.

Application 2: Do I really believe that?

I sometimes want to doubt. Could God really come to me through Jesus Christ. A Jewish man who lived in Israel 2,000 years ago?

to have that choice is a result of Jesus’ restraint.

Example: Make a Wish foundation. The Rock Star comes gently. I saw one of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. As soon as he got to the child, gentler, softer, knelt down, put the child at ease.

one there for 20yrs. I can’t believe I actually sat up for that!

God comes to me in a way that gives me a chance to receive him.

He comes into the darkness, with light enough to offer a choice, but not blind.

Big deal: I can choose him.

Exegesis 3: Becoming children of God.

Those who believed, experience a whole new kind of life.

Children of God.

not born of the flesh, not born of human will.

born of God.

Example of Nicodemus. Born again does not mean going back into the womb. It means a new spiritual life.

A birth of the spirit which connects you to God as surely as your body connects you to your biological parents.

This is gift of sheer grace.

You parents decided to give you life. Not you yourself.

God has decided to give you life. Not you yourself.

Grace! Blessing

Who do people say that I am? Simon Peter — you are the Christ the Son of God—, blessed are you, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven…

People open the door just as much as they can, and God will do the rest.

Son coming, to make many sons and daughters.

Application 3: What difference does it make?

It seems impossibly arrogant to say we could know God. How could we?

Example of different natures:

dog. plant. mineral. Not a shared nature. I can’t know what it is like to be them, or they to be me.

We can’t know and relate to God, different natures.

in Christ. He is like us, can understand.

born of the spirit, we can be like him, we can understand God.

Big Deal: the son of God becomes human, so that we sons and daughter of the flesh can become children of God.

Conclusion

Christmas. what is the big deal?

Really about. An amazing message.

God comes to us. He comes to us we can receive him. He comes to us so that we can have a relationship with him.

Let’s pray: God I recognize that you have sent your only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. I place my faith and trust in him, because he alone gives life to the dying and brings light into every darkness. I ask that you pour out your grace upon me that I might be born anew from above and always have life in his name. I believe and know that you hear this prayer and answer it and that I am your child now and forever. Amen.