Rorate Coeli

John the Baptist was a Christian. He was a follower of Christ. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). So, when the priests and Levites asked John, “Who are you?” John answered, “I am not the Christ” (Jn 1:20). John’s confession of Christ sounds more like a denial, and it was: “I am not the Christ.” But by denying himself, John confessed, and did not deny, but confessed the Christ. There’s a reason the Jews wanted to know who John was. It was obvious that God had gifted him with great power. John probably had all the talents that we wish our own pastors had. It’s likely he was engaging and charismatic, a powerful and moving orator. We know that he had a certain magnetism or star power, because all of Jerusalem was coming out to hear his message and be baptized by him. If John had claimed to be the Christ, many would have followed him to their destruction. But he was not interested in founding a movement or building a kingdom of his own. John denied himself and confessed Christ.

“Then who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not” (Jn 1:21). Elijah was regarded as the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. The Jews believed that Elijah would return bodily from heaven for he had not died as other men. One day Elijah crossed the Jordan River and went out into the wilderness. He was never seen again. He disappeared because God carried him up to heaven in a whirlwind. But when John the Baptist suddenly appeared out of the wilderness and came to the Jordan River, dressed like Elijah, the people were ready to believe that he was Elijah in the flesh. But John denied this too.

They asked him, “Are you the Prophet?” God had promised Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers.” (Deut 18:18). Since the time of Moses, God had sent many prophets to the Jewish people, but no prophet, not even Elijah, was like Moses. Scripture records, “There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deut 34:10). The Jews knew that this prophecy had not yet been fulfilled, and so they awaited the coming of this new Moses, whom they called “The Prophet.” So they asked John, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

The priests and Levites were now frustrated. They had exhausted every Messianic prophecy and gotten no answer. They had used every Messianic title they could think of, and John denied them all. They tried a new approach. “Who are you? What do you say about yourself?” (Jn 1:22). In other words, “We give up. No more guessing. You tell us who you are!”

The world tells you, “Be whoever you want be.” This was John’s chance. The Jews were likely to believe anything he told them. He could truthfully have said, “I am John, the son of Zechariah of the priestly order of Abijah. My birth was prophesied by the angel Gabriel,” or “I’m not the Christ, but I am his close relative. Our mothers were good friends,” or even, “I’m not the reincarnation of Elijah, but I have come in the spirit of Elijah. In fact, I’m the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets.” All these things would have been true. But this is not how John answered.

He said, “I am a voice crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’” (Jn 1:23). John’s mission was to prepare the way for the Christ, the light of the world. John was not the light. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him (Jn 1:7). John was so faithful to his mission that he refused to call himself anything other than “a voice.” He wanted to be a nameless, faceless individual, known only for speaking God’s Word, known only as “a voice.” Oh, that God would bless his church with faithful pastors such as this today.

When one of our churches calls a new pastor we all wonder what he will actually be like. We read his bio, we look at the call documents, we scan his Facebook page, but these things can’t really tell us about our new pastor’s character or personality. So we wonder, “Will he be boring or engaging? Will he speak the liturgy or chant it? Will he be a recluse or a people person? Will he be a nerd or a handsome stud? Will his voice be irritating or pleasing?” We obsess over these questions and often don’t ask the only question that really matters? “Will he be faithful to confess the Christ? Will he be a voice?”

But sinful man does not want a voice. Sinful man wants a personality. And so the church is often led astray, chasing after those things that the world highly esteems. We value entertainment over the gospel of Jesus Christ. We value good childcare over solid teaching. We value charisma over faithfulness. We do not want a voice; we want a dynamic leader who will cause our church to grow according to worldly metrics. Repent, for you value the things of this world and not the things of God.

The greatest blessing that God can bestow upon his church is to give us pastors who faithfully preach Christ crucified for sinners. We don’t need marketing directors or creative planners, we need shepherds who are willing to labor in anonymity, patiently feeding Christ’s lambs, whether their little church ever grows or not. We don’t need pastors who want to be doctors, or professors, or published authors. We need men who are content to leave a legacy written only on the tombstones of the saints they buried in the faith. If this sounds depressing to you, repent, for you think like a man and not like God.

Peter preached a sermon and three-thousand people were baptized. Paul preached a similar sermon and people threw rocks at his head. God may give faithful pastors to two churches. One church grows, the other does not. That is God’s business, not ours. Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Co 3:6). As he did in the days of the early church, God will add to his church those who are being saved (Ac 2:47). His Word will not return void (Is 55:11). Wherever God places faithful men, wherever there is a voice that confesses Christ, the church will continue to grow as it has in every age.

The world won’t recognize this growth. All they will see is a man in a dress pouring water on a baby’s head, or a new tombstone in the church cemetery. But this is no surprise. The world can’t recognize the things of God, because it did not recognize God himself when he came into the world. John said, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know” (Jn 1:26). The world does not know Christ, and yet he stands among us. He is present wherever there is a voice to proclaim his Word, wherever we gather to receive his gifts. He was in the world, and 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, to you, who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (Jn 1:10-12).

John the Baptist came for one purpose, to point to Christ and declare, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29). Once John’s mission was done, he faded into the background. He sent his followers to Jesus. He himself was arrested, imprisoned, and beheaded – just another failed prophet in the eyes of the world, but not in the eyes of God. For John bore witness to the light, and two-thousand years later, you have seen this light. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world bore your sin to his cross. In baptism you were joined to Christ and his cross, and now you share in his Resurrection and new life. And how did you come to receive this precious gift of salvation? God sent you a voice, and that voice pointed you to Jesus. May God grant his church always to have faithful men like John the Baptist, men who confess, and do not deny, but confess the Christ. Amen.