Sermon Tone Analysis

Advent 3

John 1:6-8, 19-28 \\ December 11, 2005

*"Identify Yourself" \\ after T. Pauls*

I. Who is that Voice and what Word is he speaking by the Jordan River.

Who is he?

And who isn’t he? That’s what the Pharisees want to know.

\\             When they look at John the Baptist, they see a preacher who draws big crowds.

He’s dressed up to resemble Elijah.

He’s on a wilderness diet of locusts and wild honey.

He’s in the wilderness across the Jordan, as if he’s looking to lead people into a promised land.

Despite the inconvenient location, he’s drawing big crowds; and to all who gather, he’s preaching and baptizing for repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

Who is he?

Is he Elijah, back from heaven?

Is he the Prophet, long-awaited since Moses spoke of him centuries before?

Could he be…the Christ Himself? \\             So the Pharisees send priests and Levites to try to pin him down.

“Who are you?” they ask, and he answers, “I am not the Christ.”

John wants to make that clear right away.

But that’s not good enough for his interrogators: “What then?

Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he says.

“Are you the Prophet?”

Again, John says no. “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?” they demand.

“What do you say about yourself?”

\\             John replies: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

\\             Note the answer to the question, “What do you say about yourself,” John doesn’t talk about who he thinks he is, rather, he says what God says about him.

John simply identifies himself as the voice, the instrument that speaks.

\\             Is this a big deal?

Yes, for it tells us who John is and who he isn’t.

He’s the voice—the sound.

He’s not the content—that belongs to God.

In other words, when John speaks, he speaks God’s Word, not his own.

That is what matters.

John’s a voice, but it’s the Lord who gives the Word to speak.

John’s a pair of hands applying water, but it’s the Lord who gives forgiveness through the Baptism.

The rest of the Gospel lesson makes this clear: John is “sent from God.” He’s sent like an apostle is sent, like an ambassador is dispatched by a king.

He’s there to speak God’s Word.

He’s there to prepare the way for the Savior.

He’s just the voice that speaks the Word of God that will point to the Word made flesh.

\\             John makes it a big deal about who he’s not, because he’s not the big deal at all.

However, unlike an ambassador in a foreign land, John isn’t speaking for a king far away.

He is speaking for a King that is there in the crowd of people gathered at the Jordan river.

He say’s, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.”

There stands One among you.

Even as these men ask John if he is the Christ, the Christ is standing there in the crowd.

Jesus is present, right there.

The Savior they are looking for has arrived.

\\             We note two things about the Savior, Jesus.

First, He’s completely unremarkable.

The holy, incarnate Son of God is standing in the crowd, and no one notices Him.

This is in keeping with the prophecy of Isaiah, “He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Is.

53:2).

Imagine!

Everyone’s looking for the Savior, and nobody notices that He’s there.

It is an important lesson for us today: you don’t find Jesus in what you see.

You find Him by what you hear—you find Him by hearing His Word.

\\             Second, Jesus allows John to keep preaching.

As the Christ, the Word made flesh, it would make sense that Jesus would have John step aside and take over the sermons from there.

And while Jesus will preach His share of sermons through His own mouth, He often works through other people and means.

He uses John to speak His Word, and John rejoices in the privilege.

Jesus will use the disciples as His instruments, too.

He still uses His people as His instruments today.

\\             But even while Jesus remains unnoticed in the crowds by the Jordan, make no mistake: He’s the real deal, and John the Baptist isn’t worthy even to untie His shoes.

\\ II.

Who You Are, and Whose You Are \\             As I said, John’s identity is not connected to who John thinks he is.

His identity is found in who God says he is.

\\             It’s good to know who you are, and who you’re not.

“Know thyself:” that’s been a command of philosophers for a long time.

But here’s the question: how will you know who you are?

Who is going to have the say as to who you are? You?

The People around you, the world and your own sinful flesh?

How about the devil?

These are the ones that try to give us our identity, but beware: they all want to give you the identity of someone you are not.

They wish to give you the identity of one who is damned forever.

\\             Some will seek to tell you who you are by beating you down emotionally and even physically.

There will be those in life who seek to define you by every failure you suffer, every weakness you display, and every mistake you make.

There will be circumstances in your life that make you vulnerable to these accusations.

There will be those who want you beaten down until you say, “I know who I am.

I am a complete failure.

I am someone who cannot be loved.

I am someone who doesn’t matter at all.”

Your Old Adam will happily encourage these thoughts: you see, if you believe that you are completely worthless and hopeless, then you’ll easily reject the hope of forgiveness and life in Christ.

Likewise, the devil delights when you despair, as long as it does not lead you to trust in the Savior.

\\             Some will tell you who you are by magnifying your achievements, and your Old Adam will be sure to join in and stroke your pride.

You may be tempted to define yourself by your successes and victories.

You may be tempted to say, “I am someone because of the things I’ve achieved, the money I’ve made, the rewards and recognition I’ve received.”

Pride comes easy with such statements, and such pride makes it easy to ignore the need for Jesus and His grace.

\\             Mostly, people and circumstances will try to define you somewhere in between: you’re a pretty good person who’s just trying to get your work done, get your children to turn out half-decent, and who’s trying to be good to others.

You’re not perfect, but you’re not that bad, either.

But be careful, because the devil loves this one.

You see, if you’re not that bad, then you’re really not all that sinful.

When you think that you are not that bad you are thinking that you are mostly pretty good, perhaps good enough to satisfy God.

But you’re good enough, is not good enough to satisfy the perfection that God demands.

Only “sinless perfection” is good enough for eternal life.

\\             Who are you?

Don’t let the devil, the world or your own sinful flesh tell you who you are.

It is the Lord who created you, who formed you in the womb; and it is He who declares who you are.

\\             First of all, yes, we are sinners.

Born sinful, we commit actual sins of thought, word and deed.

Our sin makes us unholy, unrighteous and deserving of God’s judgment.

It also makes us vulnerable to the wages of sin.

We make mistakes.

We hurt other people.