June 24, 2012 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you
will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to
His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our
God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”
When the Lord chooses people to be His prophets, unique things
happen. A call to that role takes place, an experience that not all believers
have. The Nativity of John the Baptist, which the Church celebrates on June 24,
includes several unique events. Prior to John’s birth, his role was disclosed
by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah: “Do
not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will
have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great
before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be
filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many
of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him in
the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared.”
This is no normal birth! An
angel reveals John’s existence and his future life as a prophet. John’s role is
to prepare people for the Lord’s
arrival, the arrival that is meant to bring comfort and absolution to them. John
is given something to say. He is the voice that the prophet Isaiah spoke of: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord; make straight
in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the
rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Lord’s glory—the Son of God, the Promised Messiah—was arriving
to bring salvation. It is what the Lord’s
people had anticipated for centuries. But those who are impenitent or do not
believe do not receive beneficially the glory of the Lord. For such people, the Lord’s
arrival would be a matter of woe. So the Lord
sends out a forerunner, someone to bring the message of repentance, the words
that turn hearts and minds to Him. This is the role that John was given.
Unique things happen when John
is born. His father Zechariah had been struck mute because of doubting Gabriel’s
message. But when he writes out John’s name on the tablet, “immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
blessing God.” It caused quite the stir: “And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked
about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them
up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the
Lord was with him.” The recognition that John is no ordinary child is seen.
Even more unique is the blessing
that Zechariah gives at John’s birth. John’s father “was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.” He prophesies
about his newborn son: “You, my child,
will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to
prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the
forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the
sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Zechariah tells his infant child exactly what he will grow up to be. John is a
voice that will prepare the Lord’s
ways. He is a voice that will give knowledge of salvation to the Lord’s people. He is a voice that will
make known the light that brings gladness to those who are under the shadow of
death. Not that John is the Lord
or the salvation or the light: no, he is the one that speaks about this.
As the forerunner, John’s speech
is not about himself, but about the One who comes after him. That is plainly
seen in John’s life. Even Paul speaks rightly about John years after his work
was completed: “Before [Jesus’] coming,
John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as
John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am
not He. No, but behold, after me One is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am
not worthy to untie.’” As much as John was different from other people, his
uniqueness was not a catalogue of idiosyncrasies. His uniqueness was in being a
prophet of the Most High, being a herald of the Messiah. Only his relationship
to the Promised Christ made John different and worthy of note, so that his
words were truth that all should receive.
This is what makes John’s
nativity worthy of remembrance on this day. It is why he has relevance to you
who live two millennia after his birth. For what John said about the Christ is
meant for you to receive. The Lord’s
glory has come. It arrived with the appearance of Jesus. It was on display in
all the miraculous acts that Jesus performed. The glorious light of heavenly truth
shone in the words that Jesus proclaimed. Rising from death, Jesus showed that
the Lord’s glory is more powerful
than all His opponents.
Salvation came with Jesus, as
Zechariah prophesied at John’s birth: “Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has
raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He
spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved
from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy
promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath that He
swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand
of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before Him all our days.” That is what Jesus has done. That is what the
glory of the Lord has
accomplished.
So who receives such salvation?
Who benefits from this great and mighty work that the Lord has performed by visiting and redeeming His people? Those
who have been crushed by the guilt of their sin and the gravity of their
wrongdoing. The message of comfort that the Lord
brings is meant for such people: “Comfort,
comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity has been pardoned, that she has
received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.” But such message is not for those who do not
realize that their lives were not righteous. No, it is meant for those who know
well the valleys that must be raised, the hills that must be lowered, the
uneven ground that must be level, the rough places that must be smoothed.
The message of salvation is
clear, just as Zechariah spoke to his infant son: “You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you
will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to
His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our
God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.” The salvation is found in the forgiveness of sins that the Lord mercifully grants to those who are
convicted of their guilt and turn to Him in order to receive what they do not
deserve.
Disclosure of your guilt prepares
you to receive the Lord’s glory beneficially.
That disclosure is what the Lord’s
prophets, including John, give to you. It is the truth that comes from their
mouths. The voice cries to you that you are at enmity with God from birth. Your
life is full of guilt. You have broken the commandments. You have rebelled
against His rule. You have the misguided self-evaluation: “I’m not so bad,
there’s really not much wrong with me. And even if there is, I can take care of
it.”
But this is what John and others
have been sent to speak against and cut down. They cry out to you: “It’s true
about you. Repent. Turn back. Hear the Lord’s
truth that knocks down the mountain of pride and self-righteousness. Receive
the Lord’s truth that straightens
out your crooked ways.” That is the unique role that they have been given.
But when you receive that truth
which flows from their mouths, the truth that turns the hearts, they have
something else to say. Now the comforting word is spoken about what the Lord has done for you: “He has visited and redeemed His people and
has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David….”
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy
prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the
hand of all who hate us….” They tell you: “Your warfare is ended. Your iniquity has been pardoned. You have
received from the Lord’s hand
double for all your sins.” You are not lost, but have been redeemed: “God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
as He promised.” You have not been left in exile or abandoned: “we should be saved from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us.” You are not eternally committed to
unrighteousness: “we, being delivered
from the hands of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and
righteousness before Him all our days.”
All that is what John and the
other prophets make known to you: “going
before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His
people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our
God, whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who
sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.” It is a unique role, a special role because of the connection to
the Lord who has accomplished such
things for you. You have received the comforting message that the voice
brought. You have heard what John testified concerning Jesus. You have the
knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of your sins that Jesus accomplished
by His death and resurrection and that He grants you through Baptism,
Preaching, Absolution, and Supper. So you also are filled with the Holy Spirit
and speak your praises: “Blessed be the
Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised
up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David….”
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment