Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, (Thus far our text.) John the Baptizer was a prophet sent by God. So we believe what he said. We believe his words in their painful particularity and in their wonderful promise. We believe John was from God because first, there was that marvelous prophesy before his conception and another at the time of His birth. Then around adulthood, the Holy Spirit impels John into the desert; and there he lives. He wasn’t the only one out there. Even if few and far between, there were political exiles, zealots, religious ascetics, travelers, robbers. No doubt the hot sun baked the brains of some of these loners. And John wasn’t normal, was he? He wore odd clothes and said the Word of the Lord came to him. One day he went down to the Jordan River valley preaching a particular message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Still we believe John, not only because of the prophesies surrounding his birth, also because his message wasn’t new. All the prophets preached it before him: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What’s new is that John says the Messiah is just about here! That’s not only a particular message; it is a mighty big claim. Yet people sought him out. For some reason most didn’t dismiss him. Eventually there were crowds around John, asking for the baptism that forgave sin, a baptism which looked forward to the Messiah.
Why did some dismiss John’s message? Yes, he stood in a tradition of Old Testament prophets, but they had been silent 430 years. At least the real prophets had been. After Malachi c. 430 BC there were all sorts of half-baked nuts in Israel saying all sorts of things about the Messiah. It was like a patchwork crazy quilt. Take the zealots for example. They said salvation was deliverance from the Romans. Forgiveness of sins, ok, but what matters is political development, so they rejected John. Not unlike some who call themselves church today whose preach nationalized health care, education for minorities, funding for the mentally ill, affordable housing, etc… Don’t get me wrong. Caring for people is a good thing. We do it here too. But a full belly and opportunity were their gospel. Take the desert Essenes for example. They said salvation was total devotion to God. So they lived communally, were in constant prayer, rejected marriage, and rejected John. Not unlike those who call themselves church today who invent ways to reach God. Yet Devotion is a good thing, we too are devout. But the Essenes turned it into their gospel, like those who go to church not to hear the Word, but just to feel good through worship. Take the Pharisees and Sadducees too. Some of them even came to be baptized. To these, and to all, John cried out, “You brood of vipers!” To all John preached the universality of sin and the hope of forgiveness. He also said what he preached was not the same “gospel” these others taught. What was the “gospel” for the Sadducees and the Pharisees (who by the way mostly rejected John)? The Sadducees were perfect politicians, keeping enough religion to be respected, but not so much as to offend. They were zealous for the Temple, because they controlled the Temple. That meant they controlled the money and the power of the church. But they rejected the resurrection because it wasn’t “reasonable”. They said life is what you make of it, in following Moses where he didn’t conflict with reason. In contrast, the Pharisees were convinced of the resurrection, the coming Messiah, and the inspiration of God’s Word. But they made obedience to the traditions their gospel. The gospel for the Sadducees was “live a good life”, and for the Pharisees, “obey our regulations.” They all said, “Repentance and forgiveness is ok with me. It just isn’t central”. But John preached repentance and forgiveness. This is the Gospel. John just repeated the prophets from Moses to Elijah, from Isaiah to Malachi. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
It was a particular message. John’s message hasn’t changed over time either, for the true church. His word still calls you to receive it, to believe it; if you want God’s blessing. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For all who refuse the Messiah, He comes as judge; to all who believe, He gives heaven to you. That’s a very particular, demanding, offensive, and exclusive message; yet a message of unlimited hope, a wonderful promise! This is what John announced, the gospel. There was no talk about “my perception” and “your perception.” John’s announcement is to be believed as he gave it. In other words, whoever listens to all the different voices will never grasp John’s message with confidence. God wants you to be confident of His unmerited grace. If you try to appeal to the zealots, the Essenes, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the historical critics, the romanticists, the existentialists, the post- modernists how can you ever be confident about forgiveness? How can it be central? John didn’t preach to create unbelief. He preached for faith. He preached for faith because his message had a source.
What faith needs is the true source, the same source as all the true prophets. John tells you his source, the Holy Spirit, God Himself. This means all contrary voices are wrong. Those who say, “forgiveness is ok, but the deeper thing is a, b or c,” are deceivers. Yet John offers no proofs, no miracles, and no explanation of his psychological state. He just says, “It’s so… and Holy Scripture agrees.” And many believed. Why did so many believe? There were those prophesies about John’s birth… there is the continuity of the prophets over centuries, the historical events, etc… But the real source of faith is: the Holy Spirit, who creates it through hearing God’s Word.
In our day many dismiss John (and you and I) by saying, “Maybe John got a word from God, but we just aren’t capable of understanding it correctly!” They say, “We can’t be sure that’s what the Bible means. So we can do another approach, not a wrong approach, not a right approach, just a different approach”. But that’s unbelief. God doesn’t mumble. Their different approach only shows that people are not by nature wonderfully open to the true God. Rather, unbelievers come to believe because the Holy Spirit works through the law convicting us of sin (that’s repentance in the narrow sense of the word); and the Holy Spirit works through the Gospel convincing of sin forgiven (that’s the gospel in the narrow sense). So John, like any Christian should, since the Word is from God he doesn’t try to make God’s word popular. His message remains excruciatingly particular. He cries out to all, “Hear this, believe this, by this, live.”
What does he expect his hearers to believe? There is content to His message. Listen afresh to his epiphany about his cousin: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Jesus is the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God! Jesus is everything the Old Testament prophets proclaimed. He is the fulfillment of the promise to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Israel. He is the end of the sacrificial system given to Moses. He is the Son of David and the fulfillment of the temple built by Solomon. This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ Literally, After me comes a man who before me has come, because he was before me. “My cousin who was born after me yet has always been and will be, is true God and man. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for the world’s sin,” said John.
So how could John, you or I possibly abandon this for some so called gospel of social justice, or personal devotion, or religious respectability, or pay your own way? “Behold!” Behold this particularity, this Messiah, behold the Lamb of God. Look at Him, believe Him of whom John witnessed the Holy Spirit descend and remain. What a particular and universal message, yet filled with such infinite hope! This is your hope, the hope of heaven.
But how in the world can your non-believing friends believe? Is it enough to point to the factuality of the Bible, the accuracy of its history, the reliability of the documents describing the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the statistical probability of His divinity? Those are helpful facts, which can help remove the barriers of unbelief. Yet, we believe in this way: Through hearing God’s Word the Holy Spirit works faith. We believe because the Holy Spirit is at work creating faith. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. We believe because the Holy Spirit epiphanies the Word of Christ into our hearts. That’s why the Word became flesh, that our sinful nature might be paid for and overcome by the Word. That’s why John the Baptist declares, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Holy Spirit works faith in this word. Further, the word proclaimed works what it declares because it is from God.
What response does that word work within us? Let’s take John for an example. The first response when John beholds the Lamb is faith. By the revelation of God, he believes. The second response is proclamation. To his disciples he points out, “Behold the Lamb of God!” And they no longer follow John. His disciples leave to follow Jesus. That’s the third response, faith is created in others through proclamation. And the fourth, John accepts his part, his vocation, and even his end. He must now be content to see the crowds, recognition, and his status slip away. This too takes faith that Jesus increase and we decrease. It takes faith when what was personally fulfilling goes away. That’s true of preachers in exile from a parish, like John in prison. It’s true of parents when their beloved children leave the nest. It’s true in retirement from a useful occupation, and it’s true as age catches up. And it’s true whenever we give up our way to follow Jesus. May Jesus increase and we decrease.
Yet, these are the things that the Word works in us; because, the Word will go out. John announces, and the word works faith. Then Andrew begins to follow Jesus. Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?” And Andrew replies, “Where are you staying?” He means, “Will you be our Rabbi now, our teacher?” “Can we come and stay with the Lamb of God? Can we sit at the feet of the Messiah on whom the Holy Spirit rests?”
And Jesus says, “Come and see.” Come and see the Word made flesh, whose deeds and declarations are Divine. Then these men see, hear, and believe and they too declare the same Word. Andrew finds his brother, Simon, and confesses, “We have found the Messiah!” The miracle of faith goes on by hearing the Word of God. The word will go out for this reason: So that faith will continue. Faith will continue, being firmly attached to the confession of the Word. Your faith will continue, despite a world full of competing voices, despite all the clamor, confusion, and conspiracy of the world’s spirituality. Your faith in a particular message will continue for this reason: In the midst of pluralism, John’s preaching of the particular Saviour strikes home. The Holy Spirit creates saving faith and you believe in the grace of God. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You hear and therefore believe these wonderful promises of infinite hope. You receive this steadfast message; repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This word is given you that you have a confident faith. This word is preached to you that the Holy Spirit works in you confident faith. And this word works results. The word works your faith. The word works your response of proclamation. The word works faith in others through that proclamation. The word works a faith that is glad when Jesus increases and we decrease. The word works a faith that continues. Faith will continue because the Word will go out.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Amen)
