John 1:6-8,19-28 - A Man Sent from God

(A sermon preached on December 14, 2008, the third Sunday in Advent.) John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. We Presbyterians can be a suspicious bunch. I know of a Presbyterian church that experienced remarkable growth, far surpassing that of any other churches in its Presbytery. Many rejoiced - but not all. Some Presbyterians were suspicious. The church must be cutting corners. You know what I mean, dropping its doctrinal standards, diluting the gospel, and devising gimmicks to increase attendance. So the Presbytery sent a group to investigate the growth. I hope they were delighted to discover that nothing untoward was taking place. The Lord was blessing the work of caring, gifted, and faithful leaders. In John 1:19 we discover that a man named John was creating a stir. Multitudes flocked to hear him preach. Don’t confuse this John with the Apostle John, who wrote the gospel we read from moments ago. To distinguish the two gentlemen, this John is called John the Baptist. Israel’s religious leaders were becoming increasingly suspicious of John. That multitudes came to hear John preach was sufficient to send up red flags. The number of people was all the more impressive because of the John’s venue, the wilderness. Imagine telling your family that they were going to church in the wilderness – and that you all would be making the journey on foot! But crowds made the arduous trek into the wilderness to hear John. Much more troubling to the religious leaders was how the people responded to John’s preaching. They were not passive. They did not sit back and enjoy John’s oratory for oratory’s sake. Rather, they did something. They repented of their sins and submitted to John’s baptism. It’s one thing to attract large crowds; it’s quite another to change lives. The first is no small feat; the second is immeasurably more difficult. It’s one thing to speak fluently; it’s another to inspire your audience to action. I remember reading of a comparison between two ancient Athenian orators, Demosthenes and Achenes. Both were accomplished wordsmiths and dynamic speakers. But what a difference between the two! "When Achenes spoke, the Greeks said, 'How beautiful he speaks.' But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, 'Let's march against Philip.'" And armies marched in response to Demosthenes’ words. There’s all the difference in the world between inspiring words and words that inspire men to action. John spoke and people marched to the Jordan to be baptized. And that troubled Israel’s leaders. So the Pharisees sent a delegation of priests and Levites into the wilderness to see what was happening. From their visit we learn three important truths about John: his identity, his message, and his humility. First, John’s identity. The delegation is blunt. They probe John: “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (John 1:19). “John, identify yourself to us.” John’s identity was a mystery to them; it needn’t be to us. Our scripture lesson this morning reveals John’s identity – who he is and, just as importantly, who he isn’t. Some words about who John isn’t. John isn’t the light (John 1:4). Look at verse 4. The gospel says of the Savior, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” To a world in the grip of spiritual death, our Savior is life. To a world shrouded in moral darkness, our Savior’s light brings truth and moral purity to men. Undoubtedly, John is a great man, but he is only a man. He’s no Savior. He’s not the light of the world. John isn’t the Christ (John 1:20). “Christ” is the Greek word used to translate the Hebrew word “Messiah.” Both words mean “anointed.” For a thousand years, faithful Israel longed for a descendant of David to come and rule as God’s anointed King, overthrowing all evil and establishing Israel in safety and holiness. John was a great man, but he was only a man. He could herald the coming of the great King, but he was not the king. He was not the promised Christ. Nor was John the prophet Elijah (John 1:21). The great Old Testament prophet Elijah never died, but was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Many centuries later God spoke through his prophet Malachi: “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5). Some Jews misunderstood this verse to mean that there would be a literal return of the prophet prior to the coming of the Messiah. But John denies that he is Elijah. The angelic announcement in Luke 1:17 clarifies John’s role: John comes “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” John is a great man. He is Elijah-like. But he is not Elijah. Nor was John the Prophet (John 1:22). For more than a thousand years, faithful Israel had looked eagerly awaited the coming of “the Prophet,” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18) who like Moses would speak as the Prophet. John was a prophet, the last of Old Testament prophets (Matthew 11:13), but he was not the Prophet. That’s who John isn’t. He isn’t the light of the world, he isn’t the Christ, he isn’t Elijah, and he isn’t the Prophet. Who, then, is he? John is a man sent from God. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6). Like the other Old Testament prophets – like Jesus, the Son of God – John was sent from God. That’s John’s fundamental identity. Say whatever else you want to about him, this one truth remains constant: John was a man sent from God. I don’t know for sure, but I imagine at some point as a young man John began to think about his future. I doubt he considered the wilderness as the ideal place to live. I do know that faithfulness to his message of repentance got him in big trouble with Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias. John condemned their relationship. They were adulterers; they had defied God’s law and broken their marriage covenants. What is the reward for John’s faithfulness? Prison and execution (see Mark 6:14-29) John was able to persevere in his walk down an incredibly painful path solely because he knew who he was: He was a man sent from God. Wherever his faithfulness took him, he knew he was there by God’s will. He knew who he was when he went into the wilderness. He knew his identity when he stood before Herod and Herodias. He was God’s man when he lay bound in prison. The sword may have been in his executioner’s hand, but John knew that his life was in God’s hands. He was sent from God. Are you a Christian? Then God sends you into the world, and by word and deed you must bear witness to his truth. Often he sends you to places you’d rather not go. None of us dreams and longs for troubled marriages, rebellious children, failed business ventures, and poor health. But if we keep sight of our identity, every hard and confining place we find ourselves can become an arena to live by faith and testify of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Our life circumstances are not an accident; we are people sent by God. John is a man sent from God, and, next, John bears witness to the light. John does not bear witness to himself but to Jesus. Last week Lynne and I attended a service of advent lessons and carols at All Saints’ Chapel in Sewanee, Tennessee. The chapel is magnificent with its medieval design, beautiful stonework, vaulted ceilings, bell tower, and stained glass windows. Thousands of photographs and postcards testify to the chapel’s architectural magnificence, and never does the chapel look more magnificent than in the evening when carefully placed spotlights illumine it. I suppose that tens of thousands of people have passed by those spotlights without a single person saying a word about them. They perform their task, and no more. They call attention to All Saints’ Chapel, not to themselves. They wear out and are replaced. But as long as they are in position their sole duty is to throw light on the chapel, or, if you will, to bear witness to its magnificence. And that’s what John does. He bears witness. He is not the light, but he bears witness to it. He does not call attention to himself, but to the one who sent him. John knows his place. Do we know ours? When all is said and done, the church’s mission in the world is to bear witness to the Son of God – by the words we speak, by the character we cultivate, by the grace we demonstrate, and by the compassion we give. Who is John? He is a man sent from God, he bears witness to the light, and, next, John is a voice crying in the wilderness. John is a voice crying in the wilderness. His prophetic ministry was predicted seven centuries earlier when Isaiah foretold: “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.’” (Isaiah 40:3-5) But the message he cries out is not his own, but of the one who sent him. John’s message is not about himself. We need to listen carefully to ourselves. Does our speech consist mostly about highlighting our successes, our dreams, our preoccupations, our trials, or are we heralding the good news of God’s salvation in Christ, and the suffering and glory that accompanies life in his kingdom? When I sold real estate, I saw a lot of “I love me walls” – walls adorned with artifacts testifying to the personal achievements of the homeowner. Think about your words. Are your words “I love me words,” or are they words that celebrate our grace and gratitude to the Lord for all he has achieved for us by his perfect life, death on the cross, and reign in heaven. That’s John’s identity: he is sent from God, he bears witness to the light, and cries the message of the one who sent him. Now, briefly, John’s message. John preached repentance. God’s Messiah is coming, he announced. “’Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23). God’s Messiah is coming and with him God’s judgment. Prepare yourself. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8) Believe God and repent of your sin. John anticipated the coming of the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John lived on one side of the cross; we live on the other. John looked forward to the cross; we look back to it. But whichever side of the cross God’s messengers are on, they call men and women to cease trusting in their own works for salvation, and to trust fully in Christ’s sacrificial death that paid for the sins of everyone who believes. And wherever faith in Christ is preached, repentance is preached too. To turn to Christ means to turn from sin. Recently we completed a series of studies in the Ten Commandments. One of the functions of the commandments is to show us what repentance demands. Repentance demands that we have no god but God, that we worship him only as he commands, that we cherish his name and his day, that we honor our parents, and that our behavior and thoughts be marked by purity. God’s grace in Christ obligates us to a life of repentance. To proclaim a gospel without repentance is to forsake the pathway of God’s prophets and apostles. We’ve looked at John’s identity and John’s message. Now, finally, look at John’s humility. Those sent by the Pharisees ask Johh, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:25) John’s response is remarkable: “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27).” John’s baptism of repentance prepares men and women for the coming Christ. He baptizes by the authority of God. But the authority of the coming One is immeasurably greater and his person vastly superior to him. So glorious is this Christ, John declares, that he is not worthy to untie even a strap of his sandal. And it is this statement I find so remarkable. In the ancient world a student did for his teacher everything a slave would do except for one thing: he would not take off his teacher’s shoes. That was too demeaning. [D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Eerdmans, 1991), p.146] John says not only is he not worthy to take of Jesus’ shoes; he is not worthy to unloose even a strap of one of his sandals. That’s extraordinary humility. And John meant what he said. A few chapters later these words of John are recorded: “I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him…He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28,30). And John’s visibility and following decrease sharply and rapidly. The crowds begin to fade away. John 4:1-2 tells us that Jesus’ disciples were soon baptizing more disciples than John the Baptist. Soon after that John had no following. Unjustly imprisoned; his beheading brought his rapidly contracting ministry to an end. John prepared the way for Christ’s first coming; today his church prepares the world for his second coming. Each of us has personal stories to tell – stories of God’s faithfulness and goodness to us. Let’s recount them with thanksgiving, but make sure we put them in the context of God’s great story – his work in Christ to reconcile the world to himself. That’s the big story we dare not forget. Our descendants will soon forget our personal histories. That’s okay. What we don’t want them to lose is the message of God’s work in history to save repentant sinners, and the certainty of his Son’s return in glory to judge the world. We are not center stage in history; Christ is, and we fulfill our purpose as we bear witness to him. No small part of our life is preparing to exit from the world’s stage. God gives us a certain amount of days, and no more. If we are to use our time wisely, then John’s attitude must be ours. Only his understanding of what it means to be sent from God will make us effective servants, preparing the world for our Lord’s second advent. Christ must increase; we must decrease.