Who is this Jesus anyway? (John 1:1-2, 14)

December 25, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Did you know that there is a website on the internet called “Whois.com”?  Whois.com.  It’s a very simple website where you can enter a web address and find out who is the owner of that site.  Now I realize that not all of our members are necessarily surfing the internet on a regular basis, and for many of you this information is particularly useless.  But for internet users this website is like the phone number 411 when you want to find out who the owner of a website is.  For in the same way that you can dial 411 and find out the phone number of the person you are trying to call, so also you can find out who is the owner of a particular web address.  Well, this morning, as we have gathered in worship, we have come not to find phone numbers, addresses or website owners.  Instead, we have come to find out who this Jesus truly is.  We have to find out everything we can about that baby born in Bethlehem so many years ago.  We have come to answer that burning question, “Who is this Jesus anyway?”

So, who is this Jesus anyway?  Do you know?  I’m sure that you do.  After all, many of you were here last night to hear the children and join with them in reciting those beautiful passages that speak about Jesus’ birth.  In fact, when it comes to the Christmas story in Luke 2, I wouldn’t be surprised if most, if not all of you could still recite it in its entirety, simply because you learned it as a little child.  In fact, it is because of things like this that we know exactly who Jesus is!  We know that he is our True God, the only begotten Son of the Father, begotten before all worlds, as we used to confess in the Nicene Creed.  In fact, this is the very truth that Jon conveys to us in the first two verses of our lesson this morning.  He writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning,” (John 1:1-2). 

Now, when John sat down to write the words we have before us, there were many people who were beginning to subscribe to the religion of Gnosticism.  Gnosticism was a religion where knowledge was prized over faith.  It was a religion where people spoke about Jesus in glowing Christian terms, but they did not believe in Jesus as the Savior of the world because they had their own knowledge that told them that Jesus was nothing more than a man.  They believed that Jesus was nothing more than a man who had a very powerful religious experience when he was baptized in the River Jordan because the “Christ Consciousness” descended upon him.  Though this “Christ Consciousness” was supposed to give Jesus a spark of the divine, as the Gnostic knowledge religion taught, Jesus was nothing more than a great teacher who taught a moral way of life.  At best he might have been thought of as “a son of God”, but according to their teaching, when Jesus died he was just a man.  According to the teaching of Gnosticism, Jesus died as a man because the “Christ Consciousness” had fled from before his death on the cross.  So, accordingly when Jesus died, he was nothing more than a martyr.

Does this sound familiar?  It should.  These are the same attitudes that are currently being broadcast on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and many other channels like this.  These are the very same attitudes that are regularly proclaimed groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  For if you ask a Jehovah’s Witness about Jesus, you will most likely receive an answer telling you that Jesus was at best a son of God, rather than speaking of him as the Son of God the Savior of the world.  You will even find ideals like this coming from those who belong to the Mormon Church. Though they will proudly proclaim that they believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God the Father, what you learn later is that the point of Jesus’ life was not to forgive sins, but to teach us how to become gods by our own actions.

Though these are but a few ways that others view Jesus today, we know who Jesus is!  We know, confess and believe that when Jesus came to the earth as a little baby, he was then, as he had always been, our True God.  This is the very fact that John puts forth in the opening 2 verses of chapter 14.  He writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning,” (John 1:1-2). 

With these words, John gives us great comfort and assurance.  For with these words, John is assuring us that Jesus is and always has been our True God.  Jesus is the Word who was with God in the beginning.  In fact, it was because of all the false teaching that John began his gospel with the words, “In the beginning.”  Rather than starting with Jesus birth, John began his gospel all the way back in eternity to demonstrate that Jesus who was born on the earth to be the Savior was first and foremost our true God from eternity.  Though as John tells us, the Word became flesh, we know, believe, and confess that there has never been a time that Jesus has not existed!  In short, Jesus is our True God from the beginning of time, and yet, while he is our true God, begotten of the father from eternity, we also know, believe and confess that Jesus is not only our true God, but he is also our Lord incarnate, the Word who became flesh, true God and yet at the very same time, True Man.  Just as we confess each week in the Creed!  Every week, as we stand before the Lord in worship, we confess our faith that Jesus Christ our Savior is both true God and yet true man.  We confess that he is the Lord incarnate who was born of the virgin Mary just as the prophets foretold that he would be.  We gathered last night to hear that very message proclaimed to us from the lips of our own children, and we who have gathered here today will hear that truth proclaimed to us one more time by the prophet John!  For John writes in our text: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14a). 

With these words, John reminds us of the very thing we already know, believe, and confess.  He is reminding us that it was the Lord Jesus who took on human flesh and blood, humbling himself to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, and then go through all the hardship of being born in the normal way.  He was born just as every other child on earth has ever been born, yet he had no human father, and he was with out sin.  But even though the Lord Jesus was missing these two components common to every other person on the earth, by his conception and birth, the Lord Jesus became a true flesh and blood human being just like you or me.  He took on our human flesh so that he could be born under the authority of the law just as each and every one of us is.  He was born without sin so that he might fulfill every aspect of God’s Holy Law which we could not do.  He was born as a human being so that he might be tempted in every way, just as we are, yet resist every single temptation and remain sinless in God’s sight.  He became a man so that he could be the Lamb of God who was to be sacrificed on the cross for our sins.  He became a man so that as he was whipped and beaten, as the crown of thorns was forced on his head and the nails were driven through his hands and feet his blood would be shed to pay the price of our sins.  For just as the Lord demanded the sacrifice of a lamb each year on the Day of Atonement, Jesus was the Lamb of atonement; just as that lamb was to be slaughtered and its blood tossed against the altar, Jesus was slaughtered and his blood spilled against the altar of the cross to appease God’s anger.

This was the glory of Jesus’ sacrifice for us!  His divinity made his sacrifice acceptable to God on our behalf, and his humanity caused that sacrifice to be applied to us.  This is the glory of Jesus Christ our Savior, who is true God and true man.  We have seen that glory!  The glory of the One and Only who made his dwelling among us. We saw his glory on the night the angels visited the shepherds in the hills of Judea.  We saw his glory when the Wise Men came and worshiped him.  We saw his glory as he preached the Gospel to his people in Israel, healed the sick, and raised the dead.  We saw his glory when he went to the cross to pay for our sins.  We saw his glory Easter morning when the cry rang out, “he is risen!” And we will see his glory again when he returns on the last day.  But until then, we live in the glory and splendor of our risen and living Lord Jesus Christ each time we read and study his Word.

What a comfort John’s words are for us today!  For with them he has reminded exactly who Jesus is.  We didn’t need a special website or a special phone number to find out the information we needed.  Instead, we learned it from the Lord our God who proclaimed it to us through his servant John!  For today, we have been reminded that this Jesus is our God from eternity who took on human flesh and blood to save us from our sins.  He is the one whose glory we have seen, revealed to us in that baby born in Bethlehem.  This is who Jesus is, our Lord, our Savior, true God and yet True Man, the Lord our Salvation.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (Romans 16:25-27)

December 18, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Charles Colson, former White House counsel to president Richard Nixon and founder of Prison Fellowship ministry, tells a remarkable story of a doxology in an unusual place and for an unusual reason. It seems that a young man named Fred, a convicted thief and heroin addict, had been led to Christ in prison by the family of one of his robbery victims. They visited him and showed the love of Christ so consistently to him that he was won to the Lord. The impact of his conversion on his conscience was so dramatic that, at a parole hearing, Fred confessed to other robberies for which he had not been caught or convicted. As a Christian, he felt that it was his obligation to be completely honest about his sins.

Because Fred’s original conviction was overturned based on a legality he was released from prison. He joined a church, got involved in an ex-prisoners’ fellowship group, and continued to grow in Christ. At his retrial for the crimes he was originally accused of, he again confessed, this time to the trial judge, to the additional wrongs he had committed. He told the judge he was willing to accept whatever punishment was appropriate. An awkward silence ensued while the judge considered what to do with Fred and his previously-known and newly-confessed crimes. When the judge announced the sentence, it reflected a wisdom that gave Fred back his life: ten years for each robbery—suspended (no jail time)—and restitution to his victims for their losses with 50 percent interest.

For a moment no one in the courtroom moved. Then Fred’s pastor jumped to his feet and shouted, “Let’s sing it!” and proceeded to lead the entire packed courtroom in the singing of the doxology. The Seattle Times newspaper captured the scene: “Everyone stood up, little old ladies in spring dresses, ex-cons, girls in jeans, men in business suits, a biker with his motorcycle jacket and helmet, prison guards—and they began to sing: ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow.…’ ” Officials later said that it was the first time a Seattle Superior Court case had ever closed with the Doxology (cited by Hughes, pp. 313–315).[1]

Fred and all his friends had great reason to burst forth with praise to God, for it was the Lord who had greatly blessed Fred through the wisdom of the judge.  Well, just as Fred had every reason to burst forth in praise, so also the Apostle Paul broke praised the God from whom all blessings flow in our lesson today.  You see, Paul had just finished writing his longest and most detailed letter of the New Testament, and now, overwhelmed by the wisdom and the blessings of the Lord God he burst forth in praise, saying: “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." (Romans 16:25–27, NIV84)

It was the Lord who, in his wisdom, confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, even as Paul was traveling to persecute Christians, it was the Lord who blessed Paul by appearing to him and calling him to faith.  It was the Lord who blessed Paul by using him to reveal the beautiful message of the Gospel—a message that had been hidden for long ages past—in the Old Testament Prophecies, but was now clearly revealed in Jesus who was the salvation of the world.  It was the Lord who had blessed Paul as he commissioned Paul as a Missionary to the Gentiles; a missionary who would go to the ends of the earth, so to speak, to proclaim the message of salvation to nation after nation so that they, too, might know the salvation that was theirs through faith in Jesus the Savior.

These are just a few of the reasons that Paul praised the Lord God who had blessed him in every way, and as he wrote he reminds us of the many ways the Lord our God has blessed us as well!   Just think about all the blessings that Paul covered in his letter and all the reasons why each and every one of us would have every reason to give praise to the Lord our God from whom each and every one of our blessings continually flow!  Even though Paul had spent the first three chapters of his letter laying out exactly why no one  would ever be declared righteous in God’s sight be observing the Lord, Paul continued by assuring us that the Lord himself had revealed a righteousness that was ours through faith.  Even though it is painfully clear that each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, it is the Lord our God who blesses us by justifying us (declaring us not guilty of our sins) by faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.  (See Romans 3:19-26)  Now, because we have been justified through faith, we are at peace with God.  We have gained access to the Lord our God through the grace that our God has revealed in our lives.  We are able to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God that has been revealed in us through faith in Jesus.  We are even able to rejoice when things aren’t going so well, whether we are facing hardships, frustrations, or even persecutions, because we know that these things are designed to help us grow in our faith.  (Romans 5:1-8) But not only are we able to rejoice in all these situations, we also know that our God is always at work, working all things for the good of those who love him.  We know that through faith in Jesus we are more than conquerors and we have the absolute sure and certain hope that there is nothing in all creation that can ever separate us from the love of our God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 8:18-37)  Is there any wonder why Paul bursts forth in a doxology of praise, saying: “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." (Romans 16:25–27, NIV84)

But what about us?  Are we any different?  Do we have any fewer reasons to praise our God from whom all our blessings flow?  Like Paul, we have every reason to praise our God for all his blessings.  After all, it is the Lord who chose us to be his own, even before the creation of the world.  It is the Lord who determined the exact time in history when we would come to be, the exact place where we would be born, who our parents would be, and where and how we would grow up.  It was the Lord God who blessed us by seeing to it that we were called to faith through the waters of Baptism.  It was the Lord who saw to it that we were taught the precious truths of salvation, and that we continued to grow in our faith day after day.  It was even the Lord our God who brought us safely to this new day, and now, as we have gathered on this last Sunday in Advent, it is the Lord who is filling our hearts with joy as we prepare ourselves one more time to celebrate our Savior’s birth in less than a week.

Yes, just as the Lord blessed the Apostle Paul, so also the Lord our God has blessed each and every one of us.  Just as the Apostle Paul had every reason to raise his voice in a doxology of praise, so also we have every reason to raise our voices in a doxology of praise.  For this morning, as we have gathered to give praise to the Lord from whom all our blessings flow, we know that it is the Lord our God who has established us in our faith through the gospel proclamation of Jesus Christ.  It is the Lord our God who revealed the mysteries of the prophecies of the coming of the Savior in the appearing of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem.  It is the Lord our God who revealed the wisdom of his salvation through the birth and the life, the death and the resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is the Lord our God, the only wise God, to whom we give praise and glory and honor today because he is the one who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Yes, today we have every reason to give praise to the Lord our God from whom all of our blessings continually flow.  Today, we have every reason to join our hearts and voices with the Apostle Paul, with Fred, and all the people who were in that Seattle courtroom.  So I invite you, as we close this sermon today, I invite you to join me in singing the Common Doxology; Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  I invite you to open your hymnals to hymn 334 and join me in singing these words of praise as we conclude this message today.  Hymn 334.  We will join in singing this hymn together, without accompaniment.  We will sing it with the Amen.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heav'nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!  Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

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[1] Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, vol. 6, Romans, Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference, 464-65 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).  Some of the following paragraphs have been adapted from this article.

The Spirit of Advent Yet to Come (Matthew 25:31)

Series: The Spirits of Advent 
December 14, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Did you know that on December 17, Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carroll will be 168 years old?  Yes, 168 years ago on December 17, Charles Dickens published a book that had taken him 3 short months to write.  He published a book that became an instant classic.  It was a book that would completely sell out before Christmas Eve of that same year.  It was a book that would continue to be in print until this very day, and would be a book that would be featured as plays, operas, made for TV movies, as well as Hollywood blockbusters.  Little did Charles Dickens know what would come from his book or how his classic tale would entertain millions of people as some version of it was aired on Television every year at Christmas time.

We’ve all seen it, we all have different versions of A Christmas Carroll, versions that particularly strike us. Some of you may have even read the book to find out exactly what Charles Dickens was trying to convey with the different Christmas Spirits.  I haven’t read the book, but for me, the version that sticks with me is the 1984 version starring George C. Scott.  I still remember, to this day, just how badly the Spirit of Christmas yet to come simply frightened me.  It scared me in a way that I can’t explain.  Even today when I see it as an adult, small twinges of fear flicker at the back of my mind because of my first reaction to that film nearly 30 years ago.  Yet, how often don’t we tend to react with fear and trepidation when it comes to future things or things yet, unknown?

Well, this evening, as we continue our series on the spirits of Advent, we have no need of fear or trepidation, because we know that it is the Lord our God who has used these spirits to teach us and draw us closer to himself.  Just a couple of weeks ago, we learned about the Spirit of Advent Past—the promise that the Lord made to Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior to free them from their sins.  Last week we took a look at the present reality of Christ coming into this world, how he was born of a woman, and how he was born under the Law so that he could redeem each and every one of us who were also born under that same law.  Tonight, the Lord gives us a vision of Advent yet to come as Jesus speaks to us from Matthew 25:31, saying:  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84)

Now, when Jesus spoke these words, he was sitting on the Mount of Olives with his disciples.  It was Tuesday of Holy Week and Jesus was just a few days away from the salvation that Pastor Degner spoke about with the Spirit of Advent present.  While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives his disciples had come to him asking about the sings of the last days and of Jesus second coming, and Jesus spent all of chapter 24 and most of chapter 25 the last days.  Now, as Jesus speaks in verse 31, he begins revealing the picture of what this Advent that is to come will be like.  He simply tells us, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84)

This is the day to which we as Christians are looking forward!  We are looking forward to the Advent that is yet to come—the Second Advent of our Savior, the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are looking forward to the day when we will see him returning on the clouds of heaven, As John describes in Revelation 1:7. We are looking forward to the day when he will return in glory and judgment.  We are looking forward to the day when thrones will be put into place and the Ancient of Days will take his place, the court will be seated, the books will be opened and the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven as Daniel describes in Daniel 7:9-14.  We are longing for the Advent that is yet to come, because we know that on that day when our Savior returns, this game of life will be over once and for all, and we will be declared the victors!  Though we are already the victors through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have crossed over from death to life (John 5:24) we are looking forward to that day when the Last Trumpet sounds.

Though there can be times when our sinful nature gets the better of us, causing us to wonder and worry about the Advent that is yet to come, as Jesus continues on in Chapter 25, he assures us that we have nothing to worry about.  Just listen to what he tells us, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:31–40, NIV84)

On that Last Day when the Trumpet sounds, we will witness the Final Advent, his Second Coming to the earth.  We will see him descending on the clouds with all his angels with him.  We will see him sitting on his glorious throne in his heavenly glory, and we will be gathered before him.  There, on that day, through faith in him, we will be placed on his right as believers.  We will stand as Righteous Sons and Daughters of the Lord our God who cleansed away every spot and stain of our sins by our Savior’s precious blood.  We will be made holy as the Lord our God transforms our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:21).  On that day, the Lord Jesus, himself, will invite us to take the glorious inheritance of the saints, the kingdom prepared since the creation of the world.  On that day we will go away to eternal life, even as those who didn’t believe in him will go away to eternal punishment.  

How do we know that this is true?  How can we be certain of this?  Simple!  This is the very thing that the Lord Jesus promised us!  This is what Advent is all about!  It is about Jesus Christ, our Savior, coming to us, to free us from our sins.  He came to us in the past as the promise of the Savior was passed down from generation to generation and all the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament pointed to the sacrifice that he would make.  He came to us as a little child, born in to this world under God’s law so that by his death and resurrection he could redeem us from the curse of the Law.  He comes to us each and every week through the Gospel that is proclaimed to us in the Word and in the Sacraments, and he will come to us one last time when he returns on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.

Can’t you just imagine what that day will be like?  Can’t you just hear the shouts of praise echoing throughout the world by all the believers who have longed for their Savior’s return?  Can’t you just see the glory of your Savior sitting on his throne as he separates us from the unbelievers?  Can’t you feel the amazing and overwhelming love and grace of our Savior who loved us so much that he chose us to be his own and is now taking us to his heavenly kingdom to live with him in righteousness, innocence and blessedness, forever?

This is the day to which you and I are looking forward—the Final Advent of our King.  Though we don’t know when the Final Advent of our King will be, we look forward with all our hearts to that day “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84)  We look forward to that day knowing that if we live to see it with our own eyes; we will see our Savior returning with all the angels and all those who have gone before us. But if it should happen that the Lord should call us out of this life before our Savior’s return, we will be carried to his side where we will live with him in his heavenly kingdom, and we will be doubly blessed to be part of that throng of believers standing before the Lord’s right hand on the last day.  Either way, we are victorious in the Lord!  Either way our Salvation is secure with him.  Either way we look forward, with longing eyes, the advent of our King.

Though there was something about the Spirit of Christmas Future that frightened me as a child, there is nothing about the Spirit of Advent to come that needs to frighten or terrify us.  There is nothing about it that needs to frighten or terrify us, because as Christians we are looking forward to that great and glorious day “When the Son of Man comes in his glory,” Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Follow the path, which John prepares (John 1:6-8,19-28)

December 11, 2011

 

Dear friends in Christ.

During the Christmas holidays, you can find all sorts of special articles popping up in your local papers.  Sometimes they are articles, which are simply reporting Christmas events happening in the community.  Sometimes they are religious articles designed to remind everyone who reads them that Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas.  While at other times we might find an article, which calls to mind the fond memories of the Christmases of our childhood.  Most of the time, these articles are designed to get us into the Christmas spirit as the days move ever closer to December 25th.  Well, this morning we have a different type of Christmas article before us.  It is not an article written to tell what’s happening in our community.  It’s not an article designed to bring back Christmas memories.  Rather, it is an article that was written to tell us a little bit about John the Baptist, his mission, his message, as well as to prepare us for the coming Christ child.

So why don’t we take another look at the article, which is before us today—the article written about John the Baptist by the Apostle John in our Gospel lesson.  The article which could easily be titled, “Follow the path, which John the Baptist prepares.” By, the Apostle John:  “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Christ.’ They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’  He said, ‘I am not.’  ‘Are you the Prophet?’   He answered, ‘No.’ Finally they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.’ Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’  ‘I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” (John 1:6-8, 19-28).

Now at first glance this may seem to be just a regular article that you would find in any paper describing the events that took place on a regular day.  But the truth is, there is so much more going on in this article than meets the eye, and if we are not careful, we could miss it.  For example: as the Apostle begins his report, he gives us a little history behind John the Baptist, and as it turns out, John was no ordinary man.  First of all, he was a man who had been sent by God himself as a witness to the Light of the World.  Though he himself was not the light, He was the one whom God had chosen to be a witness to the Light.  He was the one whom God had chosen to point people to Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, and that is what he did.  For as we heard in our Gospel lesson last week, John had come, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  He came preaching: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”  In fact he was so successful at what he was doing that “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.”  This is why the Apostle’s report tells us that the religious leaders of the people sent a delegation out to question him and ask who he was. 

Can you imagine what the people gathered around John the Baptist must have been feeling that day when they saw the group of priests and Levites coming down the road to the Jordan?  For when the people saw the priests, they must have known that John was going to be questioned, but when the saw the Levites, they would have immediately known that this was official church business.  For the Levites were there to lend authority to the whole event much in the same way a sheriff’s car adds authority to the speed limit.  When they reached John they asked him straight out if he was the Christ, because from his following it was easy to get the idea that he might be.  But John firmly answered, I am not the Christ.  They asked him if he might be Elijah, because they misunderstood the prophecy from Malachi, which said: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” (Malachi 4:5)  They thought that John might be Elijah returned from the dead, come to proclaim the Word of God before the day of the Lord.  Because of this, because of their misunderstanding, John was forced to tell them, “I am not Elijah.”  Even though he was the fulfillment of the prophecy, even though Jesus was referring to John the Baptist when he told his disciples that Elijah had come, John had to say he was not Elijah, because they misunderstood the prophecy.  They asked him if he was the Prophet, the Prophet whom they were expecting to come and usher in the Messianic age.  But again, because of their misunderstanding, John had to tell them no. 

Finally, out of frustration they asked for a straight answer, and this is what John gave them.  For when they asked, “Who are you?” He replied with the beautiful words of the Prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.” (John 1:23).  In short, John was telling them that he was the one whom God had chosen to prepare the way for the Lord.  He was the one whom God had chosen to point out the Christ.  He was the one whom God had chosen to lead his people to their Savior.  This is why the Apostle titles his article the way he does.  For in that title, he is encouraging you and me to follow the path, which John prepares, because the path, which John prepares, is the one, which leads to the Savior.  That was John’s mission here on earth to prepare the way of the Lord, to point him out, and to lead people to their Savior, and that is the task he performed admirably.  In fact, even though it has been many years since John the Baptist was beheaded, this is a task he is still accomplishing today.  For by reminding ourselves of John’s mission here on earth, we have once again followed him on the path that leads to our Savior, and now that we have once again followed on the path which John prepared, the torch has been passed us.  For as Christians, John’s mission has now become our mission.  As Christians, it is now our mission to prepare the path, which leads to our Savior, so that many more might follow it to him.

Now if you think about it, what greater mission could we have than the mission to lead others to Christ?  For there are billions of people in our world who do not know him.  There are millions of people in our country who do not know him.  There are thousands in our state who do not know him, and there are hundreds in our cities and counties who do not know Jesus Christ.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that if you went to Minneapolis, St. Paul, anywhere in the metro area, to Belle Plaine, Mankato, or even St. Peter and asked people the question: “How does Jesus fit into Christmas?”  I’d be willing to bet that fewer than 20% of the people you asked would know that Jesus is the Savior of the World.  Now my statistics might be wrong because I’ve never actually conducted this kind of a survey, but I think my point is clear.  There are many people who need to hear the message about Jesus who came to earth as a little child so many years ago.  There are many people who need to hear how that child grew and went throughout all of Israel preaching God’s Word to the people.  There are many who need to hear how that sinless Son of God died on the cross and rose again from the dead to free us from our sins.  And we can tell them.

Even though we don’t really have a formal evangelism committee, and when we did have one very few people were open to being a part of it, we can all be evangelists.  We call all follow the path which John Prepares, even as we begin to lead others on the same path by telling them about their Savior.  And we can tell them about their Savior in so many different ways!  Here at home, we can tell them by simply inviting them to come to church with us so that they too might hear the Word of God.  We can include passages of Scripture in the Christmas Cards we send out.  We can pray for all those who do not know their Savior, asking that the Lord would give them an opportunity to hear his Word and that we might always be ready to share that word with them.  But even when we are away from home we can share our faith in so many ways.  While we’re wandering through a mall or simply out shopping in another town, we can wear a smile on our face even when we are growing tired and weary.  As we find ourselves in a conversation with a cashier or another customer, we can ask what they are planning to do for Christmas Eve. If they no plans or no church of their own, we could invite them to attend our local WELS congregation for their Christmas service.  Even if you don’t know the name of the church or time of the service, you can simply tell them to look for W-E-L-S in the church section of the yellow pages. But the thing is, these are just a few of the little ways that we can use to share our faith with others, because following the path that John has prepared to our Savior and leading others to that path as well, is not merely the job of the Pastor.  It is the job of every single Christian.  It is the job of each and every one of us to tell others about our Savior so that through the Word of God they might also follow the path that John prepared to the Lord Jesus, our Savior.

I know that at first it can be a little scary to step out of your comfort zone and share your faith with others.  I know that it is not always easy to do this because we are so engrained in our thinking that we shouldn’t ask other people about their religion or their church.  I know it can be quite scary, because when we hear that it is our mission to spread the Gospel, it is so easy to think that we need to have a well thought out presentation of Law and Gospel.  While something like that could be very useful, there are so many little ways we can use to lead others to Christ.

This is why the Apostle John is encouraging us to follow the path, which John the Baptist prepared.  For as we follow that path, we are constantly being prepared to go out and find others so that we might lead them to their Savior as well.  This is the mission John the Baptist undertook when the Lord sent him to preach to the people of Israel, and this is the mission we have been given today.  For our mission this Advent season, and indeed throughout all our lives, is to lead others to their Savior.  Our mission is to proclaim the message of Christ the Savior so that many more people might be added to the kingdom of God.  Our mission is follow the path that John the Baptist prepared so that we might be ready not only for the coming of the Christ child at Christmas, but also for his return on the last day.  Prepare yourselves then as you continue to work and witness for Christ so that through your efforts many more might come to the knowledge of their Savior Jesus Christ, the baby who was born as the Savior of the World.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN