The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the third chapter:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
In the Gospel text of today, we have John the Baptizer whose main job it was, as the last Old Testament prophet, the last prophet before the coming of the Messiah, to try to prepare the people of Israel for this Messiah. He doesn’t prepare them by telling them to get the lights up on the house, or the ornaments on the tree, or the presents all wrapped. In fact, except for being directly located in the Advent season, the time before we celebrate Christmas, you’d never know that this text had anything to do with Christmas, the birth of the Christ into human flesh.
I mean think about it, we spend all this time before Christmas trying to get ready for the celebration of Jesus’ first coming in the flesh, and looking forward to His second coming at the end of time. We decorate our houses, both inside and outside. We decorate our church beautifully with garlands and lights and the tree. We shop ‘till we drop. We buy for almost anyone, really. We search for all the right gifts, all the right wrapping paper, all the right bows. We do so much to prepare for a single day located in a single season.
And that’s all well and good. We actually kind of take our cues from the visitors the infant Jesus had at His nativity. The shepherds brought their wonder; we have that, too. The wise men would bring their gold, frankincense, and myrrh; we bring our gifts, too. The prophets in the temple gave their songs; we lift up our voices, too. I mean, our Christmas season is littered with things that we find clearly laid out in the New Testament story. And that’s wonderful.
But, John the Baptizer, his job was to prepare for the coming Christ, too. But he had no garland; he wore camel’s hair. He had no wreath; he only had a halo of unkempt, uncut hair. He had no Christmas cookies; he ate locusts. He had no milk for Santa; he only drank wild honey. John had nothing that looked like Christmas. Yet, his job, and he fulfilled it well, was to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. And he did this through one simple thing: the call to repent, and where repentance is, there the forgiveness of sins follows, too.
And how does he do it? He calls for the people to be baptized. Now, you have to understand, baptism, the baptism of John, especially, wasn’t a Jewish thing. It was a washing, a ritualistic washing, that the Gentiles used for oaths and pointing to a new identity. Roman soldiers would be baptized, not for the forgiveness of sins, but they would be baptized, washed, and by so doing would be members of their legion. So, for John to take this Gentile, heathen practice and put it into the Jewish realm of religion, well, it was offensive.
That’s why the people flocked to see what was going on. They weren’t all cool and hip to his new thing; they wanted to see who was going to bring this John up on charges first, who was going to clock him. Now, for those who were faithful to God, who recognized that this prophet was one who was sent to God’s people, they probably did go down to the River Jordan to pray and be baptized, to show they were repentant. But, that group, as in all other times of Israel’s history, was likely small, a remnant.
Yet, this remnant heard the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” And so they did. For in their repentant faith, their sins were forgiven. This wasn’t the Baptism that Jesus would later institute, but this was a foreshadowing of the awesome power of Baptism that was to come. Still, when the people went down into the water, when they confessed their sins, when they confessed they were sinners, there was forgiveness. There is always the forgiveness of sins when there is confession. Always. Without exception.
And those words of John, repent, be baptized, you are forgiven, were good, and so the voice of John didn’t just die out. We know the story: John confronted all who came before him with their sins, not even stopping when it came to the most powerful man around, Herod, and his ill-gotten wife, Herodias. And for John’s right preaching of the Word of God, Herod threw him in jail, and eventually John was beheaded, dying a martyr’s death and following in the footsteps of every prophet of God who came before him.
But even as John’s head sat upon that platter, his words did not die out, for they are the Lord’s words. He continues to cry, even through the Word of God today, “Repent and be Baptized. I baptize with water, but look to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. He Baptizes with the holy Spirit and with fire.”
And indeed, so our Lord does. Now, our Lord also uses water in His Baptism, but He adds the benefit of the Holy Spirit and fire for you. John’s baptism had not the Spirit, and there was no washing away of sins in the water, but only by the very words, words we still speak today, “Go, my son, your sins are forgiven you.” But, Jesus’s Baptism, the greater Baptism, brings to you the Holy Spirit, where that Spirit of God dwells in you and with you through all of eternity. The fire of the Spirit we saw on Pentecost day, when the Spirit gave the Apostles the ability to preach the Good News of Jesus in any language, that fire continues today. The Spirit allows for the Good News still to be preached in any language that exists. This Spirit, coming to be with us, then is good news for us, for we have God who lives in us, making us His temple, and we have God outside of us, bringing to us His Word and Sacraments.
You see, this is our preparation for Christmas. We prepare ourselves in the way that John prescribes, repentance and the forgiveness of sins. And we do this, we prepare ourselves, by looking back to that which Christ has done, which is to wash us with His own hand so that we might be given the name of God and God would dwell with us.
This should give us great confidence! Our Lord has come to us, to Baptize us! We do not, like the Jews, need go find God in the wilderness. We don’t need to go on some long journey out into nowhere to hear some wild prophet who declares strange things. We have these things right here! You see, in Christ, God comes near to us. Christ comes close to us by taking on our own flesh. Christ is closer than we could ever imagine. We don’t go to Him, He has already come to us.
In this way, there is nothing you need do. Seriously. You go prepare for Christmas, that’s totally fine. But, when it comes to real preparation, when it comes to repentance and the forgiveness of sins, that’s been done for you when the God-man Himself went to the tree in your place and died for the forgiveness of your sins. And that tree is brought to you through His Word and through His Sacraments. No joke.
See, Jesus needs no Christmas tree; He hung upon one long ago. Jesus needs no garland; He wore a crown of thorns. Jesus needs no milk; He drank of the sour wine. Jesus needs no cookies; the Bread of Life was executed. He needs no snow or howling wind; He gave up His spirit. He needs no gifts; He gives everything to you.
Jesus Himself is our preparation for Christmas. It’s true. In Jesus’ death, we have all that we need. He has given us everything there. We need nothing more. It is our preparation, for from the water that flowed from His pierced side, come the waters of Baptism. From the crucified Christ, from the blood which flowed from His body, comes the body and blood of the Christ of the Sacrament. What more do you need to prepare for Christmas, even to prepare for His second coming?
Yet, it is not all. For Christ, who died upon the tree, died in your place, declaring you righteous before the Father, and gave to you the sure and certain hope that you will never face the wrath of God John the Baptizer was warning against. But, in the resurrection of Jesus, you have the full vindication of the Father, that the Father was pleased with Christ’s sacrifice, and He will raise you from the dead as well. You will not be left alone in your grave, but shall see Christ when He returns.
That’s because you were prepared. You received that which Christ has for you. You have been found faithful in Him. And you were kept faithful by the very gifts of God Himself to you. You were prepared.
So, today, if you want, go and light your tree, decorate the house, put the ornaments, the garland, the sweet lights outside up. Buy and wrap presents, find the best you can for those whom you love. Go out in freedom and do all of that. It’s great; it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Go and do it. And remember your Baptism. Remember where you were prepared for the coming of the Christ. Remember you are washed. Remember you are forgiven. Remember that Jesus is coming again soon… for you. Remember the goodness of God in Christ Jesus, and let that turn your heart once again to begging the Lord, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly… for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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