Welcome to St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops

When I was in the RCMP and then as an investigator with the Province of BC - I was fortunate to be invited to hear speakers who were prominent in a particular field. For example – the law – business – politics – government and futurists. 

(As I look back on what some of these people had to say about what society would look like today – it’s scary how accurate some of them were.)

Anyway back to the speakers. Before the quest speaker came up to the podium there was someone who introduced that speaker. They would tell the audience a little bit about the person’s background – maybe their education – their area of expertise and maybe some of their accomplishments. The introduction gave the audience some idea of what they could expect to hear and learn.

Prior to the last one hundred to one hundred and fifty years most people did not read or write. News or government proclamations were brought to the people by a Town Crier. But a more accurate term for such a person was a Herald. So what is a herald:

· an official crier or messenger,

· one that precedes or foreshadows an event that is about to happen,

· one that conveys news or proclaims laws and regulations,

· one who actively promotes or advocates a person or a thing, 

· a person or a thing that comes before to announce or give an indication of what will follow.

John the Baptist was the herald for the coming Messiah. And he fulfilled three specific Old Testament prophesies that told about his role in preparing the world to receive the Messiah.

Isaiah 40: 3-5

“A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Malachi 3:1

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.”

And Malachi 4: 5-6

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.”

And in the beginning of John’s gospel, he calls John the Baptist a witness to the light - that Jesus gives to the world.

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.” (John 1: 6-8)

And Jesus confirms to the Disciples that John the Baptist is the one to come and announce him. Matthew in 11: 10 & 14 records how Jesus explained that John the Baptist is the Elijah who comes before him to prepare the world to accept him.

“This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”

“…a witness to testify concerning that light.” The light of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. Where would we be and what hope would we have if there is no Jesus. The hope of our salvation and the hope of our redemption from our sin and the sin of the world - lies all with-in Jesus. Apart from Jesus crucified and resurrected there is no life and there is no salvation and no hope of redemption from this life.

Luke begins our gospel reading this morning by giving us a time reference. By comparing the time of Jesus’s baptism with the reign of various leaders of the day. Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar – Pontius Pilate – Herod Antipas and the High Priests of Annas and Caiaphas. Historians have put the overlapping reign of these official at around the year 30 AD. This was the time of John’s ministry and the time when he baptized Jesus and therefore the beginning of Jesus’s ministry to redeem humanity from our deplorable state of sin. 

When I think about it - by placing the ministries of John the Baptist and of Jesus during the time of known historical figures it adds a sense of credibility to the Gospel account.

John’s appearance must have given people an interesting picture of a man in the desert. Matthew describes him this way: 

“John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.” (Matthew 3: 4) 

When I read about John the Baptist and how he was dressed and his diet - I think of movie or cartoon characters acting like a lunatic hermit hold up in a cave in the mountains. Something like the Grinch who stole Christmas. They portray the hermit as a dishevelled – bearded man with unkempt hair. But John was anything but a lunatic. He spoke with the authority of God.

In addition to his unconventional clothing choices there had to be something else that drew people to him. His words had to have conviction and purpose – the words had to have authority so that they would resonate with the people who heard them. It wasn’t human authority but Godly authority. 

Like when Jesus spoke - people commented that he spoke with authority. After the Sermon on the Mount Matthew records what the people said about the way Jesus spoke.

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” (Matthew 7: 28-29)

Even before John’s birth God was with him. 

John’s father Zechariah and his mother Elizabeth were both from the line of Aaron and Zechariah was a temple priest. 

While Zechariah was serving in the temple the angel Gabriel appeared before him. Gabriel said he and his wife were going to have a son and they were to name him “John”. Luke recorded for us this heavenly message:

“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord…. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1: 13b-17) 

But Zechariah doubted Gabriel’s message (So did Abraham) – he believed that he and his wife were too old to have children. There, because of his unbelief Gabriel made him mute until the baby was born. 

So - when they were naming the baby – Zechariah - wrote on a writing tablet; “His name is John.” Then immediately Zechariah could speak. Everyone around the family were amazed that Zechariah could speak. Luke records their response:

“Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.” (Luke 1: 66)

And when John was in the wilderness Luke says; “At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.” (Luke 3:2)

Clearly God’s Spirit was with John the Baptist.

In addition to the authority of John’s words there were two other background issues in Jewish religious thinking at that time. They probably contributed to some of the people going to see John. First, The Jews had not heard from God through a Prophet for about 400 years. The last prophet was Malachi. You might say that they had been starved of God’s words for a long time. Second, the people were expecting the arrival of the prophesied Messiah and wonder if John was the one. Luke says; “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.” (Luke 3:15) 

But John was not the Messiah. When the Jewish religious authorities asked him who he was he plainly told them that he was not the Messiah but that he was the herald for the Messiah. This exchange between John the Baptist and the religious authorities is recorded in John’s Gospel:

“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.” (John 1: 19-20 & 23)

In reading the Biblical account it is clear that John the Baptist understood and accepted his role in preparing the way for the world to receive Jesus – the Messiah.

It is interesting to note that John had harsh words for those Jews who tied their salvation to their pedigree back to Abraham. But it would not help them and he says to them:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Luke 3: 7b-8)

Now compare his response to the average Jewish citizen and the tax collectors and the soldiers.

“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’ Even tax collectors came to be baptised. ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’ ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.”

This was not a condemnation but a gentle appeal to their good side to do the right thing. 

We read about John the Baptist as part of the Advent before Christmas to convey the idea of preparation for the coming of the LORD. And Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’s first coming. Maybe it is time we also start to prepare ourselves and the world to the Second Coming of Jesus.

At the second advent Jesus will again come to live among us but it will not be as the humble servant King of the first advent. No- the Scriptures are clear – when Jesus comes the second time - he comes with the full power and authority of God in heaven. He will come with an Iron Sceptre– to destroy evil and to judge all humanity. Some to everlasting life in paradise but I believe most to everlasting punishment in hell. 

At this time of year we sometime say – “Peace on earth, Good will to men.” It’s nice to say but it is not say but it is not Scripturally correct. Read Luke 2: 14:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

Read the last five words; on whom his favour rests. Now some might argue that his favour rests on all people but it doesn’t say that. Luke writing in the power of the Holy Spirit says there is a condition in the verse. That condition is – the peace is on only those on whom God’s favour rests. So it begs the question – Does God’s favour rest on us? 

Earlier I repeated the words of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. I was drawn to the phrase: “…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(Luke 1: 17b) Clearly not all people are prepared to receive Jesus as their LORD. When he come a second time as the King of all nations with an iron sceptre in his hand – he will judge all people. I wonder how many will be prepared for him the second time? I suspect not many. By that time most will be opposed to God there is no Godly love in most because their hearts are cold. How will Jesus judge them who have persecuted God’s people. 

For those of us that are around at that time – will we be prepared? 

Amen 

Come LORD Jesus

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