In the Wilderness

John 1:19-28 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.

1 John the Baptist is offensive. Seeing the remnants of locust in his teeth and drops of dried honey in his beard, you wouldn’t spend a lot of time talking to him. His uncut hair wouldn’t meet your standard of civilized. And his camel’s hair robe and leather belt hardly fit in even in his day. What happened? He had good parents; his father was a well-respected priest, and his mother was from the lineage of Aaron. You might have thought him a vagrant or a drunk, but he was sworn not to drink alcohol. He didn’t fit in well in his day, and he wouldn’t fit in well in yours.

2 He wouldn’t have a nice place to live, either in the crowd or close to it. He’s not a likable, respected member of society. Not only is he an outsider among good civilized people, he’s an outsider to Jerusalem. He leaves the relative comfort of the city and goes out into the wilderness. Does he make you uncomfortable? Is he the kind of biblical character you have to make excuses for, “No, no, you can be a follower of Jesus and not act like John. He’s, well, he’s just John.” John is offensive is how he lives. He shuns civilization and comfort. And John is offensive in what he says. With his words, he shuns civilization and comfort, as well.

3 “Who are you, John?” ask the priests and Levites sent to inquire of him. He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 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?" John didn’t say anything about himself. That was part of the problem. But the prophet Isaiah had spoken of John centuries earlier. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'"

4 John precedes the Christ. He prepares the way for the one the straps of whose sandals John won’t even consider himself worthy to touch. John’s the “Advent guy.” He prepares for the coming of the Messiah. He makes the paths straight with his preaching. And he preaches about only one thing—or, more specifically, one person. All John can talk about is the Christ, the one who will come after him. And John’s not exactly the kind of preacher you like to hear, either. He doesn’t just tell you about Christ: who He is and what He’s like. John calls his hearers to repent of their sins before this Christ comes. That’s perhaps what offends you most about John.

5 “Who are you, John?” “I am the voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” Why in the wilderness? Why not in the comfort of Jerusalem, John? Yours was a priestly heritage, why not stay in the temple and preach from there? Why come out here, out of civilization? But John’s call to repentance is unrelenting. “Make straight the way of the Lord.” In leaving the comfort of the cities and town, in calling to repentance all who hear his message, John calls you out into the wilderness, as well. John calls you away from the place of civilized sinners, away from the place where your life can be found in your job, your family, your possessions, away from the place where death masquerades as life, where the person who is “living it up” has made pleasure into a god, where a person may die having lived a “full life” without ever having been baptized. John calls you away from where sin has become civilized and where sin turns its captives into seemingly civilized savages.

6 In the wilderness, there’s no place for the Old Adam to hide. There’s no place to run, no fig leaves he can fashion into a garment, no way to hide from the Lord, whose words John the Baptist preaches. In the wilderness, Adam is confronted by his sin. John’s message catches him and holds him in its grip. Adam is alone, naked, ashamed. He’s a sinner, and there’s no escaping that fact, not in the wilderness. In the wilderness, you may rightly consider your place in life. No matter the job, the family, the possessions, your life began and will end the same way: in dirt. Dust you are and to dust you shall return, the preacher will say at your funeral. Then, once Adam, once you have no escape of your own, no way for the civilization of sin to save you, John has done his job. He has brought you to the water where another one is standing.

7 John calls you out into the wilderness where the only life is where there is water. There, through the wilderness runs the fresh stream of the Jordan. Through the wilderness of sin runs the coursing river of life. The One whose sandals John was not worthy to untie came to these same waters. “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” John proclaimed. And because this Messiah, this Jesus, this Lamb of God took the sins of the world upon himself, this cleansing water to which John has brought you gives you life and forgiveness. John has brought you to the font, to the waters of Holy Baptism. Here, there is life.

8 Ever since John baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, your Savior has been found in water. He locates Himself there for you. In the wilderness of repentance, the only place to find life is in this living water of the Savior. Take heart, beloved. Here, the water causes life to spring up from death. Here, these waters of life are the oasis in the world’s wilderness. Your conscience that was scorched in the burning heat of sins committed may here find the refreshment of sins forgiven. Your heart which was dried out and cracked under the searing sun of God’s law here finds shade under the cross. Your throat that was parched from the confession of sins may drink from the fountain of forgiveness in the Lord’s Absolution.

9 As the Lamb of God hung upon the cross dying, taking away the sins of the world, a soldier pierced the Savior’s side with his spear. From the wound flowed the river that gives life: water and blood. The river forked and divided into two. The water flowed into the baptismal font. There, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world took your sins away. The blood flowed into the chalice. There, the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for sins, gives you forgiveness of sins through His blood. From the spear wound of the Savior, the heavens rain down. Your prayer in the Introit has been answered. Forgiveness, life, and salvation shower down upon you.

Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Jeff Hemmer
Hope, Jerseyville
Fourth Sunday of Advent, Rorate Coeli, AD 2007