A Voice and a Finger

Jesu Juva

St. John 1:6-8, 19-28                                                     

December 13, 2020

Advent 3B                                             

 Dear saints of our Savior~

          We could have designated this Sunday as “John the Baptist Sunday.”  For John the Baptist Sunday we could have encouraged people to come to church dressed in leather and camel’s hair.  Our men could have refrained from shaving or visiting the barber for several weeks beforehand.  Downstairs by the coffee pot we could have asked the fellowship committee to whip up a big batch of honey-coated grasshoppers. . .

          But John himself would have objected to that idea—to a Sunday celebrating him.  John was the forerunner of Christ, not the Christ.  He was a witness to the light who didn’t try to outshine the light.  He was a voice crying out in the wilderness.  John was a finger, pointing people to Jesus, and saying, “Behold!  There He is!  The One you’ve been waiting for.  Look!  The Lamb of God.”

          In works of art down through the centuries, John the Baptist is often depicted with an overly large mouth and a hyperextended index finger, pointing to the Lamb

of God.  A big mouth and a pointing finger—that was John.  Most of us were taught as children that it’s not polite to point.  And having a “big mouth” wasn’t much better.  But John had been called by God to be a witness—a mouth with a voice, a finger pointing to another.

          Now, witness is one of those rich and meaningful words found in the gospel according to St. John.  “Witness” here means “authoritative eyewitness”—one who tells exactly what he has seen and heard.  To bear witness is not to draw attention to one’s self, but to recede into the background and let the message—let the testimony—take center stage.

          The first thing we learn about this witness named John is that he was sent from God.  John was sent.  He didn’t decide to start his own ministry, or venture out into the wilderness on his own initiative.  Even before John was conceived in the womb of his aged mother, his sending was already a done deal.  The angel Gabriel told John’s father, Zechariah, that his son would go before the Lord . . . to turn the hearts of the fathers . . . . to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Lk. 1:17).

          John was sent from God as a witness to give testimony—so that all might believe through him.  Note that: Through him, that is, through his testimony, not in him.  John’s testimony—his preaching—was not given so that people would believe in John, but that through John all people might believe in Christ.  His message was not, “Follow me,” but, “Follow Him.”

          This is still the case today with all those who are sent by God to proclaim the Gospel.  God still sends out pastors so that, through their testimony, people will believe in Jesus.  And who the pastor is, is somewhat irrelevant.  That’s why pastors (for the entire history of the church on earth) have always worn vestments.  The purpose of this alb and this stole is not to draw attention to the man in the pulpit.  Just the opposite!  The vestments cover up “the man” (with all of his quirks and eccentricities and imperfections) so that all that remains showing is a big mouth and a finger pointing to Christ.

          The problem today is that we blur the distinction between the message and the messenger.  We live in an age when person and personality matter much more than do message and testimony.  You sometimes hear about congregations getting rid of their pastor because they don’t like his personality—even though his message and doctrine might be spot on.  It’s worth considering how Pastor John the Baptist would have fared as a pastor today—decked out in leather, calling his hearers a “brood of vipers,” all while picking honey-coated grasshoppers out of his teeth.  You can be sure that John’s district president would be getting a few phone calls.

          The religious leaders at corporate headquarters in Jerusalem were intrigued by this new messenger out in the wilderness.  John’s appearance created enough of a stir that they formed a blue-ribbon task force to investigate.  They asked John, “Who are you?”  Or, probably more to the point, “Who do you think you are?”  And John told them—He confessed, “I am not the Christ.  I am not Elijah.  I am not the Prophet.  I’m just the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.”  He told them who he wasn’t.

          John didn’t tell them who he was because it ultimately didn’t matter.  John could have launched into the miraculous story of his conception and birth—about how his priestly father was rendered speechless by an angel—how his mother was an old lady when she gave birth to him.  It’s not that John didn’t have a great story to tell.  It’s that John was called to tell them about Jesus—the coming One whose sandal straps he was unworthy to untie.

          This is what true witnessing is all about.  If we’re going to be witnesses for Jesus, then let’s talk about Jesus.  Let’s tell the good news about Him.  Many modern evangelism techniques call for you to talk about yourself as you witness to others—talk about your life, about how you came to faith, about how you overcame this and that adversity with the Lord’s help.  And while there may be a time and place to share some personal history, we need to be careful that our big mouths aren’t always talking about “me,” and that our pointing fingers aren’t pointing right back in our own direction.  There’s a very fine but important distinction between telling the good news about Jesus, and telling the good news about me and my faith in Jesus.

          John wasn’t sent by God to talk about himself—to deliver stirring personal testimonials.  Nor was he sent to entertain people.  He was sent to prepare people for the Lord by preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  John’s message is, “Don’t look at me, because I’m not the Christ.  I’m not Elijah.  I’m not the Prophet.  I’m nothing but a voice ringing in your ears, telling you to repent and be baptized because the Lord is coming.”  John is nothing; Jesus is everything. John must decrease; Jesus must increase.

          Today we in the church are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ.  We are that voice and that finger in today’s wilderness of sin and darkness—a voice to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus.  God forbid we should point to ourselves—to our own goodness—showing the world just how religious we are.  No, we point the world to Jesus.  There’s the One for you.  There—in Him—is your forgiveness, your life, your salvation.  There is Jesus in the water of your baptism.  There He is speaking through the mouth of your preacher, absolving your sin.  There He is in the bread that is His body and in the wine that is His blood.

          That’s what it means to be a witness for Jesus.  Not pointing to me and saying, “Be religious like me.”  But pointing to Jesus in the Word, in the water, the bread and wine, and testifying on His behalf:  “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away all your sin.  He died bearing your sin.  He rose again holding your life in His nail-scarred hands.  He now reigns, and in Him you too will reign.”

          One word of caution though.  The New Testament word for “witness” also means “martyr.”  Being a witness for Christ can be costly.  It’s never easy.  Come to Bible class this morning and you’ll hear about how John the Witness became John the Martyr.  It could happen to you too.  But don’t worry.  In your baptism you’ve already died and been buried with Jesus. You are in the ultimate witness protection program, under the eternal care of the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you.  You are covered up (disguised, if you will) in the righteousness of Christ.  Your life is safely hidden with Christ in God. You’ve got nothing to lose and nothing to fear.

          So let’s get those fingers pointing.  And let’s open our mouths wide to bear witness to Jesus.  He is the light.  He is the resurrection and the life.  It’s our privilege to speak of Him and point to Him.

           In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.