Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius
Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his
brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and
Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high
priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan,
preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it
is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“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 brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' ”
Make way for the Lord Most High!
Christmas is coming. It's only two weeks away now. But I wonder about
that. Are already we living Christmas right now? Maybe so; it depends
what Christmas means. That leads to another question. Is the real
Christmas here and now, or was it in the past, when Caesar Augustus sent
out a decree that all the world should be taxed? Again, I guess that
depends upon what Christmas means.
You probably remember hearing the story from St. Luke about Jesus'
birth. But it's more than a story. Luke was careful to tell us exactly
when it happened. He didn't use the number of the year, like we do.
He used current events, like the reign of kings and rulers.
The same thing is true in our text today. Luke tells us about a great
preparation. Again, he gives exact historical information, to pinpoint
when it happened. Caesar Augustus was no longer in power. Palestine
was divided into four smaller areas, each with its own ruler. At
that time, John the Baptizer received the Word of God and began his
ministry as a prophet. The prophet Isaiah had foretold this, so Luke
included his words too.
Why is this important? It was about the coming of Jesus, the beginning
of his teaching. Israel had waited long years for this. The Savior was
coming. John's work was to prepare the way. But Jesus did not only
come in the past; He comes in our day, and He will come again on His
day. Just as John prepared the way then, God's Word also bids us
prepare the way now. So our theme today is this: “Make way for the
Lord Most High!” So that in our day, we will find life. So that in
His day, we will find joy.
So that in our day, we will find life.
After John received the word of God, it says that “he went into
all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins.” What was John's work? He preached a baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins.
It might confuse you to hear it called “a baptism” instead of
just “baptism.” Isn't there only one kind of baptism?
There are different kinds of baptism. For around 400 years
before John, various Jews performed different kinds of baptisms.
Each was a ceremonial washing with some special meaning. But in all
that time, no prophet of God had yet commanded or preached that people
should be baptized, and no prophet had connected a baptism of repentance
to the remission of sins. You see, unless God says something himself,
we can't be sure that it's true. In our time, God speaks only through
His Word, but back then, He also spoke through prophets.
What was different about John's baptism is that he was a prophet
of God, and he did preach a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins. God was making the connection, and the connection
still exists today. Our sacrament of Baptism is a baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. John was preaching about the same baptism we
have now.
John came in fulfillment of an earlier prophecy. Luke wrote:
“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' ” John was that voice. And what did he preach? A
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins: not twelve-step
program for spiritual renewal; not guidelines for stress-management.
Those things may have their place, but it's not at the center. John
prepared the way by preaching, and he preached a baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins.
If a strange man told you to make way for the Lord Most High, what would
you do? Maybe you would ignore him, but what if he were a prophet?
John is preaching to you and me across the ages this morning, saying
“Make way for the Lord Most High.” What will you do?
The usual way we prepare for our Lord's coming is to set up a
Christmas tree, string out some lights, maybe set up an advent wreath,
put on some special music, drink egg nog, eat fruit cake, and buy gifts
for other people. Is that real preparation for the coming of the Most
High? Is it even a true celebration of Christmas? Is it still
Christmas if you don't sing “Silent Night?”
The fact is, the only thing Christmas really requires is Christ. It's
the “Christ-mass,” the Mass for the birth of Christ. Lutherans don't
often use the word “mass” any more, but at Christmas, everyone does.
It's the day that the Church gathers to celebrate our Lord's coming in
the flesh with the mass — the divine service of Word and
Sacrament. The only thing that made the first Christmas special was the
birth of Jesus. The only thing needed to make it Christmas today is
that Christians celebrate His birth with worship.
We hear the words “Make way for the Lord Most High!” How should we
respond? Not with Christmas carols, decorations, or fruit cake. What
we need is a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Baptism
is the way God adopts us as His children and connects us to the
suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we sin, it becomes a debt of guilt we can't pay. That happens
whenever we replace the true Christmas with something else. It happens
when we become dissatisfied with the family, the friends, the gifts, the
calling that God has already provided. But through our baptism — even
when it was a long time ago, Jesus takes that guilt away from us when we
repent. It's the power of baptism that works to cleanse you through the
absolution. So you see why John prepared the way by preaching a baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins.
But there's more. With the forgiveness of sins, we have the Jesus' own
righteousness. We are freed from a life of guilt. We are free from all
the fluff to celebrate Christmas in the best way we can. We are free
from the condemnation of the Law, free to be God's children. Baptism
not only worked upon the people who came to John long ago. It works
upon us right now, in our day. Whenever we truly prepare for the coming
of our Lord Most High in our day, we have life.
So that in His day, we will find joy.
Make way for the Lord Most High, so that in His day, we will find joy.
Isaiah's prophecy about John is very positive. It says,
“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 brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' ”
What is Isaiah saying about John? It says that John will prepare the
way for someone, building a highway across the rough ground so that when
that person comes, “All flesh shall see the salvation of
God.” That person, Isaiah says, is the LORD. It's God Himself. But
John eventually gave way to a human being, Jesus of Nazareth. That's
exactly why this is such an important thing. Jesus the man from
Nazareth is also Jesus the Son of God. Like Father, like Son.
John was preparing the highway that Jesus would travel during His time
here on earth. We also must prepare for the Most High, but in the
present time, His coming is different. He comes in Word and Sacrament.
If you wonder why we make such a big deal about worship, and why we
resist making worship another form of entertainment, or trying to make
it more attractive to the unbelieving world, that's it right there.
Jesus comes to us in Word and Sacrament, and we prepare the way through
repentance, music, teaching and the like. He comes to convert, to feed,
to strengthen, to admonish, and to comfort. He comes with the Holy
Spirit, whose power works all of these things. That's why we have and
use our liturgy and hymns. It's why we worship every week. Through
eyes of faith, we see the salvation of God.
But the time is coming when even that will change. In our day, we see our
salvation through eyes of faith. In His day, we will see our salvation
through eyes of flesh and blood. I said that Isaiah's prophecy is very
positive. That's because Jesus' coming is very positive. He grants us
peace when our sins are forgiven in our day. He will fill us
with joy when we see Him on His day. That day is coming sooner than we
think.
Therefore “let us consider one another in order to stir up love
and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as
is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more
as you see the Day approaching.” Our own preparations are not enough
for us to be ready on that Day. We can rely only upon the preparation
we have been given.
Make way for the Lord most High, through a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins, so that in His day, we will find joy. “To
Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has
made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.”