In Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, we find God working in
the pages of history to create a new “beginning,” even as “in
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “The
kingdom of God is near” (Mark 1:15). Announcements of Spirit baptism
hang heavy in the air (1:8), anticipating the fulfillment of God’s promise
of a new age and a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). God is creating salvation; “his
right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him” (Psalm 98:1).
This saving activity of God is to be received as good news; “the Lord
has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23). Hope
shines in every verse of Mark’s Gospel, as the Lord who saves invades
human reality in the person of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.
John the Baptist is the lone figure on the stage of this salvation
story as it begins. He fulfills the task of the forerunner, the Elijah who
is to precede the Messiah. He is sent to prepare the way for the Lord who
comes, to make straight paths for Him (1:2-3). The backdrop for John the Baptist’s
preaching and baptizing is the desert region near the Jordan River (1:4-5).
People from Jerusalem and the Judean countryside go to the Baptist, responding
to his message of repentance and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins
(1:5). This wilderness revival movement sets up the next scene, when Jesus,
the locus of God’s saving activity, comes onto the stage (1:9). John
the Baptist makes ready that moment through his person, message, and ministry.
He gets the people of God ready for the coming of Jesus, the promised one
who will rise over the world with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).
The ministry of the Baptist stands within the prophetic tradition
as the necessary precursor to the coming of God’s chosen one, the Christ.
God’s people will not be ready to receive the coming Son of God unless
some steps of preparation are made. First, they must answer the call to go
out to the desert. This is the place where the Lord renews His relationship
with a wayward people (Hosea 2:14). This is the place where the people of
God learn anew their source and life. Second, they must hear and respond to
the message of repentance. A complete about-face is a prerequisite to receiving
the saving activity of God. Sin must be confessed and turned from, to be ready
to embrace a Savior. Third, the way of the kingdom comes into focus in the
person of John the Baptist, and it must be embraced. John’s “one
more powerful than I” mentality reflects Jesus’ “servant is
greatest” principle (Mark 10:43). The broken and spilled-out life of
the Baptist, who loses his head for the Kingdom, calls to mind Jesus’
words, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it” (Mark 8:35).
This is the way of the kingdom of God and its Christ. This is the way of the
Cross. The Baptist by his life invites the people of God onto that way, a
way made ready for the coming salvation of God in the person of Jesus.
The Christmas season involves us in expending tremendous amounts
of energy, time, and resources for the task of preparation. There are gifts
to be bought, wrapped, and placed under the tree. We have to find a new outfit
for the company party, memorize our lines for the Christmas program, and organize
the latest gift-exchange scheme for the extended family. There is baking to
be done for the school Christmas party, cleaning to be done before the Sunday
School class celebration in our home, and Christmas cards to be composed and
mailed before it is too late. We snatch early hours from our nighttime slumber
and stretch the day to the midnight hour to make room for everything we must
get ready. We find our lives hectic and hurried, all in the name of preparation
for the celebration of Christmas. When we hold our efforts up to the Scriptures,
however, we become aware how misdirected we are. We are like sailors on the
Titanic, busily rearranging furniture when we need to be steering the doomed
liner around the iceberg. Could it be that we miss the coming of Christ and
the gifts He brings to our lives, because we fail to prepare properly? If
so, what is the biblical pattern for readiness to accept the Christ who comes
to us?
The biblical pattern for preparing the way is found in the life,
message, and ministry of John the Baptist. He is the God-designated, prophetically
anticipated means by which God gets the path ready on which His coming salvation
will travel. In John the Baptist, the Lord is tearing down mountains, raising
up valleys, making the rough ground level, and the rugged place plain (Isaiah
40:4). These metaphors from Isaiah function in the Baptist’s ministry
as a way of talking about the prep work that needs to happen in the human
heart. The Lord’s means of making the path straight for His coming is
found in the call to repentance that defines John’s preaching and his
baptismal practice. Within that call we find a wilderness theme that magnifies
our neediness and dependency upon the Lord, and we encounter a cross-style
life that reminds us that to embrace Jesus is to embrace His way. This is
the “turning from” and “turning to” response that prepares
the way for the coming of God’s salvation. It has little to do with tinsel
and lights, but the Tree of Life it adorns holds far greater gifts than have
ever been found under the traditional pines and cedars.
The people of the Judean countryside and the city of Jerusalem
who go out to John the Baptist give us clues to the response we are to give
to the Baptist’s life, message, and ministry. Like them, we are to go
out into the desert where John is, and learn again that “our life is
in you, Lord.” In essence, there is a call away from the everyday pace
and pattern where we often forget the Lord and fall into molds of conformity
with the world. The desert is where the molds are broken, and we learn anew
that we live upon “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”
(Deuteronomy 8:3). In the desert, we must then hear and respond to a message
of repentance. Confession of sins is the key act here. We must acknowledge
the obstacles in our relationship with God that hinder us from receiving His
coming, and turn away from them. Arms filled with distractions and idols,
and hands preoccupied with self and survival, must be emptied before they
can embrace the newness God’s saving activity is creating in the person
of Jesus. The final action the people take is baptism in the Jordan River.
They do so in anticipation of God’s kingdom, salvation, and Savior. Their
expectancy plunges them into a new way through the act of baptism. Likewise,
our response to the hope we recognize in the One who comes to us moves beyond
simply “turning away.” We “turn toward” as well. We turn
toward a Savior and dive into His life and His way.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
John the Baptist is a missing figure in our modern Christmas
celebration. There are no wild, prophetic figures on our Christmas cards,
in our nativity scenes, or ornamenting our Christmas trees. And why should
there be? John the Baptist doesn’t enter the story of Jesus’ life
for another 30 years. Of course, the wise men are foreign figures to the night
of Jesus’ birth as well, and we would never think of leaving them out
of the Christmas program. Why? Their story belongs to the Christmas story,
that’s why. They enable us to understand the coming of Jesus, and to
respond properly to His coming. The gospel narratives about John the Baptist
do the same: enable us to understand Jesus’ coming and respond properly.
So move the shepherds over a little, squeeze the magi closer together, and
add John the Baptist to the Christmas narrative.
Our people need to encounter the Baptist and his message. The
Church has recognized this reality throughout its history by the observance
of Advent and the inclusion of John the Baptist’s story in the Sundays
of preparation for Christmas. The Lord comes, has come, is coming, and will
come again. Readiness to receive the coming of the Lord and the salvation
He brings is dependent upon hearing and responding to the Baptist’s call
into the wilderness to initiate repentance and enter a new way with the Lord.
A million messages about hope will not benefit our people if they do not have
opportunity to practice the repentance that is the doorway from hopelessness
to hope.
So the task of this message is to stand in the sandals of the Baptist and prepare the people of the Lord for His coming. The prophetic tradition of Elijah, which John filled full, lives again in the preacher who takes seriously the hope of Advent. A way must be made ready. The message of repentance is always a part of the preparation. Beautiful scenes of God’s activity will not be negated by John the Baptist’s presence and ministry. They will be enhanced, for they will be received by hearts made ready to welcome a Savior and live His life. Can you think of a better way to celebrate Christmas?
