December 22, 2024

John 1:19-28

Rust ruins metal. Stomach acid burns through your esophagus. Vices do the same to your soul.

Vices are not simply bad habits. Vices signify a state of mind. Vices indicate we see other people as obstacles to overcome, objects to possess, or enemies to defeat.

The first vice we encounter in today’s Gospel is envy. The Jerusalem leaders envy John the Baptist’s popularity and success. St. John Chrysostom says this envy, “Harms and wastes them … like some mortal venom deeply seated in their souls” (NPNF1, vol. 14, p54). What venom is deeply seated in your soul, corrupting you? Envy? Wrath? Lust?

They tempt John the Baptist with something you also may face. It’s in the nature of this area, where the prominent and the powerful vie for control. The chance encounter can lift your fortunes. The right connection can advance your career. What is the cost of your integrity?

A delegation comes to John from Jerusalem. He can accept their offer of messianic leadership. All he needs to do is turn away from the Lord Jesus, whom He confessed already in the womb of Elizabeth his mother. At what price can you be bought?

He knows what the talent-scouts from Jerusalem want: they want to promote him, and be part of his rise. But John’s consistent message was to point away from himself. “I am not the Christ,” confesses John. He takes no honor to himself. He spurns even the basic pleasures of life.

John cannot be bought. He cannot be paid off. John confesses Jesus and continues to preach. What did he preach?

Simply this: the world stands under God’s judgment. As a tree is hewn down, so God is sharpening His axe for the day of judgment. Nothing you’ve done, no money you’ve made, no degree you’ve earned, no act of contrition can deliver you from death, and the hell you deserve. Dr. Luther puts it this way: Everything a man does is damnable “unless Christ our Lord dwells therein, unless [that man] works, walks, lives, is, and does everything through faith in Him” (AE 75:178).

Faith in Christ says, “Yes, I am a sinner; it runs deep in me; but the baptismal waters are deeper, and in that water my corruption is cast. My confidence is not in myself but in Jesus. He will do what He says: forgive sins and raise the dead.”

Splashing about in these waters, John the Baptist declares Jerusalem has nothing to offer him. No money, no new job, no fame, no shiny object will turn him away from his calling.

Offered the ring of power, he flings it into the fire. He knows it can only destroy him.

What is destroying you? From what do you need to turn? What vice has its grip on you?

When John the forerunner calls us to repent, he calls us to deny ourselves. Set aside your self-glory. Set aside your self-seeking. Set aside your self-serving. Stop measuring life by what pleases you. Measure all things by this rule: What pleases God? And, What serves my neighbor?

“He confessed, he did not deny, but he confessed” – does this language about John the Baptist characterize your life?

As Advent draws to its close, let’s recommit to being serious disciples of Jesus. That means honest and open confession of sins. Do not deny but confess. We confess our corruption – then confess Christ the Incorrupt One. He alone can heal and restore us.

The last two weeks of Advent focus on John the Baptist for a reason: before Christ comes to us at Christmas, the way must be prepared in our hearts by the repentance which John preached.

Living by faith is to speak like John: “I confess, I do not deny, but confess, ‘I am not the Christ.’ I am not the savior. I am not the righteous one. I am not the person with all the answers. I cannot solve all problems. I confess, and do not deny, but confess: I am nobody. Jesus is everything. He must increase, I must decrease.”

That’s what John models for us today. He says, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” It is as though John says to us, “If you keep living by the world’s priorities, it will end very badly for you. Stop it, change your mind; don’t trust in yourself but also don’t despair; here is the Christ who takes away sin, who conquers death. Follow Him!”

So we approach the altar of Jesus, His Table, confessing and not denying who we are. We lay on His Table, we lay on Him, all the things destroying our soul. We say, “Take them away, dear Jesus, remove them from me, and give instead Your body, Your blood, Your life. It is You I need. I am not the Christ; You are. You alone can save me. Make me ready for Christmas, make me ready for Your coming. Only You can make me whole; only You can restore the world.” +INJ+