The Second Sunday in Advent
December 6, 2015
Luke 3:1-6
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “’A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the LORD, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Have you ever listened as someone scraped their fingernails across a blackboard? For some people listening to the sound of fingernails slowly scraping across a blackboard borders on unbearable. They cover their ears. They cringe. They may even yell— “Cut that out!” Have you ever heard a small child say their bedtime prayers? Their sweet little voice saying, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” reveals to us what an angel might sound like. Have you ever heard little children singing “Away in a Manger”? Every time I have the privilege of hearing something like that I think to myself, “Ah, this is what it is going to be like in heaven.”
There are certain things that we do not enjoy listening to and then there are certain things that we look forward to listening to over and over again.
As we turn our attention to this portion of Luke chapter 3, we have the opportunity to listen— to listen to the Advent message of John the Baptist. Now, just as listening to the sound of fingernails scraping across a blackboard can be both difficult and unpleasant, so also there is a part of the Advent message of John the Baptist can be difficult and unpleasant to listen to. And yet, just as the sound of a little child saying their bedtime prayers or singing “Away in a Manger” is like sweet music to our ears, so also there is a part of the Advent message of John that is pure sweetness to our soul.
This morning then as we continue our sermon series entitled Advent Imperatives we are going to study our text by focusing on the imperative: Listen! There are two things we need to listen to today. First, let’s listen to John’s proclamation of God’s powerful holy Law. Then, let’s listen to John’s proclamation of the sweet message of the Gospel.
Luke begins our text for today by giving us the historical setting in which John the Baptist lived and worked. He writes, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar— when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
The people of Luke’s day and age were literally surrounded by all kinds of gods and all kinds of belief systems— all of which were based purely on myths and on fables and on the imaginations of mortal men. As a physician Luke was a man who was accustomed to precision, to accuracy and to detail. That mindset is revealed both in Luke’s familiar account of the birth of Jesus (In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree….) as well as here in Luke’s account of the ministry of John the Baptist. All of the historical details that Luke emphasizes here in our text are designed to focus Luke’s readers on the fact that Christianity is a religion that is based upon real people and real events which can be documented in history. The apostle Peter emphasizes that same truth when he writes, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).
After giving us the names of the main individuals who were filling both the religious and political posts at that particular point in history, Luke then reveals to us an extremely important detail when he very simply says, “the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” The message that John the Baptist proclaimed what not a message that John simply “came up with” on his own! No, my friends, the message that John the Baptist proclaimed was a message that was given to him by the Lord God Himself. In fact, the message that John the Baptist proclaimed was the very same message that God had directed His prophets to proclaim to His people for centuries! And what was that message? Luke sums up the Advent message of John the Baptist when he says in our text, “He went into all the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Repent! That one powerful little word sums up the Advent message that you and I are here to listen to today, my friends. As we listen to that message we need to remember that true Scriptural repentance is not simply saying “I’m sorry” when we get caught doing something we should not be doing. No, true Scriptural repentance always includes change. That change is first worked in our hearts through the powerful message of God’s holy Law— the law which “changes” the way that we look at sin. To help us understand the dramatic “change” that repentance works in our hearts and then in our lives Luke directs us to these words of the prophet Isaiah, “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.’”
The picture that is painted for us here by the prophet Isaiah is not at all difficult to understand. What is difficult is to listen to these words— to honestly listen to these words and then apply them to our own hearts and to our own lives. Advent is the time that you and I have been given to “prepare the way for the LORD.” Included in that preparation is listening to God’s holy Law so that the “valleys” in our life can be “filled in,” so that the “mountains” and the “hills” can be “made low,” so that anything that is “crooked” in our lives can “become straight,” so that anything that is “rough” can “become smooth.”
But what do these word pictures mean in practical terms? The specific answer to that question will vary from one individual child of God to the next. What I want to do this morning is place before you some questions for you to consider and then let you fill in the specific details for your own heart and for your own life.
Is there anything in your heart or in your life that is like a mountain that is “standing in the way” of your personal preparation for Christmas? Is there any pride or prejudice, any conceit or envy, any anger or jealousy in your heart that needs to be “cut down”? Is there any part of your life that is motivated by or focused on selfishness or greed? Are there any “valleys”— or dare we say “potholes”— in the spiritual road of your life? Is there anything that is eating away at your soul like some kind of spiritual cancer— perhaps old animosities that you have been unwilling to let go of, grudges that you have been nursing for quite some time? Are you feeling guilty because of your sins— whether sins that you committed a long time ago or sins that you committed already this morning? Do you feel the oppressive burden of un-repented sins? Take a moment sometime today, my friends, and privately review each of the Ten Commandments that the Lord God Himself has given to you. Even if it is just as you are laying your head down on your pillow do not go to sleep this evening without first taking a moment to listen! Listen to the powerful holy Law of your God so that you know what needs to be “filled in,” what needs to be “made low,” what needs to be “straightened out” and what needs to be “made smooth” in your heart and in your life so that you are prepared for the Advent of your Lord!
Once we have listened to God’s holy Law then— and only then— are we ready to hear the sweet soothing message of the Gospel! Here in our text the sweet message of the Gospel is brought out in the simple words of verse six, “And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”
The Greek word that is translated here as “salvation” can also be translated as “deliverance” or “release.” No matter what sins God’s holy Law exposes in your heart and in your life, my friends, your God has graciously provided you with the free Christmas gift of His “salvation” — complete forgiveness for all of your sins! No matter how often your own pride, your own greed, your own rebelliousness has created mountain-like obstacles between you and the God of heaven, your God has lovingly provided you with the free Christmas gift of His “deliverance” so that you can put all of that behind you and humbly walk hand-in-hand with your Lord. No matter how low the guilt and the burden of your sin has dragged you down your God has provided you with the free Christmas gift of His “release”— “release” from all that guilt, “release” from that entire burden through the cross of His Son! (Pointing to the cross)
Through the glorious message of the Gospel, God the Holy Spirit has given to us the ability to humbly kneel beside the manger and see— not just with our eyes, but also with our heart— to see the Child of Bethlehem as God’s gift of “salvation,” as God’s gift of “deliverance,” as God’s gift of “release”— for you, for me and for “all mankind”! Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Of course we enjoy all the Christmas lights and all the Christmas decorations. Of course we rejoice in the opportunity to exchange Christmas gifts with our family and friends. But all the Christmas lights and all the Christmas decorations are absolutely worthless, all the Christmas gifts and all the Christmas festivities are completely futile— unless we are able to look inside the manger of Bethlehem and see the precious gift of God’s eternally begotten Son born of a woman, born under Law to redeem us from our sins!
There are indeed some things that we don’t like listening to. Like fingernails scraping across a blackboard they cause us to recoil. There are also things that we love to listen to— like a small child saying their bedtime prayers or singing Away in the Manger.
As you and I now find ourselves halfway through the season of Advent it is important for us to listen, my friends, — truly listen— to the Advent message of John the Baptist. By listening to John as he proclaims God’s powerful holy Law we realize what we need to get rid of in our life and what we need to change in our heart in order to personally prepare the way for our Lord. By listening to John as he proclaims the sweet message of the Gospel, we will be able to celebrate Christmas for what it is: a glorious celebration of the free gift of “God’s salvation.”
My encouragement to you then this morning, my friends, is found in that powerful little imperative— Listen! Listen to the Advent message of God’s servant John!
To God be the glory!
Amen