“The Voice”
[Luke 3:1-6]
December 9, 2012 Second Reformed Church
Have you ever been in the
supermarket when a voice came over the loudspeaker and said, “Attention such
and such customers, we want to draw your attention to such and such a product
which is on sale today and will be the greatest thing for your life”? Have you ever been waiting for a train or
subway and heard a voice come over the loudspeaker that said, “Attention such
and such riders, it is important that we let you know that you wa wa wa wa wa
wa wa. Thank you for riding”?
On this second Sunday of Advent,
Luke introduces us to one he identifies as “the voice”– an announcer – someone
who has a message that needs to be heard because it points to something
important – in fact, it points to Someone important.
If you have read the four Gospels –
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – you'll notice that each one has a very particular
style. You'll notice that each one places different emphases in their
chronicling of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you'll notice that the events
are not all recorded in the same order.
Matthew, Mark, and John were Jewish
writers – and in the Jewish style of writing it was more important to make the
point then to give a linear – chronological – report of history. Luke was a
Greek believer, and for the sake of those – and one, Theophilus, in particular
– who were more accustom to the Greek style of linear – chronological –
reporting of history, Luke wrote a linear account – the type of historical,
chronological account of history that we are used to today in the Western
world.
At the beginning of Luke's Gospel,
he announces that this is one of the important and different features of his
recording of the history of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “Inasmuch as many
have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been
accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses
and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty
concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4, ESV).
Luke wrote in a chronological
fashion, noting many key events and persons, so that the readers of his Gospel
could check the records and be assured of the truth of the Gospel and the
events contained in. That is why the first two verses of our text are a list of
people:
“In the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea
and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood
of Annas and Caiaphas,”
A
person reading this list of names, could put together the historical boundaries
of when these events took place – leaving Caesar until last – we know the
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea from 26 A.D. to 37 A.D., Herod was
tetrarch of Galilee, Philip was tetrarch of the regions named, and Lysanias was
tetrarch from about 4 A.D. to 34 A.D., Annas was high priest from 6 A.D. to 15
A.D., and his grandson, Caiaphas, was high priest from 18 A.D. to 36 A.D. All of these overlap as far as the ranges of
when these people served in government. Luke specifically says “in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” – and we know that Tiberius
Caesar reigned from 14 A.D. to 37 A.D. ,
so it seems simple enough to add fourteen and fifteen and get 29 A.D. for the introduction
of “the voice.” There's only one problem: those are the years
that Tiberius Caesar ruled as a solo monarch, prior to that, he ruled for a
time as co-regent. We don't know if Luke
was referring to the fifteenth year of Tiberius's reign altogether or if he was
referring to the fifteenth year of his solo reign.
Who cares? In a sense it doesn't
matter, because we know within a few years – one way or the other – when this
occurred. The point that we should notice is that Luke was being very careful
to box this event in historically using a number of different political and
religious leaders so there would be no doubt that these events happen – they
could be traced back and identified within this small window of time.
After placing the event within this
window of time that anyone can go and check – knowing that all of these figures
did rule – and we know fairly well when they ruled, Luke turns to telling us
about John, the son of Zechariah, also called the Baptist – the older cousin of
Jesus:
“the word of God came to John the
son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
Luke uses the Old Testament phrase
“the word of God came” to make it clear to his readers that John is a prophet –
the Divine call had come upon John. The role of the prophet was one of receiving
the Word of God from God, and then to deliver it to the people. John had been
chosen – as the final Old Testament prophet – to deliver the Word of God.
And as the prophets often did, John
came on the scene after a time of preparation – John had spent years in the
wilderness preparing for this day. Luke tells us, “And the child grew and
became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his
public appearance to Israel” (Luke 1:80, ESV). John had likely been in the
wilderness for more than 20 years being prepared by God for this moment.
The day came when John came out of
the wilderness, and Luke tells us, “And he went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
When
the time was right – when his preparation was finished – John came out of the
wilderness, looking and acting very much part of the prophet: “Now John wore a
garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was
locusts and wild honey”
(Matthew
3:4, ESV).
And John went all up and down and
around the Jordan River – on both sides – baptizing. And we might wonder about
that – why was John baptizing? The fact of the matter is that baptisms were
actually common in Judaism: as part of the conversion ritual of a Gentile to
Judaism – to faith in the God of Israel, of the Savior that He would send –
Gentiles were baptized with water to symbolize their repentance and belief in
the God of Israel and His Savior. What is somewhat shocking – what would've
been shocking to people at that time – was that John was baptizing Jews. Why
was John baptizing Jews?
Because he was “proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John was announcing to the
Jews that their biological discent from Abraham was not enough to save them.
John was preaching that even the Jews had to convert to faith alone in God and
the Savior that He would send. And that conversion that he was preaching was
one, first. of repentance – of confessing one's sins, asking for forgiveness,
and vowing not to sin again. And second, of fruit bearing – those who truly
believe in God and the Savior that He would send – those who repented of their
sins and turn away from them intending not to commit them again would also bear
fruit. That is, they would live lives that showed that they had truly repented
– they would fight against temptation and sin less and less, and they would do
the good works that God had called them to do. John made it quite clear that it
was not just the Gentiles who had to repent and believe in bear fruit to be the
children of God, but the Jews, as well.
And then Luke tells us that John
fulfilled prophecy spoken by Isaiah: “As
it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,” – again, this is
a sign of God's Divine call on John and his ministry.
“The voice of one crying in the
wilderness:”
Luke tells us that John is “the
voice”– he is the one that God sent to make an announcement – and not just any
announcement, but the announcement that the Messiah – the Christ – the Savior
had come. And this announcement was not just made in a normal tone, but the use
of the word “crying” indicates that John was shouting his preaching – he was
yelling his message – he was making sure that no one would miss the Word of the
God that he has been sent to announce.
And what was the Word of God that
“the voice” was shouting?
‘Prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’
First, he tells them to prepare. He tells
them “by means of a genuine conversion make it possible for the Lord to make a
straight path to your heart with his salvation” [Hendriksen, 203]. He told them
that they had an obstacle that needed to be removed – there is no salvation
through biology – there is no salvation merely by being a descendent of
Abraham. The Lord will only come to those who have made a genuine conversion –
those who have repented of their sin, believed in the Savior that God would
send, and bear fruit showing that their conversion was real.
This is nothing new to any of us who
truly believe, as Paul wrote: “because,
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV). There
is no salvation based on who we are or where we go to church or the good works
we've done. Salvation only comes to those who truly believe the Gospel – the
God came to earth in the person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God's Law,
died for the sins of everyone who would ever believe, and physically rose from
the dead – and if that belief is true, then it leads to a changed life – we are
not the people that we were born – instead we seek to follow God with all of
our heart and soul and mind and strength.
‘Every
valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,’
Second,
John called the people to a true humility that every attitude of pride and
arrogance would be removed – and if it is not, when Jesus returns, he will
remove it [Hendrikson, 203]. John was not preaching about an architectural
change of the landscape, but about a true humbling of the self to the One and Only
God. As Moses recorded God's Word in the first two commandments: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down
to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation
of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love
me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6, ESV).
John
Calvin wrote, “Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master
craftsman of idols” [http://www.finestquotes.com/quote_with-keyword-Idols-page-0.htm#ixzz2EU3ELkUN]. And if you doubt that, ask yourself if you
have ever sinned. If you have ever sinned, you have placed your will and your
desires above God – you have committed idolatry. Even if we don't have little
statues in our homes, we place people and things and ideas above God – that is
idolatry. And John preached all around the Jordan what God had said from the
beginning: He will not tolerate anyone taking His place.
When
Jesus returns, anyone who has not thrown away their idols and submitted to
Jesus as God and Savior will be forced to acknowledge Him as God and Savior.
As the author of Hebrews noted: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single
sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that
time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet” (Hebrews
10:12-13, ESV).
What
are you holding onto today? What are you telling God, “not now,” “not yet.”
”You just don't understand,” “that was then and this is now,” “I'll do what I
want”? Whatever is not in line with God's Character and God's Will must end.
Similarly,
John continues, ‘and the crooked shall become straight,’ “sly, perverse,
deceitful habits must be and will be broken” [Hendriksen, 203]. Lord willing,
we'll see John address some of those habits in next week's text.
But
just as a preview – there are other sins besides idolatry: We can be disrespectful of our parents in
life and after their death – and that is sin. We are to respect our parents as
our parents even if we haven't always agreed with them – even if they are
non-Christians – we are to show them respect as being parents.
We
are not to murder – and that includes not hating or abusing people or being
angry with them unrighteously. Instead, we are called to love our neighbor –
and that means to do everything we can for them – especially in making sure
that they hear the Gospel truly proclaimed.
We
are not to commit adultery – and not does not merely mean having sexual
relations with someone who is not your husband or wife – adultery is found in
lewd and sinful thoughts about other people – in treating people as objects
rather than those created in the Image of God – it's hard to turn on the
Internet without easy access to adultery. Instead, we are to show our belief in
the value and the purpose of the marriage relationship, and we are to show
respect for other people in treating them as being bearers of the Image of God
– we ought to look for God reflected in people rather than obsessing about
their parts.
We
are not to steal – not does not merely mean that we are not to steal high-end
things. The people who have walked out of this church without paying for things
on the Women's Association table without permission have stolen. Whoever is
pocketing the toilet paper has stolen. If you take pens or paperclips are thumbtacks
home which you have not been given to you, you have stolen. You have stolen if you “sample” food in the
supermarket that is not on the sampling table. If you take anything that you
have not been given permission to take – or that you have not bought – you have
stolen – and that includes stealing people's ideas, art, anything that does not
truly belong to you. And when we do that we are telling God that we are not
satisfied – that He hasn't given us enough. Instead, we are to work at whatever
job we can work – or, if we are retired and can live off of our retirement
income and savings, we are to do that – and we are to be satisfied with what
God has given us.
We
are not to bear false witness against our neighbor – and that's not just a
matter of the courts. We are not to say things or suggest things about other
people that are not true. We are not to gossip and spread rumors and hint about
things which are not true. We are not to purposefully say things in such a way
that other people get the wrong idea about others. Instead, we are to do
everything we can to promote what is true about our neighbor – about other
people – that they might be better for it.
We
are not to covet something that belongs to someone else. We don't use the word
“covet” very much – it's stronger than lusting for something and it's a step
below actually stealing. Coveting is seen what someone else has something and
you say in your heart that you believe that you deserve it more than they do.
If you look at someone and disparage them and say in your heart, “They don't
deserve that car, that job, that family, that income” – whatever – “but I do” –
that is coveting. To make the crooked roads straight, we ought instead to
encourage each other to use the blessings that God has given us wisely and to
be thankful for all of the blessings that God has given to each of us.
‘and
the rough places shall become level ways,’
Fourth,
“the voice” – John the Baptist – called people to “genuine interest and
accessibility” [Hendriksen 203]. The people of God are called to put away
”indifference, unconcern, and waywardness” [Hendrikson, 203]. Paul describes
the church – all believers – as a body – not a business. Through Christ we are
interconnected – all the parts of the body are necessary.
It
may well be that there are people in this congregation who wish that parts of
their bodies’ were different – that they would change; I know there are parts
of my body that I would like to change. And there may be people in this
congregation that you wish were different – and there may be people in this
congregation that wish you were different. I certainly hope I am changing and
becoming more into the Image of Christ, and I hope you are changing and
becoming more into the Image of Christ.
As
I've said many times before: there is no call in the Scripture for us to like
each other all the same – not all of us have to be best friends. However, as
brothers and sisters in Christ, we must love one another and work to smooth out
those rough patches in love.
‘and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.’”
John – “the voice” – concludes this
part of his message by announcing that all flesh – Jews and Gentiles and all
people throughout time and space will see the Salvation of God Who is Jesus. He
concludes by saying that all types of people – not merely the Jews – will hear
the Word of God preached – announced – shouted, and all types of people will
truly repent and believe in their heart confessing Jesus is God and Savior, repenting
their sin – turning away from it, and bearing fruit – good works – which prove
true belief along with their verbal confession.
As we remember John the Baptist
coming out of the wilderness – taking his place as “the voice” – announcing
that now is the time of repentance – now is the time to ask for forgiveness and
to turn around and to do what is right in God's sight – and to live lives of
obedience and faith, where are you this morning?
Have you heard “the voice,” and said,
“who cares”? Have you heard “the voice” and said, “it's not for me”? Have you
heard “the voice” and said, “I'm too far gone”?
Not long after John journeyed out of
the wilderness, he was arrested, and “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the
gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14b-15, ESV).
How have you answered “the voice”
crying in the wilderness?
Let
us pray:
Almighty
and Merciful God, You could have blotted humans off the face of the earth after
our first sin, but You chose to send Your Only Begotten Son to save all those
who would ever believe. The prophets spoke and told of His Coming, and John
announced that He is here. There are many here who have not believed in their
hearts in You and we ask that You would change their hearts and cause them to
believe to confess with their mouths that Jesus is God the Savior. For those of
us who have repented and believed, we ask that You would continue to change us,
and make us into the Image of Your Son – may the paths be straight, the valleys
filled, the mountains made low, and the rough places level, and fill us with
joy as we look with great expectation to the day when all flesh shall see the Salvation
of our God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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