If John the Baptist Were to Come Here Today
Advent II, December 8, 2024
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.’”
When we read about the preaching of John the Baptist, we believe that his message is for us who are born 2000 years after him. We believe that the Word of God does not change, we believe that the promises of God do not change, we believe that the work of the Holy Spirit then and now and always is to bring faith into our hearts and to make the water of baptism a cleansing of our sin, the forgiveness of sin. And so, the message of John the Baptist speaks to us today.
If John the Baptist were to come today to speak to us here in Okinawa, how would it be? If he wanted to, he could use modern media like television, radio, and the internet, but I assume that would not want to, because he seemed to have ignored popular things in his day. If he followed the pattern of old, he would not be like a modern Japanese politician who parks his van with the big loudspeakers at a busy intersection and starts shouting. Rather John would go out into the country side. Here in Okinawa, there is no desert, so maybe he would go out to the jungle up north on the Island, and since there is no big river like the River Jordan for baptisms, perhaps he would go down to a beach. People could gather there to hear his message. John seemed to avoid cities like Jerusalem because cities were the centers of temptation and sin. He wanted people to leave temptation and sin and receive “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John fulfilled the words of the Prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 40:3-5９, Luke 3:4-6)
“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 shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Okinawa is a narrow island of heaped up coral hills. How are the roads in Okinawa? If you get off one of the few wide, straight main roads, the roads are hilly, curvy, narrow and confusing. John the Baptist is not talking about building a nice, easy to drive, new expressway, although that is the language he uses. The Holy Spirit does not come by automobile, but for the Holy Spirit, it seems that it is a rough ride through the sin and temptation and greed and fear and lust and worry and pain and sorrow and stubbornness and unbelief and misbelief that surrounds our hearts. On the way to deliver faith and salvation, it almost seems that the Holy Spirit gets lost and cannot find the human heart to deliver the gift of salvation. The Holy Spirit can indeed find the human heart, but the way is bumpy. That is why John the Baptist says that we need to straighten out the road, that is, straighten out our lives. The word he uses is “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” When sin is removed by repentance, the Holy Spirit can freely preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and believed, sin is forgiven.
If John the Baptist were to come today to us here in Okinawa, how would it be? What would he preach to us, the people living on this Island? First he would preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In one point, however, his message would be different than before. Instead of preaching that the Christ would come, he would tell how the Christ had already come, how he died on the cross to forgive our sin, how his death and resurrection give power to our baptisms to give us new life and salvation, and he would tell how Christ would return to this earth to give us resurrection and eternal life. John would also tell us how to live our lives as baptized Christians. He would tell us to live the life as a person whose sins had been forgiven. He would tell us to live lives that walk the straight path. He would also tell us to work to straighten up this world. He would tell us to work for peace and justice. He would condemn the abuses and wrongs that he saw. He would condemn the injustice that is in families, in business and government, in the ecology, and in the social problems of the people of this Island.
Finally, I think that if John the Baptist were to come today, that he would get in trouble with the authorities because of what he would say. He was arrested by King Herod because he condemned Herod’s sin. Now also, he would probably be hated by a lot of people because he would condemn their sin. He would look at each of us and make us uncomfortable because of our sin. He’d tell even us baptized Christians to repent and straighten out our lives. But he would also tell us the Gospel. The Gospel Good News is that we can walk in the path of God because of the power of baptism, which is really the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
Do you think John the Baptist would decorate a Christmas tree? I doubt it. However, I do see him lighting the candles of an Advent wreath. His job is to point to the coming, to the “advent” of Christ. He reminds us that Christ is coming, first at Christmas, then in our lives of faith, and then at the end of the world to bring us eternal salvation. And in this way, through the Word of Scripture, John has come to Okinawa today.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church
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