Advent 2

Scripture Lessons

Malachi 3:1-7b                    “Who can endure the day of His coming?”

Psalm 66:1-12                      “You have tried us as silver is tried.”

Philippians 1:2-11                Discern what is best until the day of Christ.

Luke 3:1-20                           John goes into the country preaching a Baptism of repentance.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Isaiah prophesied a forerunner to the Christ who would prepare the way of the Lord. This forerunner is John the Baptizer. I want to take up a few questions today. 1) What is the way of the Lord? 2) How did John prepare the way? 3) For whom did John prepare the way? 4) Is this preparation ended or is there an ongoing preparation for the way of the Lord?

What is the way of the Lord? This is the first question and fundamental to understanding this lesson. Some people believed that their redemption was assured by their heredity. “We have Abraham as our father.” John rejected that notion outright. “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” The way of the Lord is not your heredity.

Some people believed that the way of the Lord was the fastidious keeping of the law including that which was laid down by God on Mt. Sinai along with all the other rules and statutes that were instituted by men. Keeping of God’s law is a fine thing to do, but as Jesus would point out, the entire body of law enforced by the religious rulers had extended far beyond the Scripture and indeed conflicted with God’s law. For example, “⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Mark 7:9-13. So, there was a conflict in the law. Pair that notion with Jesus’s words in the sermon on the mount, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. In other words, if you are to be saved by keeping of the law, you must be perfect. For this reason, Jesus answered the rich young ruler who professed to have kept the law since his youth, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22. If the way of the Lord is the keeping of His law, then you and I are damned to hell, condemned by our own failure to keep the law perfectly as the law demands. No shortcuts.

But you redeemed, who are heirs of the Reformation, know that this is not the way of the Lord. The way of the Lord begins with contrition. “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Luke 18:13. It was in regard to that sinner, that tax collector, who brought forward no special gift, no promise to do better, no righteousness of his own, but simply confessed his sin, that Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.” Luke 18:14.

The way of the Lord is repentance. That is to say, as described in Augustana XII, “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors.” (https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-repentance/#ac-xii-0002).

How did John the Baptizer prepare the way? This question has multiple answers. Specifically, he prepared the way by baptizing the Christ, the one whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. John baptized Jesus to fulfill all righteousness. Thus, he very specifically prepared the way when Jesus repented of our sins and received the baptism of repentance for you. More generally, John prepared the way of the Lord by proclaiming repentance. He proclaimed it to the crowds. He proclaimed it to the “brood of vipers.” He proclaimed it to Herod and was imprisoned and martyred on account of this proclamation.

For whom did John prepare the way? Well, he prepared the way of the Lord and the Lord has come for all people. John’s preaching of repentance prepared the crowds, the pharisees, the leaders of the day. Note that Luke specifically mentions the political rulers at this time in history: Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod the tetrarch, Philip the brother of Herod, Lysanias, and the high priests Annas (former high priest still living at that time) and Caiphas. His word echoes down through this day as he continues to prepare you and me through the preaching of repentance. The people who heard his preaching of the coming judgment asked, “What then shall we do?” Love your neighbor, share with others, clothing, food, necessities of life. To the tax collector, don’t take more than you ought. To the solider, be content with your wages rather than extort bribes from the citizenry. John’s response begs the question: Did John the baptizer come to expound the law of Moses? Did he have some new insight into the law? Certainly not. The precepts of the law are established. You know what you should do. When someone has nothing to eat, and you have more than enough, you ought to share. You know that. But do you do that? Do you do that perfectly? Do you ever indulge in selfishness? Do you ever know the right thing to do, and yet do the wrong? Then you also are left with the question, “What then shall we do?” For this is the question of the contrite heart. Earnestly desiring to know, what shall we do to atone for our sins? What shall we do to inherit eternal life. If you have examined yourself in the mirror of God’s law and found yourself falling short of perfection, then you have the first part of repentance, which is contrition. Now receive the second, which is faith and belief that for Christ’s sake, God has put away your sins. Repent and hear the good news. “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.”

Without Christ, the way to salvation is crooked and winding and leads only to condemnation and despair. But the way of the Lord is mercy and His mercy has come to you through the forgiveness of sins. John gave the promise, Christ has given the fulfillment.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.