A message that can change people's lives for ever

14 December 2008

John 1:6-8, 19-28

This evening I want to remain with my conviction that Advent is a season in itself … and would encourage us to resist rushing on to celebrate Christmas. Our gospel reading from John brings the focus of our lens upon John the Baptist, who is presented as one who caused quite a stir and raised many questions with regard to his identity. The religious leaders sent representatives to ascertain who he was. I explore the nature of John the Baptist in relation to our mission today.

We know we are called to make a difference to people’s lives and this can be observed in so many aspects of Wesley Mission’s care and compassionate service. However, as those who follow Jesus Christ today, we have a mission not dissimilar to that of John the Baptist … for:-

We are called to be willing witnesses to Jesus Christ

The writer of the gospel seems to be saying that God sent John the Baptist into the world with one clear purpose and that was to bear witness to the life of Christ. (v.v 6-8) ‘Witness’ is one of the most important words in the fourth gospel, when time and time again the importance and supremacy of Jesus Christ is made clear.

The whole purpose of John the Baptist is understood in direct relationship to Jesus. He never got above himself, but pointed to One who he always considered to be greater. He said, “He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” (1:27)

The pattern of service is demonstrated by John and it takes a very special kind of person to be willing to do whatever is required at a particular point in time. John the Baptist was one who was ‘willing’ to be used by God.

People resist witness and prefer accolade

We make a tragic mistake in mission when we choose accolade over witness … it is a great error, for it produces short-term good feelings about ourselves but makes no difference to others. Even Christians can be selfish, which is most unhelpful to mission.

I have always struggled when, at an event, people have started to thank everyone who has played any part in a particular project. I recall Carol and myself being in a country on a mission and on the first night a steward gave some announcements and started thanking people from a list as long as your arm. I squirmed because I thought, “He’s bound to forget someone!” We are not engaged in the work of Jesus Christ to be thanked, anymore than we are there to gain status or to be recognised by others.

The Cloud of Unknowing was written in the latter half of the fourteenth century. A great plague had just swept through England, decimating its population; the Hundred Years War with France was drawing to its bitter end; social unrest was endemic; and the Church was more and more divorced from the people. From an unknown author comes a powerful message of God’s unconditional love in the face of despair. Its message is as relevant today as when it was first written. On the particular theme of humility, we read in this work, “Humility is nothing more than an accurate self-assessment, an awareness of oneself as one really is. And surely, anyone seeing himself for what he really is, must be truly humble.”

John was willing to point to Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is available to all … however he is not always seen, let alone understood, until he is pointed out – and, like John, we are called to point to him.

This light comes to people in different ways –

For many it comes as a revelation in the midst of the familiar.
For some it comes as light out of darkness.
For others it comes in the context of pain and hurt.

John was called to a lifestyle of meaningful austerity and he is differentiated from others by choosing a simple life. We hold this in our minds when we explore the background of the gospel, which seems to suggest that there was a cult or group of people who wanted to elevate John the Baptist in a way that was so contrary to all he stood for. John would never have encouraged this – because he saw his role as pointing to Jesus Christ.

In our witness, we point to him and raise before the world the needs of people

The ministry of John the Baptist had a dual purpose – to point to Jesus Christ – but also to expose the wickedness of his day. His influence was widespread and notable, and Jesus’ greatest compliments were reserved for John the Baptist.

John called for repentance which in his day led to public confession and self-cleansing. His moral teaching had all the power of a reformer. He was not afraid to articulate ethical demands to his followers and he challenged those who were filled with avarice and selfishness. He called for right living in business and professional dealings.

Powerful in action - self-effacing in manner

However strong and impressive was his testimony, he never promoted himself. He was convinced of his own role – and that was to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’.

The humility of John the Baptist was so in keeping with what we find in Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes, “He humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)

John didn’t need to be Number One

There are some people who have to be Number One – they can never play a supporting role and, if they do, they are constantly looking for the main chance.

John the Baptist says of Jesus: “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” (1:15)

William Barclay suggested there are at least three possible ways of understanding this statement by John:

Jesus is 6 months younger than John and yet he has advanced beyond him.
John was in the world first and had centre stage initially, but recognises that all he was doing was preparing the way.
At a much deeper level, Jesus Christ existed before time even took shape. This latter option is certainly true to the emphasis of John, the gospel writer.

Barclay concluded this point by saying, “To John the topmost place belonged to Jesus.”

John preferred to be a cheerleader rather than to be cheered

This brave, energetic and daring leader still saw himself as one who cleared the way for people to recognise Jesus Christ. In a day of star performers and self-promotion, the thought of self-deprecation sounds unusual – but it is so compelling when you meet it.

Though John the Baptist and Jesus are cousins, there is little evidence to suggest they experienced a great deal of time together. John, it would seem, had spent a considerable period of his life to the desert experience and out of that secluded place came his message. John was reluctant to be acknowledged by Jesus in any special way and felt it quite inappropriate that he should be asked by Jesus to baptise him.

We will be more able to challenge our world when we have grasped the nettle of this key aspect of mission

The thought of humility is one that we need to acknowledge is important in John the Baptist – and for all of us. It comes as a result of –

recognising who we are.
realising a vision of Jesus Christ.
receiving a calling to do his work.

Augustine of Hippo wrote, “Unless humility precede, accompany, and follow up all the good we accomplish, unless we keep our eyes fixed on it, pride will snatch everything right out of our hands.”

When we have caught hold of the need for humility, we can stand in the difficult place and declare the significance of Jesus Christ without fear.

Be prepared to bear the consequences

We recognise that John the Baptist was one who would eventually pay the price for striking the real notes of the kingdom of God – for he would be imprisoned and, at the malicious whim of Herod’s wife, was beheaded. The consequences were enormous … and are always costly.

It is worthy of more than passing note that the one who came out to declare, “Behold, the Lamb of God …” (1:29) should himself lay down his life in the service of God.

Bearing the consequences is part of what it means to follow. The attitude of John the Baptist may well have been like the missionary who was once asked if he liked what he was doing in the poor African community in which he served. His response was shocking: “Do I like this work?” he said. “No. My wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonably refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse … but is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? God pity him, if not. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to ‘Go’, and we go. Love constrains us.”

For John this involved rejection

We must remind ourselves of the great crowd that went out into the wilderness to greet him. Something of that crowd fell away.

John made the astounding declaration that Jesus is “… the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” What a mystery that John is able to make this starting announcement, so full of meaning, at the outset of his ministry. It is as if John already recognises that the cross will lie at the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The same principle will apply to John himself, who will be rejected by those he speaks against … and will lose his own life.

For John the ultimate consequence concludes his faithful witness

The spiritual stature and vision of John are obvious for all to see. He never let his courage fail him and he was very clear about the high standards that must surround his own life.

There is an incredible humility in John, who burned his bridges and accepted the calling to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the longed-for Messiah. In the Baptist we encounter an utter selflessness which shines forth with real meaning.

Rather than dwell on his own ministry, John switches the focus onto Jesus. By his own acknowledgement, John the Baptist does not boast of special knowledge. Andreas J Köstenberger writes, “John’s self-confessed ‘ignorance’ is a further instance of humility that throws into even starker relief the one who possesses original knowledge.”

We too may be rejected and alienated, but our message will ring true

The way of the cross is lived out in John before ever it is explained in the dying and rising of Jesus Christ.

Late one night in Paris, Albert Schweitzer came home from the university where he was a professor. He was exhausted and he only scanned his mail and placed it back on his desk. But he caught sight of a magazine with a green cover, which included an article written by Alfred Boegner, entitled The Needs of the Congo Mission. Boegner wrote, “As I sit here in Africa it is my prayer that the eyes of someone on whom the eye of God has already fallen will read and be awakened to the call and say, ‘Here am I’.”

That night Schweitzer bowed his head and prayed, “My search is ended, I am coming.”

Once awakened, Schweitzer studied medicine from 1905 to 1913 at the University of Strasbourg and in 1913 sailed for Africa … and his first jungle hospital was a chicken coop.

When he made his decision to be a medical missionary, he was the Principal of St Thomas’ Theological College. He was an author, theologian and the pastor of a church. He was also arguably the greatest organ interpreter of his time of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, but once God had called him, he followed the call which would mean turning his back on prestige and promise and he buried his life in Africa.

In Auden’s Christmas oratorio, For the Time Being, it is King Herod, portrayed as a thoroughly reasonable and ultimately practical person, who prays for a God he can recognise on sight, one who is not the least bit extraordinary – someone like himself. Is that the dangerous conclusion that we come to? Do we want a Saviour who looks, talks, walks and acts exactly as we do? John interrupts our carefully planned Christmas with his thought-provoking announcement: “… among you stands one whom you do not know.” (1:26)

The whole purpose of John the Baptist’s ministry was to point to Jesus Christ . We follow the finger of John and we fasten our eyes upon a Saviour who can put lives together, bringing meaning and purpose into all our pursuits. May God grant us an acknowledgement of him this Advent … in our hearts and through our lives.

Christian Life