The Fourth Sunday in Advent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 1:19-28

In Christ Jesus, who still speaks through wilderness men today calling sinners to repentance and comforting them with the unchanging truth of His forgiveness and salvation, dear fellow redeemed:

The priests and Levites who came to question John were sent by the Pharisees. The Pharisees didn’t know what to make of John. He was a strict observer of God’s Law, but he hadn’t learned it from them. He wasn’t one of them. So who exactly was he? Was he the Christ? Was he Elijah come back from heaven (Mal. 4:5)? Was he the Prophet of whom Moses spoke (Deu. 18:15)? John said, “I am a voice—the voice of one crying out.”

The Pharisees knew the Scriptures. They knew John was referring to the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah wrote about a voice crying out this: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain” (40:3-4). John was the “voice” in this prophecy, and he knew it.

He called out in the Judean wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mat. 3:2). Many did repent. They came from all over the region to listen to John and to be baptized by him in the Jordan River (Mar. 1:5). Not many people can attract a crowd like this. Professional athletes, famous singers, and prominent politicians can attract a crowd. But how far would you go to listen to a preacher who gave you the Law in full force? It seems like that would be a great way to lose a crowd. Why did John’s preaching have the opposite effect?

The people recognized that John had no ulterior motives. He was not like the religious leaders who loved “the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others” (Mat. 23:6-7). John didn’t seem to care one bit what people thought about him. He did not need their approval or their support. He was content in his camel hair clothes and with his locust-and-wild-honey diet. And most of all, he was convinced of his purpose. His calling was to “prepare the way of the LORD.”

So his voice rang out, “Fear God! Love your neighbor! Get ready, for he who is mightier than I is coming” (Luk. 3:16). His Law preaching was not some kind of scare tactic. It was for readying a highway in the wilderness, preparing a path for the coming King. The Law does the same work among us today. It prepares us for the coming of our King in His Word and Sacraments and for His coming on the last day.

God’s Law identifies all the things in our lives that stand in the way of our Savior’s coming. We might think we’ve got everything pretty well in order. But the Law puts the spotlight on the valleys that need lifting, the mountains that need to be brought low, and the uneven ground and the rough places that need to be smoothed out.

The valleys are those times when we shifted our focus from the sure promises of God and lost our spiritual bearings. We listened to the devil’s lie that we are in charge of our own destiny; we can do whatever we want. But when we did what we wanted, we didn’t find purpose and joy and clear direction for our life. We found heartache, sadness, guilt. The things we recklessly indulged in did not satisfy—they left us feeling gutted, empty. When we enter the valley of self-indulgence, we try to fill the voids and the longings that only Jesus can fill.

The mountains and hills that need to be made low are our prideful behavior and our judgmental attitude toward those we see as less or as lower than ourselves. This mountainous pride is exhibited when we hold long-running grudges toward others, and when we refuse to forgive someone who hurt us. We store up all the little wrongs that are done to us, while at the same time ignoring our own sinful words and actions. When we climb up on the high hills of self-centeredness, we lose sight of the humble sacrifice of Jesus and His continued coming to bring us forgiveness.

The uneven ground and the rough places are all the obstacles that slow down our growth as Christians and threaten to derail our faith. This happens when we fail to prioritize God’s Word and Sacraments and place higher importance on work or entertainment or even family time. We let the devil deceive us into thinking that we’re doing just fine, that all our pursuits are pure, that we have little need for regular repentance. When we take a detour onto the bumpy road of self-reliance and self-righteousness, we put our confidence in our own will and strength and not in Jesus.

We need to hear the voice of God’s Law ringing out in the wilderness of this world. We need it to jar us, to wake us up from our sinful ways, to show us that our focus isn’t always—or even usually—in the right place. We need it to expose the valleys, mountains, and rough places that make us unprepared for Jesus’ coming. But the Law can’t fix what is broken. It only diagnoses the problem. The Law of God declares you a sinner. It shows you how far you have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). It offers no hope.

But there is another Word from God echoing in the wilderness, a message of hope which John also preached. He did not preach the Law for its own sake, as though he were only concerned about the people’s outward behavior. He preached the Law, so they would recognize their sinfulness, and so they would eagerly look for a Savior. “That Savior is already here,” said John—“among you stands One you do not know, even He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

John quickly made that unknown One known when he pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Joh. 1:29). “There is the Lamb!” he said, “There is the sacrifice! There is the One who will carry your sins to the cross and pay the penalty in full! There is ‘the Prophet’! There is the fulfillment of Isaiah, the eternal God incarnate! There is the Christ!” “I am not the Christ,” said John, “I cannot save you. Only Jesus, the Son of God, can save you.”

And Jesus has saved you. He willingly took on Himself all your transgressions against the Law. He accepted the heartache, sadness, and guilt for your sinful self-indulgence. He put your prideful, self-centered behavior on His own shoulders. He humbly suffered the consequences for your self-reliance and self-righteousness.

He came to do everything according to the holy Law that you could not—lift up the valleys, bring low the mountains, smooth out the uneven ground and rough places. To do this, He passed through a valley into Jerusalem, carried His cross on a rough path out of the city, and climbed up a mountain where He died for your sins. All that you have done in your sin, He atoned for by His blood.

This sounds too good to be true, just as John’s exciting message must have seemed like a dream to those who heard him. Could it really be that the Christ was coming after so many years of waiting? Could it really be that the Christ comes now, even into this heart of sin? It is true, the Christ came in all lowliness and humility. And He still comes among us today. He comes through His Word and Sacraments, personally, to each one of us. He knows our sins. He knows what hinders our receiving of His grace. And He comes to make a way in this spiritual wilderness. He comes to make a highway in this spiritual desert.

He comes to comfort you and me, to speak tenderly to us of forgiveness and life. He comes to assure us that our sin is not counted against us anymore. God’s anger does not burn against us. After His death and resurrection, Jesus did not go to prepare a place for us in hell, but to prepare a place for us in heaven. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Joh. 3:17).

Jesus saved you. That doesn’t mean there are no more valleys, mountains, or rough places that need to be smoothed out in your life. Your life should consist of daily repentance, so you don’t grow comfortable in your sin. But even when you lose your struggle against sin, Jesus cheerfully comes with forgiveness. He has not given up on you and me. His Word of Truth Still Echoes in the Wilderness, and it still reaches our ears.

He continues to send out this message of hope to all who look to Him in repentance and faith: Comfort, comfort is yours in Christ Jesus. He has brought peace between you and God. Your warfare is ended. Your iniquity is pardoned. You have received from the LORD’s hand double for all your sins. The full inheritance of heaven is yours! (paraphrase of Isa. 40:1-2)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

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(picture from “The Preaching of St. John the Baptist” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1565)