Jesu Juva
“The Prophet of Joy”
Text: John 1:6-8, 19-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
John the Baptist, the prophet of . . . joy!
Bet you didn’t see that coming. Joy is not what we often associate with John. He is the fiery preacher of repentance. Most pictures of John show him very serious and stern.
Well, I’m sticking to my guns. John is the prophet of joy.
For even though his father Zechariah at first doubted the message of the angel Gabriel that he and Elizabeth were going to have a son, when John finally came, he and Elizabeth were filled with joy.
The first time we meet John in the Scriptures, what is he doing? He leaps for joy in his mother’s womb at hearing the voice of the mother of his Lord.
When later John points to Jesus and proclaims Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), how do you think he said that? All serious and somber, or with all the joy of finding something you’ve been looking for and waiting for for a long time? Jumping up and down with joy! Look! Everyone! There He is! The Lamb of God! He’s here! Finally!
And even when he preached repentance, can’t that be joyful, too? We say that very thing, actually, in a couple of our liturgies, that with repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by Jesus (Divine Service Settings 1 and 2, LSB, p. 161, 178). Not that the repenting itself is joyful, confessing your sin and that you’re a dirty rotten sinner. But that you repent in order to hear the word spoken by the Lamb of God to you: I forgive you all your sin! Words that should fill us with joy.
And they do. When spoken by your pastor here, from one spouse to another, between a parent and child, or between friends - I forgive you means that what was between us, what divided us, is no longer. We’re good. Joyful words. Both to the guilty, the one who caused the problem, and the one able to speak those words. Gift words, really.
Because without those words, how exhausting would life be? Always having to make up for your mistakes. Always trying to get on someones good side. Always having to prove yourself. And always afraid to mess up again (which we always do, right?), and then having to start all over again! And not only with one another, but all this also with God?
So what joy, what relief, these words bring! I forgive you.
That is why John was baptizing. To give this joy. We heard that last week, that his was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). That’s why the priests and Levites from Jerusalem came out to him and confronted him, as we heard today. If he was just getting people to confess their sins and then pouring a little water over them . . . well, that’s no big deal. But a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? Just who do you think you are, John?
Because you can’t just forgive people, John! Everybody knows that! Everybody knows that sinners have to prove themselves first, clean themselves up first, stop sinning first, and get better. Then they can be forgiven. But for you, John, all they do is repent? It doesn’t work that way!
Well, somebody forgot to give God that memo, because that’s exactly how forgiveness works! That’s exactly why it brings such great joy. Because it is a gift. Undeserved and unearned. Because of the one - the one greater than John - who came and earned it for us. The Lamb of God, the Son of God, who laid down His perfect, sinless life for all of our imperfect, sinful lives, took the punishment and wrath we deserve, and in return said: Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34).
Now if there was any joyless place on earth, it would be the cross, right? But forgiveness even changes the cross, for in the book of Hebrews (12:2) we hear that Jesus for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Not that hanging on the cross was a joyful thing! But why He was there and what He was accomplishing, was. And because of that joy, the joy of forgiving your sins, He hung there and endured that. For you. For you to receive that gift and joy from Him.
And that that’s what Jesus is all about is why there’s always joy around Jesus. Did you ever notice that? Angels, shepherds, and wise men rejoice at His birth. Simeon and Anna rejoice when He is brought to the Temple. Sinners, outcasts, lepers, tax collectors, all rejoice in Him and His forgiveness. And so, too, John the Baptist. His is a most joyous task. Making straight the way of the Lord. For the way of the Lord is the joy of forgiveness.
And it’s been that way from the very beginning. For after the very first sin, what did God do? He promised a Saviour. And do you think there might have been just a little bit of joy that day for Adam and Eve when God did not utterly reject them or destroy them, but instead promised them one who would undo what they did? Now, there were consequences for their sin, to be sure. They messed up. We mess up. But to make it right is not on you, but on another. They’d have to wait a long time for Him to come, trusting the promise of God that He would . . . and then they time came. Just the right time. And the joy of announcing that, proclaiming that, and preparing the way for Him was given to John.
So when those priests and Levites who came to him that day, challenging him and asking him just who he thought he was . . . well, I love John’s answer! He could have said: I am the son of Zechariah the priest, and Elizabeth, a daughter of Aaron, and so a priest and Levite just like you guys. But he didn’t. Instead, he said who the Word of God said he was: the prophet of joy. The one who came to announce that the long-awaited Saviour is here! And to prepare His way.
And what John did, you now do, too. No, not baptize! But know that who you are is who the Word of God says you are. Yes, when people ask you who you are you tell them your name, and your last name tells a lot about you, and maybe your profession is who you are too. I am a pastor, an attorney, a service member. Or maybe you think you are who other people say you are - whether you’re worth anything or not. But truly who you are and who you will be forever is what the Word of God said to you when you were baptized - you are a forgiven child of God.
And that’s why Saint Paul could advise us today, as we heard in his letter to the Thessalonian Christians, to rejoice always. And I’m sure you’ve wondered: how exactly does one do that? How do you rejoice when life is tough, when difficulties seem overwhelming, when the plans you made for your life aren’t working out, when the doctor gives you bad news, when the world seems to keep plunging deeper and deeper into sin and against God, when the future is uncertain, when . . . you fill in the blank. At just such times, rejoice always seems like such a irrelevant and silly - and even maddening! - platitude. Like someone telling you to just “Smile, be happy!” when that’s the last thing on earth you feel like doing!
No, you cannot always rejoice at what is happening in the world and what is happening in your life, but you can always rejoice in who you are: a forgiven child of God. And rejoice that that’s true in good times, bad times, and all times. That the gifts and promises God gives He does not take back. They’re yours. It is His joy to give them, to give you joy. A joy that can get you through all those other times. For as Saint Paul also said there: He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. And that faithfulness is something to rejoice in.
And so we lit the rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath today - the joy candle. Because while Advent is a season of repentance, it is also a season of joy. The joy of the coming Saviour. On this Third Sunday of Advent, we recognize that our remembrance of His birth is close now. And great will be our joy on that day! Christmas Day. But we also recognize that His second coming is also closer - and even greater will be our joy on that day as well. When the promises made to us in baptism are finally and fully fulfilled, when we rise to that new life, freed from all sin, to live in holiness and righteousness forever.
That’s why Christmas, after all. Jesus was born into our life here, so that we might be born again into His life there. That was John’s joy. That is our joy. And so we rejoice, always. We rejoice when we repent, to hear of that gift, that word of forgiveness. We rejoice when we forgive, to give the gift we ourselves have been given. And we rejoice when we come to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus - from the manger to the cross to your mouth and mine - and pray that what goes in may also come out: the forgiveness and joy of the Lord.
So next time you think of John, don’t think of him as that strict, somber, serious guy who never smiled, who just called people out, who just made people feel bad and behave better - but rather, John as the prophet of joy. Who brought the joy of the Lord and His forgiveness to so many . . . even to us today, so many centuries later. Every Advent season, announcing to us, proclaiming to us the great joy that our Saviour is here! That His forgiveness is here, for you.
So that wherever you are, even if it’s out in a wilderness like John - your life in a pretty rough place or a pretty rough time right now - you remember who you are, who your baptism made you - a forgiven child of God. And rejoice in that. And not just one day a year, but every day. Because it’s true everyday. The Lord’s Christmas gift to you.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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