The Beacon of Hope from the wilderness
Text Isaiah 40: 1-5 (NIV), John 1: 19- 23 (NIV)
In our first Sunday of Advent we looked briefly at the Patriarchs Noah and Abraham as pointers of promise, in particular the promise of the first coming of the Messiah as predicted in the book of Genesis. Last week we looked at Isaiah, whose words could be described as painting pictures of hope. This week, following the same train of thought which formed the basis of our first and second “Advent Sunday” teaching, the third candle of our wreath is said to symbolise John the Baptist, who I believe to be “The Beacon of Hope from the wilderness”
Whichever way you look at him, there is no escaping the fact that John the Baptist was unique, if he had been present in today’s world he would have been looked upon as an oddity; his words would almost certainly be looked upon as the ravings of a mad man of the same ilk as David Icke. Even in his own time, certain factions regarded him with disdain and thought he was mad but even they were troubled by his words.
As with Jesus, Isaiah prophesied John’s coming hundreds of years before. In verse three of this morning’s Old Testament reading he foretold of
“A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.”
John was indeed unique, he wore odd clothing and ate strange food, and he preached an unusual message to those who travelled into the wilderness to see him. John, however, did not aim at uniqueness for its own sake, his aim was obedience. He knew he had a specific role to play, which was to announce the coming of the Saviour and he invested all his energy into performing that role, it was a role for which he was called from before his birth and one he had been waiting to fulfil from the very first moment he was conceived. In Luke’s gospel we can read in verse’s eight to seventeen of chapter one, how the angel had announced his birth to his father Zechariah and had made it clear that the child was to be a Nazirite- which is one set apart for God’s service. John remained faithful to that calling and was ready and waiting when, as it says in Luke 3: 2, God’s word of direction was revealed to him.
As people drew near to hear his words, they may have been forgiven for having some doubts about this wild looking man. He had no power or position within the Jewish political system and yet the words he spoke had an irresistible authority about them. People were moved by them because he spoke the truth, challenging them to turn from their sins and then baptising them as a symbol of their repentance. Hundreds responded to his message, it would have been so easy for him to bask in their obvious adoration of him. How many here today have watched so- called American evangelists on television, who pretend to point to the Lord but are really so in love with their own public image? I don’t believe for one minute they intended it to happen but it’s easy to see why they lost sight of their real calling when surrounded with so many adoring fans who follow the preacher and not the one they preach about.
What did John do?
Instead of basking in his fame and the adoration accompanying it, he pointed beyond himself, never forgetting that his main role was to announce the coming of the Saviour. In this morning’s New Testament passage we read...
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[a] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Emphasising his unimportance even further, we can read in the following three verses...
“24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”’
But how does this make John the Baptist a “Beacon of Hope from the wilderness”?
The dictionary definition of a “beacon” is a guiding or warning signal. In medieval times when warnings or news needed to be broadcast fast, beacons would be lit, usually starting in London but would eventually form a chain of burning beacons up and across the kingdom. John’s voice calling in the wilderness was a beacon signalling the coming Messiah; it was a warning to people to turn away from their sins and guiding them towards the Messiah so they may receive hope for their deliverance through the blessing of Christ. John, however, was a beacon of hope from the wilderness long before he began baptising, in fact before he was even born.
All four gospels cover briefly John’s preaching in the wilderness, Luke’s gospel, however, is the only one to describe the events of John’s birth. One such event can be found in Luke 1: 39- 44 “39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
Even before his birth John was signalling and announcing the hope of the coming of Jesus, before his birth John was a beacon of hope from the wilderness. You’re probably thinking right now that I’ve completely lost the plot, that John’s mother’s womb could not be called a wilderness by any stretch of the imagination. Let me explain...
A wilderness as described in the Bible was not like the wilderness of the open countryside around here, as bleak and inhospitable the Beacons may be, they could not be described as infertile. In the Bible a wilderness was a desert place, generally deserts are infertile or barren. Turn once again to Luke’s gospel, chapter one verse’s five to seven “5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well on in years.”
Cast your minds back to this morning’s advent reading, Isaiah 35: 1- 2 said
“ 1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendour of our God.”
Some Bible commentators believe that the wilderness blossoming is a signal that the Lord is returning to draw his people back to him and though I stand alone in my comparison, I believe the Lord gave me this picture for a reason. That the barren wilderness that was Elizabeth’s womb became a fertile oasis of life to signify the first coming of Christ Jesus.
So how can we translate John’s message into today’s world?
A few weeks ago I stated that I believed that we are on the verge of another great revival, but that for revival to happen we need to follow the words of 2 Chronicles 7: 14 “14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
I still believe that we are standing on the verge of a new and great revival and I still believe God is waiting for us to once again humble ourselves and seek his face. Once we do that then he will use us to be like John, to be “A united as one voice, calling in the wilderness, that is the world we live in today, to make straight the way for the Lord.”
God has a purpose for all of us here today and we can trust him fully to guide us but to do that we need to let go of anything we are stubbornly holding onto that would stop us surrendering completely to God’s purpose for our lives.
John did not have the complete Bible as we know it today, but he focussed his life on the truth he knew from the available Scriptures that we know as the Old Testament. Likewise we can discover in his word the truths God wants us to know and if we let those truths work in us, others will be drawn to him. God can use you in a way he can use no- one else. Are you prepared to surrender all to him, all your stubborn pride, all your bitterness, all your self interest and let him know your willingness to follow him wherever that may lead, are you prepared to be beacons of hope in the wilderness today? Advent is a season where we look expectantly toward the light of Christ, Jesus said “You are the light of the world” if there is anything in your life that is stopping your light from shining or more importantly the light of Christ shining in you, then please surrender it to the Lord right here, right now, today. Our place of prayer is open, the music of Great is the darkness will play as you make your response.
