Sermon: John the Schitzophrenic’s Testimony.
Text: John 1:19-34 (yes, I know the BCP stops at v28)
Occasion: Advent IV
Who: Mark Woolsey
Where: Arbor House
When: Sunday, December 18, 2005
Audio link: http://providencerec.com/Sound%20Files/Srmn05-12-18WoolseyJohn01;19-34AdventIVJohnTheSchitzophrenicsTestimony.mp3
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I. Intro
Two very important things are said about Jesus the Christ today, and I would like to elaborate on them. Before I do, however, I plan to examine the strange and seemingly contradictory man who said these things. We might even whimsically call this man John the Schitzophrenic.
II. John the Schitzophrenic
John, of course, was not schitzophrenic, not even in the popular way I’m using the term, even though he was a Baptist. However, there is a certain "splitness" from the normal, which is at the root of schitzophrenia, that characterizes various aspects of his life.
First of all, his birth was split from the run-of-the-mill "begottens" in the rest of the Bible. His parents were old and barren when an angel appeared promising them a child. To top it off, John’s father Zecharias was struck mute for the duration of John’s gestation.
Secondly, John was split off from his family by his vocation. His father was a priest, and his mother was descended from a priest. Yet John was never recorded as having taken up the "family business", instead God had a very different direction for his life.
Thirdly, John was split from the mainstream of society by living in the desert apart from others, eating locust and wild honey, and wearing clothes of camel’s hair. Have you ever been to a big city and seen a street preacher talking to a crowd? Or maybe a cartoon of a man walking around with a sandwitch board sign that says, "Repent, the end of the world is at hand"? Remember how strange he appeared to you? John was strange like those people; but instead of being a parody of a prophet, he was the real thing.
Fourthly, during John’s ministry, there appears to be a split between what an angel and Jesus said about John, and what John says about himself. When Zecharias was confronted by an angel and told that he was going to be a father after all, the angel announces that John "will go before Him (God) in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). Even Jesus Himself testified of John that "if you are willing to receive it, he (John) is Elijah who is to come." (Mat 11:14). Yet in our Gospel passage today, during an interview by some priests and Levites, they asked John, "’What then? Are you Elijah?’" He (John) said, ’I am not.’" (John 1:21). Is John lying, or simply confused about his identity? The angel at his birth ties him to Elijah; Jesus, sometime after this interview, does, too. If John is wrong about who he is, how can we trust his testimony about Jesus?
III. John and Elijah
We need to dig a little deeper into this interview between John and the priests and Levites. First of all, why would they even ask John if he was Elijah? Well, it turns out that even though John had separated himself from society by living in the desert, he had still managed to attract quite a following. Crowds used to come to hear him preach and to receive baptism from him. There was a certain expectancy in the air that the annointed one, ie, the Christ, would come soon. Could John possibly be him? When he denied that, John’s interragators went down a list of other personages they are expecting. One of them is the forerunner of the Christ who was predicted in the last few verses of the OT. Mal 4:5 & 6 state:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and stike the earth with a curse.
So was John Elijah, or wasn’t he? Well, he was. Jesus and the angel can’t be wrong. Then why did John deny that he was? I see at least two possibilities here. The first is that he was denying that he was literally Elijah himself, as if Elijah had somehow been dropped out of heaven and restarted his ministry on earth. In that sense he surely was not Elijah and makes sure the priests and Levites realize that. The second possibility is hinted at in Jesus’ statement about John in Mat 11:14. There He says "If you are willing to receive it...", implying that if you are not willing to receive John’s message, then John is not Elijah as far as you are concerned. Since John knew the religious hierarchy did not accept his message, he did not function as Elijah for them. Whatever the solution to this mystery, we do find what John said about Jesus to be unambiguous and important.
IV. John’s Witness
Before we hear John’s testimony, I would like to ask a simple question. What was the greatest failing of the Jewish heirarchy at that time? When Jesus castigated the Pharisees, what was his main charge? You might be tempted to answer works-righteousness, that is, they were trying to save themselves by keeping the Jewish Law. Certainly that was one of their major faults, and a very damning one at that. However, consider the kingdom parables of Jesus. For example, the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, where the tennants kill the owner’s son. What was their great fault? Or consider the parable of the Two Sons. What was the sin of the son that did not go to work? In John 5:39-40 Jesus tells the Jewish leadership,
"You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."
I believe the first great message of John, and the great failure of the Pharisees to acknowledge, is that Jesus Christ is Lord. Submit! Or, as John himself put it, "I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." (John 1:34), and, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!" (Mat 3:2). The Pharisees and other leaders of the time had it figured out. They had it all: fame, money, and power. They even had God’s requirements down pat. They certainly didn’t want some obscure backwater rabbi telling them they had it all wrong. Yet that is exactly what happened. The only proper reponse to the announcement of a King is to bend the knee, bow the head, and wait for instruction. They were unwilling to do that. Because of that they killed the messenger, John, and his message, Jesus. The pagan world fared no better when it was confronted with the claims of King Jesus. Rome required its subjects to burn a pinch of incense and proclaim, "Kyrios Kaisar", that is, "Caesar is Lord". One hundred years after John the Baptist, the aged bishop Polycarp would be burnt at the stake for refusing this act of state-worship. Today is no different than John’s day. Every day we are faced with choices. Will we acknowledge Jesus as King of every part of our life - how we worship, what we think, how we treat others, how we handle our sexuality, how we do business, how we spend our time, etc? Jesus’ claim upon us is the same as it has been on the world since time began - obedience.
If that was John’s only message, it would be enough. Man’s duty would be clear. Unfortunately, man’s fate would be sealed. The announcement of Jesus’ Kingship carries with it both blessings and sanctions - blessings if we obey, and terrible sanctions if we do not. Disobedience means being cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the fire is not quenched and their worm dies not. Happily, however, is the fact that John also had another message. Jesus is not only Lord, but also Lamb. As he put it, "Behold The Lamb of God who takes awaty the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus not only dictates the standard by which we are all measured, and demands submission of every part of our lives to His Lordship, but He also has paid the awful penalty of disobedience for us. He is Sovereign and Saviour, Lord and Lamb, God and Guarentee, Rabbi and Reject. One Day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. On that Day, those that also know Him as Lamb will ascend with Him and live and reign forever. If you trust His sacrifice for your sins, His payment for your penalty, you, too will be in that holy number.
V. That Day Today
Nor is that Day wholly in the future. It is breaking in on us this very minute. When Jesus died, His blood spilled and his body broke as a sacrifice to the Father. Once made, the Father takes that sacrifice and offers the body and blood, thru bread and wine to us. Come to the table of the Lord, and feed on the Lamb.
This is the word of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Soli Deo Gloria!
