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LUKE 3:1-6
PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD BY REPENTANCE.
In
the name + of Jesus.
It was not once upon a time. It
was in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea .
(Luke 3:1) I guess you could argue
that it was in a land far, far away. But
that’s not to say it was in Neverland or Narnia. It was in the wilderness at the Jordan River . And
it was not among hobbits or klingons. The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan
His message was
not simply that people should learn to behave themselves and clean up their
act. That much was true, but it was
more. Some 400 years prior, Malachi had proclaimed
the word of the Lord: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come…. But who can endure the day of his coming, and
who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire… (Malachi
3:1-2) John the Baptist came in fulfillment to
prepare people for their coming Messiah, for their God.
John the Baptist
was a real prophet who was sent to call people to true repentance. For God would soon enter history. God would come to them in the flesh, and they
did not want to be caught merrily going on in their sinful rebellion against
him. Their sins were real, just as yours
are. If you don’t think your sins are
real, ask the people whom you sin against.
Ask the spouse who has to pick up the slack because, in your
selfishness, you didn’t feel like getting out of your chair to help out. Ask the driver you cut off because your
schedule was more important than his presence.
Ask the girl you are sweet to just so you can take advantage of
her. Ask the coworker you brushed off
again because he is incompetent, not that brushing him off will help him become
competent. All our sins are very real
and very harmful. Even if you insist
that your sins are harming nobody, that is a lie. Ask the parents whose teen just committed
suicide if his sin effected only him.
Even if you claim that you should be granted your freedom to do what you
want, your sins are an offense to God whose word you reject in favor of your
whims. Sins are real. They are really harmful. And they are really damnable.
The
Lord whom you seek will suddenly come… But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? (Malachi 3:1-2) Your conscience
tells you that this is no game. Your
guilt is real because you really must give an answer to God for everything. Just as your sins are not mythical, neither is
God’s judgment against them. That is why John the Baptist was sent to preach
repentance. And that is why the message
remains the same.
Prepare the way
for the Lord by repentance. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every
mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and
the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.’” (Luke 3:4-5) By repentance, you put
away your sins which would hinder the Lord from coming to you. By repentance, you recognize that you are
lacking in righteousness. By repentance,
you remember that your sin is an obstacle that stands between you and God. You realize that you have gone your own way
and that your path has been crooked. We
all are guilty of sins, but we multiply our guilt when we make excuses for
them. Prepare the way for the Lord by
repentance.
John the Baptist
was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” (Luke 3:4) Of course, simply
recognizing your problem does not fix the problem. Michigan Lansing
Therefore, hear
the word of the Lord, “Every valley shall be
filled, and every mountain and hill shall
be made low, and the crooked shall
become straight, and the rough places shall
become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.” (Luke 3:5,6, emphasis added) You will notice that fixing the problem is not
something you do. On the contrary, the
Lord tells you that it is something that will
be done. Repentance is not only that
you see that your sins are a destructive and damnable problem, repentance is
also seeing that you cannot fix it. Repentance
is not only feeling sorry, it is also trusting in your Savior’s mercy to
restore all things. Therefore, you shall
see the salvation of God. God comes in
the flesh to fix everything for you.
You shall not soothe
your conscience with some mythical forgiveness.
There is no theoretical divine pass for real sins. Mythical forgiveness is no forgiveness at
all. Instead, all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke 3:6) God comes in the flesh for all people. He comes to fill in the holes for you. God comes in the flesh to remove the
obstacles for you. God comes to
straighten out everything that has gone crooked.
Jesus Christ is
the man who fills in everything that is lacking. He does not say it is okay if you did not do
the good God demands. Jesus just does
the good for you. He loves his
neighbor—not just the theoretical neighbor whom he can afford to love because
he will never have to deal with him.
Jesus loved the disciples who tried his patience when they did not
understand his teachings. Jesus loved
the sick and the sorrowful when they begged for his time and his
attention. Jesus loved the Pharisees
even as they were plotting his death.
And Jesus loves you, even though you have let him down by falling back
into your sin ways again. Jesus has
loved you by answering God’s commandments for you. Jesus completely fills everything in so that
you have no gaps. The path is smooth. You are not lacking in righteousness. Jesus is the way.
Jesus also
removes every obstacle for you. He takes
away all your sins. You see your salvation
by the way Jesus has dealt with your iniquities. Jesus paid a real price for your sins by
brutal suffering, profuse bleeding, and dying in shame hanging naked from a
cross. He endured true, divine wrath
from his Father. This is what sins
deserve, and this is what Jesus received in order to grant you a full pardon
for all of your sins. Just as Jesus’
sufferings and death were real, so your forgiveness is real. Just as Jesus’ resurrection is cemented in
history, so your hope for the resurrection to everlasting life is set in
cement. The obstacle that had stood
between you and God has been removed. Your
sins are taken away. The crooked path is
straight. Your death has been swept
away. The road to heaven has been
cleared. Jesus is the way.
And still, John
the Baptist cries out: Prepare the way for the Lord by repentance. Satan does not leave you alone. Your own sinful flesh has not conceded the
battle. You are still drawn to your sins
over and over again. And so, repentance
goes on day after day. In the season of
Advent, we give special attention to repentance; for we are preparing for the
coming of Jesus. But we do not prepare
in a spirit of dread, as if Jesus is coming for a surprise inspection, trying
to catch us doing something crooked.
Rather, we prepare in a spirit of anticipation, knowing that Jesus is
coming with our salvation. His first
coming secured a real peace that comes from his forgiveness, and his second
coming means a real and eternal peace that brings us to the blessings of
heaven. Prepare for the Lord with
repentance. Your Lord is coming, and you
will see his salvation.
In the name of the Father and of the Son +
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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