Preparing the Way
Mark 1:1-8
It was October, and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new Chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. He had never been taught the old ways, so when he looked at the sky he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like. To be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood. But being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?” “It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,” the meteorologist said. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later he called the National Weather Service again. “Does it still look like it’s going to be a very cold winter?” “Yes,” the meteorologist replied, “it’s going to be a very cold winter.” The Chief again ordered his people to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service once more. “Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?” “Absolutely,” the meteorologist replied. “It’s looking more and more like it’s going to be one of the coldest winters ever.” “How can you be so sure?” the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, “Because the Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.”
That is a classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy – being so convinced that something is going to happen that by your actions you inadvertently make it come true. Well, in our Gospel lesson for this morning we see a classic example of a different kind of prophecy. Not a SELF-fulfilling one, but a GOD-fulfilling one. Our text is the fulfillment of God's age-old promise that He would send a forerunner to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Way back in the days of Isaiah God had proclaimed: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way — a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And in our text, St. Mark tells us those words were fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist.
But why was a forerunner necessary? Why did the Messiah need someone to prepare the way for His coming? The word in the Greek text is a verb, which means: ‘to dispatch troops or ships on an expedition.’ The idea is that God was about to wage a major military campaign against our old evil foe, Satan. And John the Baptist was to be the vanguard, who would clear a path and set things up for the main assault which Jesus Himself would launch.
As a matter of fact, the whole thrust of St. Mark's Gospel focuses on Jesus’ confrontation with the devil and his wicked kingdom, for according to Mark, our Lord’s appearance on the scene marked the beginning of the end for the devil, the downfall of his evil dominion. That’s why Jesus immediately began healing diseases and casting out demons. As Mark 3:27 states: “No one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” In other words, Jesus Christ came to bind up the strong man, Satan, by dying on the cross to defeat his power forever. And then Jesus rose triumphant from the grave to steal away Satan’s possessions, you and me. Which means that, if Jesus’ First Advent was the mighty blow that sent the bricks of Satan’s stronghold flying, then His Second Advent will bring the whole fortress of darkness crashing down! And that’s what John the Baptist was getting people ready for.
Yet, how exactly was John preparing people for Jesus’ coming? Our text tells us that he was out in the desert, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Now in Greek the word for ‘repentance’ is metanoia, which means: ‘a change of mind.’ In other words, when we confess our sins to God, we change our mind about them. Instead of thinking that our sins are good for us, or at the very least no big deal to God, we admit to Him that our sinful thoughts, words and deeds are not only destructive to us but damnable in His sight. When we confess our sins, we turn away from them. We reject and renounce them, just like at our Baptism. In fact, Luther said that we should daily remember our Baptism by drowning the Old Adam through contrition, or sorrow over sin, and repentance of it.
And yet, in our world today sin is not a very popular idea. People often reject the concept as old-fashioned. Our Old Adam protests that other people, for example criminals, murderers and rapists – they are sinners, but not ‘nice people’ like me. But unless we repent of our sins, there is no reception of God’s free gift of forgiveness, no opportunity to receive healing for our heart and soul. That’s why include Confession and Absolution as a normal part of our worship service. And in our General Confession, we not only admit our sinful acts, things like lust, gossip, jealousy and pride, but also our sinful nature, for that is what condemns us to eternal punishment in hell.
Rev. Reinhold G. Dohrmann, Pastor Emeritus in Atlantic, Iowa says that he once had a discussion with a young married woman who told him that she was not coming to church anymore. After some probing, the reason became clear – she did not like the words of confession at the beginning of the service. They were a ‘?put–down,?’ in her mind, ‘poor psychology.? Rev. Dohrmann says: “The words of confession hit home and she did not like it, but that’s because she missed the words of forgiveness! May we never forget the call to repentance, but let us be even more careful to remember the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ for ‘?If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness?.’”
For that reason, in Catechism class we teach that repentance consists of two parts – contrition and faith – not only changing our mind and turning away from sin, but also turning to Jesus to receive His free forgiveness. And none of that is a work on our part, but a gift of God the Holy Spirit. As the Augsburg Confession, Article XII states: “Properly speaking, true repentance is nothing else than to have contrition and sorrow, or terror, on account of sin, and yet at the same time to believe the Gospel and absolution (namely, that sin has been forgiven and grace has been obtained through Christ), and this faith will comfort the heart and again set it at rest.”
That may be why in Greek the word for repentance, metanoia, can also be translated as, ‘an afterthought’ – ‘to perceive or see something afterwards,’ that is, when it’s too late, and hence to regret it. In that regard, you might say that hindsight is better than foresight in spiritual matters. And that is not something we can achieve on our own. But thankfully the Holy Spirit gives us that insight through God’s Holy Word and Sacraments. In the Law He shows us our great sin, so that in the Gospel He can show us our even greater Savior, Jesus Christ, who has overcome our sin and swallowed it up in His saving blood. And in the healing waters of Baptism He purges us from all unrighteousness to make us clean before the Lord. And in the Feast of Holy Communion, He nourishes us with pardon and remission of all our sin, so that our guilty conscience truly can be at peace and at rest.
My friends, that’s how John the Baptist was preparing people for Jesus – by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace. Maybe that’s why in our text, John was called a ‘voice crying in the wilderness.’ Literally, that refers to a battle-cry, which a soldier would raise on the battlefield, when he was in trouble, calling out for succor and aid. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus Christ responded to our battle-cry before we even raised it. He came to earth that first Advent and sacrificed Himself on the battlefield of the cross to rescue us from our sin, and to succoring us with His forgiveness and salvation. Since we couldn’t come to Him, He came to us in the flesh, came down into our dirt and filth to remove it and redeem us from it. In short, He came to do some preparation work Himself – to prepare a place for us in heaven.
Years ago a wealthy woman was on a Christian tour of Egypt. Everywhere she looked, she encountered dust and dirt and filth. She even saw a child playing on what looked to be a village garbage dump. Unable to take it any longer, she blurted out: “Why doesn’t her mother do something to clean up that little girl?” The guide, a native Egyptian, overheard her comment. He reached over, picked up his microphone and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, someone has asked, ‘Why would a mother allow her daughter to get so dirty?’ I can only tell you this – visitors to our country hate dirt, but they don’t know or love the little children. Mothers of our country know and love their little children, but don’t hate the dirt. Until love for a child and hatred for dirt come together, these children are likely to remain as they are.”
What a powerful illustration of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ our Savior. His hatred of our sin and His love for you and me have come together in the person and work of His Son. For Jesus came down into this world to cleanse us of the filth of our sin and to make us His blood-bought children. And all of that He pours out to us in His Word and Sacraments. That’s what John was doing out there in the wilderness, preparing people for the coming of the Lord. Perhaps that’s why medieval paintings often depict John with a pointing finger. A finger pointed not at people in condemnation or in works-righteousness, but a finger pointed at Jesus, who alone can save us and set us free. And that’s why Martin Luther said that we all have inherited John’s pointing finger. For we too are to prepare the way of the Lord by pointing people to Jesus.
In fact, in our text, the word ‘prepare’ comes from a noun, which actually means: ‘at hand.’ It refers to the preparation of food, which is immediately ready to be grabbed in hand and put into your mouth. As such, it gives us a sense of the urgency of our mission – to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the nourishment of men’s souls, lest they starve to death eternally. May God grant us the zeal of His Holy Spirit to do that every day of our lives, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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12/06/2005