Ryan Underwood’ Sermon
Bishop Jerry asks you carefully consider this sermon from Rev Ryan Underwood of the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide. You should find this interesting and instructive.
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HIS is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Today’s Gospel presents two questions:
1. Who are you?
2. How do you identify yourself and your place in the sight of God?
Let us diligently study God’s Word so that we may answer this question correctly, and know our true position in God’s plan of salvation.
THIS is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Why does the evangelist include the testimony of John the Baptist in His Gospel? It is because John is that prophet who was ordained before the foundation of the world to prepare the people of God for the coming of the Lord, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The Jews sent priests and Levites on the lengthy journey from Jerusalem to Bethabara beyond Jordan because they heard of John’s preaching in the desert; of his call to repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and how this call won the hearts of thousands of men that the Pharisees considered to be low-lives unworthy of God’s favour. John’s preaching pricked them to their prideful hearts, for it challenged their self-righteousness.
They therefore sent a delegation into the wilderness to ask John, “who art thou”. They asked this, not because they were ignorant of his name or place of origin, for John was a member of their own priestly class, his parents being Zacharias and Elizabeth. No, rather the question is asked with a view to his divinely appointed office and mission. The Jews expect John to use this opportunity to publicly announce his messianic claim, for then the Jews could accuse John of agitating the people to rebellion and thereby silence him. They are disappointed, for John replies emphatically, that he is not the Christ, nor any of the other Messianic figures upon which the Jews had pinned their hopes and ambitions for worldly glory.
Friends, how would you reply to the question posed to John, Who art thou? Of course, you would say that you are not the Christ, but remember, Christ means saviour. Do you believe that your works play a part in your salvation? If so, then you say that both you and Jesus are saviours or Christs. Remember, the middle letter of sin is “I”. Regrettably, such prideful doctrines of works-righteousness, that I contribute something to my justification and salvation, are just as prevalent today as they were in the days of the Pharisees. Let us avoid such folly that ends only in sin and death, and instead hold with the inspired words of Jonah, who, being humanly helpless in the fish’s belly on account of his sin, realized the folly of looking for salvation in man or created things, They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. Do not look to yourself or any other creature for salvation, for this is utter vanity and vexation of spirit, but rather look solely to that promise of salvation upon which hung the hopes of all the prophets, that God has raised up in the house of His servant David a Saviour, who is Our Lord Jesus Christ!
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
John is now forced to testify of himself. He would rather not, for like all good servants of God, he cares not to make much of himself, for he sees himself as an unworthy sinner, but rather his sole ambition is to point men to Christ. However, now he says quite plainly that his purpose in life, his divine commission and office, is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. John is, The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Thus, we see who John is and who he is not. He is not the Christ, but rather the servant of Christ. This is his identity before God. John is sent to announce in the wilderness the advent of Christ, to call all sinful men to repentance so that by grace they might be moved to discard the idols of their hearts, and thereby make a straight pathway in themselves for the coming of Christ.
Should this not be our attitude as well? When people ask us who we are, let us first answer who we are not. We are not our own saviours, for in ourselves, we are nothing but dust and ashes. We are like the grass, which may be green for a span, but dies in the wintertime, for as Isaiah says, “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” We are poor and destitute sinners deserving of everlasting condemnation, with nothing good in ourselves that can survive the day of divine Judgement. Our only hope lies in the promised Saviour of the world. Only through Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost can a pathway be opened into our sin sick hearts, and it is only in Him that the promise of our salvation and adoption as children of God and heirs of eternal life lies. Thus, boasting in ourselves is excluded, and in the words of Saint Paul, That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Therefore, when asked who I am, I answer with John, “My identity lies solely in the Lord Jesus Christ; I am a Christian saved by the blood of Christ shed for me, a poor sinner. I am but the messenger of His grace, it is my solemn task in life to glorify Christ, to oppose that which is contrary to His Law, and to point sinful men to Him as the only source of salvation.” This is the life which John lived and for which he died. This is the life to which all Christians are called.
But why would one undertake this life? Indeed, in my own case, it is so much easier for ministers to speak pleasant words which tickle the ears and open the pocketbooks of their parishioners! Look at all the modern churches in America today. How far are so many of them from the example of John the Baptist. He preached on the gravity of sin, repentance towards God, conversion of heart, amendment of life, and above all the necessity of salvation which is found in the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone. How often do you hear of such things in modern mainstream ‘churches’? Indeed, you hear of the social gospel, the prosperity gospel, the feminist gospel, but so very seldom the gospel of Jesus Christ! This makes for a congregation which is comfortable in their sins, and in exchange they provide the pastor with all the comforts which this fallen world can afford. Indeed, to speak of the Gospel of salvation from sin through Jesus Christ, whether as a clergyman or a layman, pricks the hearts of those whose delights are in the things of this world, and calls down the wrath of those who don’t like to be reminded of the vanity of their wicked existences.
On the other hand, those faithful churches which preach the Gospel, which say to man, you are not your own saviour, but a sinner, and that Jesus alone is Lord and Christ, are often comparatively small and poor in worldly terms. Why then do we continue preaching this gospel? It is because those who do not preach the Gospel are forlorn of Christ and dead in their sins. We learn from the Gospel Lesson for Christmas day that it is because God has revealed to us the glory of His only Begotten Son, and has given to all the faithful the promise of undeservedly partaking in the eternal treasure of His love on account of Christ’s imputed righteousness, to become sons of God by adoption and grace, that as many as received him, to them [Christ] gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth Oh friends, we like John are servants of Jesus Christ, but we are more than that. At Christmas we receive the greatest gift in the world, the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ! If you sinners seek after Jesus Christ in faith relying on His grace, then He will give you a new name, a new identity, by which you can answer the question, who art thou? I am not the saviour, I am the saved sinner who am now an adopted son of God, an heir of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and nothing, not even the devil himself, can tear me from my father’s fold. If you are Christians, then this is who you are; this is your office and your calling and your identity and your inheritance. As you thank others for the gifts you receive this Christmas, don’t forget to thank God for this gift which surpasses all others. Love this gift, cherish it, glorify God for it, and live as becomes it by imitating John the Baptist in witnessing to the saving light of God’s glory among men.
For to the only wise God our Saviour be honor and glory, dominion and majesty, both now and forevermore.
