"THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH"
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
June 24, 2018
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins."
Luke 1:76, 77 (ESV)
Today we have another opportunity to celebrate one of the minor festivals of the church year. This time it's the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. While we can't determine with any certainty the actual date of many Biblical events (including even Christmas), we do know from Scripture that when the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary to tell her that she would bear the Son of God, he explained the wonders of God to her with the words: "Behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:36, 37). It makes sense, then, that the birth of Elizabeth's child would be celebrated six months before Christmas.
It would be an understatement to say that John the Baptist was merely a "prophet of the Most High." That would be an understatement because John could very well be seen as the epitome of all of God's prophets--the last in whole line of men of God who came to the people of God to prepare them for the coming of the Son of God. There is a lot of confusion over what a prophet is. A lot of people are under the impression that the essence of prophecy is predicting the future, but that's not necessarily the case. To prophesy means not necessarily to "foretell" but rather to "forth-tell." The prophet is the man who speaks for God the message that the Lord seeks to impart to a particular group of people at a particular time. If God's message involves something that hasn't happened yet, prophecy may indeed involve predicting the future (as it did in the case of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies), but the apostles and their successors who preached and continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ are just as much prophets, even though they are proclaiming things that have already occurred. This morning we observe the birth of John the Baptist by using his ministry for an example as we examine what a "prophet of the Most High" really is.
"The prophet of the Most High" first of all ministers to the God who has sent him. Because the prophet speaks for God, he is faithful in communicating the very Word of God and not the prophet's own opinions or speculation. John was certainly faithful to his calling in this regard. He Himself made it very clear that his fame must fade so that the Lord who was to come after him might be better known. He was not afraid to say what the Lord wanted him to say, regardless of the consequences. Listen to how he reacted when the religious elite came to hear him: "When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire'" (Matthew 3:7-10). John wasn't afraid of Herod either. He rightly condemned the king's adulterous relationship with his brother's wife, and this ended up costing the prophet his life. This the faithful prophet was willing to endure so that the Word of the Lord would not be compromised.
There was a reason for all of this--for the sometimes blunt and harsh message that John proclaimed. Remember how Isaiah, writing centuries before, described John's mission: "A voice cries, 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken'" (Isaiah 40:3-5). John was primarily a preacher of the Law so that those who heard his message would be longing for the comfort of the Gospel that Jesus was not only to proclaim but also to carry out in His life and ministry--especially in His death and resurrection. Following the example of John, God's faithful prophets today preach His Word, not theirs and not necessarily what their hearers want to hear, and, like John, it often gets them into trouble.
"The prophet of the Most High" also ministers to the people to whom he is sent. Not only must he be faithful to the message that the Most High has given him; he also must faithfully convey that message to its intended audience. In the case of John the Baptist, the audience was the people who were about to host the Son of God, even though they didn't know it. They needed to be prepared, says Isaiah, in very much the same way that a rugged terrain has to be prepared for the building of a highway. "Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low " (Isaiah 40:4). What does that mean? It means that the despairing must be "lifted up" with the Gospel so that they understand that everyone is worth something in the eyes of the Lord. No matter how sinful they are or how worthless they may feel, there is hope, because they are creatures made in the image of God and loved by Him. It means that the arrogant, on the other hand, must "be made low"--forced to look at themselves honestly in the mirror of God's Law. If these things don't happen, neither the humble nor the arrogant will be ready to receive the Savior of the world.
The Savior of the world--that's what it's all about: the salvation of sinners. "The prophet of the Most High," following the example of John, will "give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins." This is the ultimate purpose of the prophet's ministry. Yes, the prophet preaches the Law, often in very harsh terms. But he does it to prepare his hearers for the sweet Gospel of their Savior Jesus Christ. Without a faithful preaching of both the Law and the Gospel, there can be no "knowledge of salvation" and therefore no "forgiveness of . . . sins." Those to whom the prophet of the Most High" is sent need to know that they need a Savior from sin and they need to know who that Savior is.
Who are "the prophet[s] of the Most High" today? I suppose in the formal sense they are people like me--men who have been called and set apart to be public preachers of the Word. But the prophetic ministry doesn't belong to pastors alone. It extends to all who are baptized into Jesus Christ, the ultimate "Prophet of the Most High" who has prepared us for the final judgment by giving us "the forgiveness of [our] sins" through His perfect life in fulfillment of the Law and His sacrificial death on the cross to atone for our sins. We are the ones who Jesus has commissioned to share with others the glorious message--indeed, the only message--that gives life. It's not by any means an easy task. Most people don't particularly care to hear this message. But the Lord has given us His Holy Spirit so that we might give them "the knowledge of salvation." To this end that Spirit blesses us with every gift that we need as we participate in this sacred privilege.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.