Can I Get A Witness?
Text: John 1:19-28
In the
name of Jesus. Amen.
Contrary
to what you and I might think, Christianity is not a belief system like other
belief systems in this world. That is to say, Christianity is not dependent
upon a bunch of theoretical concepts in the classrooms of academia. It is nor reliant
on a bunch of theories that come to us through ideological think tanks from
Washington DC. Christianity is not based upon a bunch of ideas that come about
from the long talks of philosophers while they sip wine and eat cheese. Indeed, Christianity is not based on
something in the realm of the abstract or the realm of theories – some floaty
ideas. No, Christianity is grounded in reality.
It is rooted in real things, real events, and real persons.
For
example, when we consider our Gospel reading from this morning, we hear about
John giving a testimony.
Now,
when the Bible speaks of testimonies, it isn’t a person sharing their personal-emotional-mystical-experiences
or their own opinions on a subject. A
testimony is not the same as a theory, idea, or concept. But instead, a testimony, according to the
Bible, is a person witnessing to the truth. Like a witness on the stand in a
courtroom who gives a testimony of a particular event and circumstance, when
the Bible speaks of a witness, it is simply someone reporting and sharing what
they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears. To give testimony or to be a witness
is to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
And
so, to be a witness or to give testimony is nothing more than speaking what is
- to state the way things are according to reality.
This
is all very similar to the word ‘confess.’
To confess is to declare, to speak openly, and to speak freely. To confess is to say the same thing as
someone else. To confess is to openly
speak the truth with a free tongue about what has been witnessed.
To the
point, though, this is precisely what John the Baptist was doing in our reading
from the Gospel of John. You see, some priests and Levites, from the highest and
the noblest class in Jerusalem, came to John the Baptist with questions. They began
asking questions about John and Jesus. And
instead of giving them a bunch of theoretical concepts, ideas, or theories
based in some abstract realm, John simply confessed – as a witness – to the
reality of the way things were.
You
see, that is how it is with Christianity. We have witnesses in the past, such
as the Apostles, who have recorded the events, details, and circumstances from
long ago. These Apostles have recorded their
testimony and it has been compiled into what we know as the Bible. And from the Bible, the truth of what
happened for your salvation long ago is confessed into your ears.
You
see, that is the nature of the Christian faith.
Just as John the Baptist was a witness to Jesus and confessed to the
religious leaders, the same is true today.
About 15
years ago, when I was fresh out of seminary, I served as a pastor in Southern
California. The church that I served in
rented the east wing of a large commercial building filled with other various
businesses. There was a mortgage company,
a land development company, and even a Muslim Mosque renting the other office
spaces. It was a fascinating culture to
say the least.
One
day I met another Pastor who started to rent part of the facility as well. Pastor Ezra Kang was from South Korea, and he
wanted to move his church to the same facility so that he could continue the
ministry of the Gospel to other Korean people in the Los Angeles area.
Apart
from learning that Korean Kimchi would put extra hair on my chest, Rev. Kang
also taught me his profound wisdom and strategy for evangelism. While eating breakfast in the city of San
Dimas, Rev. Kang shared with me in his passionate and broken English the
following:
"Young Pastor, I promise
God when I ordained that I do three things each day. I read one book of Bible. I pray one hour a day. And I tell one person about Jesus. Do you know how I tell person about
Jesus?"
I
responded,
"No,
Ezra, please tell me."
He
responded with enthusiasm saying,
"O.k. I tell you. I go up to person and say, 'Do you know
Jesus?' And they say, 'No.' And then I say, 'O.k., sit down, I tell you what
Jesus did for you.'"
I
still smile when I think about Ezra and his approach to evangelism. I smile because it is so simple.
Part
of me, though wants to say, "You can't make evangelism that simple
Ezra!" However, in Ezra's wisdom,
he knew that evangelism is just that simple: confessing to people about Jesus
and what He accomplished. No need for theories, sales pitches, bait and
switches, or philosophical concepts - just confessing reality of what Jesus did
in time, space, and history for all of humanity.
That
is how it works with Christianity, my friends. Christianity is based on the
events, life, and person of Jesus.
And
so, when we are challenged like John the Baptist was, we do not need to run to
theories, ideas, or concepts. We confess to the reality of what happened.
And
what happened?
What
happened is that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He
descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended
into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from thence
He will judge the living and the dead.
All of
this happened in real-time, space, and history.
Therefore, we confess it because it is true.
And so
just like John the Baptist, who points away from himself to the coming Christ,
we as a church point away from ourselves to Jesus and what he did for us and
the entire world.
And
with these events, what did Christ do for you and me? Well, he redeemed you, a
lost and condemned person. He purchased and won you from all of your sins, from
death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His
holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. He did this so
that you may be his own and live under Him in his kingdom and serve Him in
everlasting righteousness. He is risen from the dead, and He lives and reigns
to all eternity. And someday He will come back to claim you out of your graves
unto Himself for eternity. This is most certainly true.
Dear
Baptized Saints, this upcoming week, we will celebrate and hear about the birth
of Jesus in Bethlehem long ago. Now, this story is not just some fairytale or
myth that we sentimentally adhere to. But it is the retelling – the confession
– of what really happened. It is also hearing from the witnesses from long ago.
It is us hearing the confession of those long ago that the one born in
Bethlehem was the Son of God who came in the flesh to redeem mankind from the
poison of sin. Our ears need to hear this confession not because it is a
theory, idea, or a sentimental fairytale, but it is the truth of what God has
done for us.
Our
Lord God was not content to leave us in our sin, and so he came for sinful
humanity, marred as we are.
And so
today, hear the bold confession that Christ came for you. Hear the best
confession that Christ died for you. Hear the bold confession that Christ is
raised for you. Hear the bold confession of the Christmas story this week and
rejoice in the good news of the gospel – unto you, a child has been born; God
is with you, Jesus came to save you from your sins.
In the
name of Jesus. Amen.
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