"Advent Pointing"

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text this morning is the Gospel reading for today, John 1:7-8: "[John] came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Advent is a good time for reflection. Spiritual reflection on things having to do with our relationship with God and our place in His plan. Reflection on our sin and our need for a Savior. Reflection on our God that loves us so much He sent His Son to save us. Advent is a good time for reflection.

And reflection is generally viewed as a passive activity. It’s something you sit and do in silence. Reflection is a very quiet, meditative thing.

But Advent is also a time for action. During these Sundays of Advent we’ve been focusing on certain actions which help us prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth. First, we talked about the action of Advent Waiting. Last Sunday, we talked about the action of Advent Cleaning. Today, we’re going to talk about the action of Advent Pointing. Advent is a good time for pointing.

We would all agree that this is a season for pointing. We walk through the stores and our children begin pointing. Look at that! Look at that! I want THAT for Christmas! Lots of pointing going on. We drive through the neighborhoods and again, we begin pointing. Look at the lights on that house. Look at the lights on THAT house. This time of year gives us much to point at.

But I want to talk to you this morning about a different kind of pointing. An Advent kind of pointing. A John-the-Baptist kind of pointing. John-the-Baptist pointing is somewhat deeper than pointing out Christmas lights. John-the-Baptist pointing is somewhat more powerful than pointing out toys at Walmart.

John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. That is, he was the last of the ones sent by God to point forward to the One who would come to deliver God’s people. The One who would come to bring peace and rescue. The One who would come to bring both new life and hope. Get ready for this One to come, said John the Baptist. "Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight the way of the Lord." There is one coming after me, John the Baptist said, who is so much greater than me that I am not worthy even to stoop down and untie his sandals. John the Baptist, like so many other prophets before Him, pointed FORWARD to the Messiah, coming soon.

And how is the "way prepared for the Lord?" How is a person made ready for the One who is to come? John the Baptist was ready to answer that question. He pointed again. This time, he pointed INWARD. He pointed inward to the hearts of the people and to the sins which he knew to be living there and he said "Repent." The way is prepared for the Lord when His people come to recognize their sins and are sorry for them. The way is prepared for the Lord when His people are brought to the realization that there are sins in their hearts which need removing–mountains that need to be made low, valleys which need to be raised up, paths which need to be straightened. To repent is to admit your sinfulness. To repent is to admit your inability to save yourself. To repent is to admit your need for a Savior. John preached repentance.

In other words, in addition to pointing FORWARD to the Messiah, coming soon, John the Baptist also pointed INWARD, to the hearts of the people, with the message: Repent of your sins.

But John the Baptist was not finished pointing. He also pointed OUTWARD. Having preached repentance, he then pointed to the One who saves people from their sins. John the Baptist did not point to himself. He pointed outward, to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist pointed outward, to Jesus, sent from God to be the Savior of the world, to be the sacrifice that pays once for all the sins of the whole world. Look to Jesus, John the Baptist said. Trust in Him, not in me, John the Baptist said.

John pointed FORWARD to the Messiah, coming soon. John pointed INWARD, to the sinful hearts of the people and said "Repent." John pointed OUTWARD, away from himself, to Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Lots of pointing going on back then. Lots of pointing which we need to be doing still today. This is Advent pointing.

Therefore, this Advent, I point also.

I point you forward to Jesus who is coming again. I point you to the many promises that Jesus made that one day He will return in glory. In Matthew 24, Jesus said "You must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." In Revelation 22, Jesus says, "Yes, I am coming soon." That’s a promise, and Jesus will keep it. I point you forward to Jesus who is coming again.

And how are we to be prepared for the coming of the Lord? How is a person made ready for the One who is to come? I point again. This time I point inward. Inward into your heart and to the sins which live there.

I point out that sin, I call attention to your sin, because when Jesus comes again in glory He will come to judge the living and the dead. Yes, to JUDGE the living and the dead. Jesus will judge you. Jesus will judge me. Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus will welcome the righteous into heaven with Him and cast the unrighteous into the outer darkness. John the Baptist said (Matthew 3) that Jesus would clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn but burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. That kind of judging is scary.

But the judging is made even scarier by the fact that the judge is Jesus--Jesus, the Son of God, God in human flesh, who can see all things. He sees into the very depths of our hearts. There is nothing we can hide from Him. There is no sin He won’t be able to see.

Therefore we must be ready when He comes. There can not be any sins standing in the way. Mountains must be made low, valleys raised up, paths straightened. So I point out your sin and I call you today to repent of your sin. Acknowledge your sin. Confess your sin. Admit your inability to save yourself. Admit your need for a Savior.

And having pointed FORWARD to Christ coming again, and INWARD to our sins and our need for a Savior, I now point OUTWARD to the One who saves us from our sins: Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. When Jesus first began His public ministry He went to the synagogue in Nazareth and began reading from Isaiah the prophet the same verses that we read in our Old Testament reading for today. Jesus read,

And then Jesus rolled up the scroll and said, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, the Good News Isaiah foretold has arrived. Jesus IS the Good News. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Jesus went to the cross for you. Jesus suffered and died for you. Jesus took your punishment in your place for your sins. Now, as Isaiah foretold, He has clothed us with garments of salvation and arrayed us in robes of righteousness. He has covered us with forgiveness. He has removed that which stands between us and God. He has lowered the mountains. He has raised the valleys. He has straightened the paths. Through Jesus, because of Jesus, by faith in Jesus, we have the forgiveness of our sins, we have a new life of freedom and hope here on earth, we have eternal life in heaven.

Therefore, Jesus’ return as Judge is not something we point to in fear. It’s something we point to, we look forward to, with hope and joy. Because Jesus is our Judge, but He is also our Savior. Jesus is our Judge, but He is also the One who suffered and died in our place for our sins. Jesus is our Judge, but He is also at the right hand of God interceding for us, arguing in favor of our salvation, so to speak, as it says in Romans 8. We are covered with His righteousness.

We point forward to Jesus coming. We point inward to our sin and need for a Savior. We point outward to the one who has come to save us and who will come again in glory to bring us home to heaven with Him.

Amen.