The Nativity of St. John the Baptist June 24, 2018

Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Luke 1:57-80
June 24, 2018

“Here Comes the Sun”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The title of the sermon this morning is “Here Comes the Sun”. And no, I’m not going to sing you a Beatles song. The “SUN” in this case is Jesus. That’s why John the Baptist was born—to tell everyone that the sun was rising. John’s dad, Zechariah, prophesies about him, “whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high.” That, in a nutshell, is what John the Baptist is all about. Telling us, “Here comes the sun.” And that’s why we observe his special birth today.

Now my wife Valerie and I have our own special birth coming. And we’re very excited. We have a baby boy right on schedule to be born in late August. But even though our baby boy is just as much a gift of God as John the Baptist was, still the birth of John the Baptist is obviously a little bit more important in the grand scheme of things. The angel Gabriel didn’t appear to me here in Church on a Sunday morning and tell me that we were going to have a son. Because, of course, that’s what he did for Zechariah. Furthermore, God didn’t strike me mute for nine months. Furthermore, we aren’t advanced in years—at least not as old as Zechariah and Elizabeth were.

You see my point. There are many births in the Scripture that God makes particularly unique because he wants to highlight them in the history of the world. In other words, if somebody really important is born, then God may very well do something special at their birth. We remember baby Isaac being born when Abraham was a hundred years old. We remember baby Moses put into the basket on the Nile River and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.

We remember baby Samuel, whose mother Hannah was barren until she prayed to God and said she would dedicate her son to the Lord if the Lord was so good to give her a child. We remember baby Jesus, who was born of a virgin, adopted by Joseph, testified to by shepherds and wise men, and hunted by King Herod.

So miracle births are pretty important in the Bible. Right? And now John the Baptist, likewise, receives a special and miraculous birth. At John’s birth his dad Zechariah hasn’t been able to talk for nine months. On that first day when Gabriel told him they were going to have a son, Zechariah was serving in the temple. He was supposed to come out and bless the people at the end of the service. He would come out and give the benediction, “The Lord bless you and keep you.” But he couldn’t. He couldn’t talk. He came out of the temple and was making all kinds of hand motions and no one knew what had happened.

Now today, nine months later, at the birth of his son, it’s time to name this child. Dad Zechariah still can’t talk. So Elizabeth says the baby’s name will be John. The guests all start saying, “Wait a minute. Why John? Why not Zechariah?” They think Zechariah is being slighted. So they’re making motions at him to see what he wants. And he gets his writing tablet and writes, “His name is John.” And just like that, his lips are opened again and he can talk.

And now, that blessing that he was supposed to give nine months ago at the Temple has been ruminating in his heart and soul and mind for nine months and it bursts forth from his mouth in a great prophecy that we call “The Benedictus”. The blessing. Zechariah blesses God for keeping all His promises and He says exactly what this special baby, John, is going to be and do.

Now why do you think God made John’s birth so special? Why did an angel announce his conception? Why did Zechariah lose his voice and then miraculously get it back again? Why was Elizabeth barren and then miraculously conceived? What’s so special about John? Why should you care today, or ever, about John the Baptist?

Well, the words of his dad Zechariah tell us. John was the end of something that had been coming for thousands of years. John was a prophet. But not just any prophet. He was the prophet to end all prophets. Literally. He was the last one before the sun came up.

All through the Old Testament God sent prophets. One after another after another. And they’re all important in their own way. Moses, Samuel, King David, King Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah. All of them spoke God’s Word of Law and Gospel. They told sinners to repent of their sin. And they told sinners to find forgiveness in God’s promise of the coming Messiah. Prophet after prophet after prophet—all preaching and proclaiming the same thing, “Turn away from your sins and believe in God.” Turn away from your sins and believe in God.

Now what’s the last book of the Old Testament? Malachi. So one would think that Malachi is truly the last prophet of the Old Testament, right? From Malachi to the birth of Jesus, there are no prophets being heard. 400 years of silence. And then the New Testament. But Malachi isn’t really the last prophet of the Old Testament. Actually, it’s really John the Baptist.

Even though John the Baptist is found in the New Testament of the Bible, in truth he is both the end of the Old and the beginning of the New. He is the last and final prophet to end all prophets. In the book of Malachi, we hear twice that God will send a messenger to prepare His way. That messenger, in the spirit of Elijah, is John the Baptist. He is the prophet to end prophets. The final prophet to call sinners to repentance before the sunrise visited us from on high.

Now still you might say, “Okay, John was the last prophet. Big deal. Why should I still care about him?” And now my final answer. You should care about John the Baptist and you should celebrate his birth today because he is your prophet. John the Baptist wasn’t just born for random people halfway around the world in Judea in the first century. He was born to be a prophet to you and me. To every one of us.

In other words, God gave John a special and miraculous birth because God wants you and I to see that he is specifically sent for us. John’s job for you is to prepare your heart to receive the sun. To receive Jesus. John is shouting at you and me as loudly as he shouted two thousand years ago, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” And telling us, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

John in our prophet. When his dad Zechariah gave that prophecy, The Benedictus, he said, “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.” John was prophet of the Most High, our prophet, to give knowledge of salvation. Let’s say that simpler. John tells us how to be saved. And how are you saved? In the forgiveness of your sins.

No wonder John’s big thing was Baptism. Baptism gives the forgiveness of sins. And the forgiveness of sins in Jesus is salvation. When we sing that hymn, “God’s own child, I gladly say it, ‘I am baptized into Christ!”, we are singing exactly what John the Baptist was sent to tell us. He was sent to tell us that people are saved through the forgiveness of their sins.

How are you saved? How will you be in heaven? Because you know all the right doctrine? Because you’re a good person? Because you’ve been in church the right number of times? Because you were successful in life? Because you know the right people? No! You are saved because God forgives your sins in Jesus Christ. In your Baptism. In the Lord’s Supper. In His Word.

And John the Baptist was the last and final prophet to tell us so. He said, “Here comes the sun.” Don’t miss him. Don’t miss the sun. Don’t miss your salvation. Don’t miss the one who forgives your sins. Don’t miss the one who brings the light of day into the darkness of this world. Don’t miss the Sun.

A special birth. A special prophet. To prepare the way for our One and Only Savior. Who saves you and me through no other way than this—the forgiveness of our sins.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.