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A sermon based on Luke 3:15-17,21-22
Sunday, January 17, 2010
When I went to Israel in November of 2008, I learned a new Hebrew word: Mikvah. This [Slide #1 - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLC8uLZ_NuuSfkDkzkuNUaHFly0qnb4FUS6lgIcwCE1ij8cMowYh62XpUTSSfHS1d0rezv9tWutTATwJFbESkMTjt6RNO9AfocfFlz-74Gt813z6noQzXxULNp0Q6Pl7mq75gQhH74DY/s640/Israel%20Trip%20189.jpg] is a mikvah. Mikvah is a Hebrew word that literally means collection. It's a place where rain water would collect or river water would be diverted creating a small pool that was used in purification rites in Israel. This particular mikvah is in the old city of Jerusalem across from where a set of steps would lead to the temple mount.
Here [Slide #2 -https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSUPIYM4ah7WnzixVW_njrU-DlYgs97oG0WL_niAx9RroYVcinmpiRxfS3v65-0m3sDSHAtNYDFNcWZtEf28ljzxk6ifa3XEWU_x2ReFtZ8cz2vMQWfN5mqjEewl_NEUP72zUG3sY0jA/s512/Israel%20Trip%20190.jpg
you can see a small divider on the staircase going down into another mikvah. You see, before one could approach the temple mount where the Most High God dwelt, you would need to be purified. You'd go down one side of the steps into the water and come back up the other side, now ritually clean and able to approach God.
Those of you who saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit [Slide #3 - http://wimminwiselpts.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/qumran-mikvah-earthquake-crack.jpg
] when it came to Raleigh, may remember the mikvahs that that sect used daily and the elaborate system to fill them with water. In fact, many Jews today [Slide #4 -
http://www.pjvoice.com/v12/mikveh.jpg] still use a mikvah for a ritual cleansing.
Jews were well accustomed used to this purification rite because they would do it often. In Leviticus you can read about the frequency: A woman would need to be purified after menstruation, a man after an emission, a priest upon his installation, anyone upon touching a corpse or eating an animal that had died of natural causes. As I mentioned, anyone entering the temple would use the mikvah first and some sects practiced daily ritual cleansing. [Slide #5 - blank]
Yes, they were used to these purification rites. But in our gospel lesson this morning, they were introduced to a new mikvah of sorts. John, the forerunner of the Messiah, gave them a new purification rite from God. He gave them Baptism that didn't just make them ritually clean, but actually clean from their sins. But John, and even his baptism, pointed ahead to another purification -- the purification from sins won by Jesus, the Messiah.
Today, as we look at these new "mikvahs," we rejoice that this purification isn't just for the Jews, but for us too. We are purified from our sins, through Baptism, and through the Messiah. Listen to the new mikvahs Luke describes in Luke 3 verses 15 through 17 and 21 to 22... [Slide #6 - Text]
15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 21When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
It's hard to imagine what people thought of John's new cleansing. Not just a ritual bath to make you clean after a skin rash or contact with a dead body, but a cleansing that washed away sin before God. No wonder people were flocking out to the desert to see John. [Slide #7 - http://www.historycomesalive.ca/biblical/images/baptist1.jpg]
But what a surprise when they got there! John preached to them the law in all its brutality. He warned them that the coming Messiah would soon arrive to "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Crowds come out, and he warns them about the coming wrath. The religious leaders come out, and he calls them a brood of vipers. And the verses that our text leaves out tell us that he was so fearless in preaching the Law that he ends up getting himself arrested (and subsequently beheaded) for accusing King Herod of sin. [Slide #8 -http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/CaravaggioSalomeLondon.jpg] He was absolutely right, of course, since Herod had taken his brothers wife as his own, but who in their right mind would tell Herod that. John must have had a death wish.But how impressive John was! He held nothing back. He preached the law, no holds barred! He was an impartial judge who refused to take into account one's position or social status, who refused to take into account the consequences or the persecution he might receive, but no matter what called a sin a sin! [Slide #9 - blank]
And isn't that really what we're looking for? One who will be an impartial judge who will seek out injustice and right the wrong? One who will let justice reign so we can have peace and harmony? One who will deliver us from crime and wrongdoing so we and our kids can be safe and happy?
And the people were excited! "The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ." But John cleared up any confusion they might have and gave them a clear and resounding "No." "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
And they thought John was impressive! Apparently, John was just the appetizer. John was fearless and pulled no punches. But this guy sounded scary! He's coming with the Spirit of God! He's going to baptize with purifying fire! [Slide #10 - http://thesimplefrontporch.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/fire.gif] He's ready to burn up the worthless chaff in eternal flames!
You know the problem with an impartial judge, don't you? He's also impartial towards you. If he's not going to take it easy on a king just because he's king, then he's certainly not going to take it easy on you or me. The people needed a new kind of purification before this judge arrived. They needed something that would go beyond mere ceremonial cleanness because the Spirit of God reads the heart and recognizes selfishness, even when selfishness disguises itself in outward piety. God is not impressed by how righteous we look. He knows how unrighteous we really are.
As Luke put it in verse 3 of chapter 3, John's was a mikvah, "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." John cleansed the people of their sins so they wouldn't be consumed by the coming wrath or burned up with the chaff in unquenchable fire, but would stand in the perfect Judgment of the perfect, impartial, Judge and would come out standing, because they were pure and holy and sinless in his sight by that Baptism.
But how? How could simple water do such things? By the power of the Word of God that promised such forgiveness and promises it still. And by the power of Jesus and the purification he came to bring.
The people came out to see John. But they got so much more! Jesus came out to the river to be baptized by John. [Slide #12 - http://www.ordination.org/baptize.jpg] Now a baptism that forgives sins is amazing, but what happens when that Baptism is given to one who needs no forgiveness and one who is pure comes to be purified? The heavens split open! [Slide #13 - http://www.blackburn.anglican.org/images/Faith%20&%20Worship/JesusBaptism.jpg]
The shock of that moment was hard to convey into words. In fact, even though the translators have made it hard to see, Luke seemed too struggle to capture the moment writing one, big, piled-up, run-on sentence: "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
You know what the word Messiah means, right? It's just the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word Christ. Both words mean, "Anointed." Messiah and Christ are both titles, a reference to the position of a prophet, of a priest, or of a king, all anointed with oil as they took office at their inauguration. [Slide #14 - http://www.biblebee.org/userfiles/image/johnthebaptist.jpg]
Anointed, not just with oil, but with the very Spirit of God, Jesus held the office of all three positions. He is the perfect prophet who spoke God's Word in all its truth, with no holds barred. Jesus is the perfect priest who made the ultimate sacrifice - giving his life and shedding his blood - the very blood of God - on the cross. Jesus is the perfect King who conquered our sin and brought us perfect purification, and by that victory, conquored satan, death, and hell in the same mighty blow. [Slide #15 - blank]
And so, really, this mikvah is our mikvah. It was for our purification. In it Jesus acted as our substitute. This whole, elaborate scene was for our benefit. The voice of God assures us that Jesus was a perfect substitute who never displeased the Father. Now, when the fires of judgment do come, we will not get burned. Due to the righteous life Jesus lived in our place and gave to us as a free gift, we are the righteous wheat that will be harvested into heaven and not the chaff that will one day be separated out and thrown into the fire.
What a great mikvah this new mikvah is! [Slide #16 -
http://www.pjvoice.com/v12/mikveh.jpg] It's not like the old mikvah, but much, much better. It is our mikvah -- the purification of sins that became ours when we were baptized and had our sins washed away! Now when God looks at us, we are pure and clean, not just in a ceremonial way, but actually sinless and holy. Now we can approach God in prayer, in service every day, and in glory when he finally gathers his wheat into his barn. Rejoice in this new mikvah, dear friends, amen!
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