12-17-23 “Who Are You?”
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John 1:6-8, 19-28
Pastor Jenny Lee, Ph.D.
“Who Are You?”
I want to start with something funny I found from on an internet site: A little girl asked her mother, “Where did people come from?” Her mother answered, “God made Adam and Eve, and they had children, and that’s how all humankind was made.” A couple of days later, she asked her father the same question. Her father answered, “Many years ago, there were monkeys, which the human race evolved from.” The confused little girl returned to her mother and said, “Mommy, how is it possible that you told me that God created us, and Daddy said we came from monkeys?” Her mother answered, “Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family, and your father told you about his.”
Howabout you? Did your side come from God or from monkeys? Today, I want to talk about “who we are.” In other words, “What is our identity?” We lit the third Advent candle today, which is a symbol of joy. We hope Jesus brings us joy and that our lives are always joyful. The scripture the First Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Also, Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” According to the scriptures, “Be joyful” and “rejoice always” are God’s will for us. However, there are questions: How can we rejoice always? How can we give thanks in all circumstances? If we believe God is with us and makes things happen for us, we can give thanks in all circumstances and always rejoice because we have a strong supporter.
As we did last Sunday, today’s scripture also talks about John the Baptist. Many people were curious about who John was because they had never seen prophets whom they had learned about from the Old Testament or heard about baptism before. Some wondered if he was the prophet, Messiah, or Elijah. Elijah was the greatest prophet in Israelite history, who performed many miracles and who did not die but was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Israelites believed that Elijah might come back as the Messiah because he didn’t die. So, some suspected that John might be the returned Elijah. John the Baptist’s ministry was a big sensation for the people, making people change their worldview with “Jesus as the center.” John the Baptist was very famous as the Gospel of Mark describes, “people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him.” However, John never forgot that God sent him with a mission to point to Jesus Christ, and he lived his whole life for that mission. The political and religious leaders sent people to John to ask if he was the Messiah God promised (John 1:19). John said to them, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him again, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” People asked him repeatedly, “Are you the prophet?” He said, “No.” “People asked him again, “Who are you? Let us get an answer for those who sent us.” He answered, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord as the prophet Isaiah said.” The Gospel of John says who John was at 1: 6-8: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” John the Baptist knew who he was. Then, he fulfilled his mission, baptizing people.
e can imagine why people were confused about whether John the Baptist was the Messiah. Some people used to compare him to Jesus, who had more disciples and who baptized more people (John 4:1). However, John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to follow him (John1:35-37). He said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). For people’s question, “Are you the Messiah?” he answered, “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” At that time, the slaves untied their master’s sandals. The masters did not bend their waists to untie their sandals for their dignity. John the Baptist used the metaphor from their culture to be less than the enslaved person to Jesus. John the Baptist stood firmly in the faith with his mission.
We need to know who we are and what our missions are as John the Baptist did. Furthermore, we have to fulfill the mission. The Gospel of John says he “was a man sent from God. He came as a witness to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify to the light” (John1:6-8). We are also sent from God to our family, our workplace, our community, and our country to be a witness of love for God. Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Our mission is to love one another as the disciples of Jesus Christ. Do you think you know your identity and live by it daily?
I learned about a prophet who knew himself and his mission. But he avoided his mission because he did not like it. His name is Jonah. He was sent from God to go to Nineveh. God wanted to save the people of Nineveh through Jonah. But Jonah hated the people of Nineveh who needed to be saved. He went down to Joppa, running away from God. Finally, he got on a ship toward Tarshish. God sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. People asked him who he was and what happened to him to determine why the crisis came to them.
Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” He knew about God very well. He was proud of himself that he was a Hebrew, who worship God. Proudly and confidently, he said to them, “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the land. But I ran away from God.” How could that happen? How dare a person who worships the Lord run away from God? These terrified them. How could he escape God, who made the sea and the land? They could not understand how he, who worshiped the Lord, ran away against God. They prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, do not let us die because of this person. This is in your plan.” Jonah knew about God as the Creator, himself as one of the chosen people, and of his mission. However, he ran away to avoid his mission against God’s wishes.
How about us? In this Advent season, are we acting like Jonah or John the Baptist? We say, “We are Christians, and we worship the Lord. But, let us think of ourselves. Are we ignoring what the Lord wants us to do? John the Baptist made the people’s arrogant minds and stubborn hearts soft, showing humility and sincerity so that they may believe in Jesus Christ. He fulfilled his mission, trying not to be an obstacle to the way of the Lord. He pointed to Jesus Christ, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” And he denied himself, “I am not the Messiah. I am not Elijah. I am not the prophet. I am not worthy to untie his sandals.” He did profound self-denial even though he could have accepted honor and authority from many people. He lifted Christ higher and was thoroughly humble by himself.
The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, asked people at one of his sermons, “Are you an almost Christian?” He said, “Almost might be 99%, but not one hundred %.” In other words, almost Christian is not one hundred percent Christian. We should consider whether we pretend to be Christians or live a Christian life every day. An example is this: Some of you may know I enjoy playing ping-pong. While playing ping-pong, if someone’s ball misses the table, we say, “It’s almost there.” But we know “almost” means not getting a point. Who are you? Are you almost Christian or an honest Christian? Thanks be to God! Amen!