WE CONFESS JESUS CHRIST

The Text, John 1:6-8, 19-28 (v. 20, 23). He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” … They said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Lord, we thank You for the witness of John the Baptizer. Grant that like him we would confess You. We ask You to strengthen us so that we confess you before men, that we may be confident that You confess us before Your Father in heaven. Amen.

In the name of Jesus, who is the Light of whom John bore witness, dear saints:

There’s a lot we can say about John the Baptizer. But here in the Gospel of John, you don’t get all the details about him that the other gospels give you. Here there’s nothing about his birth or his parents’ age or his rough clothing and strange diet, or the desert or the people who went out to him or even anything about wicked Herod or a dark prison.

Instead, all we hear is that he’s a witness. It says: “This man came for a witness, to bearwitness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.” He would bear witness. Not about himself, but about Jesus, the Light.

These words are from the opening verses, the prologue, of the Gospel of John. It’s a summary or preview of what John was to do. Then when it happens – when this delegation of priests from Jerusalem comes and he’s confronted and pressured – it says: “He confessed, and did not deny.”

We learn from John the Baptizer what it means to be a witness. It means to confess Jesus Christ. This is what we do. We confess Jesus Christ. We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah and Savior of the nations. We confess that Jesus is Lord, the King of kings. As Lutherans we learn to confess that He “is my Lord” because “He has redeemed me with His holy, precious blood.”

To confess is to speak. It’s speaking out loud what you believe, as Romans 10 says: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

You believe in the heart, but then you speak it out loud. The Bible calls this “confessing.” But it’s confessing Him – confessing Christ. Jesus said: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”

We don’t realize how great of a thing this is, that we confess Christ. Jesus praised Peter so highly when he confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus exclaimed, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For My Father in heaven has revealed this to you.” Now think of this, that what’s true of Peter in his great confession, is true of you. You believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. You believe He has the words of eternal life. You trust in Him. You say He is your Lord. This faith influences how you live. This is due to God the Father revealing it to you, through the Holy Spirit. You believe in your heart, then you confess with your mouth as we say the creed, when you pray to Him, when you say your Amen to the absolution and to the blessing.

And this puts you with the angel host and all the saints in heaven, for this is what they do when they say such things as: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,” and: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

The difference here on earth, from what’s happening in heaven when this is done, is that there they can’t be improved or strengthened. But here, this confession and praise makes us stand, it bolsters us, makes us stronger, especially as we do it together in church. But even when you’re alone, to say the creed or sing a hymn is a defense against the devil, and it lifts you out of the doldrums. Another thing it does here is to be a witness to others, and invite them into this glorious and exalted life in the never-ending kingdom.

But the other reality of confessing Christ here on earth is that this is what the devil absolutely won’t stand for. He won’t allow this testimony about Christ to be delivered unimpeded. We see this in the case of John the Baptizer. A delegation comes from Jerusalem – but really, Satan is behind it – to question John. They want to know who’s authorizing him. They ask, “Who are you?” And they say, “What do you say about yourself?”

John was being tempted to forget that there was One who was preferred before him – the One who was coming after him for everyone’s salvation. John was tempted to concern himself with his own reputation, his own needs, his own stature, a stature that would be of his own making, for his own glory.

This question, “What do you say about yourself?” is Satan’s question to your ego, your sinful pride. When the world attacks and gives us disapproval, when everyone else gets attention, when your work or your family members are ignored, when the church is considered irrelevant in the world and the values of Christians ridiculed, how do you respond? Often you respond out of sinful pride, to defend yourself, you want to say something about yourself.

So we learn from John the Baptist here. Confessing Christ isn’t a boast, it’s an act of humility. The first part of his confession, his testimony, is this: “I am not the Christ.” The first part of confessing Christ is to say what you are not.

You say this when you confess your sins. This is the first part of confessing Christ. It’s telling God the truth about yourself. In so doing, you tell yourself the truth. Then it becomes easier to tell others the truth. Not that you have to be an open book to everyone, but you tell others the truth in this way: you don’t act like someone you aren’t, you’re no longer afraid of people finding out you aren’t as good as they think, you don’t get offended at every little thing, you don’t feel the need to compete for attention, for in confessing your sins to God you lay down all pretenses and just say: “I’m not what I should be. I’ve sinned in my thoughts, words and actions. I don’t defend myself. I repent.”

But now the second and chief part of confessing Him is to say what He has done for you. It’s the Gospel. This is the true knowledge of Him. John the Baptizer speaks of this when he says: “There stands One among you whom you do not know.” This knowledge is about Him as your Savior.

Even we must admit we don’t know Him as we should, or else you wouldn’t have such a hard time in your faith, or lack confidence spiritually, or struggle to be at peace, or feel judgment from day to day. You might feel even more that way when John says that “His sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” We know that too, that we aren’t worthy of Him.

So John says that He “stands among you,” in your midst, in a way that you can’t be afraid and don’t fear His judgment. That’s why, John says, “He is coming after me.” As Jesus came after, He came lowly and humble. He who is greatest became least. He came in such a way that we can’t be afraid. But it wasn’t only that Jesus was coming to suffer and win our salvation.

Now He comes to give His gifts to you, to be with you in such a loving, kind way. It’s His coming in His Word, and in His Sacraments, especially His Supper, where He presents Himself to you in such a way that you will see that He is confessing you to His Father. We hear in Ephesians 5 that Christ cleanses His Church – and each Christian – and presents them before the throne of God glorious, without a spot, holy and without blemish.

He confesses you to His Father, that you are clean. This is how you in turn clearly confess Christ. You only give a clear witness of Him by first hearing His testimony that He declares to you: that He approves of you. His testimony is that you are God’s dear child, forgiven of all sins because Jesus the Lamb of God has taken them away. He confesses you to His Father in heaven, which gives you the joy and strength to confess Him before men, to praise Him, as you are already doing with all the company of heaven. Amen!