Friday, December 16, 2022

16 December 2022 - human testimony


You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.

John testified to the truth of the human condition. He testified that in order to prepare the way for the Lord those who heard him should repent and be baptized, expressing by doing so their desire for the forgiveness of sins. Immersing themselves into a longing for things to be set right with one another and with God made them ready to welcome the Messiah who alone could fulfill those desires. By condemning sin and pointing to righteousness John the Baptist implicitly pointed toward the Messiah. But his pointing was not only implicit. He called Jesus the lamb of God, and confirmed that he was the one who was to come when the Spirit descended on him when Jesus was baptized. He said that Jesus was the bridegroom in whose presence the friend of the bridegroom, John, rejoiced.

I do not accept testimony from a human being

Even the most authentic human testimony fell short in the case of Jesus himself. He did not need to be proved by any human's words, however prophetic and great those words may have been. Even the forerunner was inadequate to really capture the essence of who Jesus was and why he came. Yet the message of John was a shining lamp. It could help orient the crowds so that they could come to Jesus himself to be saved. But it seems that the results of even the great words of the Baptist were short-lived.

and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.

We may sometimes encounter a preacher that sparks an initial burst of enthusiasm in our hearts that temporarily motivates us to rejoice in his light. But we don't always make the transition from that moment of exultation to a life of Christian discipleship. We may discover it was something about the presentation that fascinated us and that we never allowed it to lead us to the testimony of Jesus himself. Then when that preacher could no longer entertain or edify or distract us we went back to business as usual, never allowing ourselves to be led to the one about whom the preacher spoke. It is perhaps the case the better preachers are at greater risk of this phenomenon, and that when we can't found consistent and novel stimulus of such preaching we risk becoming lukewarm and backsliding.

But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.

Jesus is at work in our midst in a way that speaks more loudly than the testimony of John. He himself is still healing, forgiving sins, and even giving us his own body as food and his blood as drink. We must allow ourselves to be led into the deep reality of a life that is through him, with him, and in him. Great preaching is not meant to lead us back again to the preacher but rather toward Jesus himself. It is like the saying that one ought not fixate on the finger that is pointing at the moon lest one miss the heavenly glory that is there to see.

The things Jesus said and did in his life revealed his identity in a way that the best preaching can never entirely capture. This is why we must become as familiar as possible with the Gospels that tell of his life. We need to become more convinced than ever of the testimony of Jesus, and seeing the works the Father gave him to accomplish will help achieve this. The darkness is rapidly encroaching in our world. We need to be ready to do more than to rejoice for a while in his light. We need to become mature disciples who live in his light until we become transparent to it, becoming light ourselves in turn. As Jeremiah said, we will seek the Lord and we will find him when we seek him with all of our heart (see Jeremiah 29:13). We need not fear our own failures will lead to rejection. Jesus longs for us to come to him so that he can reveal himself to us. It is he himself that brings us to him. When we let ourselves by thusly led we receive the joy that only he can give.

Them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;


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