Jesus is the Narrator of God

I remember very clearly the first time I heard my wife's voice.

Some of you might know how I'd seen my wife from a distance and for two years I was trying

to figure out some way that I could meet her or get to know, well meet her.

First you meet, then you try to get to know, right?

To try to meet her because I just thought she was so lovely and so beautiful from a distance.

And finally I screwed up the courage to just walk up to her cold and introduce myself.

And I remember very clearly the first time I actually heard her voice and heard her speak

and I just thought it was such a wonderful voice.

So beautiful to go with a lady that I thought and still think was so lovely.

I've been thinking about voices a lot this week, not because I'm hearing voices in my

head or anything.

But actually you've probably all had the experience.

Isn't it so odd that when you hear your voice played back it almost doesn't sound like your

voice?

Isn't that really odd, eh?

That, you know, it's not the same as you hear it in your...

Anyway, that's a whole other topic.

Not only because it's in...

John the Baptist in our gospel text compares himself to just being a mere voice.

But it's really about something which I didn't touch on last week, but I want to talk about

for a few minutes today about one of the ways to understand who Jesus is.

And that is that Jesus is described as being the narrator of God.

And it's just such a wonderful description.

And part of what makes a good narrator a good narrator is the voice.

So if you open your Bibles and turn to page 918, we're going to look at John 1, 18, which

is what we read last week.

But last week I really was focusing on verse 14.

I was really trying to get us just to meditate upon verse 14 and think about it when the Bible

says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of

the only begotten, the Father full of grace and truth.

And if I could just give that few-word summary of my attempt at a sermon last week, it was

that simple phrase, The Word became flesh, which we see the Bible is teaching us.

It means that God became flesh, that God, the Son of God, became flesh, that the Son of

God who was in the beginning with God the Father, that he became flesh, that the beginning

became flesh.

And I just didn't have time to talk about verse 18, so just very briefly.

It's this wonderful sort of the end of the prologue.

It says, No one has seen God at any time.

The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

And in Greek, the word which is translated as declared, it means narration.

It's really saying that Jesus is the one who narrates God.

Jesus is the one who narrates God.

And, you know, today I'm going to really be looking at, I mean, not only giving information,

but trying to bring before us, before our eyes and our hearts and our minds, four different

titles or images of who Jesus is, so that we not only have that information, but we have

that image of who Jesus is, and that we can, our mind can try to process what that means,

and that the eyes of our heart and the eyes of our soul can imagine and enter into it imaginatively

who this person Jesus is.

And here we have this image that Jesus is one, the one who narrates God.

I don't know how many of you have seen the film The March of the Penguins.

How many people have seen the film The March of the Penguins?

Okay, a good number of you have seen it.

One of the things which makes that movie such a good movie is Morgan Freeman.

I mean, his voice.

I mean, it's deep.

It sounds authoritative.

It sounds wise.

It sounds believable.

It sounds beautiful.

It just carries you through a movie all about penguins walking.

You know, you think about it.

And millions of people go to see basically a National Geographic-type documentary.

But Morgan Freeman's voice and the beauty of the photography just carries us through.

If somebody with a high, irritating, squeaky voice had been the narrator,

then the film director, the narrator, and their five best friends

would have been the only people on the planet who'd seen the movie.

But Morgan Freeman, with his voice that communicates authority and clarity and wisdom,

helped to make that documentary such a huge hit.

So a good narrator is one who sounds authoritative.

They are clear.

They make connections.

They explain.

And they allow us to see and know.

And what verse 18 of chapter 1 is saying is that God chose his son and said,

My son will become flesh, and my son will be the one who narrates me.

Jesus is the one who narrates God.

So as we come to know Jesus and as we hear the words of Jesus,

we are hearing the one who narrates what God is and who God is

and makes connection and grants us wisdom and insight.

But here today, there were two images,

two of the images in the text of Scripture today which we have before us,

are really, you know, that if we really are, in a sense,

meditate upon them and listen to them,

at first we have to be prepared to be offended

because the very two of the first images about God

are ones which are offensive to our modern age and to ourselves.

Look, we're going to begin reading at verse 26,

this really important delegation of Pharisees.

It's in a sense, imagine that the political elite,

the cultural elite, the academic elite,

the newspaper elite, the fashion elite,

you just imagine any type of important elite

and you imagine that all of those elites got together

and sends a delegation down to see somebody,

you know, the money elite.

And so you're talking to some really important people

and they come to see this wild guy out in the desert

by the name of John the Baptist

who everybody is starting to think is a prophet.

And not only a prophet, but they're starting to wonder

if he is the prophet

who will indicate that the end of the ages is coming

and the Messiah is about to arrive.

And so they ask him, you know,

they try to put him into these messianic categories

and in verse 23 we'll begin,

John the Baptist says,

I'm not any of these big fancy people,

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make straight the way of the Lord,

as the prophet Isaiah said.

Now those who were sent included Pharisees

and they asked him, why then do you baptize

if you are not the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet?

John answered them saying, I baptize with water.

But there stands one among you whom you do not know.

It is he who coming after me

is preferred before me,

and here's the offensive line,

whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.

Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.

If Jesus is the one who is the narrator of God,

the narration of God,

Jesus is here painted as the one whose sandals

you and I are unworthy to untie.

You know, if you look at it,

John the Baptist was not mentally ill,

sort of thing a mentally ill person would maybe say,

although mentally ill people are more likely to say

that you're not worthy to untie their shoelaces

because they often have, you know,

these profound senses of how great they are.

But, you know,

John the Baptist is not the type of mentally ill person

or a person who's so unbelievably lacking in self-esteem

that he would say something like this.

In fact, in his life,

he showed profound courage.

Those of you who are familiar with the story of John the Baptist

know the story of how Herod,

the ruler,

John the Baptist stands up to Herod.

He says to Herod,

Herod,

what you are doing is wrong.

And even though Herod looks at him with murderous intent,

and even though his wife looks at him with murderous intent,

John the Baptist won't back down.

He's not impressed by this.

He's learned how to stand before a tyrant

and proclaim the truth.

And he stands before a tyrant.

He proclaims the truth.

He's sent to jail.

And even in jail,

he won't recant.

And it eventually leads to him being beheaded,

put to death by beheading.

And he won't back down at all.

And even as John the Baptist is standing in front of

some of the members of the elite

and the representatives of all of the elites

of that Jewish culture,

and even as he stands before them,

he can look at them and say,

there is one standing amongst us

whom you do not know,

whose sandal you and I are unworthy to even untie.

Like, that's pretty strong stuff.

He's in effect modeling a great Christian virtue and strength

to be able to stand before tyrants and kneel before God.

Stand before tyrants and kneel before God.

We live in an egalitarian age.

It grates us to even acknowledge

that there are people better than us

or greater than us.

We revel in rebellion.

We refuse to acknowledge hierarchy and hate it.

And John the Baptist,

in front of all of these worthy and important people,

he says,

you and I,

you folks,

and he's including us in this,

we are not even,

we are not even worthy,

if Jesus was in the room,

we wouldn't even be worthy

to untie his sandals

after he's been walking around in the mall day.

It's really, really quite astounding, isn't it?

If you just think about it for a second.

Like, if I said that,

you'd think I was joking about myself.

And if it appeared that I was serious,

that I really believed it,

or if you came into this church

and found out that other people believed it,

you'd say,

you'd go out and tell people

there's something really sick going on there.

You know,

the idea of saying to another person

that I'm not even worthy to touch you,

it's just,

it grates against us on one hand,

and the other hand,

it also creates maybe within some of us

a little bit of longing or yearning,

because it opens to us a picture

of a depth of goodness,

or a depth of greatness,

or a depth of otherness,

or a depth of purity,

or a depth of worth,

or a depth of holiness,

or a depth of something

that in our egalitarian age,

we have a hard time maybe even understanding

what on earth it's a depth of,

but it implies to us

that there's a depth of something

which is good,

that this is not

like some kooky movie star,

or some kooky rock star,

who has a kooky clauses

in their contract,

that the room has to be painted white,

or that nobody can look at them,

or nobody can touch them,

or nobody can refer to them by name,

and we just hear stories about that in the press,

and we just think to ourselves,

this person is ego-driven,

and they are completely and utterly crazy,

and it would be terrible to be in that situation,

and the thing which is put before us is this,

is Jesus one who is demanding these things

because he is just as crazy and kooky

as the most arrogant and kooky movie star,

or rock star,

or is he in fact,

is John the Baptist saying

that there is something about Jesus

that is the complete polar opposite of this,

which speaks of a depth of goodness,

greatness,

holiness,

purity,

reverence,

otherness,

and we don't have the category,

so that to see Jesus,

he is the one

whose sandals

I am not even worthy to untie.

The question then comes,

if this is true of Jesus,

how would someone like Jesus think?

What would he be like to be around?

What would he think of ordinary people?

Is he arrogant?

Is he full of himself?

That's one of the reasons

we're to read the Gospels,

to see if this is what Jesus is like.

Let's just read and continue on

as we get to see more of what

John the Baptist says about Jesus

after what he said in verse 27.

Continue at verse 29.

The next day,

John the Baptist saw Jesus

coming toward him and said,

Behold,

the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

Jesus is the one

who narrates God.

Jesus is the one

whose sandals

we are not even worthy to untie.

And Jesus is the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

You know,

if you go down to chapters

on Rideau Street

and you go to the New Age section

or the spirituality section

or the religion section

or any of those

appropriately titled sections,

and if you were to start

to read the books,

almost all of those books,

which are very,

very popular,

will all tell you

of your innate goodness,

my innate goodness.

In fact,

might even talk about

your innate divinity

or my innate divinity

or my innate connectedness

to divinity

or to goodness.

And if you watch

the advertising

on the television,

the heart of a lot

of modern advertising

is to say,

George,

you are worth it.

You are worth driving a BMW.

You are worth having this watch.

You deserve to have

these sunglasses

or these products.

And the more expensive it is,

the more money it costs,

the more I am worth it

or I deserve

to have these

very, very fine things.

And if there's one thing

that we can always count on,

whether it's

Saturday Night Live

or any television show

that will get a laugh

is when comedians

talk about us being sinners

and they can put on

a fancy voice,

they can put on

a high voice,

they can put on

a mocking voice.

And the idea

that we are sinners,

that we have to be washed

from our sins,

will always be something

which just sounds

so inherently

hick-like

and backwards

and foolish

that it will always

get a laugh.

And Jesus is the one

described

as the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

Later on,

if you want,

you can read Mark 2,

Mark 2:17

verse 17.

And one of the things

which is really interesting

about Mark's Gospel

is that Mark's Gospel,

part of how it works

is that there are

three times in Mark's Gospel

where Jesus is asked,

he tells people

why he's come.

Like,

what is the purpose

of his coming?

And the first time

is towards the end

of chapter 1

where he says,

I have come to preach.

The second,

the third purpose statement

is he says,

I have come to be

a ransom for many.

Not to serve,

but to serve,

not to be served,

but to serve

and to make my life

a ransom for many.

That's his third

purpose statement.

And the in-between

purpose statement

which is in Mark

Mark 2:17

chapter 2,

verse 17,

he says,

I have come

not to call

the righteous

but sinners.

I have come

not to call

the righteous

but sinners.

Jesus came

to call

sinners

to himself.

That's because

he is the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

As we run

towards books

which emphasize

our goodness

or our inherent

divinity

or how we deserve

the most expensive

consumer products

that are beyond

what we can afford

but we're willing

to find somebody

who will give us

the credit

so we can buy them.

To run towards

a perception

of our own

inherent goodness

or divinity

is to run away

from the call

of Jesus

because we are

running towards

understanding ourselves

as righteous

and Jesus

did not come

to call the righteous

he came to call

sinners.

Jesus is not arrogant.

He is the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

He came

not to be served

but to serve.

He came to die.

He didn't come

just to reveal

or to teach

he came to die.

He came

to take away

sin.

He came

to bear

in his body

and in his person

your sin

and your rebellion

and mine.

He came

to be the sacrifice.

He dies

so that you

and I

by coming

to the one

who takes away

your sin

and mine

he dies

so that we

can be connected

to God

not by

our own

arrogance

or our own

accomplishment

or our own

technology

or techniques

but born

by adoption

and grace.

He came

so that

we could be

reconciled

to God

and connect

to God

when we could

not reconcile

ourselves to God

by our own power

or connect

to God

by our own power

but are dependent

upon God himself

to send

the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

Jesus came

so that you

and I

might become gods.

The very same

one

who narrates

God

the very same

one

who sandals

I am not

worthy to untie

is love

himself.

He loves us

and died

for us.

Continue reading

very briefly

from verse

29.

The next day

John saw Jesus

coming toward him

and said

Behold the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin of the world

this is he

of whom I said

after me

comes a man

who is preferred

before me

it's really saying

who existed

even before me

for he was

before me

I did not

know him

but that he

should be revealed

to Israel

therefore I came

baptizing with water

in other words

he's baptizing

with water

so that Jesus

will be revealed

to Israel

and John the Baptist

bore witness

of Jesus saying

I saw the Holy Spirit

descending from heaven

like a dove

and he remained

upon him

I did not

know him

but he sent me

he who sent me

to baptize

with water

said to me

upon you

whom you see

the spirit

descending

and remaining

on him

this is he

who baptizes

with the Holy Spirit

Jesus is the one

who baptizes

with the Holy Spirit

in the ancient world

baptism was a sign

baptism by water

immersion in water

was a sign

of change

a sign

of change

of ownership

a sign

of change

of direction

a sign

of change

of belonging

and Jesus

is described

as the one

who can

immerse

our bodies

and souls

not just

in the sign

you know

like the water

being a sign

and we can be

immersed in water

our bodies

but Jesus

is the one

who can immerse

our bodies

and souls

in the Holy Spirit

he is the only

one

who can send

the Holy Spirit

upon us

or offer

the Holy Spirit

in such a way

that we can be

immersed

body and soul

in the Holy Spirit

Jesus' baptism

creates

a true change

in ownership

Jesus' baptism

by the Holy Spirit

creates a true

change

in direction

it's a change

in our soul

it creates

a change

in our souls

in earth

and in heaven

a change

in our souls

in past

in present

and in future

Jesus is the one

who has this ability

to baptize us

in the Holy Spirit

to send the Holy Spirit

of God

upon us

and within us

in such a way

who is Jesus?

who is Jesus?

Jesus is the narrator

of God

Jesus is the one

whose sandals

we are unworthy

to untie

Jesus is the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin of the world

Jesus is the one

who baptizes

those who come

to him

in the Holy Spirit

let's talk with him

now in prayer

let us pray

Jesus

we thank

and praise you

that you willingly

set aside

your glory

and your splendor

and your divine

prerogatives

to set all of

these things aside

to become flesh

and walk among us

we thank you

for your teaching

and your sinless life

and all of your

good examples

but most of all

we thank and praise you

that you are the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin of the world

who can take away

our sin

and reconcile us

to God

we thank and praise you

that you are the one

Jesus

who can pour out

the Holy Spirit

upon us

body and soul

and past and present

and future

the length and depth

and height and width

of our lives

so that we can be changed

and belong to you

and be connected

to God the Father

loving Jesus

we acknowledge

that only you

narrate God truly

and loving Jesus

we acknowledge

that this mystery

about you

that you are

so full of love

and so full of humility

and willing to serve

and yet we are not

even worthy

to unloose

the thongs

of your sandals

Jesus

we ask that your Holy Spirit

would fall afresh

upon us

and lead us

ever closer

to yourself

and Jesus

through you

lead us ever closer

to the Father

in Jesus' name

we pray

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen