I regularly hear this phrase in my head and heart: Somebody has to tell them. Someone must speak this truth into their situation, and there are a lot of occasions when I wish it were not me.
Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. The Law shows our sin and the Gospel shows our Savior. Law and Gospel are such tight and tidy categories. They are absolutely biblical and so incredibly helpful. They keep everything neat and in its place.
Then a real person walks into my office, and I am confronted by the reality of what C.F.W. Walther says in his third thesis on Law and Gospel:
“Rightly distinguishing the Law and the Gospel is the most difficult and highest art of Christians in general and of theologians in particular. It is taught only by the Holy Spirit in the school of experience.”
I do not know if it is the Holy Ghost, or the ghosts of seminary professor’s past, or memories of my ordination vows, or something else entirely, but whatever the source, I regularly hear this phrase in my head and heart: Somebody has to tell them. Someone must speak this truth into their situation, and there are a lot of occasions when I wish it were not me. I suspect there have been times when you wish it were not you as well.
“The Word of God came to John” (Luke 3:2). John was sent. So, John went. John went with and on behalf of the Word of God. John’s call was to point people to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But John also pointed out people’s pride and hypocrisy. God’s Word came to John and God’s Word went out through John, and God’s Word is both Law and Gospel.
Luke 3:7 stopped me in my tracks today. “He said, therefore, to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’”
Homiletically, you might imagine and craft an image of a face in the crowd when they hear this. Or you might enact a character/monologue from John’s perspective when he sees the people coming out to him. Show your congregation the wrestling going on in John’s heart. As a pastor, I find this to be a gut-wrenching scene.
On the one hand, the people are coming out to be baptized! They are showing up, perhaps led by the Spirit of God Himself, to receive “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3). This is amazing! It is working. The Spirit is moving, and people are returning to the Lord.
On the other hand, perhaps the people need something more than or prior to just this washing. They need a word from the Lord, an uncomfortable word, a condemning word, a killing word.
You can imagine John hearing that nagging voice:
“Somebody has to tell them.”
“No, Lord, they are here. This is good. They want to be baptized. That was the goal all along. Let us just wash them and send them on. Afterall Lord, the Gospel should predominate.”
“Somebody has to tell them.”
“Sure Lord, but first things first. Let us get them baptized. Let us take care of the washing for the forgiveness of sins, and then we will come back to some of the more delicate and difficult conversations later, if they are still around.”
“John, somebody has to tell them.”
Like I said, Luke 3:7 stopped me in my tracks today. I have an appointment later this afternoon. It is similar to an appointment I have had a dozen times in the past few years. Perhaps you have had this appointment before.
A former congregant had a child. A long-lost daughter of the congregation had a daughter of her own. Someone you have never met before had a baby, and they want to schedule the baptism.
On the one hand, this is the best thing in the world! They are turning to Jesus and His promised means of grace! The Word of God makes incredible promises about God’s saving work through the washing of regeneration. This is an occasion for pure Gospel.
The Word of God makes incredible promises about God’s saving work through the washing of regeneration. This is an occasion for pure Gospel.
But on the other hand, this person might need something more than or prior to just this washing. They might need a word from the Lord. They might need that accusing and killing word of Law.
Has the Law already done its work in their heart? Was it a courageous act on their part, achieved through the battlefield of inner conflict and repentance, just to reach out and schedule this appointment? Are they a bruised reed and a faintly smoldering wick, in which case my job is to be like the prodigal father and run out, embrace them, and schedule the party?
Or are they just here because grandma wants them to be here? Are they ticking the box? Do they want their kid baptized here because they were baptized here, and their parents were baptized here, and their name is on the books as official members of this congregation, and this is their right? Do they have any intention whatsoever of bearing fruit in keeping with repentance and faith? Do they need correction and instruction, warning and rebuke?
“Somebody has to tell them.”
“Tell them what? Tell them to repent? Tell them their sins are forgiven? Tell them Jesus forgives, saves, and loves? Tell them it is not too late, but Jesus is returning soon and today is the day to repent?”
“Yes, all of it.”
“But I cannot say all of it at once!”
“Pastor, Undershepherd of the Good Shepherd, somebody has to tell them.”
I want a Standard Operating Procedures manual. I want a preprogrammed decision tree, so people can fill out an online form before coming to my office and it will assess their spiritual situation, run it through the algorithm, and then print out a slip of paper with the right answer for what I should say next.
But that is not how it works.
“Rightly distinguishing the Law and the Gospel is the most difficult and highest art of Christians in general and of theologians in particular. It is taught only by the Holy Spirit in the school of experience.”
The phrase “most difficult and highest art” is too true.
I do not judge you for your pastoral choices in these situations. You might baptize such a person at that moment, or next Sunday, no questions asked. Or you might require a series of meetings or completion of a class as a prerequisite. I do not know what the best answer is in your context (or even mine!). But I do know that somebody has to tell them.
We do not do people a favor by hiding God’s holy will and righteous expectations from them, as God has revealed it in the Law. And we certainly do not do people a favor by withholding God’s grace and the promises of His perfect forgiveness in Jesus, as revealed in the Gospel.
The Word of the Lord has come to you, and the Word of the Lord goes forth through you. May His Spirit teach and shape you, and may His love guide you and give you courage and comfort in the speaking of it.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke 3:1–14.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 3:1–14.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Luke 3:1–14.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Walter A. Maier III of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Luke 3:1–14.
