A favorite Christmas time fantasy is the belief in Santa Claus. Countless little children believe that on Christmas Eve this jolly fat man in a red suit and long white whiskers will come to their home and bring them wonderful presents. (Provided they have been good little boys and girls.) And so the song goes, "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows when you are sleeping, he's knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." 

And so parents and grandparents use the myth of Santa Claus to urge their children to behave and warn that if they don't, all they are going to get in their stocking for Christmas is a lump of coal.

The result is that many children will control their behavior temporarily in their preparation for the supposed coming of Santa Claus. To put it into theological terms, they will repent (turn from their misbehavior and replace it with good behavior) and trust that their actions will be rewarded. The promise of gifts is Good News to them.

I hope we realize that the celebration of Christmas is much more meaningful than whether or not Santa comes to town or whether or not we receive gifts this time of the year. Our focus is on how Jesus has come into the world as a baby born in Bethlehem and that he came to give the greatest gift of all (eternal life) to those who haven't been good. We also note that he comes into our hearts to lead us to live lives devoted to God and that he will come again on the Last Day for final judgement.

We know how children prepare for the coming of the mythical Santa Claus. How does John the Baptist, a prophet sent from God, prepare us for the coming of the real Jesus Christ?

John the Baptist's Message Prepares us for the Coming of Jesus.

Context: John the Baptist's ministry took place for six months before Jesus' baptism on the east side of the Jordan River in Palestine. This prophet from God was to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of the Christ. He lived an ascetic life and wore a cloak made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. His activity in the desert was a stark testimony against materialism. His prophetic activity caused quite a stir and many people came out to him. He is known as the Baptist because he would ceremonially wash those who came to him who repented of their sins and looked forward to a new life dedicated to serving God.


But not everyone who came out to him thought that they needed to repent. They were wrong. John calls them a "brood of vipers" and tells them not to smugly sit back and say they didn't need to change because they were "children of Abraham." These self-righteous people thought that they had been good enough and didn't need a Savior from sin. They believed that John's words of law and impending judgment didn't apply to them because they were good enough to stand before God based on the fact that they had watched out and been good for goodness sake.

Application: Are we not sometimes like those Pharisees? Sure we confess our sins in church and say we are poor, miserable sinners, who deserve God's wrath and punishment, but when we cut to the chase we don't really believe that. When the teacher in the classroom tells us not to cheat, we don't think that includes us. When our parents warn us against the misuse of alcohol, not going along with the sinful activities of our peers, or monitoring the videos we watch we don't think that really applies to us. The signs on the highway posting the speed limit or even stop signs are meant for some other guy. You would be amazed how few people bother to stop at the sign right in front of our own church. The tax laws can be fudged a little. Honesty is only the best policy when it doesn't affect the business transaction we are involved in. And when someone dares to confront us and to warn us of changing our attitude or activities, we come up with a host of excuses including the one given here, "We are children of Abraham." Although you may have never said those exact words, you may have had the same rationale. "Children of Abraham" means "We don't need to repent because we are among God's chosen people." In today's thought it would be, "We don't need to change because we've been baptized, confirmed, and come to church as much as we think we need to. " 

But they were wrong and so are we. This past six weeks at church God's Word has been calling on us to make some changes. We have been urged to repent of robbing God in our paltry offerings and to search our Bibles more for the strength to become more like Jesus. The initial overall reaction has been the exact opposite of what God's Word has been calling on us to do. Our offerings have not shown much sign of increase if at all. Not one additional person thought the appeal to come to Bible class applied to them. Instead, there have been stirrings of dissatisfaction with our congregation and a general lack of involvement in what is most important. (Why is it that only two people came to help invite our neighbors to our church during this important season of the church year?)

John the Baptist had a hard ministry. Hard because many of the people that he wanted to prepare for the coming of Jesus just didn't think that they need to make any changes because they were good enough.


The ministry of the church continues to be a challenge today for those who hold to the preaching what God's word has to say. The fact of the matter is that we too are sinners who need to make some personal changes. Yes, God loves the sinner. Yes, Jesus came to redeem us from our sins. Yes, we receive forgiveness by trust in him. But God calls on those who do believe to live as Christians. John emphasizes that here to those who did repent.

10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13 "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely-be content with your pay."

We are to ask the same question that the crowd did. What should we do then? The little child is told repeatedly by his or her parents to be good to get ready for Santa. John tells us what we are to do to be ready for the coming of Jesus.

1. Share. Most of us have more clothes than we can wear, food that we can eat, TVs than we can watch, money that we need to spend. Most of us. But not all of us. You would be amazed to find out just how strapped many people in Dodge County alone are. What can we do? As those who realize that Jesus has enriched us so that we can reach out in love to others and not just say "Keep warm and well fed" we can give. The appeal to bring your clothes, toys, and non perishable food items isn't just in the newsletter to take up space. It is an appeal to your heart to do what John the Baptist himself tells us to do as those who produces fruit in keeping with repentance to show that we are no longer selfish people concerned only with ourselves. Even in school we can share by offering a better seat, a pencil or paper, providing help with school work, etc.

2. Don't cheat. The tax collector has been notorious for overcharging. We are to be honest in our business deals and in our exchanging of good. In general we are to always be honest and not attempt to cheat others or cheat ourselves.


3. Don't accuse others falsely. The soldiers would do this in order to solve a crime just for the sake of solving regardless of whether or not the real criminal was caught. Sad to say. Not everything goes right here in our congregation. No one always lives up to all of our expectations. The same is true in our homes, work, school, or neighborhood. And when things don't go well, we have a tendency to accuse others. Why? Usually it isn't to correct the problem but to tear others down so that we look better or so we think. But John says don't do that. Jesus tells us, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault just between the two of you." When we have a problem, we are to try to solve it on its lowest level so as not to hurl false accusations and to give the one who was guilty the opportunity to repent privately so as to build them up rather than tear them down.

4. Be content with what you have. We don't always get what we want. How often have you seen the child at Christmas who excitedly opened their gift just to cry almost immediately because it wasn't exactly what they wanted? We don't live in a perfect world. Maybe you aren't getting paid what you are worth. Maybe the commodities prices aren't fair. Maybe you don't get to wear the latest designer clothes. Our team doesn't always do as well as we would like. Instead of crying about it or grumbling or complaining against those who give to us, John tells us to be content.

In general he is telling us, prepare for the coming of Jesus by looking at your own life, repenting of sin and changing our attitudes, actions, and ways of thinking to be in line with what God says.

Warning: Those who don't do it may have more stuff and may seem to be sure of themselves, but Jesus will come and he will condemn them for not repenting. He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Gospel: Those who have repented and who trust in Jesus which is demonstrated by their lives will be considered the wheat who will be gathered into barns which means they will be taken to heaven.

Conclusion: Christmas is fast approaching. I don't expect Santa Claus to come to my house this year. He never has and he never will. But I do expect Jesus to come into my heart every time I hear the Good News that he is my Savior and he has forgiven me for all the times I have been less than a good boy. I also expect him to come again on the last day. I won't be leaving any milk and cookies out for Santa and I won't try to be good for him. But I will continue to live in repentance and to produce fruit in keeping with repentance with the help of God.

Jesus comes into your lives as well. Are you getting ready? Are you heeding the warning of John the Baptist and producing changes in your lives? Are you trusting in the Good News that Jesus is coming to bring salvation to those who trust in him and show it by their lives? Amen.