Testifying to the Truth

John 1:6-8, 19-28

December 14, 2008

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.

In all the years of my life, I have not had to serve as a witness to a crime or accident. For that, I am fortunate and blessed thus far. So when I watch on occasions on TV every weeknight, Judge Judy, I am amazed over the challenge that she has to find out what really happened between the defendant and the plaintiff. Judge Judy looks sternly into the people’s eyes and yells at them. She asks for documents that people brought to prove their points. She’s not afraid to tell them that they are lying and in no way does she believe them. She often scolds them in public not only in front of the people in the courtroom but in front of all of us, millions of viewers across the country.

And all of this happens after the bailiff has said to the defendant and plaintiff, “Raise your hand. Do you solemnly swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God.”

John the Baptist

If you were at church last Sunday, you heard from Pastor Lauren a message about John the Baptist. Now 7 more days closer to Christmas, you again come back to church and again, you are hearing about John the Baptist. John the Baptist is certainly not what you expect to see and hear at Christmas, and yet the church introduces us to him every year. We are preparing for Christmas, but you can’t get to the Christ until you first meet John, until you hear his witness.

Just like the way Judge Judy pieces together the people’s testimonies to discover the truth, the passage that we read this morning was piece together to make a point for us. Notice that the selection from John’s gospel has been cut and pasted together creating a somewhat awkward lesson. Verses 6-8 plucked right out of the cosmic Johannine poetry and plopped down next to verses 19-28. Verse 6-8 use the poetic, cosmic language of light and true light. But then, in verses 19-28, we are immediately brought back down to earth and into the “real” world as we watch and listen in on a conversation between John the Baptist and others.

If we were to take the three Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke and graph God’s saving activity, we would get mainly a horizontal view. Yet, if we were to graph John’s Gospel, we would have to use vertical lines. John’s Gospel is framed by the descent and ascent of the cosmic savior. Listen: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (vs. 5) immediately into “There was a man” (vs. 6). The writer of John’s Gospel wants us to see the movement of God, a movement from transcendence as the Word to immanence as the Word becoming flesh.

The testimony of John the Baptist is the first to witness this shift taking place. Unlike the other three gospels, the gospel of John is completely unconcerned with John the Baptist’s peculiar manner of dress, his unappetizing diet, and his fearful message of immanent judgment from God. Rather, John the Baptist serves only as a “witness” to the light coming into the world. His job was to testify to the truth that is coming.

John bears witness to a great light that has dawned into a darkened world. John isn’t the light. He is the one who points to, testifies on behalf of, the light. The light needs a witness.

Telling the Truth

In front of Judge Judy, it’s awfully hard to believe who’s telling the truth. She has in front of her two people—the defendant and the plaintiff. He has his version of the story; she has her version of the story. How can Judge Judy tell who is telling the truth? The judge rarely just sits there and takes what these people say at face value. There are cross-examinations, questions, and challenges to the testimony. And finally, in Judge Judy’s courtroom, she asks if there are any witnesses.

Witnesses are needed to corroborate given testimonies. Witnesses are needed if Judge Judy is going to get to the truth and reach a verdict. Testimonies shine light on things so that what was once hidden in darkness is now brought out in the light for all to see and witness.

In our passage, John the Baptist was cross-examined by the religious leaders from Jerusalem. They asked him, “Who are you?” twice. Each time John is asked he gives witness. He never tells them exactly who he is. He never says, “I am John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah.” Instead, the first time they ask him he simply responds who he is not. He is not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet. The second time they ask him he defines himself by quoting Isaiah and indicating that he is simply “the voice crying out in the wilderness” preparing for the one who was to come. He never gives them a direct answer as to who he is. Now Judge Judy would have a field day with John the Baptist!

Why does John seem so illusive and not telling the truth? Was he just trying to evade the hard questioning to avoid being accused of a troublemaker? I don’t think so. I think he is so focused on the one he proclaims that his entire identity has become a “witness” and “preparer of the way.” The truth of the matter is that John the Baptist is the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” He is the one calling people to “make straight the way of the Lord.” He has no other identity than this. He was testifying to the truth.

Professing the Truth

Last Sunday afternoon at the church Membership Meeting, we held court in our sanctuary. Over six weeks of Inquirers classes, the pastors prepared the witnesses for their testimonies. They were cross-examined by the Deacons and they rested their case. Finally, the four witnesses gave their closing remarks right here from this pulpit. They were placed on the stand because they have seen something, and they were willing to stand up and tell the truth about it, as we say, “the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” They told us about how they were transformed on Commitment Night at Youth Camp, how they grew up at this church with caring and faithful teachers and leaders, how they have come to know the love of Christ in the fellowship of saints at FCBC.

And when Pastor Chris asked each of them, “Do you before God and this congregation affirm through this act of baptism your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you promise to follow Christ in word and deed throughout your life?” and they all said, “I do.” they testified to the truth.

There’s no doubt that we are happy and pleased to witness these four young people professing their belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Our church is completely committed to teaching and nurturing young people and adults to believe in Jesus. And you who are teachers and youth advisors and especially the parents of these young people should also be delighted and happy for what happened today.

But in the end, the focus is not on these four young people. The focus is not on anyone of us. When these four entered the waters of baptism, they served as witnesses to Jesus Christ! Each of them was saying that for me, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” They are saying like John the Baptist said, “I am not the light, but I came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” They testified to the truth.

Just as the Word of God becoming flesh in Bethlehem is no private matter, these four Christian witnesses became public in their belief in God. The light coming into the darkness changes things, brings things to light, and sets a new world in motion. But the light needs someone to point to the light, someone with the courage to stand up and to say, “There it is!” or “Look, over here, do you see what I see?” Whenever we have a baptism, the new believer stands up and testifies to the truth, casts light onto the light, Jesus Christ the Lord!

Losing Our Voices

At this point in my life, I have not had to be an eyewitness for a crime or an accident. But this does not mean that I have stopped being a witness for Christ. For some churches, they are shocked in learning that we require each person for Baptism and church membership to give a public testimony of their faith and then have them excused from the room so that the membership can vote to accept them into full membership. While I sympathize about the intimidation of standing up in front of the congregation to testify to the truth of Jesus Christ expressed by some of you, I also completely affirm the importance of testifying publicly of the truth in the true light.

Some of us might have gotten so used to doing our discipleship. We may have become too accustomed to being Christ’s hands and feet in the world. Somewhere along the way, we lost our voice as to why we are doing what we do and being who we are. We have lost the ability to testify.

Now it is one thing to bear false witness; then the court cannot get to the truth. But when we know the truth and for whatever reason cannot seem to find the voice to testify to that truth publicly, we end up not helping to shed light on the problem. The whole point of a witness is to tell the truth. What the witness believes to be true is a part of the evidence.

When the witness is forced, by the truth, to deliver an unpopular truth, then the witness may suffer, as the result of the testimony by the witness. Did you know that the New Testament word for witness is “martyr?” Are you ready to tell the truth about Jesus Christ, to become his witness and say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior” and possibly becoming a martyr? And if that witness leads you to becoming a martyr for Jesus Christ, would you be able to do that? These four young people have said that they have the voices to tell the truth.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who returned to Nazi Germany to testify to the truth in Jesus Christ and later experienced the cost of his life for discipleship said, “Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these, when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action.”

Testifying Today

Down through the dim, dark, distant ages, the world awaited God. We tried to do for ourselves, but we couldn’t. We failed at all our attempts to save ourselves by ourselves. Then, on a night in Bethlehem, a star shined, a light broke into darkness, there was a song, and now there is a witness. “Look at him!” John says, “That’s the light we have been awaiting, that’s the Lamb of God who will take away all our sin, that’s the very presence of God among us, with us, beside us, and for us.”

Will you stand up and tell the world that story? Will you, wherever you’re living, testify in all you say and all you do, to the light that has dawned? The Christ Child who is born among us is not just a gift; he is an assignment for us to whom we testify. He is the Light of Lights, but he needs a witness, somebody whose whole life says to the world, “Look, do you see what I’ve seen.”

At this time of the year, we sometimes have this sentimental thought, “If we can keep Christmas for one day of the year, why not keep it in your heart every day of the year?”

But we are witnesses. We are not supposed to “keep Christmas” in our hearts. We are supposed to give it away, to tell what’s happened, how the world has changed now that God is with us.

Now let’s stand, as if we’re standing before the court of the world, raise your right hand, swearing the whole truth, or at least as much as you’ve been given. Will you, with John the Baptist, with Russell Chin, John Lam, Odelia To, and Cindy Yue, be a witness and testify to the truth that Jesus Christ is Light of the world?

Congregation: We do.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, we gather to celebrate your light coming into our darkness as Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Lamb, Jesus the Eternal Word. We give thanks that you have not left us alone, not left us silent and without light. You have come to us, spoken to us, revealed yourself to us, and become our salvation. For your advent, we give thanks and testify to the truth in Jesus Christ.