Text:  Luke 3:1-6                                                                                                  W 2^nd Sunday of Advent

All the Usual Suspects

            In the name of our coming King, dear brothers and sisters in Christ:  You probably recognized today’s Gospel reading as one of those more challenging sections of Scripture that pastors secretly delight in having unsuspecting laypeople read out loud in Bible studies.  Okay, so maybe it’s not a secret; but in case you’ve wondered, I’ll come clean for the record here:  we pastors do enjoy putting someone on the spot and giving them a flashback of their second grade teacher standing over them and saying, “You can do it: sound it out”, while they struggle through lines like “Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis”.  Yes, admittedly it’s a sinful pleasure.  Just the same, it’s sad that such passages are fairly rare in the New Testament – which is one good reason I tend to favor the Old Testament:  there are so many more unpronounceable names of people and places to be found there.

            But looking at such a long list of names in a text, we might be tempted to ask, “What’s with this?  Why has St. Luke gone through the trouble of providing us with all this historical information about who was ruling over what just to pinpoint the year in which St. John the Baptist began his public ministry?  Does it really matter to the story he’s telling that it happened when ‘Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene’?”

            Well, the short answer is:  yes, it matters a great deal.  You see, ours is a religious faith firmly grounded in history.  The unfolding story of our salvation that we hear every Sunday really happened.  The facts of our faith are actual events that happened to real people, at real places, on specific times and dates.  Unfortunately, that’s not the way we usually perceive it.  Often, for many of us as we read a biblical text, we fall into a thought process (or rather, a deception) that imagines the story as having happened “long, long ago in a galaxy far away …”.  The narratives take on a surreal, “out of time”, almost mythical quality.  They become more like Aesop’s fables:  just nice stories that teach a moral lesson; instead of what they are:  the Lord’s working in the world to bring salvation to lost mankind.  St. Luke means to prevent that from happening.  By tying the storyline to real people, places, and dates he firmly anchors it in real world history.

            And with this particular list of names, I think he’s up to something more than that.  I’m reminded of a scene in the classic film Casablanca and something that the detective character played Humphrey Bogart says.  A crime has been committed, and they’re doing the investigation.  Turning to one of his subordinates Bogart commands, “Round up all the usual suspects.”  The line reveals that a key source of information for solving crimes is the list of past offenders.  The fact is that most crimes are committed by repeat offenders.  And for the most part, they tend to commit the same kinds of crimes with more or less the same methods.  That’s because … well … let’s just say that the kind of folks who commit most street crimes are not the most creative, bright, and imaginative members of society.  Police know this and use it to their advantage.  So, for example, if there’s a purse snatching in a certain neighborhood, police already know who are the vast majority of purse-snatchers that work that neighborhood.  So they’ll arrange a photo lineup for the victim using pictures of those guys first. Chances are that they’ll identify the culprit.  And if the police don’t get a positive I.D., they’ll go on to use the photos of purse-snatchers that work nearby areas, and maybe they’ll add other petty criminals and ne’er-do-wells from the same area who have perhaps graduated from lesser crimes. Usually it works.  Even when the victim can’t identify a culprit, like if it was too dark or the attacker’s face was covered, police can proceed by going out and questioning the “usual suspects” to see if their alibis check out. And again, the point is:  we already know who most of the bad guys are – it’s just a question of linking them to their particular crimes.

            That’s kind of what we have with this list of names that we get at the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry.  St. Luke is introducing us to some folks we’re going to hear about again.  Specifically, we’re going to hear about them toward the end of Jesus’ ministry.  Just running down the list, we’ve got Tiberius Caesar.  As far as the story is concerned, he’s the ruler of the pretty much the whole ancient world.  His legions hold the nations in subjection.  From a Jewish perspective, his name is synonymous with oppression.  This is the same guy who, during Passion Week, Jesus will be asked if it’s lawful to pay taxes to.  Holding up a coin with Tiberius’ image, Jesus will say, “Give to Caesar what belongs to him; and give to God what is owed to him.”  Ironically, the much hated Tiberius is also the guy the Jews will be speaking of when they reject Jesus and say, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Next on the list is Pontius Pilate.  I don’t need to introduce him.  He’s the governor of Judea who will (albeit reluctantly) condemn Jesus to be crucified – as we say in the Creed.  The Herod next mentioned in the text is Herod Antipas.  We’ll hear about him several times in the story that follows. He’s the one who will run off with his brother Philip’s wife (and that’s the same Philip in charge of Iturea and Traconitis).  It’s speaking against Herod’s illicit relationship and adultery that gets John the Baptist thrown into prison – by Herod, of course; and it’s Herod’s wife/sister-in-law (take your pick) that will push for and finally get the Baptist silenced permanently – making Herod also guilty of murder – but hey, some people are just really sensitive and don’t like having their sins pointed out. Oh, they don’t mind doing them publicly; they just don’t want anyone publicly criticizing them on account of it.  Anyway, this same Herod will also appear at the trial of Jesus when Pontius Pilate tries to pass him the buck – but old “Teflon” Herod (“sins don’t stick to me”) won’t let that happen.

Next on the list we’ve got the two Jewish high priests:  Annas and Caiaphas.  Both of them were directly involved in the plot to kill Jesus; and the night Jesus was arrested, he stood trial before each of them in turn.  It was Caiaphas that said of Jesus, “It’s better that one man die for the nation”, and he was the one who handed him over to Pilate to be crucified.  So, of this whole list of names that appears in the text, only Lysanius of Abilene is not mentioned again.  All the others will be directly or indirectly involved with the death of our Lord.  So what St. Luke has given us here at the very beginning of John’s ministry, just as we hear him calling us to repent of our sins and prepare for the Lord’s coming, is the lineup of all the usual suspects whose hands will join in the crime of killing him after he does come.

            Which got me to thinking …  here are we, all of us, at this very real time and place, once again turning our attention to the beginning of St. John the Baptist’s ministry.  This morning we hear his voice calling to us across the centuries to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s coming.  But who is it he’s really addressing?  Who are we, gathered here today, if not “all the usual suspects” of a vast number of sins committed against the Lord and against each other this past week?  And no matter how creative, bright, and imaginative we might be, let’s face it, we’re here to seek assurance of the Lord’s forgiveness for what are by and large the exact same charges we were guilty of the week before.  As sinners, we just aren’t very original.  Oh, sure, I expect you can think of some ways you “moved up” to other sins more sinister, and perhaps committed a few others of a “less grievous” nature; but for the most part, despite all this Advent talk of preparing for the Lord’s coming, can you honestly say you’re any better prepared this week than you were last?  Or are you here as a repeat offender, pretty much stuck in a rut, and really (let’s be honest) not motivated in any way to get out of it?  If so, and I think I’m talking to everyone here, I’d ask you to take a good, hard look within.  Don’t be your own judge:  ask what would the Baptist say to you personally this morning?  What would he point out (like he did for Herod) in your life as the specific areas that really need to be cleaned out for you to properly receive your King and live as one of his loyal subjects?  You know, John didn’t mince any words or sugar coat things.  What valleys of secret shame would he say need filling?  What mountains of pride and self-righteousness would he point to that need to be chopped down?  What crooked ways need to be straightened?  What would John say to you?  Listen to what he says – and don’t attempt to silence him or let his accusations slide off you – you’re not made of Teflon.

Good, I hope you have a couple things in mind.  Keep them ready up here; but now let me shift gears for a moment. Some of you may have heard of a new motion picture that’s going to be released this spring called The Passion. As a matter of fact it’s supposed to open on Ash Wednesday.  The film is all about the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and it’s highly controversial because those who are making it are trying to be one hundred percent true to the way the Gospel writers told the story.  They aren’t taking the normal Hollywood liberties with the facts, nor are they making any effort to be politically correct. And if that were not enough to offend some people, it’s also going to be brutally graphic and accurate in portraying the things the Lord Jesus suffered to include all the horrors of death by crucifixion.  I’ve heard the testimony of some Christian leaders who have previewed rough-cuts of it, and they all say that it just took their breath away.  After the showings, no one moves.  They just sit there in the dark for several minutes in shock and silence, sniffling and wiping away their tears.  Anyway, the main mover and shaker behind this unusual film, as well as its primary source of funding, is, believe it or not, actor Mel Gibson.  Yes, that’s the same Mel Gibson of Road Warrior, Lethal Weapon, and Braveheart fame.  It turns out that he is a very conservative and devout Roman Catholic Christian, and he says that he’s grateful to God for all the success he’s had because it’s made it possible for him to do this project – the only one he’s always wanted to do.  It has long been his dream to use the medium of film to bear witness to his Savior in a very powerful way.

Now, Gibson does not appear in the film – or at least his name won’t appear in the credits as one of the actors.  But there is one scene, the one in which Jesus is being nailed to the cross …at that point there’s a close up of Jesus’ hand there against the wood. And a Roman soldier’s hands are there too:  one holding a nail, and the other driving it in with a hammer.  Those hands of the Roman soldier belong to Gibson.  That was the one role he wanted to do himself. The actor explains, “I am a sinner.  I nailed Jesus to that cross with my sins just as much as the Romans or Jews who were there.” 

That’s not the kind of statement you might have expected coming from one of the Hollywood elite, but it’s right on target.  He understands – and today I would have you understand too.  We, all the usual suspects gathered here at the beginning, will (if the Lord allows it) also be here in about four months time when we will be revisiting the Lord’s passion and death for our sin.   We have been identified and named in advance, and by our words and actions past, present, and future, we will all have a hand in putting the Lord to death.  Each and every sin we commit is a rejection of Jesus as our King.  With every thoughtless word or expression of misspent anger we lift up our own voice in the crowd that shouted, “Crucify him!” Each selfish, negligent, or unloving act is another blow on the hammer that drives a nail into his holy flesh. Today, to properly prepare for his coming, I would ask you to see your sin in that true and proper light.  Take that sin or sins you thought of before – the ones you know the Baptist would have pointed out and see what they are: not just meaningless abstractions or insignificant, petty crimes; but real damnable sins with frightful and deadly consequences.  See that guilt of yours that you don’t take too terribly seriously doing what it really does:  see it putting Jesus on the cross.

Do that, and you are well on your way to preparing yourself for the Lord’s coming, because such a perspective will, by the power of God’s Spirit, bring about true sorrow for sin and heartfelt repentance.  That’s where John calls you to be – not to leave you in wretched despair; but precisely so that the Lord’s coming will bring you the comfort and healing God intends.  You see, John’s timeless call does more than ask you to see your sin and repent of it; it calls you also to the “Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” For those of us gathered here that too is a real historical event – something that happened in your life at a certain time and place; but unlike other merely historical events, Baptism has a past, present, and eternal significance and reality for you.  It anchors you in salvation history.  Just as through your sins you join with all the usual suspects in putting the Lord Jesus on the cross, through your Baptism you are joined with the Lord Jesus in his suffering and dying on the cross. Baptism puts you in Christ.  In Baptism, you were put in him so that when he died for sin, you and your sin died with him – and that means that when he was raised, you were also raised with him; raised with him to live a new and holy life that reflects his life in you.

And it keeps on going in the present.  Just as every time you sin your hand is driving a two thousand year old nail into the flesh of Jesus, every time you repent of your sins you return to your Baptismal death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.  You are washed clean, forgiven, and reborn anew.  And you are given the spiritual strength and determination to better resist falling into the same old destructive actions and behaviors.  Now, it’s true that this side of the grave we will never be entirely free of sin; but at the same time, we don’t have to be habitually repeating offenders.  Through his gifts of grace God gives us what we need to make real progress toward living more and more like his sons and daughters.

And that, my friends, is how we should be preparing for the Lord’s coming, both now as Christmas draws near, and while we wait for his final coming on the last day.  Your Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin that once united you to Christ Jesus, and keeps you there in him now, by your frequent return will also keep you growing in him through repentance and his forgiveness until he returns.  At that time in history – real history – he will gather you and all the former usual suspects, and crown us all with his eternal righteousness and perfection.  So may he keep us always preparing ourselves in this way, that we may be ready when he comes.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!