A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
Isaiah 40:3-5 NIVUK
My country is not known for its contributions to the English language. Scotland, with its many impenetrable dialects and its penchant for not pronouncing consonants, is not a place where people with a good understanding of English understand everyone as soon as they arrive. I accept that it can be difficult. When I was at University I met a Greek student who left at the end of her Erasmus term and wept, "I have been here for nine months and I've only understood one person!"
Yet Glaswegian English has made one very interesting contribution to modern English, and it might catch on: the term 'whataboutery'.
'Whataboutery' is a term invented by Glaswegian sports journalists. You see, the city of Glasgow is divided along the lines of its two world famous football teams - Rangers and Celtic. Football is not a sport in Glasgow. It's more of a religion. And its loose affiliation with Protestantism and Catholicism, as well as its proximity to divided Ireland, has led to an intense rivalry between the two clubs for over a hundred years.
'Whataboutery' takes place when the misdeeds of a group of fans of one club are highlighted. But instead of dealing with their misdemeanours and repenting, they point to evidence that their rival fans are doing the same thing and say 'But what about them?'
You might think this is a ridiculously immature and infantile way to react. And you would be right. This is the stuff of a kindergarten playground. Not at all the way adults should behave.
But we do, don't we? As soon as the hot gaze of the Word of God is upon us and convicts us of wrongdoing, our first reaction is to look at other people and say, 'But what about them?'
Jesus has the perfect answer to that. You see, there is 'whataboutery' in the Bible. You can see it clearly in the verses below:
Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’ Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’
John 21:18-22 NIVUK
Do you see it? Jesus is saying to Peter that what will happen to John is none of his business. What is important is that Peter follows Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less.
And the call remains the same for us.
Let me put it another way. Most of us look in the mirror in the morning when we're getting ready - or, at least, I hope we do. But let's say you have a picture stuck to your mirror of someone you admire. Who do you look at while you are combing your hair or shaving or doing your make-up? Do you look at the person you admire, or do you look at yourself?
James, Jesus' brother, says that the Word of God is like a mirror:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.
James 1:22-25 NIVUK
Why am I saying this? Because Isaiah's words have a strong challenge within them - one that can easily be ignored. If we do not act on them and repent, if we deflect, defend ourselves or deny that they are true, or if we look in the mirror of God's Word and see other people, then we will miss the huge blessing these words bring.
You see, we may have seen a strong challenge in these words and John the Baptist's call to repentance, but this is not a call for self-flagellation. No, what made John's teaching so attractive to the masses was that he offered those who knew they were sinners a chance to change. He offered them a way out.
As Luke noted:
(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptised by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptised by John.)
Luke 7:29-30 NIVUK
The difference between them and their religious leaders was not just their lifestyle, habits or demeanour. It was that those who were classified as 'sinners' in their culture knew they needed to repent. John offered them that opportunity, so they took it. The Pharisees and teachers of the law did not recognise their sin, even when Jesus explained it clearly to them, and therefore refused to repent.
And in case there is any doubt, the disciples - and Early Church leaders - preached the very same message when the Holy Spirit came upon them:
Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’
Acts 2:38-39 NIVUK
Notice the fundamental difference between the Gospel preached by John and Jesus, and the distinctly fake 'non-Gospel' preached by many today. The Gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins recognises that we are sinners and accepts us as we are, but does not want us to stay that way because to do so would be harmful, for ourselves, our family and our community.
The 'non-Gospel' preached by many today - both inside and outside the church - is that sin is part of who we are and should be accepted, even celebrated. They label the Gospel of repentance as being intolerant because to accept it we must admit that we are in the wrong - that we are sinners - and must repent.
But that is utter nonsense. If you were being treated by a doctor for cancer, what would you want them to do? Would you want them to throw a party to celebrate your diagnosis? Would you want them to invite you to a parade to declare that you have cancer? Would you want them to argue with everyone why feels sad about it and tell them they are 'cancer-phobic'?
Or would you want them to get rid of the cancer from you?
Sin is a spiritual cancer. It steals our time. It steals our self-respect. It steals our wellbeing and our health. It ruins our relationships. It ruins our families.
The cross is the cure for the cancer of sin. Repentance for the forgiveness of sins is the way in which we receive the cure. It's the way we deal with sin. It's our way out from the desert.
We find these verses in the Psalms:
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
Psalms 95:6-9 NIVUK
You see, Isaiah 40:4 is a verse of hope. It's a verse of hope to a beleaguered generation that were as threatened by their own sin as they were by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. They were as besieged by attitudes and habits they could not break as they were by the violent armies oppressing them.
But it was to get worse for them. They would go four hundred years without hearing the Word of God. The prophecies would fall silent. The prophets would not say a word. Preachers would not provide any guidance or advice from the pulpit.
‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.
Amos 8:11-12 NIVUK
Into that wasteland, into that spiritual desert, came the word of John the Baptist. And what was his message?
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Matthew 3:1-2 NIVUK
But what were they to repent from? Both Matthew and Luke identify John as being the fulfilment of Isaiah 40:1-5 (Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4-6). As this is true, then we can easily conclude that he was telling the people on the valley road, downcast because of their sin and their discomfort with who they were, to repent of their sin and be uplifted by God.
He was telling the people on the mountain road to repent of their idolatry, their pride and self-satisfaction and to be made low.
He was telling the people on the crooked road to stop taking advantage of others and to be made straight.
He was telling the people on the rugged road to repent of their coarse, violent nature and to learn to love their neighbour as themselves.
And he still speaks to us today. He still calls us to repent.
But that call to repentance comes with a unique and very special promise:
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
Isaiah 40:5 NIVUK
So if we repent and allow the Lord to raise us up, lower us down, straighten us out and smooth us within then the glory of the Lord will be revealed in us. Our lives will become an act of worship to Him. Other people will see God in us.
If you call yourself a Christian, do you not want this? Is this not your deepest desire?
We know this verse really well:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Revelation 3:20 NIVUK
So if you hear the Lord knocking at your heart's door today, be done with the 'whataboutery'. Do not deflect, defend or deny. Repent of your sins. Invite Him into your heart and let Him into your life.
And let the glory of God shine through you to a watching world.
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