Who Are You?

Text: John 1:19-28

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Who are you?  Yes, who are you?  When you look into the mirror, what is staring back at you? 

This is an extremely easy question to understand, but make no doubt about it that it is an extremely difficult question to answer. 

Philosophers throughout the ages have attempted to answer this by saying that you are a collection of emotions, virtues, flaws, needs, possibilities, and defeats – that you are a collection of personalities.  Now, is this who you are, a mere personality?   

Science has attempted to answer this question by saying that you are a living breathing organism that has mutated throughout millions of years of evolutionary process.  Is this who you are, an evolutionary accident?

Corporate America has attempted to answer this by pointing you to your resume - your whole life listed in bulleted points on an 8.5 x 11 inch cream colored cardstock sheet.  Is this who you are, human capital?

Culture says that you are defined by your sexual orientation, that you are a sexual being who finds the pinnacle of essence in the amount of sexual satisfaction that can be created.  Is this who you are, a sexual experience?

Hollywood tries to answer this by convincing you that you can become a celebrity.  Plastic surgery, hair extensions, fake eyelashes, skinny jeans, a Phillip Lim handbag, and a little bit of acting will allow you to become whatever you want to be.  Is this who you are, a cosmetic creation?

The daily affirmation of Positive thinking tries to answer the question of identity by telling you to say, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”  Is this who you are, a positive affirmation? 

Social media strives to answer the question through cool looking selfie photos, fancy profile pictures, and attractive posts.  Is this who you are, a social media profile?

I ask you again. Who are you? 

As previously stated, this question is easy to understand, but answering it is even more difficult.  It is so difficult to answer that people will in fact spend a lifetime trying to answer this question and will spend a lifetime of money and resources trying to actualize it. 

The reason why it is difficult to answer is because the way that humanity attempts to answer the question of ‘who we are’ will depend upon the criterion that is used.  Furthermore, there are some tricky questions that are raised when we try to figure out who we are: does humanity define itself or is humanity defined?  In other words, do you and I make up our own identity or is our identity placed upon us?  Think about it for a moment: 

Are we just a personality, if so, is that it? 

Are we basically a living organism that has evolved through mutation; if so, then what? 

Are we defined by our resume; if so, are we just human capital listed on a balance sheet? 

Are we nothing more than a one night sexual experience; if so, is this not pathetically shallow? 

Are we a bunch of insecure fake mini-celebrities trying to create glamourous glory; if so, isn’t this superficially fake? 

Are we a defined by the presentation of our social media account; if so, what do we do when we realize that social media isn’t real? 

My friends, just who are you and who am I?  It seems that all of our examples fail to adequately answer this question of who we are.  Thus, I ask you again, who are you?

Our Gospel reading from the Gospel of John answers this question for us.  Indeed, it answers the question of who we are, and it does it succinctly.  That answer is this: you are not the Christ!.  That’s right, who are you?  In the words of John the Baptist, you are ‘not’ the Christ.  This is how John the Baptist describes himself and it is the way that you and I can define ourselves as well.  ‘You and I’ are ‘not’ the Christ.  You and I are not the Savior of the world; You and I are not the Savior of our families; You and I are not the Savior of this church; You and I are not the Savior of our friends; and You and I are not the Savior of ourselves.  You and I are ‘not’ the Christ.  That is who we are.

This seems like an odd way to define ourselves though; it seems like a peculiar way to answer the question of who we are.  However, as you and I confess that we are ‘not’ the Christ, we are indeed saying something about ourselves and more importantly we are also confessing that there ‘is’ a Christ; there is a Savior.  In other words, there ‘is’ one who redeems, saves, defends… and it is not us. 

Considering this, if we are not the Christ, who is the Christ?  The Christ is Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, the promised one to humanity.  He is the one who drank the cup of suffering; He is the one who endured death, wrath, persecution, and the weight of humanity’s sin on the cross.  He is the one that vacated the tomb.  He is the one who defeated sin, death, and the devil.  He is the one who is He seated at the right hand of the Father and will come to judge the living and the dead. 

It is most certainly true that you are not the Christ; Jesus is the Christ.  That is what really matters. 

This is good that the Christ is your Christ, your God in your flesh, because He has been born and anointed to die for you.[1]

With that stated though, if you are not the Christ, who are you then precisely?  Answer: you are a Christian.  “You are a Christian because there is a Christ.  You are baptized.  You wear His name.  You are washed in His blood.  You eat His flesh, hear His Word, pray His prayers, die His death, and live His life.”[2]

Who are you?  One more time.  You are a Christian.  “You are a Christian because there is a Christ.  You are baptized.  You wear His name.  You are washed in His blood.  You eat His flesh, hear His Word, pray His prayers, die His death, and live His life.”[3]

Yes, you are a Christian, which means that God takes the condemnation of your sin off of your shoulders and places it on the shoulders of Christ.  If we were the Christ, sin would rest on us and we would be lost, for sin is too strong and too heavy – we would be ground to nothing, left with no identity, no worth, no future, and no hope; however, since we are not the Christ, we have the blessed assurance that sin is loaded on the Christ, who bears it all for you and for me. 

Who are you?  You are not merely a personality; you are not an evolutionary accident; you are not human capital; you are not a sexual experience; you are not a cosmetic creation; you are not a positive affirmation; you are not a social media profile!  No, you are none of these.  These are the world’s faulty attempts to answer the question of who you are.  You though, are not of the world, but of Christ; you are a Christian – a blood-bought-baptized-Christian – marked with the name: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  You are not the Triune God, but have been given the Triune God’s name.  This “holy name opens heaven’s gates.  It drives away demons.  It banishes guilt, fear, and shame to hell’s deepest pit.  You belong to the royal court of heaven.  You are not the Christ, but you are His.”[4]

This Advent Season we lean forward and peer into the manger.  As we lean forward, we do so with John the Baptist’s confession, saying that we are not the Christ, but that the Christ who was born unto us is our salvation, our victory, our release from captivity, our hope, our future, our eternity, and our identity. 

Without Jesus we are in hopeless darkness; with Jesus coming to humanity, we have an eternal identity and know exactly who we are in this life and the life to come. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen. 

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[1] David H. Pettersen, God With Us: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Sermons (Fort Wayne, IN: Emmanuel Press, 2014), 64.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.