Lookalikes – they come in various styles and purposes.
One style is the doppelgänger. This word (coming from the German for double-goer) refers to two people who look similar. For doppelgängers, there is no purpose for their similar look, they just share a common appearance. Perhaps someone has said that you are a doppelgänger for ______________. “You look exactly like a young Brad Pitt,” said no one to me ever. If I have a doppelgänger out there, I’m still looking for him!
A second style of lookalike is the impersonator. Impersonators are trying to look like someone else for the purpose of entertainment. Maybe it is an Elvis impersonator gearing up for a show, or perhaps it is a friend who dressed up like a celebrity for costume party.
A third style of lookalike is the counterfeit. Counterfeits try to appear like something else for the purpose of exploitation. Someone counterfeits dollar bills in order to steal goods and services, while another steals (or counterfeits) an identity to pretend to be someone else in order to take advantage of others.
I share these styles of lookalikes because in Luke 3:15-20 we see the crowds that had gone out to see and hear John the Baptist wondering if John was the Messiah. There were aspects of his appearance and location that made people think of Elijah. But there were also aspects of John’s life that made them think that maybe John was the promised Savior of the world!
John was not trying to pretend to be anyone to take advantage of them. And John was not filling a part in a cosmic play, dressing and acting a certain way to impersonate the Savior. No, John simply had some remarkable things about his life that were anticipated doppelgängers of the Promised One.
When John heard their questions about his identity, how did he respond? And what is the central lesson for you and I to learn from all of this?
At Wildwood Community Church, on Sunday, January 25 in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 services, we will be in part 4 of our “Prepare the Way” sermon series exploring the first 30 years of Jesus life (as recorded in Luke 2-4). This Sunday, we see John pointing us to Jesus. Join us Sunday when we explore how and why John would say that not only was he (John) NOT the Savior, but that he (John) was not even worthy to untie the sandal of the true Messiah.
In last week’s message we saw that in light of our sin, we prepare for Jesus by repenting (turning) from our ways to God. In this week’s message, we will see who greets us as we make that turn. See you Sunday … and bring friends!
P.S. As you know there is a high likelihood of snow and ice in central Oklahoma this weekend. We intend to have in person services on Sunday, but if any changes are necessary, we will communicate electronically our plans, including where to access the livestream of this week’s service.