THE WHOLE COUNTRYSIDE: John had a lot of “known” yet he was not controlled by it.
- Mark 1:5.
- Because the passages about John the Baptist are fairly familiar, it’s easy to run past the details. One essential detail for our discussion this morning is in Mark 1:5 – the whole countryside and the whole city were coming out to see John the Baptist. Now this obviously means a lot of people. Further, it’s not like they were just walking across the street – Mark 1:4 tells us that John was out in the desert, so they had to travel a significant distance to see and hear him.
- For our purposes this morning, this detail is crucial: John was the guy getting all the attention. He had a lot of “known.”
- By “known,” I mean that desire to be known by a lot of people, to be looked up to by a lot of people, to have more FB friends than everyone around you, to have more people following you on Twitter, to be the best salesman at work, to be the one everyone wants to talk to, to be popular.
- And John had it in spades. He was the hottest name in the whole country.
- Today, many of us have a “known” disease. We want to be “known” by many. We want to get our approval bucket filled up. There is a little Lady Gaga in us that “live[s] for the applause.”
- We have an enormous appetite for “known.” And that appetite seems to be constantly getting bigger.
THE PROOF: John lost followers and was ok with that.
- John 1:19-22; John 1:37; John 3:26.
- Look with me at John 1:37.
- Jesus had already been there the day before, but Jesus comes by again and John says, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (v. 36). And two of his disciples followed Jesus (v. 37).
- Don’t miss out on what that means: when they followed Jesus, they also unfollowed John. John lost some of his guys.
- And yet John was not freaked out by that. He didn’t run after them and say, “Wait, stay with me!” He let them walk away.
- We see further evidence of this in John 3:26.
- Some of his followers come to him and say, “That man” (yes, they called Jesus “that man”) “is baptizing and everyone is going to him.”
- The disciples of John were no doubt loving the crowds that John was drawing. John was the hottest ticket in town. And then, the crowds started shrinking – a lot. It was a big enough drop-off for John’s disciples to worried complain, “Everyone is going to him.”
- What are they getting at? “John, we’ve got to do something to get the crowds back!” “John, we’ve got to make some changes so you’re the one everyone comes to see!” “John, maybe if we move out of this desert in closer to the city we can get some of the people back!” “John, do we even know if we can trust that guy?” They’re implying that John needs to take action to keep his “known.”
- The statement John makes in response is maybe the most important thing we’re going to talk about this morning. It’s just such a powerful statement and it’s our next point.
- Also, on a slightly different point that is akin to this: John also declined people’s invitations to make himself more than he was.
- In John 1:19-22, religious leaders come to him and ask who he was. That is, is he the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?
- They’re opening the door for John to walk right through. “Yes, I am the main man.” “Yes, I am your leader.”
- There is an enormous temptation when people want to give you more credit than you deserve to take it and run.
- After all, we want to have as much “known” as possible and they’re offering us more status, right?
- But John quickly and clearly sets them straight: he is not the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet. He is merely the forerunner, the one who points to someone greater coming down the road.
- Declining a chance to take more credit than you deserve is tough.
HANDLING THE DRIVE TO BE KNOWN: “A man can only receive what is given him from heaven.”
- John 3:27.
- This is important.
- John says to his disciples as they push for him to do something to regain his popularity, his “known”: “A man can only receive what is given him from heaven.”
- This is, I think, an incredibly powerful statement to help us handle the drive to be known.
- John is saying, “The crowds were never mine. They were only here because of the part God asked me to play in His story. I was given that opportunity as a gift – it was never because of my brilliance or my oratory.”
- The crowds were just a part of what had been given him from heaven – they weren’t his to hold onto.
- I want you to think for a second about what you’ve been given from heaven. Intelligence? Wealth? Beauty? Dynamic personality? Musical talent? Leadership abilities? Artistic talent? Humor? Compassionate heart?
- Those things were given you from heaven. Now, of course, there is our part of doing something with it, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have been gifted with certain abilities, talents, and traits. You were given those from heaven.
- Many of us make the mistake of taking the things we were blessed to be born with and then acting like we the ones who made it happen.
- The beautiful girl who looks down on others in her class because they’re not as pretty as her. She forgets that she was born beautiful – it was given her by heaven.
- The smart man who sees himself as better than others because of his high grades. He forgets that he was born smart – it was given him by heaven.
- How will this help us to deal with the “known”?
- Because when we realize it’s something that we didn’t create, it’s easier to hold it lightly.
- We can say, “Whatever God wants to use it for – whether it puts me in an important spot or on the periphery – that’s ok. It’s up to Him.”
- It helps us be humble about whatever amount of “known” we have instead of acting like we manufactured it ourselves.
- It helps us to be able to let go knowing that it was never really ours to start with.
- All my “known”-ness is a gift – it’s not about me.
- “I am not owned by my desire to be known.”
WHAT WAS JOHN'S GOAL THEN? To use his “known” to make Him known.
- John 1:29, 35-36.
- So what was John’s goal to accomplish with the massive “known” that God had given him as the forerunner of Christ. Simple: to use his “known” to make Him known.
- Everyone is looking at John and saying he’s great. What does John do when everyone is looking at Him? Twice John says, “Look” (vv. 29, 36) and points to Christ.
- John essentially says, “Alright, are you all looking at me? Everyone got me in their sights because I’m so ‘known’? Alright, all eyes on me. Ready? Look over there! There He is! The Lamb of God!” John used his “known” to make Him known.
- This is what we need to do. Whatever “known” you have, use it to make Him known.
- “I want to use whatever gifts, talents, abilities, and traits I have to make Him known. Whatever ‘known’ I achieve – whether it’s enormous or whether it’s seemingly inconsequential – I want to use that to make Him known. I want to use what I have to point people to Jesus.”
- Do you see where this cuts off our drive to be known at the knees?
- Under the way most of us act, we constantly striving to have more likes, more followers, more friends, more power, more popularity. It’s a competition and I want to win! It’s all about me and when I’m behind, that makes me nervous. It’s all about me and when I’m ahead, that makes me scared for how I’m going to hold onto it. Because either way it’s all about me.
- But when we realize that all we have is what we’ve been given from heaven and that whatever we do have we want to use to make Him known, the pressure’s off. Maybe God has called me to a small role – that’s ok, I’m going to do all I can to make Him known in that. Maybe God has put me in front of thousands – that’s ok, I’m going to all I can to make Him known in that. And when the thousands go away and I’m relegated to a smaller role, that’s ok because that’s what I’ve received from heaven and I will make Him known in that.
- To be a “known” survivor, remember who it’s from and who it’s for.
THE RESULT OF LIVING THIS WAY: Great joy versus endless striving.
- John 3:29.
- What is the end result of each approach to being “known”?
- If we do it God’s way, John 3:29 clues us in.
- John says that doing it this way means that you know you’re not the main guy (the groom) and so when you see him getting the attention you rejoice in that. John says that he is “full of joy” and that his joy is “complete.” Wow, to be completely full of joy – that would be a great way to live.
- Why does it work like that? Because we know our place, we’re able to hold lightly to our “known,” we get to live for something higher than ourselves, and we’re able to be content no matter our circumstances (known or unknown).
- If we do it the world’s way, where will we be?
- We see it all around us: endless striving.
- We’re always trying to get higher. We’re always trying to step over people. We’re always trying to be more popular. We’re always trying to strive. And even if we’re at the top we can’t rest there because our “known” must be protected and further cultivated. It’s always in danger of being taken away from us.
- We get dysfunctional when we are constantly striving to hold onto something that we never controlled in the first place.
Sources: Andy Stanley sermon on this passage.
