John 1:1-9,15-28 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John
1. A MAN - 1 Sam 17:10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
(a) Of Dedication - Luke 3:2 the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. :- in person, in private, in power.
(b) Of Deprivation - Disciplined in :- His Dwelling,“in the wilderness"
His Dress. Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins;
His Diet. Mark 1:6 and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
(c) Of Declaration 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world
(d) Of Determination - Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
2. A MANDATE There was a man sent from God, whose name was John The Apostle John, begins with the calling of John the Baptist.
The Sourcing of the Call. "From God."
The Selecting in the Call. "Whose name was John." His call is specific.
The Sending in the Call. "Sent from God."
The Serving in the Call. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light
The Saving in the Call. 7 That all men through him might believe
(a) The Age of the Mandate Luke says, “the word of God came unto John . . . in the wilderness”
It was a wilderness geographically, morally, politically, & religiously.
Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. - Annas (a former high priest deposed by Rome), and Caiaphas
(b) The Author of the Mandate - “There was a man sent from God"
God provides the right man, in the right place, at the right time,
with the right ministry.
(c) The Anticipation of the Mandate
Isaiah, 700 BC, prophesied “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Isaiah 40:3).
Malachi, 400 BC prophesied “I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (Malachi 3:1)
3. A MESSAGE - His public ministry began with preaching.
(a) The Proclamation of the Message Matt 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
(b) The Particulars of the Message
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The Note of Repentance - declaring Israel was living in sin.
“It is useless to preach the gospel of the grace of God to men who have no realization of their need of that grace” (Harry Ironside).
The Need for Repentance - “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
the kingdom is High, Heavenly, & Holy in character
The News of Repentance. “At hand” repent now.
(c) The Presentation in the Message
29 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the:- i. Sovereignty of the Lamb - Lamb of God
ii. Simplicity of the Lamb - which taketh away
iii. Sufficiency of the Lamb - the sin of the world
iv. Singularity of the Lamb - Behold the Lamb (Only One)
4. A MOVEMENT
(a) The Size of the Crowd. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan” (Mat 3:5).
All the speakers of the world combined were nothing compared to John.
(b) The Search of the Crowd. - They were a seeking crowd at the beginning John did not go into the cities and seek a crowd, they “went out to him”
(c) The Sifting of the Crowd. - They soon left John.
