Chico Alliance Church
“John the Baptist”
Review
The gospel of Belief
There are really two treads of truth that intricately wind through every chapter.
The person of Christ as the Son of God
The eternal life available to everyone who believes.
I. Initial presentation of the Word and His witness 1:1-34
A. Introduction of the Eternal Word, Jesus 1:1-5
1. He already existed at the beginning 1:1a
2. He enjoyed relationship with God from the beginning 1b, 2
3. He Himself was God 1c
4. He was the agent of creation 3
5. He is the source of all life and light in a world of darkness 4-5
B. Introduction to the witness John the Baptist
Introduction
All though the bible and history we read about those mightily used by God. We must be careful comparing our life with theirs but conscious of applicable principles and practices left as a model of us to imitate. John introduces us to a powerful witness to Christ in John the Baptist. He says, “There came a man sent from God whose name was John.” Today we take the time to look into the life and ministry of this powerful servant of God.
The story of John the Baptist stretches back hundreds of years before Christ when, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah the prophet of God prophesied about a special person who would arrive on the scene to prepare hearts to receive their Messiah.
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 40:3-5
I. His Coming Foretold
A. Isaiah
All four gospels refer to this seemingly obscure prophesy and apply it to John. Isaiah prophesied at a very trying time in Israel’s history; a time of despair and hopelessness. He was called by God to bring them hope by looking for God’s intervention. He draws their attention to a powerful God who cares deeply and longs to shepherd his people and empower them to rise above their circumstances.
B. By an angel of the Lord
The first chapter of Luke provides some significant background into John the Baptist and his family. John’s father was a priest and married to a woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth had not been able to bear children all their married life. This godly couple prayed constantly in the early days for a child but were now pretty much past the age for child bearing. The Bible clearly points out that both were righteous in the sight of God walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. While Zacharias fulfilled his duty as a priest in his rotation, and angel of the Lord appeared to him. There had been no formal word or proclamation from God by an angel of anyone for over 400 years. God broke his formal silence by sending an angel to this humble priest announcing the birth of a special child. Such an appearance would have created much fear and wonder so the angel spoke.
"Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
I wonder if Zacharias wondered what prayer the angel meant.
LESSON
Never assume God intends to say, “No” to your request unless God says, “NO!”
The angel foretold the birth of a special child to this couple and also tells them what to name him. The angle also reveals some other things about the event and this special child before he was born.
"And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb. "And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. "And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Here is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. The spirit and power of Elijah refers to his power to proclaim the truth in a dark generation. The focus is on proclamation of the truth not miracles and signs because John did not do any miracles. His greatness rested solely on his proclamation of the truth. More about his mission and message later. Zacharias experienced a difficult time believing all this and wanted more verification than the word of the top angel Gabriel. This lapse of faith cost him his speech for the duration of the pregnancy. So even before John was born, there was an expectancy of a special child.
II. Birth
Elizabeth became pregnant and rejoiced over the favor granted her by God. The baby was filled with the Holy Spirit from conception. This was graphically demonstrated when Mary, pregnant with Jesus visited Elizabeth. Upon hearing Mary’s voice, John experience joy and jumped in the womb. John was born.
Zacharias received his speech back and praised God.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. And it came about that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. And his mother answered and said, "No indeed; but he shall be called John." And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name." And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet, and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished. And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. And fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. And all who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant--
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--
Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES,
And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;
To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;
To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us,
TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace."
III. Training
We know nothing of John’s growing up years but what is detailed here.
And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Luke 1:57-80
It appears he grew up in obscurity. No fame. No pushing to notoriety by his parents. No grandstanding. No claim his prophetic heritage. Just life in the desert.
LESSONS
Provide a godly heritage for your children.
Dedicate your children to the service of God.
Focus on their standing before God not their standing before men.
IV. Ministry and Mission
John spent his life in the desert. Perhaps in seclusion and prayer.
Lesson
Every person should have a desert experience in their life where they gain an understanding of who they are and why they are here.
Luke gives a specific time in John’s life when he knew the call to ministry.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; Luke 3:1-3
Oh that we would all be quiet until the word of God comes to us. Too often what we hear today are the words of men and not God. John’s message was specific. He called the people to repentance. He was there to prepare hearts to receive their Messiah. He was the one to plow the way. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He came to turn the hearts of the father’s to their children by turning their eyes to Jesus. When a man’s eyes are focused on Christ, his heart will be tuned to his children. When a man’s eyes are focused on self, his heart will be hardened to his children.
John embraced a simple yet monumental mission. Urge repentance for sin. Proclaim the coming of Messiah.
He did not try to draw attention to himself. He understood the necessity of life and heart change in people. He understood that he was called to point people to Christ not draw people to himself.
Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he might be the Christ, John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. "And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Luke 3:15-17
Lesson
We are signposts pointing the way to a dynamic relationship with God. Signposts are just that. Signposts. The point of signposts is to provide direction to a destination. Never confuse your mission. Point others to personal relationship with God. Too often we gain significance by becoming a God in the lives of others. We feel significant by other people depending on us for their life. We are signposts. Be the clearest, best signpost you can be. John was clear about his calling as a signpost and he did it well.
And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." They said then to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said." Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. "It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
He operated in the power of God for ministry. He did employ the latest techniques and demographic data.
He depended upon God. In fact he violated many of the rules of influencing people church growth today.
• His dress was unconventional. (Camel hair coat with a crude belt)
• His diet was simple. (honey and locust)
• His message was simple (repent for the kingdom of God is at hand)
• His manner was confrontational.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. "And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:7-10
Even stood up against King Herod which eventually cost him his life.
• His manner was not sensational (did no miracles)
• His location was questionable (they went out to him in the desert)
Yet the response to this man of God was unmistakable. Huge crowds came out to him and confessed their sins and got their hearts right with God and were pointed to Jesus. He rocked the political structure. He had great respect of the people. Leaders were afraid to say anything negative against Him. Herod was afraid to kill him even though John spoke against his sin.
V. His character
So much could be said about John’s character even from the limited source material available. Filled with the Spirit from the womb says it all. He maintained a boldness to proclaim the truth to the very end. he didn’t flinch or comprise or pull punches or tell the people what they wanted to hear. He told the truth. He led people to confront their sinfulness and repent to the point of a public demonstration of their heart for God, so they would be ready and willing to embrace Jesus. He was even in all this also very human. At one point while now suffering obscurity in prison he struggled with his mission. We all struggle with failure. Never so much as when we have tasted success.
Now away from the huge crowds and the preaching John wonders a bit if he is on the right track and sends a delegation to ask Jesus if he really is the one. Perhaps he feels abandoned and alone. Shouldn’t Jesus have visited him in prison to encourage him? Where were his disciples? Is this what I get of the faithful preaching of the truth? There is probably much Jesus would have liked to say. He only affirms the word John already knew.
And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. "And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me." Matthew 11:4-6
This is what the Scripture revealed of Messiah. Jesus simply refocused John’s sights on the Scriptures he proclaimed. Most remarkable about John however is his utter humility in the light of notoriety. He never got confused about his place. He was not there to draw a crowd or start a ministry or build a church or found a school. He was there to point others to Christ.
“I must continually decrease, He must continually increase.”
Here is John, the elder between Jesus and John. He was on the scene first. Jesus only a few months his younger, a contemporary. Yet John was not confused as to his place. Behold the Lamb of God. This is the one who I told you I am not worthy to untie his sandals. He balked at baptizing Jesus declaring, “I should be baptized by you.”
Lesson
Why are we called into ministry? For the admiration of men or the affirmation of “well done good and faithful servant.” By all practical purposes John was a failure. He lost it all, including his head for the sake of ministry.
He founded no ministry. He lost all his disciples. He died in obscurity and was quietly buried by a few friends.
Yet what does Jesus say about this man of God. The angel predicted he would be great in the sight of God and
Jesus himself validated John on several occasions.
He validated his life
"For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. Matthew 21:32
He validated his calling.
And they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and scribes, and elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?" And Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. "Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me." And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But shall we say, 'From men'?"-- they were afraid of the multitude, for all considered John to have been a prophet indeed. And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Mark 11:27-33
He validated his message
And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces. "But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. Matthew 11:1-9
Jesus offered a riveting tribute to John.
"I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." Luke 7:28
Even in this powerful tribute is a surprising principle. Yes John was great because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. But that same spirit is available to all who are born into the kingdom of God. And even the least, unknown member of that kingdom stands in greatness because of it.
VI. His Death
John lost his life in the face of the utter corruption of his day. He lost his life because of the very sin against which he continually preached.
Conclusion
Many lessons from the life of John
There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
What a wonderful witness he was.
• Never assume God intends to say, “No” to your request unless God says, “NO!”
• Provide a godly heritage for your children to become powerful witnesses for Christ.
• Dedicate your children to the service of God.
• Focus on their faithfulness to God not their standing before men.
• Take time to prepare for ministry in the desert with God.
• Be a signpost pointing others the way to dynamic relationship with God.
• Don’t serve for the admiration of men but the affirmation of God.
Let your life be dedicated to preparing hearts to welcome Christ
Let your life be dedicated to proclaiming the glories of the kingdom of God and the its King.
