THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
John 1:6-8;15-18
Video Sermon Link: https://youtu.be/GqROLrfsH_8
INTRODUCTION:
1.) Last week we started to look at Jesus the “Word”.
2.) Today we will continue to look at and exalt Jesus, but we are also introduced to John the Baptist.
A.) As you know John was a cousin of Jesus, but John was far more than just his cousin.
B.) John had also come into this world by a miraculous work of God to an elderly couple unable to have children.
C.) More than this, John was the one whom Isaiah had prophesied would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
ca.) John is the voice calling in the wilderness “Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
cb.) Let us meet John the Baptist.
I. JOHN WAS A MESSENGER.
1.) He was a messenger from God (1:6)
A.) Scripture does not record for us how that John the Baptist had received his call from God to prepare the way for the Lord.
aa.) Certainly, Isaiah had prophesied that John would come in that role.
ab.) John himself recognized that God had called him to that position.
aba.) John 1: 23 (Isaiah 40:3)
B.) What we can say with certainty is that the Spirit of God had been involved in preparing John for this ministry from the time he was in the womb.
ba.) Luke 1:13, 15b., 39-44
baa.) It seems the yet to be born John the Baptist (and for a time his mother Elizabeth were both filled with the Holy Spirit as a testimony to Mary of the coming Messiah.
bab.) Elizabeth received the Spirit of God long enough to make this prophecy about Jesus.
bac.) John had a measure of the Spirit of God from his conception, on into life.
.01) Luke 1:15 “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.”
.011) This is truly a remarkable statement.
.012) Throughout the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came onto people at times, but not necessarily all the time.
.013) The permanent abiding of the Spirit of God did not come until Christ had gone to the cross, and man came into Christ when buried in baptism.
.014) Yet the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah would have the Holy Spirit right from the womb.
.02) This could even explain John’s knowledge of being called to this ministry.
B.) John was to come in the Spirit of Elijah.
ba.) This had been prophesied in Malachi.
baa.) Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6
bb.) In John 1:21 that we will look at more next week the religious leaders asked John if he was Elijah.
bba.) John told them he was not because John thought this referred to the literal Elijah.
.01) Even John himself did not realize that he was the prophesied Elijah of the Old Testament.
bbb.) Today there are still religious leaders looking for Elijah to come before the day of the Lord.
.01) Jesus brought clarity to the prophecy in declaring John to be the Elijah prophesied before the coming of the Lord.
.011) Matthew 17:10-13
2.) He came as a witness. (1:7.)
A.) “He came to bear witness to the Light.” (1:7a.)
aa.) John’s entire ministry was to play second fiddle to the Christ.
aaa.) His ministry was to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah.
aab.) John was to prepare the world for Jesus the Messiah.
B.) “that through him all might believe.” (1:7b.)
ba.) The preaching of John would open the door to people accepting Jesus as the Christ.
baa.) Even then, many of the Jewish people would reject Jesus.
bab.) Many early disciples accepted Jesus, because of the preaching of John.
3.) “He himself was not the light; He came only as a witness to the light.” (1:8.)
A.) While John was not the light, there were a number who would have accepted John as the Messiah of God.
aa.) John’s ministry was as a mirror reflecting the image of Jesus Christ to the world.
aaa.) He was not the light but reflected people to the light of Christ.
ab.) It had been four hundred years with no word from God, and the people were ready for a Messiah.
aba.) John continually reminded people that he was not the Christ but had only come to testify of the Christ.
.01) John 1:19-20
abb.) That day the religious leaders had come to question him to find out if he was the Christ?
.01) There is much more for us to say on these questions, but I will address that next week.
II. JOHN CAME TO PROCLAIM THE GREATNESS OF THE MESSIAH.
1.) “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” (1:15)
A.) In physical time, John the Baptist would have been older, and therefore in the eyes of many the more worthy of honour, and of respect.
aa.) Sometimes there are other factors to look at than just physical age.
B.) Jesus was before Him in that He had come from eternity.
ba.) John had lived a bit longer on this earth than Jesus, and yet John saw in Jesus something more than length of time on this earth.
bb.) As the eternal “Word” Jesus was from eternity.
bc.) There has never been a time when Jesus has not existed.
bca.) John the Baptist had a point in time when he came to exist.
bcb.) You and I had a point in time when we were conceived and began to exist.
bcc.) But for Jesus there has never been a point in time when his existence started, for he has always been the Eternal God.
.01) In recognizing this great truth, John realized Jesus was greater because he had not been created but was eternal.
C.) Jesus was also before him regarding position.
ca.) Jesus is the Eternal God.
caa.) John was not the creator but was himself part of creation.
.01) That in itself elevated Jesus over John.
cb.) Even in position John understood Jesus was greater than John.
cba.) Jesus is described as the “Light”, the “Life”, the “Christ”, and the “Messiah”.
cbb.) Later in the Gospel of John we will be introduced to many of the “I am” statements of Jesus.
.01) John 6 “I am the Bread of Life.”
.02) John 8:12 “I am the Light of the World.”
.03) John 10 “I am the door of the sheep.”
.04) John 10 “I am The Good Shepherd.”
.05) John 11 “I am the resurrection and the Life.”
.06) John 14 “I am the way, and the truth, and the Life.”
.07) John 15 “I am the True Vine.”
cbc.) Every one of these titles’ roles put Jesus in a position of prominence over John the Baptist.
.01) John was fully aware that Jesus had this pre-eminence and wanted to do all in his power to elevate Jesus to His rightful place of honour, and to recognize his deity.
.02) John was happy to not be in first place Zecause he knew that his was a ministry of pointing the world to Jesus.
2.) When John proclaimed the greatness of Christ, he realized that Jesus brought the fullness of God’s love and grace to mankind.
A.) John 1:16
aa.) What an awkward statement; whatever could it mean.?
ab.) The explanation of this comes right immediately after.
B.) “The law was given through Moses” (1:17a.)
ba.) The law and the sacrificial system were given by Moses.
bb.) These were in themselves the working of God for the good of humanity.
bba.) The law revealed the will of God and yet it convicted man of his sin.
bbb.) Today we live in a society in which we everything is about improvement and making people feel better about themselves without an acknowledgement of responsibility for our sins.
bbc.) We have come to a time and place where preachers are not to preach on sin, or that it separates us from God and can take us to hell.
.01) Our stand today on preaching reminds me of a news story in the Maritimes in August of 2015.
.02) At that time the city of Saint John asked that all rail lines going through that city would stop blowing their whistles as it was annoying people, and at night was keeping some from sleep.
.021) The very purpose of a train whistle is to be loud to warn anyone near the tracks a train was coming through.
.022) Train whistles are intentionally loud and disturbing to warn us of a possible danger.
.0221) Yet both physically and spiritually the world would prefer comfort over warning.
.03) I wonder the outroar that will take place when there is an accident that could have been avoided if a train had blown its whistle.
bb.) Like the train whistle, the Old Testament law that revealed the will of God also served as a warning system to keep man from sin.
bba.) God’s law at times was offensive, and made people to feel uncomfortable, and yet that was also it’s very purpose.
C.) God’s law also had some positive aspects of God’s Grace.
ca.) While the law pointed out man’s wickedness, it also had within it the sacrificial system of animals.
cb.) In the offering of animal sacrifices the law offered a degree of the grace of God to people condemned by sin.
cba.) The sacrifices never removed sin but offered a measure of God’s grace until the coming of Christ.
D.) The code of law, and the offering of Sacrifices revealed that man could never accomplish his own salvation.
da.) In some ways that is a discouraging and hopeless message.
daa.) Thankfully, that is not the end of the story.
E.) The good news of that which made mankind uncomfortable it that it also pointed him to Jesus the Christ.
F.) “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (1:17b.)
fa.) The Old Testament sacrifices brought a measure of the grace of God.
fb.) When Jesus died on Calvary, he provided the perfect sacrifice that completely atones for sin, and never needs to be repeated.
fg.) When Jesus arose from the dead, he gave to man the opportunity to receive the fullness of God’s grace.
fga.) The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ brought the fullness of God’s love, mercy, and grace to a world condemned by sin.
3.) The Messiah would bring a new understanding of God the world had not known.
A.) “No one has ever seen God at any time. but the one and only Son who is himself God” (1:18a.)
aa.) John had the purpose of showing the greatness of Christ to this world.
ab.) In seeing the greatness of Christ we have also come to see and to know God the Father.
B.) “And is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
ba.) We can rejoice that in Jesus we have received the fullness and greatness of our God.
CONCLUSION:
1.) Praise God for the testimony of John the Baptist.
2.) may we see Jesus and be drawn to Him.
