AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST
John 1: 21-34
Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ
January 31, 2021
[Sermon three on the Gospel of John series 2021
Video Link to Sermon: https://youtu.be/n9pQUAGlVPM
INTRODUCTION:
1.) As an introduction to this passage of Scripture I want to read from Matthew 3:1-8, as this gives us the background to our Scripture that we will be looking at from John 1.
A.) In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”’
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the River Jordan.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
B.) Because John had introduced a new teaching of baptism, the religious leaders came to challenge him on this new doctrine.
ba.) John called them a brood of vipers and told them to show fruits of repentance.
baa.) From the context of this passage, it would seem the fruits of repentance he was speaking of was that they also needed to be baptized.
bb.) So, with that as a background, let us get into our text, and the questions these religious leaders asked John:
I. WHO ARE YOU? (1:21-23)
1.) Are you Elijah? (1:21)
A.) We looked at this question a bit last week.
aa.) Last week we looked at Malachi 3:1 and 4:5-6 that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
ab.) Jesus declared (Matthew 17), John the Baptist was indeed the prophesied Elijah who was to come before the Day of The Lord.
aba.) John did not realize he was the one prophesied, and so answered that he was not Elijah.
abb.) It was only after John’s death that Jesus proclaimed him as Elijah the forerunner of the Messiah.
2.) Are you the prophet? (1:21b.)
A.) The term prophet comes from Deuteronomy 18:15.
aa.) Moses prophesied of a coming prophet like himself.
B.) These religious leaders who came to question John were from the Sanhedrin, or the ruling council of Jews.
ba.) That council included Pharisees, and Sadducees.
C.) The prophet of whom Moses spoke was the Messiah or Christ.
ca.) The Sadducees believed the prophet and the Messiah were two different people.
cb.) This was because Sadducees only accepted the law and therefore did not comprehend that the prophet and the Messiah were the same person.
cba.) Moses only spoke of the prophet.
cbb.) Other references to the Messiah of God would be from the Prophets which were not accepted as Scripture by the Sadducees.
.01) That is the reason for the distinction here between the prophet and the Messiah even though in actuality they referred to the same person.
D.) The religious leaders asked John their next question.
3.) Are you the Christ?
A.) John 1:19-20
B.) With the new teachings John was giving, his preaching, and teaching, and the new practice of baptism, the religious leaders were trying to put a handle on John and who he was.
4.) “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, make straight the way for the Lord.”
A.) John 1:22-23
B.) By the Holy Spirit of God John answered their question by quoting Isaiah 40:3.
ba.) His answer also expressed his own humility that he was nobody of importance just merely a voice crying out in the wilderness.
bb.) This brought these religious leaders to their next question:
II. WHY DO YOU BAPTIZE (LITERALLY IMMERSE)?
1.) Baptism was a new teaching and practice introduced by John.
A.) In Judaism there were ceremonial washings, and cleansings but this practice of baptism was a new teaching.
B.) The Jewish leaders were challenging John because of this new practice of immersion for the Jewish people in their worship.
ba.) That is also the reason they were asking him if He was the Christ, the prophet, or even Elijah.
C.) Had John been one of these men he may have had the authority to introduce a new teaching as a representative from God.
ca.) By the Holy Spirit, God had in fact directed John to bring this new teaching to the world.
2.) John and John’s baptism served as a transition from Judaism to Jesus Christ.
A. ) John had the ministry to be the forerunner of the Christ.
aa.) As such, the Holy Spirit of God authorized John to bring this new teaching to God’s people.
ab.) John the Baptist was to prepare the world for the Messiah.
aba.) This preparation also included the new doctrine of baptism.
abb.) After the resurrection of Christ and Pentecost, baptism would be for the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit of God.
B.) I want us to compare the baptism of John with Christian baptism.
ba.) Both baptisms used the element of water for the practice.
bb.) Both baptisms were by full immersion of those old enough to believe and come to faith.
bba.) John baptized near Aenon because there was much water there.
.01) Sprinkling and pouring do not require a great deal of water, but Immersion does.
bbb.) In Romans 6:1-4, Paul speaks of being buried with Christ by baptism.
.01) Full immersion is the only form of baptism where a person can be buried with Christ.
bbc.) This teaching confuses the church today.
.01) Today baptism is administered by sprinkling, pouring, and by full immersion.
.02) The words baptize, and baptism come from Greek words which have been added to our vocabulary without being translated into English.
.03) To translate these words we would use the terms: “dip, plunge, submerge, or immerse.”
bbd.) The change to other forms of baptism have come as the result of decisions of Churches, rather than the Word of God.
.01) In A.D. 753 or 754 Pope Stephen II allowed baptism by the pouring of water on the head of a person on his deathbed who had no possibility of recovery.
.02) In A.D. 1311 the council of Ravenna affirmed that from that time on, “affusion” or the pouring of water on the head would become the official form of Baptism in the Roman Church.
.03) In A.D. 1643 Baptism had became a controversial and divisive doctrine in England.
.031) It was so major and divisive that the British Parliament called together the Westminster Assembly to decide this issue.
.032) When the Church of England came to vote on the matter there were 24 votes in favour of immersion, and 24 votes for sprinkling as the official form of baptism.
.0321) Dr. Lightfoot, chairman of the meeting was called upon to cast the deciding vote.
.0322) Dr. Lightfoot voted for sprinkling, so in 1643 it became the official form of baptism in the Church of England to this very day.
.04) The decision of these two churches led to other denominations adopting sprinkling or pouring as well.
bac.) Other areas in which the baptisms of John the Baptist and Christian baptism were alike are seen in that both baptisms are baptisms of repentance, and for the forgiveness of sins.
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.01) Luke 3:3 shows John’s was a Baptism of repentance.
.02) Acts 2:38 shows that Christian baptism is also a baptism of repentance.
bad.) Another similarity is that both required a confession before the baptism.
.01) John’s baptism included confession of sins.
.02) Christian baptism also had confession, not the confession of sins, but rather the confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
bb.) There are other ways in which John’s baptism and Christian baptism differed:
bba.) John’s baptism had never been intended to be more than temporary.
.01) It was a transition from Judaism to Christianity pointing to the coming Messiah.
.02) Christian baptism replaced John’s baptism on the day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ.
.03) The temporary nature of John’s baptism can be seen by an event that happened about thirty years after the resurrection of Christ.
.031) In Acts 19 Apollos was teaching, preaching, and baptizing people in John’s baptism.
.032) Apollos was teaching and baptizing without an adequate understanding of Scripture.
.0321) Because of this, Aquilla and Priscilla further instructed him in Scripture and Christ.
.0311) He was teaching John’s baptism of repentance looking forward to the coming of Christ.
.0312) The problem with that is that Christ had already come and been offered as a sacrifice.
.0313) What this meant was these people had not been baptized into Christ, nor had they received the Holy Spirit of God.
.032) Therefore, it was Paul’s decision that these individuals had to be rebaptized into Christ.
.0321) Acts 19:1-5.
.04) That brings us to another interview question from these religious leaders to John the Baptist.
III. WHO DO YOU SPEAK OF?
1.) I speak of one who is among you whom you do not know.
A.) John 1:26-27
B.) At this time Jesus was apparently standing in the audience, and either just before or after this was baptized by John the Baptist.
C.) While Jesus was there, he had not yet been revealed to the people as the Messiah.
2.) I am speaking of one who is preferred before me.
A.) John 1:27-28, 30
3.) It was the next day that John would introduce Jesus “Lamb of God.”
A.) John 1:29
B.) That brings us to our final question the religious leaders asked John.
IV. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE ONE OF WHOM YOU SPEAK IS THE MESSIAH OR CHRIST?
1.) John testified he did not know Him.
A.) John 1:31
aa.) “I did not know Him.”
aaa.) The question arises what did John mean?
aab.) John and Jesus were cousins.
aac.) We are not certain if John means he had never got to know Jesus, or does he mean that He did not know that Jesus was the Messiah.
ab.) John goes on to make an interesting statement:
aba.) John 1:31-33
abb.) God had revealed to John that his baptism would be God’s introduction to confirm to John that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah of God.
abc.) It was the anointing by the Spirit of God in the form of a dove that gave John the evidence that Jesus is the Christ.
abd.) God also spoke from heaven declaring the identity of Jesus.
.01) Matthew 3:16-17
.011) There is a question as to who saw the Holy Spirit descend as a dove, and who it was that heard the voice from heaven.
.012 It is possible that everyone who had come to the water had seen and heard this two-fold testimony of God.
.013) At the same time the use of the third person singular pronoun in this text makes it seem more likely that John the Baptist was the only one who saw and heard these things.
CONCLUSION:
1.) Well as we bring this message to a close today, we have seen that Jesus is beginning to be revealed in his glory, and the transition from John to Jesus is starting to take place.
2.) Next week as that progression some of John’s disciples will begin to follow Jesus.
