As we look at our story, we see that John had been in the desert disciplining himself waiting for this special moment. And when the Word of God came to him, he came out of the desert preaching up a storm. And let me drop something in your spirit early this morning and that is whenever those who are saved and sanctified, whenever they come out of the wilderness, they will have a Word from the Lord.
The bible teaches us that John came out of the wilderness preaching like it was going out of style and people were coming from all over the place to hear him preach. His message was, “you better get you act together and repent because God is about to bring forth judgment.”
He told the religious leaders, they had to change the way they were living, because they were like snakes in the grass trying to get away from the fire. He told the crowds, the tax collectors, the soldiers, you better change what you’re doing. Quit your lying and your stealing and start loving people in the way God intended because Hell is just around the corner, and if you don’t change, you’re headed straight for it.
You know the story about how people came from all round the area to hear John preach. They would fall on their knees in repentance before God. they were having church in the streets, they were repenting of theirs sin right in the middle of the streets. They wasn’t caring who was looking, they wasn’t suppressed about how people felt. They were being baptized by John and his disciples and the size of the crowds kept going and going. In fact, He baptized so many people that they started calling him John the Baptist.
Now nothing like this had happened in Israel for years. Some were thinking John might be the Messiah. John said “No, I’m not the Messiah, but there is one coming after me who is more powerful than I am. Which I am not even worthy to untie his shoes and not only will He will baptize you with water, but he will also baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.”
One day John the Baptist saw Jesus, and he said, “there He is, that’s him. That’s the Lamb of God. He’s the one I was telling you would come after me. I know it’s Him, because God told me, the one I see the Spirit descend upon is the Man.
I saw a dove come down from heaven and remain on Him. That’s the Christ, that’s the Messiah. Some of John’s disciples then began to go and follow Jesus. In fact, Andrew, Peter’s brother had been a disciple of John until John pointed to Jesus and said, look the Lamb of God.
Now notice that John had been sent to preach to prepare the people to receive Jesus. Even after Jesus began his ministry John continued to preach, but the crowds were getting smaller, for people were going after Jesus.
One day one of John’s disciples was a little upset by this and he told John. You know teacher, that guy you pointed out, well everybody has started going to him to be baptized. What are we going to do about this? This is not what we expected to happen.” John said listen, “I didn’t come to compete with him, and this is not a contest between the two of us. This is not a me thing or setting up my own agenda, but I came to prepare the way for Him. I know what God has called me to do, and I’m even happier for what God has called him to do. He must increase, and I must decrease. And there’s a lesson right here and that is that people has got to learn to follow Christ and not the forerunners. I said we’ve got to learn to follow the Lord and not man because man will fail you.
So, I heard that John kept on preaching. Then one day he preached a message on marriage and divorce, and Herod came up in the sermon. You remember Herod don’t you? This was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great who had tried to kill Jesus along with all the other babies in Bethlehem.
This Herod Antipas was married but there was a scandal in the palace because Herod got involved with his brother’s wife and her name was Herodias.
The problem grew when Herod then made his wife leave the palace so he could marry his brother’s wife.
The Jewish leaders were displeased with Herod for committing adultery. They were even more outraged when Herod married Herodias, because marrying your brother’s wife was condemned by the law as incest.
But the religious leaders were afraid to say anything publicly about the relationship, because they knew that you didn’t mess around with Herod. They did not want to lose their official positions. And that’s the problem with many of our churches and with many of our church people; nobody wants to confront the sins that is going on. Too many of us are too afraid to speak up about what’s right. We go along to get alone.
John however was not afraid of losing any position, because he did not have anything to lose. He also was willing to call sin, sin no matter who was doing it. And once the word got out that John had publicly condemned the marriage, Herodias was outraged and wanted to kill him. But Herod was afraid because He believed John was a prophet and was scared that the people might start a riot.
But no doubt the reporters kept asking John if his statement condemning the marriage of Herod to Herodias was it true. John did not try to weave out of what he had said. He stood by the Word of God, and stood flat footed on righteousness. The Headliner read, Wild Preacher From The Desert Takes On King Herod & His Wife.” Something had to be done. Herod had John arrested and thrown into prison. And my question this morning is how many of you are going to stand by the Word of God? How many will stand for rightouesness and the Word of God.
After being locked up in the prison for a month, I’m sure John was thinking, “this is not what I expected”. There he sat looking at the cold damp walls of his prison cell. The first month turned into two, the two into four, and the four into eight. The large crowds he had preached too were only a memory now. He was hearing reports about what Jesus was doing.
And I wonder if John thought too himself, why hasn’t my cousin
Jesus did something to try to get me out of here. The eight months turned into twelve, and now a year has gone by in prison. The twelve months into fifteen and the fifteen into eighteen long months.
My brothers and sisters when we are going through a period in our life like this, for some people it’s hard to believe God is managing everything. We may want to cry out; we might want to scream “how long oh Lord will you forget me.” Is there anybody else in the room that has went through a season and wonder how long Lord.
John called some of his disciples and asked, what’s going on out there. They told him, “well the crowds are flocking to Jesus. But he’s not like you. Instead of bringing forth the judgment of which you spoke, he’s preaching mercy and forgiveness.
And whereas you are a strong, rugged man, who avoids pleasure, and expect discipline. He goes to parties and even eats with tax collectors and sinners.
He hugs little children and even make the prostitutes feel welcomed. And Herod has not arrested him and to our knowledge, he has not said much about Herod’s marriage. Master is you sure He is the one? Is it possible that you might have made a mistake.” I don’t know about you but it looks like somebody else in the crowd should have said his ways is not our ways.
But John spoke up and said, “I’m sure He’s the one God pointed out to me. But maybe, there is another one who will come that will bring forth the judgment. So go to Jesus and ask him, if He is the one who was to come or should we expect someone else.”
If you notice at this moment, John is in the will of God for his life, but he’s feeling, this is not what I expected in terms of the ministry that God has for me.”
So I heard that John’s disciples went to Jesus told him what John said. They said now Jesus, we want to know the truth to take back to John. Are you the one who was to come or should we look for somebody else.” Because things are not adding up, because surely if you Jesus have the power of the one to come, then at least you ought to have the power to be able to get John out of prison.
Now Jesus knows John could use a strong word of encouragement about now. So He does not rebuke John’s disciples or John for their question. But Jesus said, “tell you what. Stay here for a few minutes with me and watch and listen.”
After they watched the miracles and listen to the testimonies that was going on, then he said, now go back and tell John what you’ve heard and what you’ve seen. Tell him that the blind receive sight, the scales have fallen off, tell him that the lame is walking, they have thrown away their walking sticks, and those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf ears can hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. I can imagine one of John’s disciples saying, “But just say plainly if you are or if you are not.” I can imagine Jesus responding, “Just go and tell John what I said, and John will understand.
Because Jesus knew that John knew the Scriptures and that His words would confirm Isaiah 61 which says; The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
John’s disciples took back the word to John. It’s hard for me to imagine John not asking, “Did he say anything about me getting out of the prison.” It had already been eighteen months. How much longer would I suffer inside these cold dark walls?
But I heard that His faith was kept alive by remembering how God had used him in the days gone by and God’s faithfulness to him and to his parents. And may I tell you that sometimes even though our circumstances are not what we expected, we have to remember the goodness of the Lord even where we are.
John may have been praying, Lord will you do something to get me out of here. Be careful what you ask God to do, because God might do it.
But the Scriptures teach that sometimes God answers prayers in ways in which we do not anticipate. John’s own testimony was that Jesus must increase and he must decrease.
So as John prayed for deliverance, there was a party going on in the palace. Herod had invited all the local officials, military officers and bigwigs to his birthday party. And as they started getting intoxicated off the wine, Herod’s step-daughter came into the room. She was probably a teenager and she came in and did a dance for them. These older men were greatly pleased with the kind of dancing she was doing, so that tells you it was not probably ballet dancing. Lusting after his own step-daughter after the dance, Herod declares, Anything you ask me for, I swear I will give it to you. You can ask me for up to half my kingdom and it will be yours.”
This teenager wanted to make the most of the situation so she went and sought advice from her mother, Herodias. Now for almost two years Herodias had been nursing her grudges against John the Baptist for his statement it was wrong for her to marry her husband’s brother.
Her grudge grew into outright hatred. She wasn’t thinking what was best for her daughter, but rather how she could get her revenge.
So she told her daughter, “so she said go in there in and tell Herod, to give you the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”
She ran back into the room with her request. Even though the King knew it was wrong and could cause him some severe trouble down the road, his need to save face in front of his guests. So He ordered an executioner to go and cut off John’s head and to bring it into the hall on a platter. When the head was brought in, the girl took it and gave it to her mother.
Now there is no way we can make sense out of this death. Here is a man that took a stand for God, had the anointing of God on His life, was arrested for telling the truth, and lost his life because some teenager did a super dance in front of her step-father. And there are some day that we go through and we feel like this is not what I expected for a person devoted to God.
But I heard that Jesus stated that of all the people who had been born
up to that date, none of them were greater than John the Baptist.
I know that God came through for him differently than he did for Daniel or the three Hebrew boys because John never walked out of that prison wall, instead he flew away with the angels.
Here is the gospel in a nutshell and the only truth which is going to matter for centuries to come. And that is for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
And I know that some of you might being saying in your spirit that you’ve been on the wall a long time and the devil is on your tracks trying to turn you back, but I dare you to hold on to God’s unchanging hand because he will deliver you.
He will bring you through this and he will bring you through that can I get a witness.
I know it’s not all what you may have expected but I’m here to tell you that in the end you are going to win.
Yes weeping may endure for a night but joy, somebody say joy will come in the morning.
