I’m not very good at social media, but you probably already know that if you’re on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I don’t post very often - except to give away bread. When I do, I don’t take very good pictures - in fact I sometimes re-do old pictures - especially of bread. I suppose in some ways, I’m either a bit too private a person, or I just don’t think that things in my life are very social media worthy. I certainly don’t think I could be called a social media influencer.
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As I’ve been thinking about today’s sermon in our look through the Gospel of John, I began wondering about John the Baptist and how he might use social media if it existed in his day. What would he post? What would he share about himself? Today, I think we get a bit of insight into that.
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If you have your Bible, open it to John 1. We’ll be looking at verses 19-34.
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Last week, we considered the Prologue to the book - the first 18 verses. We got to see a glimpse into the overall subject of the book as we considered the way that John (the apostle or the evangelist) is working to present his view of the life of Jesus. In the midst of this prologue, John briefly introduced another John - John the Baptist.
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So, let’s briefly look back at what John as told us about John the Baptist.
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John 1:6–8 ESV
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
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He continued
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John 1:15 ESV
(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)
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So, at this point, John the Apostle wants us to know that John the Baptist has been sent from God to bear witness to Jesus. We really don’t get to know very much about his ministry in this Gospel. In fact, if we were to look in the other gospels, we would learn a few things about John the Baptist:
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His birth was unique - as his parents were quite old and barren (Luke 1:5-24; 57-66)
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He wore funny clothes - camel’s hair (Mark 1:6)
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He had a strange diet - locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6)
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He baptized lots of people - calling them to repentance (Mk. 1:4-5)
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He spoke harshly to religious leaders (Lk. 3:7-9)
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He even baptized Jesus (Mt. 4; Lk. 3; Mk. 1)
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He was put in prison at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Mt. 4:12; Lk. 3:20)
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While in prison, he questioned whether or not Jesus was the One (Mt. 11)
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So if we were living in Israel at that time, we might have heard about some of these things regarding the life and ministry of John the Baptist. However, here in the gospel of John - we really don’t get very much of that background information. We are simply told that there was a man sent from God would bear witness about Jesus.
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Right on the heals of the Prologue, the Apostle records John the Baptist’s testimony about himself and his ministry - you might say - his social media posts. Even though the author is the Apostle John, because he is recording John the Baptist’s testimony - we are going to consider some things that John the Baptist wants us to know. I know - it’s confusing with two guys being named John.
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So, if John the Baptist had Instagram or Facebook and this section of Scripture chronicled his feed, he would be communicating some things - information that gives us a glimpse into his world. First of all, let’s consider...
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What John wants us to know about himself: He’s Nobody
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I realize it sounds harsh, but based on some of John’s language it’s true. John is not concerned about what people think of him. In fact, when questioned, he makes it clear that he is not very important.
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John 1:19–23 ESV
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
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At that time, there seemed to be a lot of Messiah fever. All sorts of people were stepping up, claiming to be the Messiah. John, himself, was raising a lot of eye-brows.
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So these religious leaders were confused by John. Here was a man who came to his religious and theological convictions outside of the normal paths. He was not a student of anyone famous. He did not appear to attend any of the big rabbinical schools. He was simply called out by God for a purpose. Apparently that purpose was impactful. As he stood east of the Jordan, he was calling people to repentance and inviting them to prepare for the Kingdom of God. These religious leaders are confused, but John is not.
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John knows that he is simply an instrument to be used by God.
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They knew that Messiah would be coming - and John is straightforward - it’s not him.
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They knew that Elijah would precede the Messiah - and John communicates that he is not Elijah. Now, if you’ve read elsewhere in Scripture, you may have heard that John is Elijah - in fact Jesus called him that.
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Matthew 11:13–15 ESV
For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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So how can John claim to not be Elijah and Jesus claim that he is?
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Elijah was one of the greatest and most notable prophets of the Old Testament. God worked miraculous things through him, and then, at the end of his ministry he was taken up and did not die.
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I think that because John is focused on the work that he was called to - he is not concerned about the bigger narrative - he simply wants to prepare people for Jesus.
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The people who were questioning John continued their inquisition:
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John 1:25 ESV
They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
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Baptism was not necessarily uncommon. It was used as a means of initiation for Gentiles who converted to Judaism. But here, John is baptizing Jews and Gentiles - anyone who would come and repent.
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John 1:26–27 ESV
John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
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I think John wants us to understand the importance of the One who would follow him.
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In their culture, untying the strap of a sandal was beneath nearly everyone. Disciples of a Rabbi would do some humiliating things in their process of learning, but untying a sandal was too low. It was reserved for servants or slaves. In communicating this, John essentially telling us that compared to the One who is to follow- he is lower than a slave - He’s a nobody.
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We don’t really know how long John ministered. Realistically, it was only for a couple of years. He is known as John the Baptist because he called be to repent, initiated them into the Kingdom of God through baptism, and prepared the way for Jesus. John’s ministry wasn’t about himself - it was about Somebody else. Relatively speaking, he was a nobody.
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That’s not to say that he wasn’t important. I think John had a big role to play - it just wasn’t about him. But when you think about it, so often God calls people in their weakness and obscurity in order to be an instrument in his plan.
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The song we sang a few minutes ago chronicled some of that
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Moses was fearful
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David was a shepherd
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the 12 disciples were “outsiders”
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Esther was an orphan girl who got called to prominence
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Joseph was a slave and a prisoner
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Ruth was widowed
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We could go on, but I think it’s important for us to realize, and I hope encouraging, that nobodies are important to God.
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Which brings us to our next post that John might make. In this post, we get to learn...
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What John wants us to know about Jesus: He’s Somebody
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In John 1, the testimony of John the baptist continues.
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John 1:29–34 ESV
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
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John’s entire ministry comes to a culmination with the introduction of Jesus. He wants people to know what kind of Somebody Jesus really is. In these verses, he gives us some clues...
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Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
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There is a lot of debate and discussion surrounding what John would have meant by this. John may have had Isaiah in mind:
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Isaiah 53:7 ESV
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
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But I think that one thing is clear - the Lamb will remove our sin. I don’t think John had any idea just how that would be fulfilled. Ultimately, later in the Gospel of John, we will get to witness just how this would happen as Jesus was crucified - paying the penalty for our sin.
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But not only is Jesus the Lamb of God, John wants us to know that
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This Somebody is superior (John 1:30)
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We’ve already seen this a bit in John’s comment about not being worthy to untie a sandal - but here John communicates that Jesus is following or succeeding John - but ranks higher than John. John’s ministry was to be all about Jesus!
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I think John also wants us to know that...
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This Somebody is Anointed of God (John 1:32-33)
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John shares how when he was called upon to baptize Jesus the Spirit of God descended on Him (Jesus) - a sign of His anointing - His special calling. Because of this greater anointing, where John’s baptism was a sort of initiation, Jesus’ baptism with the Spirit would be lasting - eternal.
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John also wants us to recognize that...
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This Somebody is the Son of God (John 1:34)
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This One who followed John is none other than God in the flesh - as we saw a bit last week in the Prologue. Being the Son of God - John is not elevating Jesus’ proximity to God - like we might call each other children of God - but rather, I think he was noting Jesus’ divinity.
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If we were to zoom out just a little bit, beyond the scope of the few verses that we’re considering today, we might also notice that
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This Somebody is Practically Indescribable
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Beginning with verse 19 and continuing all the way to the end of this chapter (which we will consider next week), we find that both John the Baptist and the Apostle John enlist a variety of titles or names to describe this Somebody. Gary Burge in his commentary noted the titles in this way:
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“Messiah (v. 20, 41)
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the Prophet (v. 21)
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Jesus (v. 29)
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Lamb of God (v. 29, 36)
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one who baptizes with the Spirit (v. 33)
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chosen [Son] of God (v. 34)
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rabbi/teacher (vv. 38, 49)
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Christ/anointed one (v. 41)
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son of Joseph (v. 45)
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Nazarene (v. 45)
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Son of God (v. 49)
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King of Israel (v. 49)
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Son of Man (v. 51)”
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In what we considered last week, we also saw this Somebody given the titles of:
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the Word (v. 1)
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the true light (v. 9)
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the only Son from the Father (v. 14)
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the Word became flesh (v. 14)
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The bottom line that John is getting at is that...
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This Somebody is Jesus Christ
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The supremacy, anointing, and titles all culminate in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Somebody John served. He is the Somebody that John pointed to.
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So, John’s Instagram feed might not have any pictures of himself, but he has lots of content about Jesus.
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As we’ve been scrolling through his feed today, we come to one final question or conclusion...
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What should we do about this knowledge?
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Now that we know a little something about John - essentially that he is comparably a nobody and we’ve gleaned a bit of something about Jesus - that he is Somebody - what should we do with this knowledge? I think there are a couple of things.
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First of all,
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Jesus came to save us, that’s good news for everybody.
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John called him the “Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.” Later on the the book, we are going to see...
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John 3:17 ESV
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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We learned over the last couple of weeks that this salvation is obtained through belief.
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John 1:12 ESV
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
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John 20:31 ESV
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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So friend, you are included in this everybody. Jesus came to save you and me. Have you responded through belief - entrusting yourself to him? John would call us to repent of our sin, trust in the completed and finished work of Jesus on the cross, and be saved.
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But, what if you’ve already believed?
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Go public - get baptized
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Just as John used baptism as an initiation of a new beginning, a sign of repentance, that tradition has continued throughout history in the church. Jesus called his followers to make disciples - baptizing them (Mt. 28:19). If you’ve not yet been baptized as a believer, maybe your next step is to be identified with God.
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Finally though, for those of us who have believed and are already baptized, what’s next for us?
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We must remember:
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Our ministry and message are about Jesus
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To quote a former pastor of mine - “It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s all about Him!”
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One of the challenges we face in Christianity today is that we want to be a part of something special. Some of us want some fame and notoriety. We want to be known. We want a bigger platform. Social media and the Internet don’t help in that. I think it’s something we have to fight against.
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Are we concerned more concerned about getting credit for something or being obedient to what God has called us to?
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I think John is a good example in this. Sure, he received some fame - but not because he was orchestrating it that way - he was simply being a faithful servant - we might even say - a nobody.
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Several years ago I had an opportunity to interview Pastor and Author Zack Eswine. He had written a book that I loved entitled The Imperfect Pastor. In the book, he sort of reviewed his own shortcomings and tendencies as a pastor and confessed to that desire to be known - a desire that I have wrestled with from time to time. But one of the most impactful things he said in the book and in the interview pushed against what he the call to fame for which our society (Christian and secular) clamor. He makes this comment for pastors, but I think it could be said of anyone in ministry:
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As you enter ministry, you will be tempted to orient your desires toward doing large things in famous ways as fast and as efficiently as you can. But take note. A crossroads waits for you. Jesus is that crossroads. Because almost anything in life that truly matters will require you to do small, mostly overlooked things, over a long period of time with him.
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It’s okay to be obscure and unknown. The “mattering things” include those quite talks with your children. They include teaching or assisting in Sunday School. They include praying, listening, talking, shoveling snow for a neighbor, running errands for a friend, showing hospitality to a neighbor. I think they include sharing bits of the gospel with your neighbor at the mail box or when you’re taking the trash down to the street.
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Beloved - be encouraged - being a nobody for Jesus is a good thing. It doesn’t matter if we are remembered, it matters if the people we with whom we interact have an opportunity to remember Jesus!
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Let’s pray.
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Benediction
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Numbers 6:24–26 ESV
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
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Sources:
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Burge, Gary M. The NIV Application Commentary: John.Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.
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Carson, D. A. The Gospel according to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991.
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Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
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Eswine, Zack. The Imperfect Pastor (p. 26). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
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Milne, Bruce. The Message of John (The Bible Speaks Today). Downers Grove, IL. Inter-Varsity Press, 1993.
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Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.
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