READY TO GO!
John 1:19-28
S: Preparing others for Jesus
Th: “My Life as God’s Light”
Pr: WE ARE TO COMMUNICATE JESUS TO PEOPLE.
?: How?
KW: Ways to communicate
TS: We will find in John 1:19-28 four ways to communicate Jesus to people.
The ____ way we communicate Jesus to people is as an…
I. INTERPRETER (19-21)
II. INFORMER (22-23)
III. ISSUER (24-26)
IV. INDICATOR (26-28)
RMBC 01/07/01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Have you ever wondered what they were trying to say?
I know that there is such a thing as scholar-athletes, but some of the following quotes will make you think that sports scholarship is an oxymoron:
ILL Notebook: Communication (strange sport sayings—selected)
“You guys line up alphabetically by height.” said by Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach.
When Shaquille O’Neal was asked whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece, he replied, “I can’t really remember the names of the clubs that we went to.”
“I’m going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes,” was said by a Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.” This was said by ESPN football commentator and former player Joe Theismann.
And finally, another statement by Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach, “You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle.”
Well, perhaps that isn’t quite what they meant to say.
They did not communicate what they had intended to.
But it makes us ask a personal question this morning…
2. What kind of a communicator are you?
Do you communicate clearly?
Are you understood when you speak?
TRANSITION:
1. Our theme this year is, “My Life as God’s Light” (Ephesians 5:8).
We will be discovering throughout the year how each one of us can be God’s light in this very dark world.
Our theme verse is Ephesians 5:8:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
We are continuing in our study of the gospel of John because we want to know what it is to be light in the Lord.
Even though the verse in Ephesians was penned by the apostle Paul, it is a theme that weaves its way through the gospel of John.
He frequently mentions the word light and words that are connected to it.
He wants us to know what our responsibility is to live as children of light.
ILL Notebook: Heaven (Spurgeon)
The gifted English preacher, Charles Spurgeon, was telling a group of young pastors that their facial expressions should be in harmony with the subject they were focusing on. “When you speak of heaven,” he said, “let your face light up and be irradiated with a heavenly gleam. Let your eyes shine with reflected glory. And when you speak of hell…well, then your everyday face will do.”
Heaven should be very evident in us as believers.
We have a destination of hope and security.
But there is a greater percentage of people without hope.
They trust in things that are not reliable.
Their future is full of insecurity.
But we can do something about that!
2. We have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.
ILL Notebook: Difference (“It’s a Wonderful Life”)
One of my favorite movies of all time is “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. I watched it again this week. The pivotal moment in the movie is when George Bailey is standing on a bridge, contemplating suicide. But then, Bailey instead finds himself leaping into the water to save someone else, a ’man’ who turns out to be his guardian angel, Clarence. It is a defining moment of greatness for just as George is in this moment of greatest despair, he risks his life to save someone he doesn’t even know.
George Bailey is an admirable man. He always does what’s right, often sacrificing his own dreams for the good of his family, friends and community. And, up until that moment on the bridge, he does so with little complaining, self-pity or loathing. This is what makes his ethical battle on the bridge so compelling. By the time George hits rock bottom, we have accompanied him on such a fascinating ride that we can’t help but pray that it turns out well for him. And it does, as he discovers that his life has truly made a difference to his friends and to the town as a whole.
We need to see that what is true of George Bailey is also true of us.
We impact people everyday.
And we contribute to their final destination.
So this is why we must take seriously this challenge to be children of light.
We are to show people the way.
We are to prepare the way so that the Lord might bring them in to enjoy His kingdom.
3. WE ARE TO COMMUNICATE JESUS TO PEOPLE.
Taking the example of John the Baptist, we will study how he did it.
So…
4. We will find in John 1:19-28 four ways to communicate Jesus to people.
(19) Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. (20) He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” (21) They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” (22) Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (23) John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (24) Now some Pharisees who had been sent (25) questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (26) “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. (27) He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” (28) This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Throughout our study this morning, I will be using the truths that we find out about John the Baptist and applying them directly to us.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first way we communicate Jesus to people is as an INTERPRETER (19-21).
We are to interpret the expectations of others and lead them to the truth.
In so doing, we need to recognize that…
1. When we are Christians, we are going to be checked out.
This is what John the Baptist faced.
Delegates from Jerusalem were sent to see what he was doing.
They were sort of like a congressional fact-finding committee with religious and political overtones.
John was attracting the attention of large crowds and they had to find out what was going on.
The Baptist was not an unknown.
He came from a good priestly family that became the talk of the town when Elizabeth became pregnant at such an old age.
But John was also rather unique.
He had taken the Nazirite vow, refraining from wine and strong drink.
He retreated to the desert, clothed himself with a garment of camel’s hair and ate a diet of locusts and wild honey (lots of fiber!).
He was a maverick, a puzzle, who did not conform to the religious establishment, conducting ministry in the wilderness.
So they come and ask the question: “Who do you think you are anyway?”
As Christians, this is something we face (or ought to be facing).
People should be checking out who we are, because there ought to be a noted difference for the good on how we live and what we say.
And along with that…
2. We are to anticipate what the questions really are.
John the Baptist knew what was on their minds and he made one thing perfectly clear.
He said, “I am not the Messiah.”
This was a time of messianic fever.
The people wanted a great military, national and religious leader.
And many, no doubt, were hoping that the Baptist would fit the bill.
But John made it clear, he was not the man.
Then they ask if he was Elijah that was promised at the end of Malachi.
The answer, “I am not Elijah.”
Then they asked, “Are you the prophet that the Lord was going to raise up according to the writing of Moses in Deuteronomy?”
The answer, “I am not the prophet.”
What I find interesting here is that John was not seeking recognition.
He does not dwell on himself.
He has another purpose that is on his heart and mind.
He has come to bear witness about another.
Just as John, we need to know what questions are coming our way.
We need to be prepared.
And we need to know our purpose…it is to communicate Jesus.
Which brings us to…
II. The second way we communicate Jesus to people is as an INFORMER (22-23).
1. We need to know who we are.
The delegates were distressed by these negative responses.
They thought this was going to be a simple manner.
There was not going to be any simple discrediting as they had hoped.
So they say, “We can’t go back to Jerusalem without an answer. We’ve been sent to find out who you are. Give us a break! Tell us something we can take back to Jerusalem.”
John knew who he was.
He was a chosen vessel of the Lord with a particular job.
And he knew what God wanted him to do.
Do you know who you are?
Do you know that you also are a chosen vessel of the Lord?
And do you recognize that you have a voice?
For…
2. We are a voice of preparation.
Quoting from Isaiah 40, the Baptist says, “I am a voice.”
It is an interesting contrast that the apostle John is making.
He has made certain that we understand that Jesus is the Word, while John the Baptist is a voice.
It is the Word that transcends time and is eternal.
The Baptist is a voice at a certain moment of time for a particular passing purpose.
The Word was from eternity.
The Baptist came at a point in time.
The Word was God.
The Baptist was a mere man.
The Word was motivated by love to come.
John the Baptist was commissioned by God.
The Word was real light.
John came to testify about the real light.
The Word was the object of trust.
The Baptist was an agent by which people came to trust in the Word.
John was not the substance of the message.
He was just the communicator.
The same is true of us.
We are not the message.
But we are here as a voice to inform others about Jesus.
III. The third way we communicate Jesus to people is as an ISSUER (24-26).
1. We are to confront others about their need to change.
John the Baptist called on people to repent and to change their way of life.
He told them of their need to leave their sins behind and to live a new kind of life.
He offered them baptism so that they could get clean and wash up, so that the outside cleansing would be representative of an inside one.
You know, John was not concerned about what people thought.
He was not after popularity.
He did not cater to his audience.
He did not have headquarters in Jerusalem with a fine building and full service programs.
He came, simply, to tell the truth.
He came to call people to a relationship with God.
And that is our task as well.
For…
2. We call all people to commitment to God, irrespective of their background or belief.
These Jews were shocked.
John was calling on them to repent and be baptized.
It was not that baptism was an unknown.
It was used for non-Jewish people who wished to become members of the family of God.
But note…it was reserved for the Gentiles only, because all Gentiles were considered unclean.
Jews felt that they were acceptable to God no matter how they lived.
After all, they were children of Abraham.
The Baptist, to their horror, was treating Jews as though they were lost sinners.
Today, in the same way, we live among people that think they are OK.
They think that if they just do more good things than bad, God will accept them.
And they think that as long as they are sincere, God will accept them.
And they believe that there are many ways to get to God, and God will accept the way they are coming.
To all of this, we must issue the truth of every individual’s need to repent and be committed to God.
We are to in no way to give into the lies of our culture.
Each one of us needs to repent.
Each one of us needs to turn to God.
Each one of us needs a Savior.
IV. The fourth way we communicate Jesus to people is as an INDICATOR (26-28).
1. We are to identify the presence of Jesus.
As John was meeting with this delegation, it is most likely that Jesus was in the crowd.
And in acknowledgement of this fact, the Baptist announces the superiority of the coming One.
Clearly, John is outranked.
There is One greater.
You see…
2. We are to always remember our place in the scheme of things.
Always!
John’s testimony was, “He came after me but He was also before me in time.”
The Baptist referred to himself as the servant who takes off the master’s shoes when he comes into the house—it was the most menial of servant tasks.
And then John testifies, “I am not even worthy to do that.”
ILL Hughes (p. 44-45)
One evening, the great conductor, Arturo Toscanini, conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was a brilliant performance, at the end of which the audience went absolutely wild. They clapped, whistled, and stamped their feet, absolutely caught up in the greatness of that performance. As Toscanini stood there, he bowed and bowed and bowed, then acknowledged his orchestra. When the ovation finally began to subside, Toscanini turned and looked intently at his musicians. He was almost out of control as he whispered, “Gentlemen! Gentlemen!” The orchestra leaned forward to listen. In a fiercely enunciated whisper, Toscanini said, “Gentlemen, I am nothing.” That was an extraordinary admission since Toscanini was blessed with an enormous ego. He added, “Gentlemen, you are nothing.” They had heard that same message before the rehearsal. “But Beethoven,” said Toscanini in a tone of adoration, “is everything, everything, everything!”
In the same way, we as believers are to make the same kind of pronouncement.
“It is Jesus!”
“Jesus is everything, everything, everything!”
APPLICATION:
So let me ask you…
1. Are you eager to be light?
Are you ready to go?
Are you ready to follow the example of John by communicating Jesus to people?
ILL Notebook: Jesus (Barth’s barber)
Many years ago, Karl Barth, the famous theologian, was on a streetcar one day in Basel, Switzerland, where he lectured. A tourist to the city climbed on and sat down next to Barth. The two men started chatting with each other. "Are you new to the city?" Barth inquired. "Yes," said the tourist. "Is there anything you would particularly like to see in this city?" asked Barth. "Yes," he said. "I’d love to meet the famous theologian Karl Barth. Do you know him?" Barth replied, "Well, as a matter of fact, I do. I give him a shave every morning." The tourist got off the streetcar quite delighted. He went back to his hotel saying to himself, "I met Karl Barth’s barber today."
What is the impression people will have of you when they meet you?
Will they see you, or will they see someone pointing to Christ?
2. Are you prepared to pave the way for the Lord’s coming?
One of the interesting statements that John the Baptist makes is:
“I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John’s responsibility was to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming.
The Lord is willing to bring people to Him (He’ll take care of the saving part), but He uses us to prepare for His coming.
So…pave the way and point people to Jesus.
COMMUNION:
Before the year ended President Clinton quietly issued pardons for 62 individuals including convicted felon Dan Rostenkowski. The former powerful congressman from Illinois who had already served his prison term said he was “absolutely flabbergasted” to have his name cleared of all charges. Were you aware that you can quietly be issued a pardon from Jesus—God’s son. His specialty is forgiveness of sins. That has to sound good to some of you. And it’s not uncommon for those who have experienced his grace to be absolutely flabbergasted by the awareness that in heaven their names have been cleared of all charges against them.
Next week, when we do our next study in John 1, we will find the Baptist saying as he points to Jesus, “Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
We come to this table because we celebrate that this Lamb of God took away our sin.
The song we sang at the beginning of the service is worth considering again:
Your only Son, no sin to hide,
But you have sent him from your side,
To walk upon this guilty sod,
And to become the Lamb of God.
O Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God,
I love the holy Lamb of God!
O wash me in his precious blood
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
Your gift of love, they crucified,
They laughed and scorned him as He died,
The humble King they named a fraud
And sacrificed the Lamb of God.
O Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God,
I love the holy Lamb of God!
O wash me in his precious blood
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have a personal
relationship with Him.
As believers, Jesus told us to come together for this fellowship and to do this in remembrance of Him.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
(Prayer—Nick Y)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
(Prayer—Gary K)
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Communicate Jesus…know that the world wants you to be something you are not, they either want you to be like them or a nutcase that can easily dismissed, but be neither; and point them to the solution you know to be true—Jesus.
Communicate Jesus…and don’t be afraid to communicate the difficult matters, like repentance and a commitment to a new way of life, because they are essential; do not give into watering down the good news into something else altogether.
Communicate Jesus…because He is good news; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the Savior who has taken our sin and bore it upon Himself so that we might joyously live with Him forever.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
