What Is Our Role?

Scripture: John 1:29-42

Title: What is Our Role?

Proposition: In this passage John the Evangelist reveals to us our role - TO BE A WITNESS. To tell others 1. Jesus came to take away sin 2. Jesus is the Only Son of God 3. Jesus will baptize us in the Holy Spirit

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world!

Several years ago, I had the privilege of working with a couple of High School Basketball coaches. One of them was coaching the boy's team while the other was coaching the girl's team. It was amazing how much I was able to learn from these two individuals. They taught me about the fundamentals of basketball along with some ways that a team could improve both their offense and defense. They also taught me that each player on a team has a specific role to play.

You see, recently, I had noticed that there was this one player that never seemed to shoot the ball during a game. They would dribble the ball up the court, they would pass, they would rebound and they would play defense but very rarely would they ever take a shot. About the only time they would shoot was when they were shooting a layup or when they were about 5 feet from the goal with no one around.

So, one day while I was working with the coach I ask him why this particular player wouldn't shoot. He looked at me and told me that this young man better not shoot. Shooting wasn't his role. His role was to guard, to bring the ball down the court, to pass and when possible to rebound. The team had no specific plays designed for that particular player to shoot the ball.

That made me even more curious so I asked why shooting wasn't a part of his role on the team. The coach's answer was quick and straight - "He can't shoot". The young man was excellent at dribbling, rebounding, passing and defending but he was a terrible shot. No matter how much the young man practiced his shot the reality was he was a terrible shooter. So, the coach gave him a specific role. He could dribble, pass, rebound and defend but when it came to shooting it better be either a layup or a shot so close with no one around that he could rebound his own miss.

Since then I have found out that in almost every sport players have certain roles that they are suppose to play. If you are on a football team and you are a running back, wide receiver or an offensive guard there is a specific role you are suppose to play. You can get into a lot of trouble not playing your role. You can get a penalty, lose the ball or make your coach very angry which I have a feeling is the worst thing you can do.

I knew that in music and drama every person has a particular role to play. In music each instrument has a certain role to play to help create the wonderful of music. In drama each person has a certain role to play. Each role has certain words to memorize and certain actions to display. For example, if you have a lead role then you must play like a lead role. If you have a supporting role you are to support the lead actors and not put yourself into the lime light.

In our passage this morning we find John the Baptist playing a particular role. While he was viewed by many as the lead spiritual player at the time, John knew his true role was that of supporting Jesus who was the true spiritual leader at the time. John knew that he had been born to play a certain role in the life of Israel and in the life of the Messiah. John tells us in this passage that there was one who was coming after him that far outranked him. It would be this person would take center stage. John's role was that of being a witness.

In our passage we can also see another role player. He operates from the sidelines as our author. History tells us that this person would later on be called the "disciple whom Jesus loved". Now, that is quite a title and it could have made our writer arrogant and egotistical. But what we see is the very opposite. Our writer at no time focuses on himself. Like John the Baptist he does not seek the limelight. He understands that the Jesus must be the focus. He understands that Jesus outranks him. He understands that his role is that of being a witness for Jesus.