A Man Named John
Introduction
John 1:6
The last of the Old Testament prophets, John had the great privilege, as God's messenger, of introducing the Messiah to Israel. John the Baptist is one of the men of the Bible who, once you meet him and get to know him, you'll never forget him. On the other hand, he was a strong, yet humble ambassador for the Lord. His boldness in proclaiming God's message and confronting sin and hypocrisy is unparalleled. His determination to fulfill God's mission for life may only be equaled by the Apostle Paul. So, let’s look at the purpose of John the Baptist.
I. Prophecy of John
Isaiah 40:3-4, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth."
"Prepare the way" - these verses reflect the custom of some Eastern monarchs to send heralds before them to clear away obstacles, make causeways, straighten crooked roads and valleys, and level hills. John's task was getting people ready for the Messiah's arrival through repentance from their sins. Malachi 3:1a, "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. "Malachi 4:5a, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet."
The mention of Elijah was to announce the Messiah's arrival. John the Baptist was a type of Elijah at Christ's first advent. Luke 1:17, "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Elijah, like John the Baptist, was known for his bold, uncompromising stand for the Word of God, even in the face of a ruthless monarch.
Alexander MacClearen said, "No two figures in Scripture are truer brethren in spirit than Elijah the Tishbite and John the Baptist. They certainly have many parallels in their work. They both had heavenly power to shake a nation's conscience, denounce sin, and boldly confront the wicked leaders of their day. They both had a wicked king and queen to deal with. Elijah had Ahab and Jezebel; John had Herod and Herodias. And both of these wicked women sought to kill their respective prophets. John and Elijah each had their down times, too; for Elijah had a juniper tree experience, and John had his doubts in prison."
A. Prophecy of John's Birth To Zacharias
Both Mother and Father were from the priestly tribe of Aaron. Luke 1:6 both were "righteous before God.
Luke 1:18 Zacharias was an old man Elizabeth was well advanced in years. Luke 1:20 Zacharias would be "mute" until John's birth because of unbelief
B. Prophecy of John The Man
Luke 1:15, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb."
"great in the sight of the Lord" - Herod, who reigned in the day of John, was referred to as Herod the Great. John will be great in God's estimate. The Bible does not refer to Herod as great.
II. Abstaining of John
"shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.
"Some believe this refers to the Nazirite vow, which also included the cutting of your hair. Self-denial was practiced in John's life. His fleshly appetites were put in check and made subservient to his spiritual service.
1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
III. Empowering of John
"He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit" - filling is associated with service not salvation. This filling of John means he will be Divinely equipped and empowered for his ministry. God had his hand on John from the very moment of conception.
Ephesians 5:18, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
"Paul is not speaking of the Holy Spirit's indwelling (Romans 8:9) or the baptism by Christ with the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:13), because every Christian is indwelt and baptized by the Spirit at the time of salvation. He is rather giving a command for believers to:Live continually under the influence of the Spirit by letting the Word control them.
Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
"dwell in you" - to live in or be at home "richly" - abundantly or extravagantly rich. Scripture should permeate every aspect of the believer's life and control every thought, word, and deed. The Holy Spirit fills the life controlled by His Word. The filling of the Spirit is a steady controlling of the life by obedience to the truth of God's Word.
- Pursuing pure lives.
- Confessing all known sin.
- Dying to self.
- Surrendering to God's will.
- Depending on His power in all things.
Being filled with the Spirit is living in the conscious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, letting His mind, through the Word, dominate everything that is thought and done. Being filled with the Spirit is the same as walking in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-23)
IV. The Ministry of John
Luke 1:16, "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God." His ministry would result in many people being saved.
John 1:29, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'
"John the Baptist used this expression as a reference to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to atone for the sins of the world.
A. Spoke to the Home
"to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children"
Sin alienates us from those with whom we should be friends; it divides us from those with whom we should be united. Fathers and children should be united. They should be bound together in love and affection and devotion. But, sin wrecks and ruins this relationship, which speaks of the home. John's ministry, however, which denounced sin and pointed men to Christ, would beneficially affect the home.
"The effect of true religion on a family will always be to produce harmony." (Barnes) "One of the first results of conversion is the revival of love in the home." (A.T. Robertson)
B. Speaks to the Heart
"and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just" - when people turn from sin to the righteousness, they will think differently. Their minds will be illuminated with heaven's wisdom.
James 3:17, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
"Sin darkens the mind. Righteousness illuminates it. The "wisdom of the just" is moral wisdom. Remember, this ministry is in fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy concerning John the Baptist. (Mal. 4:5- 6)
Wisdom of the just is the wisdom to do what is right, and it comes only from a right relationship with God, from obedience to God.
Proverbs 4:18, "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
"The path of the believer is one of increasing light, just as a sunrise begins with a faint glow of dawn and proceeds to the splendor of noonday.
Note the contrast of Prov. 4:19. "The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
C. Speaks of Our Hope
"to make ready a people prepared for the Lord"
Prepared speaks of placed in the right moral state. It takes preparation to meet God. Those who heeded John's message were ready to meet Jesus Christ properly.
V. The Message of John
Matthew, Mark, and Luke emphasize John's message: Repentance.
Matthew 3:1-2, "In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!'"
"Repent" - this is no mere academic change of mind, nor mere regret or remorse. John the Baptist speaks of repentance as a radical turning from sin that inevitably becomes manifest in the fruit of righteousness.
Harry Ironside, "It is useless to preach the gospel of the grace of God to men who have no realization of their need of that grace.
"The message of repentance tells the people they have sinned and need to change their ways. The gospels also record that John's message was a "baptism unto repentance.
"Luke 3:3, "And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
"The meaning of John's baptism is different than the meaning of baptism for the believer today. Believer's baptism is the identification of the believer with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is a public declaration that Christ's death, burial and resurrection is that upon which the baptized one is basing their salvation. John's baptism was acknowledging of one's sin; believer's baptism is acknowledging of salvation. John's baptism involved the confession of sin (Matt. 3:6); believer's baptism involves the confession of Christ (Acts 8:36-37).
The baptism of John thus powerfully and dramatically symbolized repentance. Jews accepting John's baptism were admitting they had been as Gentiles and needed to become the people of God genuinely, inwardly (an amazing admission, given their hatred of Gentiles). The people were repenting in anticipation of the Messiah's arrival.
Note: John's Baptism Class Matthew 3:7-12 and Luke 3:7-14. These texts identifies 4 groups of people that were there:
A. To Religious Leaders
Matthew 3:7, "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'
Pharisees - ritualists, legalists, separatists.
Sadducees - rationalists, liberals, compromisers, and political opportunists.
They joined together in opposition to John and Christ. John publicly addressed them as deadly snakes. Jesus referred to them in Matthew 23:3.
Matthew 23:3, "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
Matthew 23:4-36 Jesus condemns their practice. In Matthew 3:8 John called for change.
Matthew 3:8, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.
"Where is the evidence of change in your life? Repentance means turning from one's sin.
Faith is turning to God; object of faith 1 Thessalonians 1:9, "For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God."
How did the religious leaders respond?
Luke 7:29-30, "And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him."
"justified God" - they justified themselves; the others acknowledged that what he required by way of repentance was from God and was righteous.
B. To the Regular People
Luke 3:10-11, "So the people asked him, saying, 'What shall we do then?' He answered and said to them, 'He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.'
"Sincere"
What shall we do?"
Failure to learn one's duty is indicative of a lack of desire to do it. Selfish.
They ignored the needs of the others around them. Repentance should lead to genuine concern for others.
C. To the Revenue Collectors
Luke 3:12-13, "Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, 'Teacher, what shall we do?' And he said to them, 'Collect no more than what is appointed for you.'
"Give outward proof of one's claim of character change.
In Matthew 7:20, "By their fruits you shall know them"
If a dishonest man wants others to believe he is converted, he will have to start being honest. These men were hired by the Roman Empire and given license to overcharge taxes.
C. To the Roman Soldiers
Luke 3:14, " Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, 'And what shall we do?' So he said to them, 'Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.'
"The fact that these people responded to John's preaching revealed the powerful influence his ministry had.
Deals with intimidation, false accusations, and lack of contentment with salary. Intimidation - to shake violently.
John calls for compassion.
Accuse falsely - slander which led to payments under the table.
In Matthew 28:11-15 speaks of soldiers taking a bribe to say the body of Christ was stolen from the grave by the disciples.
Salary - doubtless this problem encouraged some of the extortion business just noted. John called for integrity and high character in the practical manners of everyday life.