ESCHRISTMAS05 John the Baptist Part 2
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1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
11 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.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
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.”
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
This morning we started to look at the ministry of John the Baptist - the recording will be on the website later. John came, in preparation of Jesus’ first coming and as a sign of the judgment to come at the second according to Malachi. This we will find is the continuing theme and immediately we find this to be true in the part of the passage we are looking at today from verse 7 on.
What does John say? “Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? You snakes!” Wow! I don’t know about you but that is not pleasant. If we were on the end of such words what would we think?! Can you imagine if I said them to you! But it is here John takes us straight back to the Garden of Eden where there was another snake who beguiled Eve into breaking the law. He is saying that they are just like the devil; lawless.
But this is some quite clever preaching for it has the desired effect but first a story:
I want you to imagine that you are walking down a path that is near some train tracks. You see someone trapped on the tracks, their foot has gotten wedged between the rail and the wooden plank beneath. As you look down the tracks you see a train coming, the person sees it too. They are frantically trying to free themselves but they can’t do it. You run over to help and just as you get the person’s foot free from the rail...WHOOOSH...the train speeds by. What do you think that person’s response to you will be? Most likely, something like, "Thank you, thank you for saving my life!"
Now imagine this. Same situation, same scenario. Someone is caught in the tracks. You look down the tracks and see a train coming, the person does not. You rush over and offer to help, but the person refuses you saying, "It’s OK, I got myself into this mess and I will get myself out." You tell them a train is coming and that they need to let you help them. They say, "I don’t see any train and I am just fine thank you, go away." If you try to intervene and help them anyway the response might well be, "Get your hands off me, stop harassing me, stop bothering me and GO AWAY!!!" And then ‘whoosh’. Game over! Indeed it was a deadly game.
See the difference? One person knew they were in danger, the other did not. It made all the difference in their response to your offer to help.
It is the same way with the Gospel. Without realising the danger of their sin people will never realise their need for the Saviour. Their hearts must be prepared.
This was what John was called to do. This is why he calls these people snakes, for that is what they are. They are of their father the devil and are headed for an awful destiny, straight into the hands of the living God and His anger, His wrath, and the fire of hell. The solution, the only solution, was to repent. John the Baptist, even by being baptised by him, said that this is not enough to save. Baptism has no power to save whether as a child or as an adult. Baptism is simply the outward sign that we have changed paths, have died to the old life and are living again for the new life. Some were thinking that they were simply saved by being born a Jew as some think being born in Britain somehow makes you a Christian. Unfortunately, this cannot help. For the Jews, to be children of Abraham is to work the works of Abraham and believe God, to have faith in Him, to trust Him.
Then we get the bit that scares us: Anyone who does not produce good fruit is thus thrown into the fire. But we need not fear here if we have been born again – for all that are God’s bear good fruit. What happens when the people hear John the Baptist? Well. They knew that he was some sort of prophet and maybe even the Messiah and they want to avoid being thrown into the fire and so fear strikes in their hearts and they ask what can they do.
Being born a Jew, being baptised does not help one iota if you are not willing to repent and follow God’s commands. And so the people ask how should they show that they have changed. Now, this bit is for you and me to work this out for Paul says in:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
For the true believer in Jesus God is at work in us and it comes out in good words which, at its core, is loving your neighbour: Clearly John thinks that if we have two of anything we should share, we should be content with what we have and what we get, we should not be false witnesses or be violent just because we can be, especially towards non-combatants. Live peaceable lives, live lives that share the material blessings we have with others and anything more is dependent upon how the Lord leads in working out our salvation. But the Christian life is not simply living a moral life for almost anyone can do this to a point. But it is in what he says next about the One who is still to come.
With the people wondering whether John is the Christ John makes it clear what the Christ will be like in verses 16-17. Does this give hope to those present? Not at all, but actually says that judgment is coming with Jesus; there is going to be a harvest: the fruitful will be saved, the unfruitful will burn with a fire that cannot be put out. Though John did not know it at the time this was not going to be something that would happen in the ‘here and now’ with Jesus’ first advent but when Jesus returns. John’s message, all along, is that Jesus is coming. He is always pointing the way. Then, indeed Jesus does come. Is baptised. Then:
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! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
John made it very clear that He was not the Messiah. John was always pointing to the time when the Messiah would come and then when John saw Him on two separate occasions he declared whilst pointing in Jesus’ direction:
LOOK! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! That’s was John’s job. He does not fail to point to Jesus. He is the messenger, not the Messiah; and when the Saviour comes, John is content to fulfil his ministry of preparation and point the people to the Lord. John was not at all selfish or interested in self-aggrandisement. He was concerned that people come to faith in Christ, turn from their sins and escape the wrath that is to come.
That is why we see in verse 18 that he continually begged people to turn to God. We, too, are called to come with repentant hearts willing to change, willing to do our part, humble before the Lord asking for forgiveness and cleansing so that we might serve Him in fullness of life pointing the way to Jesus.
This season is the time when we start to celebrate the One who came, the One who was given, born in a stable, to live a life of perfection, then to give His life to pay the price we could never pay and purchased for us, salvation, the greatest gift of all. Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the One John pointed to. It is now our job.
That we find John the Baptist winds up in prison and ultimately murdered is the outworking of his ministry. He declared that Herod is a sinner for taking his brother’s wife for his own, among other things. John did this to show that even Herod had to turn to the Lord but there is no evidence that he did. Pointing to the One who is to come will bring persecution.
Jesus said John was the greatest man who had ever lived in the Old Testament era. Greatness, here, is perceived in a different way to the world. Greatness often means something to do with your status such as being a King or a Prime Minister or something grand achieved like with Albert Einstein or Steve Jobs or Alun Turing or Bill Gates but John was a meek man, one who was humble, someone that, today, would be little considered. In closing, let us hear what it is to be truly great in the eyes of the Lord:
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
May this also be true of us. We are pointers to Jesus and He must increase and we decrease.
Communion
Communion
We hears about he humility and non-self-aggrandisement of John the Baptist - despite his popularity He was willing to bow out and let Jesus get all the glory. But Jesus, Himself, the King of kings and Lord of lords was also humble despite His true nature as God:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
This is He whom we worship and thank and adore. Let us therefore do that now:
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Benediction
Benediction
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city (Rev. 22:12–14).
Bibliography
Bibliography