Not Number One

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Not Number One

Mark 1:4-11

Every person can understand what it means to be A Christian by understanding the roles filled by John. 

Introduction: 

     Last Summer during the Summer Olympics the world witnessed Michael Phelps do something that no one has ever done.  He won a record number of gold medals for swimming.  It was really an amazing feat.  Consequently the name of Michael Phelps will likely be remembered for a long time. 

     How about the men who were before him who almost accomplished this same greatness?  Does anyone remember the name of the athlete who came up one or two gold medals short?  There are certainly some out there who will remember those names and those people, but for the most part they will be forgotten by the majority of people.  Those are things that just don’t register with us. 

     So, it is rather unique that we are talking about John the Baptist today.  He was the guy who almost made it big.  By many people’s standards he did make it big, but he could have had the attitude that he should have went farther.  He could have thought that his name should be bigger.  In many respects John the Baptist was born into the world to come in second.  This gives us a great picture of what it means to be a Christian.  We will look at the role of John the Baptist and see how that applies to us today. 

Role I.  Baptizer

A. John preached a message of baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  This can have a feel of folly since Jesus has not yet begun his public ministry.  When a person is baptized in our church it is a symbol of their connection to Jesus Christ.  The people John was preaching to and baptizing probably did not know who Jesus was.  Their knowledge of the Christ was still some future event.  John’s baptism is like our in that it is connected with repentance and forgiveness. 

B. I have an image in my mind of John standing near the Jordan River and preaching.  Through his preaching people come to realize the weight of their sin.  He shows them how wrong things are in their life.  These people have their eyes opened and they respond.  They want to do something about the wrong in their life.  John’s solution is this baptism.  It is a demonstration of their desire to be forgiven on the wrong in their life.  It gives a visual image of their sin being washed away as they are immersed in the water.  People become aware of their sin and they want to respond.  John was the man to give them the resources they needed to deal with this guilt. 

C. Much of what was happening with what John did was to make people aware of their sin.  Maybe this is something they had lost sight of.  Many in the Jewish community were probably of the opinion that their life was taken care of because they were born into a Jewish family.  John was teaching them that it was not about their heritage, rather it was about their relationship.  This was likely a new message for them.  It was not something they had really taken into consideration. 

D. How many people today are content to live their life however they want, because they come from a Christian family?  Maybe it is because they live in a Christian nation.  Maybe some have decided they are doing enough because they are attending a church and putting money in the offering every Sunday.  The truth is that every person needs to come to grips with the fact that we are all separated from God because of sin we are born with.  Where we live, who we are related to, and what church we attend will not be enough to give us a right relationship with God.  That only comes through us understanding that we are a sinner and we are in need of the forgiveness Jesus offers. 

Role II.  Preparer

A. In v. 7 John makes the statement, "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”  Part of the work of John was to prepare the way for Jesus.  In Matthew John is described using a passage from Isaiah.  “A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” (Isa 40:3 NIVUS)  The image of what John is doing is getting the road ready for a king or a dignitary.  When a king would travel there would be a crew that would travel ahead and their job was to make sure that the road was in a condition worthy of a king.  They would straighten out curves.  They would flatten out the bumpy areas.  They would make sure that the road was smooth.  It is what the king expected to happen. 

B. This is the role that John has in the life of Jesus.  Here it is more figurative than literal.  Through his preaching of the need for repentance people were ready to accept the message that Jesus brought with him.  We can see this fulfilled beautifully in the movement of disciples from John to Jesus.  As Jesus passed by John some of John’s disciples left John’s side to follow Jesus.  John was not the Messiah, but he was there to prepare the way for the Messiah. 

C. We don’t read a lot about John in the Bible, but was also need to realize that his purpose was pretty limited.  He was a significant figure, but he was not a huge figure.  He was there to prepare the way for Jesus.  This is a function that many Christians forget in their life.  Their job is to represent Jesus Christ.  They are not to take the place of jesus Christ, but they are to represent Him. 

D. Some ways that we can prepare the way for Jesus, is by telling others about him.  We don’t have to be a firey evangelist who seems to cram the gospel down the throats of people.  We can lovingly tell others about our Savior and what he has done for us.  If they don’t respond it does not need to be the end of the world. 

Role III.  Supporter

A. In some ways I think it would be pretty crummy to be in John’s shoes.  He was not the star, he was just the supporting actor.  He was made the statement, "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”  In John’s Gospel he even says, “Joh 3:30 He must become greater; I must become less.”  He knew he was not the star, but he was the one who opened the show.  He was the one who got thing rolling.  He was the first face the people saw.  Jesus was the real star of the show.  John seemed to recognize that. 

B. This also has to do with John recognizing his role and maintaining his position within that role.  As John’s disciples felt compelled to follow Jesus rather than stay with John, it seems that they are given the liberty to follow Jesus.  As Jesus becomes more influential than John, John seems to know that is expected.  As Jesus gains a larger following that John, it is a part of what John was supposed to do.  You literally see John go from being the main character, to the place where he fades into the background. 

C. I think that there are Christians in our world who think that they have been given the right to be in the spotlight because they are a Christian.  I believe that as a Christian I am going represent jesus Christ.  I don’t want the focus to be on me, rather I want people to see Jesus.  As Christians we are to be people who show Jesus to the rest of the world.  They way that the rest of the world sees Jesus today is by being a good representative of Jesus Christ.  Let people see Jesus living in you.  The face might be yours.  Every person will put their own personality into Jesus, but let them see Jesus instead of you. 

Role IV.  Revealer

A. John is not really the revealer, but the right person at the right time.  As Jesus shows up to be baptized we have something that happens only once in Scripture, and it is really laid out clearly for us.  That is where all three persons of the trinity are clearly present.  Jesus is in the water being baptized.  The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove.  God speaks from heaven.  I am sure that there are other places where we can see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but none is as clear as this passage we have studied today. 

B. This is a truth that has confounded religious people for ages.  Many religions have one god, and many religions have several gods.  Christianity is the only faith that I am aware of that claims to have a single triune God.  We don’t have three gods.  We have only one God, but he is manifest in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Because of this unique moniker, other religions like to accuse Christians of having something they don’t.  Through this event a truth about the God we worship has been revealed. 

C. As we look back on this event we learn of the great love that God has lavished upon us.  He cares about us so much that he was willing to give up Jesus Christ.  He was willing to let him give up the glories of his surrounding and enter this world so he could live and suffer and die.  We can also look back and realize that God has provided us with His Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us.  He is our comforter and so much more. 

Conclusion: 

     Christianity is not about being in the spotlight.  Instead it is more about letting the light of Jesus Christ shine through you.  You might even think of yourself as one of the filters that go over a spotlight.  We let the light of Jesus Christ shine so others can see Jesus in us.  For people who want to be in the spotlight this might be a little troubling.  For others it can be refreshing to know that not as much pressure needs to be placed on us. 

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