3 truths that remind us why believers worship Jesus and unbelievers need to trust Christ for salvation
I. Because John Is the Prophetic Voice Preparing for the Messiah’s Arrival
Luke 1:64-66 - And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
A. John’s identity was not
1. The Messiah (v. 20)
John 1:20 - And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
2. Elijah (v. 21)
John 1:21 - They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.”
Luke 1:15-17 - For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Mark 9:13 - But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.
Matt 11:14 - And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Matt 17:10-13 - And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things, but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also, the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
3. The prophet like Moses (v. 21b-22)
John 1:21b-22 - “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
B. John is the promised voice from Isaiah preparing God’s people for the Messiah (v. 23)
John 1:23 - He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
II. Because Jesus Is Far Greater than the Prophetic Voice of Isaiah
John 1:24-25 - Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
A. John minimizes his baptism (v. 26a)
John 1:26 - John answered them saying, “I baptize in water …”
B. John maximizes the priority of the Messiah (vv. 26b-28)
John 1:26b-28 - …but among you stands One whom you do not know. “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
III. Because Jesus Is the Only One Who Can Rescue Us from Our Sin and Make Us Alive with Christ
A. Jesus is the Lamb to deal with sin (v. 29)
John 1:29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
B. Jesus is the One who existed before John (v. 30)
John 1:30 - This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.”
C. God directly identifies Jesus as the Messiah (vv. 31-33a)
John 1:31- 33 - I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”
D. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (v. 33b)
John 1:33b - …this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
E. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (v. 34)
John 1:34 - I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.
This morning, I hope you would consider 3 truths that remind us why believers worship Jesus and unbelievers need to trust Christ for salvation.
I. Because John is the prophetic voice preparing for Messiah’s arrival
“And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” – v. 19
Bit of background:
The year is AD 25 or 26. Tiberius Caesar had been in power for fifteen years (cf. Lk 3:1-3) It’s around this time that you have the sudden arrival of a man named John the Baptist.
He was Jesus’ cousin. But John didn’t know that he was the Messiah (John 1:33)
He was the last and greatest of the OT prophets who had ever lived up to that time because his purpose was to announce the arrival of the Christ. John the Baptist’s ministry was to preach repentance, the kingdom of God, and the arrival of the Messiah (Matt. 11:11; Luke 7:28)
He preached for 3 ½ years before it was revealed to him that Christ was the promised Messiah of Daniel 7 and 9. (cf. John 1:33) So for those 3 years he preached, he got the attention of “the Jews” – not just any Jew, but the theological authorities of the nation – The Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin was composed of both Pharisees and Sadducees – there was a power struggle between the two camps.
[SLIDE of Pharisees and Sadducees] https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O2s7a2ANZxk/maxresdefault.jpg
The Pharisees had the theological grip over the people, while the Sadducees functioned more so in the political realm and aristocracy – meaning, the upper class.
The Pharisees were more conservative while the Sadducees were more liberal and looser in their theological framework.
The Pharisees didn’t have a lot of money, while the Sadducees were a part of the aristocracy, meaning, that they had a lot of money and can use their money to grab political power.
The Pharisees were the ones who sent “priests and Levites from Jerusalem.” (John 1:24) All priests were levites, but not levites were priests. To put it simply, they were the religious police force of the Temple.
Now for the Pharisees to send them “from Jerusalem” likely means that the Sanhedrin is getting….nervous.
On the one hand the Pharisees were wondering if this man was the Messiah who will get rid of the Romans, or is this some crazy lunatic zealot who will cause us trouble with Rome…?
Compound that concern with the Sadducees were deeply concerned their political stability with Rome was in jeopardy – both camps were nervous.
They did not want to upset Rome.
This guy is calling out some prominent people in Rome…we need to find out who he is. So, here’s what we’ll do – send a delegation of men to find out who this man is…and that’s precisely what they did.
There was a spiritual awakening reverberating in the hearts of Israel such that John’s proclamation would “turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” - Malachi 46; Luke 1:16
And Luke 3:15 tells us that “the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ.”
“Who are you?”- Meaning, that this was something the Jewish authorities repeatedly asked John.
Acts 13:25, reads that “while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He.”
A. John’s identity was not
1. the Messiah (v. 20)
"And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.'"
So when these authorities had arrived, John already knew the real reason why they came to question him. So he answered their inquiry as a matter of fact “I am not the Christ”
2. Elijah (v. 21)
John 1:21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.”
The Jews believed that Elijah must come before the Messiah[1]
[Elijah] would arrange all disputes. He would settle what things and what people were clean and unclean; he would settle who were Jews and who were not Jews; he would bring together again families which were estranged. So much did the Jews believe this that the traditional law said that money and property whose owners were disputed, or anything found whose owner was unknown, must wait ‘until Elijah comes’” – William Barclay, The Gospel of John
This was the Jewish anticipation…to which John said, “I am not.”
3.The Prophet like Moses (v. 21b-22)
John 1:21b “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
Now, highlight this in your mind: the Jewish authorities didn’t ask if he’s merely a prophet – but the prophet! Who’s that?
The Prophet to come prophesied by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-18
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen…” – Deuteronomy 18:15
This was the peak of Jewish eschatology – the coming of the Prophet.
John responded with a “No.”
Now, at this point, I believe they’re frustrated
“Who are you, [PAI] so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” – verse 22
B. John is the promised voice from Isaiah preparing God’s people for Messiah (v. 23)
John 1:23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
He’s quoted from Isaiah 40:3.
In other words, John is saying that he is no different than a construction worker fixing the highway preparing the roads for the coming king. That’s actually what they did during the age of the Roman Empire. When a king would arrive to a certain area, people would go ahead of him to clean up the road for the arrival of the king.
So then John responds that he’s just a voice in the wilderness. I don’t think John knew that he was fulfilling Scripture. I don’t think he fully understood his purpose.
…sometimes I don’t think we really understand our purpose too in the body of Christ.
The Apostle John also said of John the Baptist that he was a lamp. A “lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” – John 5:35
Lúknos in the Greek – refers to a portable lamp. John the Baptist was merely a portable lamp reflecting the Light.
Saints of light, we are construction workers, as it were - pointing the way with portable lambs in your hands toward Christ who said that he is the Light of the world (John 9:5) and to the “one who follows him will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life“ – John 8:12
Phōs (φῶς) in the Greek, referring to the very essence of Light itself.
Christ is the one all of the prophets pointed to. Christ is the one John pointed to. Christ is the one we point to. We follow no other – there can be no other.
II. Because Jesus is far greater than the prophetic voice of Isaiah
John 1:24-25 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Most Jews of that time didn’t believe baptism was for them, but for Gentiles proselytes coming into Judaism. Baptism served as a renunciation of a person’s old life and practices.
So then, for the Jew – no, no, no! After all, they were of Abraham’s “seed.” Only Gentiles needed salvation and cleansing, not us children of Abraham!
From the website, Got Questions[2]
“Being baptized by John demonstrated a recognition of one’s sin, a desire for spiritual cleansing, and a commitment to follow God’s law in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival.” – Got Questions
Yet, here you have John baptizing…Jews…and by submersion no less! This was unheard of. No wonder why they were scratching their collective heads, as it were. Compound their confusion by the fact you also had some
What’s going on here?
Here’s the thing: Clearly this was a new teaching for these Jewish authorities, so they were interested in who sent John.
Merril C. Tenney[3] put it this way:
“The Pharisees represented the strict interpreters of the Law and were particularly interested in examining the credentials of any new religious teacher in Judaism.”
That’s why they had the interrogation spotlight on John. In other words, if all you are is…just a “voice”, why are you baptizing? To put it simply, where is your accreditation from? Who gave you your stamp of approval? What business do you have doing what you’re doing?
You can almost sense a bit of sarcasm and contempt on the part of the Jewish delegation towards John….and John doesn’t seem to attempt to give them an answer except to say that.
A. John minimizes his baptism (v. 26a)
John 1:26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water …”
As you will see in a moment, verses 26-27 argue from the lesser to the greater. John’s being emphatic – ego eimi in the Greek.
I myself baptize people with water…it’s not about the person of John the Baptist, but about someone else who is greater and who’s baptism far exceeds that of water baptism.
But notice, at every turn he minimizes his purpose and
B. John maximizes the priority of the Messiah (vv. 26b-28)
John 1:26b-28 “but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
There was a teaching among the rabbis that said that “every service which a slave performs for his master shall a disciple do for his teacher except the loosing of his sandal thong.”[4]
In other words, John is saying that the Messiah is here – he stands among you – you don’t recognize him – he’s coming after me – and I am unfit slave not even worthy to untie a single strap from his sandal. Talk about humility…
When Messiah comes…he will become prominent and I will fade away. Isn’t that the kind of humility we ought to characterize the follower of Christ? Here you have the Jewish authorities demanding to know by what authority John baptized – and what does John do?
He pivots and immediately makes it about Christ! He depreciates himself and appreciates Christ!
“How John hides himself behind his Master! He was a most worthy man, a truly great man; but he counted himself unworthy of the most menial service for Christ, and felt honoured by filling the office of a slave to unloose his Master’s shoe’s latchet. It is better to be the slave of Christ than to rule vast empires; he who truly serves him is glorified thereby.” – CH Spurgeon
How often do we hide behind the Master? How often are we involved in a ministry of self depreciation and onto a ministry of exultation of the Christ to whom we should be pointing to?
My friends, our ministry here at Faith North is similar to John’s in that we are to make Christ known, that’s it.
We are, as the Apostle Paul put it, “ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20
So, while we still have this stewardship, we “are working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— 2 for He says, “At a favorable time I listened to you, And on a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation.”
In other words, my friends, we didn’t receive this ambassadorship by Christ for nothing. And for those who have not yet surrendered your heart over to Christ, take heed to these ambassadors for Christ.
Take heed to what they tell you. Take heed to the message they say to you, because they are pointing the way to the Cross.
Transition: Why?
III. Because Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from our sin and make us alive with Christ
A. Jesus is the Lamb to deal with sin (v. 29)
John 1:29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
I don’t know if you caught it, but what John said must’ve been a shockwave to the ears of his Jewish audience, especially the Jewish leaders. They believed that salvation was only for the Jew.
But for John to point to Christ as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the “world” is to say that Christ didn’t just die for Jews only but for Gentiles too![5] For humanity in general.
Jesus is the Passover Lamb who’s blood was shed from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19-20).
B. Jesus is the one who existed before John (v. 30)
John 1:30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’
This is the same thing he said in v. 15. Pastor Viars explained this in his sermon last week. In comparison, John is nothing more than a voice pointing people to the savior. John’s humility is extraordinary. May we too live by this example
C. God directly identifies Jesus as the Messiah (vv. 31-33a)
John 1:31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. John 1:33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
In other words, he wasn’t even aware that his cousin was the Messiah. – he didn’t know until God the Father had supernaturally revealed it to him.
And the only way to know Christ and his offer of salvation is to read his Special Revelation – that is, His Word.
Had he not given to us his Word, there’s no way we would know about Christ, let alone the salvation he offers freely to those who believe.
Transition: And to those who do believe, and come under the umbrella of His saving grace.
D. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (v. 33b)
John 1:33b …this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”
This is why John said that Jesus’ ministry far exceeds his. John’s ministry of baptism only prepared the peoples hearts for the One who to come. Here’s what happened as a result of Christ sending the Holy Spirit[6]
1. Christ baptizes the believer with the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13)
2. The Father seals the believer with the Holy Spirit as a show of ownership and a guarantee of one’s salvation (Eph. 1:13).
3. The Spirit indwells the believer (1 Cor. 3:16).
4. The Spirit fills/controls the believer (Eph 5:18).
5. The Spirit produces spiritual fruit in the believer’s life (Gal. 5:22-23).
6. The Spirit gifts the believer for service in the church (1 Cor. 12:4)
All of these happened to you by the Holy Spirit at salvation. The only thing that will never happen to you is a baptism by…fire. What’s that?
Because in Matthew and Luke’s Gospel add that John also said this to the religious leaders that when Christ comes.
What’s going on here? Well, we have to dip our toes in a bit into bible prophecy. John was giving a prophecy about the greater ministry of Christ. When Christ comes, he’s not coming to baptize in water, but by the Holy Spirit.
John actually goes on to warn about this baptism by fire in Matthew 3:12
“…but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
In other words, this kind of baptism is a judgment by fire. So then, for the unbeliever who is here this morning, what kind of baptism do you want?
Do you want to be spiritually baptized into Christ’s family, or do you want to be baptized into the fire of God’s judgment?
That’s John’s warning to the people of his day and it stands today – Baptism by Christ or Baptism into judgment. Life in His name or a life in judgment?
Transition: If you want to enjoy life in the name of Christ, you must come to the Cross the way John did. You must first confess that.
A. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (v. 34)
John 1:34 “I myself have seen and have
testified that this is the Son of God.”
This is a passage dedicated to proving that the long-awaited Messiah is Jesus because the prophetic voice testified about him. It’s who we all point to.
There is also a message for all of you who are listening or watching this message online who do not know Christ.
Please do not remain hardened to the message. John warns us that some would not receive him … do not be in that group. Instead, be in the group that are described by these words, “as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” – John 1:12
Most of you here have already done that – but again, to those who yet to do so,
surrender your heart over to Christ today and he will give the gift of eternal life.
He will baptize you into his family, as it were, and you will enjoy eternal life in His name.
But please be warned, if you don’t – another baptism awaits you, and it is an unquenchable fire. You don’t want to be a part of that baptism by judgment.
I pray that you would receive the spiritual baptism of salvation to eternal life.
[1] William Barlcay, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 91.
[2] “What Was the Meaning and Importance of the Baptism of John the Baptist?,” last modified, https://www.gotquestions.org/baptism-of-John.html.
[3] Merril C. Tenney, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 36.
[4] Leon Morris, The New International Commentary On the New Testament (Melbourne: Eerdman's Publishing, 1971), 141.
[5] David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishers, 2004), 50.
[6] The 6 points are take from John MacArthur’s Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 353.
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