LOC 012 Life of Christ:
John
the Baptist I
Mark’s Gospel is unique in how it starts. It tells the reader what it is, then it goes
into the story of another. It is the
good news about Jesus Christ, yet he starts to tell us about someone else by
quoting someone else. This other person
must be of importance to the good news about Jesus. And the text he fulfiled in his ministry must
be significant as well. This morning we are going to look at an overview of
John, from the first few verses of Mark One, then compare what we find with
Matthew and Luke and Isaiah.
As I said in the introduction to this series, Mark is the shortest
Gospel. His style differs from the other
writers. Mark often gives the briefest
of statements to describe what went on.
He often leaves the readers to draw out the significance as they
connect the events and his comments throughout their reading. Or, as people heard it read. Not many men were literate. A Gospel might be read publicaly or in a
smaller setting like a home. It would be
read carefully, it would have been heard with great delight. Everybody likes a good story. Mark gives the facts in quick little punches.
Mark wrote the text, I have arranged it under five headings in
line with his terse style:
1. Statement of Identification
2. Statement of Prophecy
3. Statement of Action
4. Statement of Reaction
5. Statement of Description
1. Statement of Identification
1 The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2. Statement of Prophecy
2 As it is written in
the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will
prepare Your way before You." 3
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"
3. Statement of Function
4 John came baptizing
in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of
sins.
4. Statement of Reaction
5 Then all the land
of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by
him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
5. Statement of Description
6 Now John was
clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey.
Let’s expand on what we find:
1. Statement of Identification
1 The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark identifies what he is writing. A gospel, a readable and understandable
evangelsitis tract full of good news. It
is about someone in particular, It is about Jesus Christ. Messiah Jesus, the one promisedby God of old
has come to the earth, lived, died and rose to ascend to heaven. This one who came was the Son of God.
Jesus was not an ordinary man.
He was the son of God in the fullest sense. He was conceived or born of the Holy Spirit
who came upon Mary. Mark is writing
about this God-man.
The Gospel is not about self-righteousness, or mere morality, or
to inspire men to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The Gospel is not designed to be another
things added to our lives in order to make us cope with everything we
encounter. The Gospel is not Good News
to everyone, but only to those who hear its message and by faith trust in this
special being sent from God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about us, it is about
him. Christianity is not man-centered to
add something to our life; it is about God glorifying himself in and through
his son, his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is central to the Gospel. It is about him.
But doesn’t it seem strange that Mark would immediately go to
quote an Old Testament passage about someone else and to write about this other
man? Here it is, without introduction or
qualification...
2. Statement of Prophecy
2 As it is written in
the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will
prepare Your way before You." 3
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"
Mark quotes part of Malachi 3:1 and Isa 40:3 in order to connect
this other man to the Lord Jesus Christ.
All great kings would have a messenger to go before them. The messenger would tell of his might,
introduce people to his agenda, tell something of his character. Here we see the prophetic basis for the
ministry of this other man.
The references read:
MAL 3:1 "Behold, I
send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.
ISA 40:3 The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight
in the desert A highway for our God.
This is significant.
Malachi was the last prophetic Word given to the Nation Israel before
their final apostacy. Isaiah 40 is the beginning of the second part of Isaiah
where God reveals something about the future comfort that would be Israels.
This man was the fulfillment of these prophecies written 400 and 700 years before. A messenger was present to show them the way
to God.
This man is the bridge from the Old Testament prophets to the new
age that had dawned. An age of Kingdom
realities with the perfect righteous King among them. What a privelege to have been born to Godly
parents like Zacharias and Elizabeth.
What a blessing to be named before you were born and what a blessing it
must have been for this one to jump for joy when the in utero Jesus visited his
house. The man of whom Mark is writing
is John, usually designated, John The Baptist.
3. Statement of Function
4 John came baptizing
in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of
sins.
Mark tells us about John’s ministry in only a few words. He preached, he baptized. Why did he baptize? It was a baptism of repentance and for the
remission of sin. But the significance
of this is not apparent in Mark.
Matthew gives us some more details. Matthew 3:1 In those days John
the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who
was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in
the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"
4 And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather
belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then
Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6
and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
His message was one of repentance that had the effect of bringing
men to confess their sins in repentance in order to be baptized by John.
The Baptism of John:
Baptism was not a new thing in the first century, nor in the ministry of
John the Baptist. Some of the Jewish
ceremonial washings were baptisms where people would cover with water the part
to be washed (usually, the hands, feet or face) in water. There are also records that show the Jews
practiced a baptism of proselytes after one had converted to Judaism. A proselyte, if a male, would be circumcised
and then baptized. In one he would admit
to being an adopted son of Abraham, in the other a cleansed member of the
Nation Israel.
Baptism was not new to the people.
They new it symbolized a change from one thing to another. John preached a message of repentance towards
God in order to bring men to confess their sins.
John’s baptism is distinct from Proselyte baptism--he was not
baptizing those who converted to Judaism.
It was something new in line with his prophetical ministry. It was a baptism unto repentance through
outward confession for those who were already God’s people--John was calling
the Jews back to Judaism.
Yet, at the same time, it is not the same as Christian
baptism. It appears that some of Jesus
earliest disciples had already been baptized by John.
JOH 1:35 Again, the next
day, John (the Baptist) 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.
38 Then Jesus turned,
and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They
said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher),
"where are You staying?"
39 He said to them,
"Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained
with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who
heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his
own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah"
(which is translated, the Christ).
42 And he brought him
to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of
Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
Andrew and Peter appear to be the two disciples of John who leave
him to follow Jesus. There was a
complimentary nature from John’s ministry to Jesus’ calling, yet there are
important differences as well. John
points to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He tells what Jesus ministry was about. His own was one of preaching repentance and
calling Jews back to faithfulness.
We also have some of Jesus disciples who continue to practise
John’s baptism and the basis for it is John 3:22-26 and John 4:1.
John 3:22 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.
[Two simultaneous ministries.
Two bases for baptism.
Editorial comment
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.
[The basis of John’s Baptism--it sealed a purification from sin
via repentance]
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!"
Petty jealousy in the
disciples of John. John puts them
right....
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.
John is content to see this
shift from himself as the forerunner of Christ to Jesus as the Christ. He adds:
30 "He must
increase, but I must decrease.
This word is a word about
there respective ministries. Jesus has
the greater work. John defers to Jesus.
31 "He who comes
from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the
earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 "And what He has seen and
heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 "He who
has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 "For He whom
God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by
measure. 35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His
hand. 36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does
not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him."
4.1 Therefore, when
the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more
disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His
disciples),
3 He left Judea and
departed again to Galilee.
There was an overlap and an intermingling of disciples during this
transitional time. It is important to
see John as a transitional character with a prophetic ministry who willingly
pointed to Jesus rather than himself.
The transitional nature of his ministry is underscored in Acts 18 where
one notable exception is found. Apolos
had submitted to John’s baptism he ws not necessarily required to submit to the
baptism of Jesus. The text reveals
nothing except that he only knew of John’s baptism. The inference is that there was another other
than John’s of which he was been aware.
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. Jesus one due to remission. John’s was preparatory for the work of Christ
and symbolic for the nation Israel. It
pointed to another. It came with a
message of impending judgment. John is
more like Jonah or Jeremiah. Jesus’s
baptism is something new and fresh based upon regeneration, the work of the
Spirit and new life.
Yet John as a preacher of a hard and difficult message was extremely
popular for a time....
4. Statement of Reaction
5 Then all the land
of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by
him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
His preaching had a real effect.
Men heard the message, they all came out to hear what he had to say and
they submitted to his baptism. From the
entire region and from the capital city, men came to him at the Jordan, a place
full of water and symbolism.
Whenever you can get people to honestly confess their sins, that
is a good thing.
We have but one example of his preaching in the form of a little
snippet that gives us a snapshot of what he said. By modern standards and the latest methods,
he should have been a failure.
Luke 3:7-14 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."
The Jews had neglected the weighty matters of the Law. John was calling them back to covenantal
faithfulness.
Yet what eventually happened to John and his ministry? I’m not talking of him physically, he was
beheaded--I mean what enduring fruit did the ministry of this popular preacher
produce? It says that everyone came out
to hear him and to be baptized. Using
sanctified hyperbole we are told that he had a great impact for a short time. But where is the enduring fruit?
Of John Jesus once said, John 5:35 "He was the burning and
shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
But what happened to his popularity? He had awakened Israel from her sleep with
the sounds of repentance. He had
everyone clamouring for his ministry. Of
all the vast crowds who came to hear him and to be baptized, it appears that
but a few were actually converted to faithfulness in a lasting manner. J C Ryle says, “In all probability, the vast
majority, died in their sins.”
The Pharisees came, the Saducees came, the Levites came, the
people came. Yet their was very little
lasting fruit. John did not minister and
preach to be popular, he did to be found faithful. He did not draw attention to himself, but to
the one to whom he pointed.
Men repented as a work towards God without faith that God
requires. It was mere reformation of
morality without an accompanying work of God within.
Those from Jerusalem were the same crowd that would cry out three
years later on one day, Hallelujah, only to cry even louder a week later to
crucify him, crucify him.
A large congregation is a pleasing site. But we should not be blinded by outward
apparent popularity. It can be a hollow
shell lacking inward realities. A large
crowd is never a sign of God’s presence necessarily. There can be large numbers with little
enduring fruit. We should think when we see a great number about how many of
them will at last enter heaven. We
should lok at ourselves the same way.
Faithfulness to God in ministry and the lives of the people is to be
prized over success based upon this worlds standards. God sometimes does great things in great
numbers like on the day of Pentecost.
But never despise the day of small things, the ordinary works of God in
places that are small in number. Never
confuse the well-dressed preacher with the appropriately attired one. Look at John...
5. Statement of Description
6 Now John was
clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey.
A strange man? No, one with
his priorities in the right place. He
was unconcerned for his own status and wealth in order to serve the one to whom
he pointed.
We get it wrong. The world
tells us to succeed in all things. They
tell us to give ourselves to our Jobs, our Education, building our wealth,
establishing our legacy and our place in society. The Gospel calls us to point to Christ. He must increase in what we do for him as we
do less to draw attention to ourselves.
He must increase, we must decrease.
I weary to keep repeating.
Christianity is not about what you get out of it. It is for the Glory of God and the
establishment of his purposes on the earth.
We are but details in his grand plan and work. Amen.
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