John

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-13-2022

John 1:6-8

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Last week, we saw that the Word was Life, and the Life was the Light.   The Bible ties these three words together because they are one and the same.

 

1.  Verse 1.  Jesus Christ is the Word of God.

 

2.  Verse 4.  Jesus Christ is the Life of God.

 

3.  Verse 4.  Jesus Christ is the Light of God.

 

B.  We also saw that the breath of God, infused into mankind, “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”  Verse 9. 

 

1.  Once again, I want us to see the “eth” ending on “lighteth.”  This ending gives the word a present perfect condition: the Light of God lite Adam and every other person who has ever lived.

 

2.  If every person has the “Light of God” inherently, then every person is accountable to that Light.

 

C.  The Old Testament ends with a curse while the New Testament ends with a blessing.  The Book of Malachi began what is called the “400 Silent Years,” which ended with the coming of Messiah, the Anointed One – the Christ of God in the Book of Matthew.

 

1.  These were the years between Malachi and Matthew where there were no “inspired” writers.  The Old Testament Cannon was complete and the Messiah long awaited. 

 

2.  But Israel had quit looking for a sacrifice and was now looking for a King to deliver them once again from the bondage of Rome.  Throughout the Old Testament, the blood of animals was applied to the Mercy Seat as an Atonement until the Lamb of God would come and take away the sin of the world.

 

3.  Religion had replaced salvation; the Pharisees and Sadducees had replaced the prophets; and the people, for the most part, had lost hope.

 

D.  John!  There have been many important people in the Bible, but the entrance of John the Baptist was one of the most significant!  For 4,000 years, mankind had been awaiting the coming of Messiah.  John the Baptist was the forerunner of the First Advent, the birth of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I read this and do not know who to credit:  John’s coming heralded a new day.  As the herald of Jesus Christ, he was the connecting link between the Old and new Testaments.  John closed out one era and ushered in another.  Shadow would become substance; prophecy would become fulfillment; the focus would shift from Sinai to Calvary; the Gospel, salvation and the church would come front and center; and the Gentiles would be included in the family of God.

 

Matthew 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

1.  The Witness was Prophetic.  Prior to the First Advent of Christ.

 

Isaiah 40:3-8  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  (4)  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:  (5)  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  (6)  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:  (7)  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.  (8)  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

 

2.  The Witness was Past.  At the First Advent of Christ.  “There was a man!”  The Book of John was a witness to John the Baptist.

 

Matthew 3:1-3  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  (3)  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

Mark 1:1-3  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  (2)  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  (3)  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

a.  John was a Purposed Man.  Isaiah 40:3-8  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

 

b.  John was a Preaching Man.  Matthew 3:1-2  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

c.  John was a Peculiar Man.  Matthew 3:3-4  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  (4)  And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

 

d.  John was a Powerful Man.  Matthew 11:7-11  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?  (8)  But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  (9)  But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  (10)  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  (11)  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

e.  John was a Persistent Man.  Matthew 14:8-12  And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.  (9)  And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  (10)  And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  (11)  And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  (12)  And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

 

3.  The Witness is now Present.  Prior to the Rapture of God’s Church.  We are the voice that bears witness to Christ, the Life and Light.

 

Matthew 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  (19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  (2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

4.  The Witness is again Prophesied.  Prior to the Second Advent of Christ.  Elijah will be one of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation.

 

Malachi 4:5-6  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

Revelation 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

 

Conclusion:  John was that “Voice” of whom John, chapter one spoke.  But God always had and always will have a “Voice of One” (united and preaching the same Gospel) crying in the wilderness of this world.