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The man and his mission
Of
the greatness of John the Baptist there is no question.
The Lord Himself, who was always sparing in His
eulogies, said of John, ‘Among those born of women
there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist’, Matt.
11. 11. Malachi, the last prophet of the Old
Testament, foretold his coming, ‘Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord’, Mal. 4. 5, and our
Lord confirmed that this Scripture referred to John,
Matt. 11. 14. Then, after 400 years of silence, John
appeared in the wilderness of Judea in old clothing,
and living an austere lifestyle, reminiscent of the
great prophet Elijah. His impact on the nation was
immense. Without any of the modern methods
of publicity we read, ‘then Jerusalem, and
all Judea, a n d a l l the region around the
Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the
Jordan, confessing their sins’, Matt. 3. 5- 6. His
ministry brought sweeping, national revival; it touched
all people, religious and otherwise, and penetrated
every strata of society from mercenary soldier
to Herod Antipas the king. John’s influence was such
that the people ‘were in expectation and reasoned in
their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or
not’, Luke 3. 15.
His
impact was the more remarkable because, firstly, unlike
Paul, Peter and others, ‘John did no miracle’, John
10. 41, and confessed to being only a voice, John 1. 23.
Secondly, his ministry lasted only about twelve months
by which time John had ‘finished his course’, Acts 13.
25. This illustrates that what matters before God is
the quality of the life lived, not its length.
So,
wherein lay his greatness and why was he so effective?
No doubt, the answer lies in the apostle John’s
introductory statement, ‘There was a man sent from
God whose name was John’, John 1. 6.
A
man sent from God is a man prepared by God;
three characteristics of how John was prepared, are
considered:
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A man sent from God has a divinely appointed
background
Consider
his birth:
John’s birth was miraculous (Elizabeth was
barren); it was in answer to his parents’ prayer; it
was accompanied by signs (his birth was foretold by
an angel and also Zacharias was struck dumb), and he
was named John (God’s gift), by God.
Consider
his parents: both descendants
of Aaron, ‘both righteous before God, walking in all
the commandments of the Lord blameless’, Luke 1. 6. The
angel predicted the most amazing truths concerning the
unborn child, ‘many will rejoice at his birth for
he shall be great in the sight of the Lord . . . he
will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord
their God’, Luke 1. 14-17. Later, these facts were
confirmed by John’s father, Zacharias, when the
child was born, ‘You, child, will be called the
prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of
the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of
salvation to His people, to give light to those
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet in the way of peace’, Luke 1.
76-79. Without doubt, John’s godly parents instilled
into his mind the great hope of the coming of Israel’s
Messiah.
Consider
his Nazirite status: from earliest
years he was taught the necessity of refusing things
which in themselves were permissible but for him were
impossible, indicative of a disciplined life, Luke 1.
15.
Consider
that he was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth,
Luke 1. 15.
Consider
that he was in the wilderness until the com-mencement of
his ministry, Luke
1. 80. It was here in solitude John learned the secret
of communion with God and developed an overwhelming
sorrow for the sin of his nation, but, most importantly,
in the wilderness ‘the word of God came to John’,
Luke 3. 2. John was a man in touch with God!
2
A man sent by God is a man conscious of his
own inadequacy
John had a sense of personal sin; he felt his own need to
be baptized with the baptism of repentance. When
approached by Jesus to be baptized, we read, ‘then
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him and John tried to prevent Him saying,
I need to be baptized of you and are you coming to me?’ Matt.
3. 14.
John
had a sense of his own unworthiness, ‘I am not worthy
to unfasten his sandal’, Matt. 3. 11. ‘I am not
Elijah . . . I am not the prophet . . . I am not the Christ
. . . I am a voice . . .’, John 1. 20-23. Today, God
calls men and women of like humility,
self-effacement and a sense of unworthiness, to do His
work.
3
A man sent from God is a man with a mission John’s
mission had been foretold by Isaiah; the voice of one
crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the
Lord, make His paths straight, Isa. 40. 3, and was
confirmed by John’s father, Zacharias, Luke 1.
76. Three phrases sum up the three phases of John’s
ministry: (i) ‘There comes One’; (ii.) ‘There
stands One’; (iii.) ‘This is He . . .’
(i.)
To PREPARE the way for the King’s arrival – ‘There
comes One’, Mark 1. 7.
John
was the morning star before the sunrise and, in typical
Oriental style, the friend of the Bridegroom in
advance of His appearing. He announced, ‘The kingdom
of heaven is at hand’, i.e., the rule of Christ is
about to begin. John’s first calling was to make ‘the
crooked paths straight’.
We,
too, in this evil world should witness faithfully to the
imminent return of our Lord and warn people to get
ready for His appearing!
(ii.)
To IDENTIFY the Messiah – ‘There stands One among you’, John
1. 26.
John
identified the Christ at His baptism. Prior to this John
said, ‘I did not know Him’ (i.e. as Messiah) but,
following John’s obedience to baptize the Lord,
the dual evidence of identity was given: i. the
descent of the Holy Spirit like a dove; and ii. the Father’s
voice from heaven, Matt. 3. 16-17. ‘He that sent me
to baptize with water told me, ‘the man on whom
you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will
baptize with the Holy Spirit’.
(iii.)
To PROCLAIM the Christ – ‘This is He’, John 1.
15-20.
After
the Lord‘s baptism John could say, ‘And I have seen and
testified that this is the Son of God’, John 1. 34.
John had reached the peak of his career when he proclaimed
the Messiah to the nation. His work as a forerunner
and herald was finished; from now on John bore witness
to Christ and, in so doing, directed men and women
away from himself to the Saviour, John 3. 26.
We,
too, are men and women of mission – we have a ministry to
fulfil – the risen Christ commissioned all His
followers, ‘As my Father has sent me, I also send you!’,
John 20. 21. God grant that we, like John and many
others, may ‘finish our course with joy’, John 3.
29.
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