Christmas in John 1
Make Way!
John 1:6-9; 19-37
December 8, 2002
Intro:
A. [Illustration]
One Sunday, the Minister was giving a sermon on baptism and in the coarse of his sermon he was illustrating the fact that baptism should take place by sprinkling and not by immersion.
He pointed out some instances in the Bible.
He said that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan, it didn’t mean in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby.
And again when it says in the Bible that Philip baptized the eunuch in the river, it didn’t mean in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby.
After the service, a man came up to the minister and told him it was a great sermon, one of the best he had ever heard, and that it had cleared up a great many mysteries he had encountered in the Bible.
"For instance," he said, "the story about Jonah getting swallowed by the whale has always bothered me.
Now I know that Jonah wasn’t really in the whale, but close to, round about, or nearby—swimming in the water.
Then there is the story about the three young Hebrew boys who were thrown into the furious furnace, but were not burned.
Now I see that they were not really in the fire, just close to, round about, or nearby—just keeping warm.
But the hardest of all the stories for me to believe has always been the story of Daniel getting thrown into the lions’ den.
But now I see that he wasn’t really in the lions’ den, but close to, round about, or nearby—like at the zoo.
The revealing of these mysteries have been a real comfort to me.
Now I am gratified to know that I won’t be in Hell, but close to, round about, or nearby.
And next Sunday, I won’t have to be in church, just close to, round about, or nearby.
Thanks.
You have really put my mind at ease.
1. Now I must confess that that joke doesn’t have much to do with our message.
2. I just really like it and it emphasizes the importance of staying with the literalness of the Word.
3. It does have John-the-Baptist in it and he is the subject of our message today.
B. I want to ask you to stand again out of reverence for the reading of God’s Word? [read John 1:10-34].
C. The apostle John vs. John-the-Baptist
1. Now we need to not get confused between the two Johns.
2. Did you know it is very important to get the right John? J
3. There are two John’s here: one is John the apostle and writer of this text.
4. The other is the subject of the text; his name is John-the-Baptist.
5. The author of the text is the apostle John and the subject of the text is John-the Baptist.
6. So don’t get your Johns confused! J
I. John’s purpose was testimony
John 1:7 (NIV), He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
The purpose of John’s life was testimony.
He came to tell what he had seen and heard about Christ.
That’s all a testimony is, is telling what you have seen and heard.
That’s what a testimony is in the courtroom and that’s what it is to give a testimony about Christ.
It is not some theological dissertation; it is simply telling what you have seen and heard and that was the purpose of John-the-Baptist’s life.
He was just a few months older than Christ and began his ministry just prior to Christ.
He came to testify what he knew about Christ to prepare the way for Christ’s ministry.
A. John 1:15 (NIV), John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, ’He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’"
1. John had been in the wilderness preaching the coming of the Christ.
2. John had been telling people what to do in order to get themselves ready for the coming of the Christ.
3. And here in verse 15 we have John pointing out the Christ.
4. John is saying, “This is the one who I’ve been telling you about.”
5. “This is the one who actually existed before me, but is coming after my ministry.
6. “This is the Christ.”
7. John told people that Jesus was the one.
8. John told people what he had seen and heard.
9. John testified about the Christ.
B. John 1:19-20 (NIV), Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."
1. When the Jews came to ask John if he were the Christ, he did not hesitate to confess that he was not.
2. This was a testimony of humility.
3. John could have said, “Look I’m not the Christ, but I am pretty important.”
4. “God chose me to be the one to herald the coming of the Messiah.”
5. “God chose me before I was born.”
6. “God sent prophets who prophesied my ministry clear back in the OT.”
7. Now, they go on to ask him if he is Elijah and he said no.
8. But the scriptures are clear that he did indeed have a spirit of Elijah in him.
9. The Scriptures predicted that Elijah would come before Christ and Christ indeed confirmed that John-the-Baptist had a spirit of Elijah in him.
10. But John was not Elijah or the Christ and did not hesitate to admit it.
11. John repeatedly said he was nothing and Christ was everything.
12. He did not view himself as anything special; he was simply a messagenger for Christ.
13. John testified about the greatness of Christ.
C. John 1:29 (NIV), The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
1. John testified that Christ was the sacrificial lamb of God.
2. John testified that Christ was the sacrifice for the sins of the people.
3. John testified that Christ could bring forgiveness of sins.
4. John testified that Christ is the only one who can forgive sins.
5. John testified that Christ was the ultimate and final sacrifice.
6. John testified that Christ was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
D. John 1:34 (NIV), I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
1. John told the people that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
2. John told the people that Jesus really was the promised Messiah.
3. John told the people that Jesus was the one that they should follow.
4. You see John told people what he had seen and heard about Christ.
5. John testified about Christ.
6. That was the purpose of John’s life.
7. The purpose of John’s life was testimony.
II. John’s testimony was preparation
John 1:23 (NIV), John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ’Make straight the way for the Lord.’"
Isaiah 40:3-5 (NIV), A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Luke 3:3 (NIV), He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
A. The purpose of John’s testimony was to prepare the way for the ministry of Christ.
1. In verse 23 John said that he was the one Isaiah was prophesying about when he said there would be one crying out in the desert to make straight the way for the Lord.
2. So let’s briefly turn to that prophesy and think about it for just a moment.
B. You see, Isaiah predicted the ministry of John-the-Baptist.
1. Isaiah said that there would be one who would go out into the desert (wilderness) and prepare the way for the coming of the Christ.
2. Isaiah said that he would make straight the highway for God.
3. The valleys would be raised up and maintains made low.
4. The rough ground would be leveled and the rugged places made plain.
5. And as he preached in the desert, he would prepare for the coming glory of the coming of the Christ.
6. And John said he was the one to whom Isaiah was referring to.
C. So what exactly did John do to prepare people for the Lord?
1. Luke tells us that John simply told them the good news about Jesus Christ!
2. John simply told people the truth about sin and how it separates us from God.
3. John simply told people the truth about how to be forgiven of their sins.
4. John simply told people the truth about how to be reunited with God by believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
5. John simply told them the good news about Jesus Christ!
D. And when John told them the truth, the people responded.
1. When John told people the good news about Jesus, they believed!
2. When John told people the truth of how sin separates from God, the people listened.
3. When John told people how to be forgiven of their sins, they confessed their sins.
4. When John told people how to be reunited with God, they came to be baptized.
5. When John told people the good news about Jesus, they believed!
6. John prepared the way for Jesus--the purpose of John’s testimony was preparing the way for Jesus to come into the hearts of men and women and boys and girls.
7. The purpose of John’s testimony was preparation for the Messiah.
III. John’s preparation was tangible
John 1:35-37 (NIV), The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
A. Prepare the way for Christ in your own heart!
1. One of the ways that John’s example is tangible for us is that we need to prepare the way of the Lord in our own heart by being obedient to him in baptism—just as John preached.
a. Do you need to be baptized?
b. Luke 3:3 says, "[John] went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
c. Have you been baptized as a way of saying that you are sorry for the way you have lived your life?
d. Have you been baptized as a way of telling God that you are sorry that you haven’t always made the right choices in your life?
e. Have you been baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of your sins?
f. John and the other NT authors tell us that one of the purposes of baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.
g. Have you been baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins?
2. Or maybe you have been baptized but you still need to do some repenting.
a. Listen to what John-the-Baptist said, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
b. Maybe you’ve already been baptized, but you still need to prepare the way for the Lord in your own heart this Christmas season by repenting of your sins.
c. Maybe you need Jesus to come into your life afresh this Christmas.
d. Maybe you haven’t felt as close to God as you would like.
e. Maybe there is sin in your life that you need to repent of in order to prepare the way for the Lord anew.
f. Maybe you haven’t been as faithful to God as you should have been in some area of your life.
g. Maybe you need to repent of that and return to that faithfulness that you once lived and prepare the way for the Lord in your own life anew this holiday season.
3. Or maybe you have already repented but you are still feeling guilty about what you have done.
a. Maybe you need to truly accept God’s forgiveness and celebrate your forgiveness.
b. This too can prepare the way for the Lord in your heart!
c. Because when we have repented of our sins, but we still have feelings of guilt—that feeling of guilt is from Satan.
d. And what it does is take up space in our hearts and minds that should be made ready for Jesus!
e. Micah 7:19, "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
f. Psalms 103:12, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
g. [illustration] God is able to forget our past. Why can’t we? God throws our sins into the depths of the sea and puts up a sign on the shore that reads, “No fishing.”
h. Maybe you need to celebrate the forgiveness of your sins in order to prepare the way for the Lord in your heart this Christmas season!
4. Or perhaps you need to have a little more of the humility of John this Christmas.
a. John could have said, “I’m not the Christ, but I am pretty important. I was sent to prepare the way of the Lord.”
b. Instead, John’s humility said, “I am not worthy to untie his sandals.”
c. But I also want you to notice that his humility didn’t make him feel lower than a wart on a bug.
d. John’s humility still allowed him to say that God was using him.
e. He knew and understood his purpose in God’s kingdom.
f. He said, “I baptize you with water…”
g. You see humility is not seeing yourself as a doormat.
h. Humility is seeing yourself accurately; it is not looking at yourself more highly than you ought or more lowly than you ought.
i. Humility is seeing and understanding yourself as God sees you.
j. Do you need to get rid of some feelings in your heart of yourself that are higher than they should be and are blocking the way of the Lord in your heart?
k. Do you need to get rid of some feelings in your heart of yourself that are lower than they should be and are blocking the way of the Lord in your heart?
l. Do you need more of the humility of John in order to prepare the way of the Lord in your heart this Christmas season?
5. Or perhaps you need to gain more of the respect for God and awe of God that John-the Baptist had?
a. Luke 3:17 quotes John-the-Baptist as saying, "His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
b. John understood what Judgment Day would be like.
c. John understood that Judgment Day would be an unbearable fire.
d. John understood the power of God. Therefore John had great respect for God.
e. And John had an accurate picture of the awesomeness of God.
f. Maybe this Christmas you need to renew your respect for God.
g. Maybe you need to sing more “How Great Thou Art” and less of “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
h. Maybe you need to read more Bible and less of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
i. Maybe you need to spend more time praising God for who He is this Christmas instead of worrying so much about what gifts you are going to buy.
j. Maybe your lack of awe of God is blocking the way of the Lord in your life.
k. Do you need to gain more of the respect for God and awe of God that John-the-Baptist had in order to prepare the way of the Lord in your heart this Christmas?
6. I hope that we can see that one of the ways that John-the-Baptist’s preparation can be very tangible for us is that we need to prepare the way for the Lord in our own hearts this Christmas; another way is to…
B. Prepare the way for Christ in someone else’s heart!
1. Preach the good news!
a. Luke 3:18 says, "And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them."
b. John pleaded with people to give their lives to Jesus.
c. John beseeched the people to give themselves to God.
d. This Christmas we will encounter many people who will be hurting.
e. Many folks seem to hurt more during the holiday season than at any other time during the year.
f. We will find people all around us who really need the Lord!
g. We will find people all around us who really need a touch from God!
h. And we could be the one who can reach out and touch them in the name of Jesus.
i. We could be the one who can share Jesus with someone who’s hurting.
j. God can use us to bring people to Himself, if we make ourselves available.
k. Now you may feel like you’re not a good speaker and couldn’t possibly lead someone to Christ.
l. You may feel like you really don’t know enough to lead someone to Christ.
m. You may feel that you just couldn’t do something like that.
n. But let me tell you that Moses felt the same way.
o. Peter felt the same way; Paul felt the same way. And John-the-Baptist did too.
p. None of them felt worthy to speak on behalf of Almighty God and neither do I!
q. But if we will simply make ourselves available to God, God CAN use us to draw people to Himself!
r. Maybe you need to commit yourself this holiday season to making yourself available to someone around you who needs the Lord!
s. Maybe you need to commit yourself this holiday season to sharing the good news of forgiveness with someone who needs to hear it.
t. People desperately need to know that they can be forgiven, if they would simply turn to Christ!
u. During this holiday folks will be hurting and forgiveness can relieve their burden.
v. Would you be willing to let God use your voice to tell them that they can be forgiven and that they can receive that forgiveness through Jesus Christ?
Conclusion:
A. [Best Man But Not Groom]
Our role in evangelism can be compared with what John the Baptist said about himself. He saw himself as the best man in the wedding.
Jesus is the bridegroom; the one who hears and believes is the bride.
John the Baptist’s job was to see to it that the marriage occurred successfully, without attracting attention to himself in the process.
The bride doesn’t take on the best man’s name.
She belongs to the bridegroom.
When we understand that our intent in presenting the gospel is to bring about a new marriage, even those far away suddenly seem much closer—they are within reach.
1. In other words, we really don’t need to worry about ourselves, because we aren’t the one that we are turning them to.
2. We are simply the best man; we need to bring them to the groom.
3. We are simply to introduce them to the Lamb of God.
4. We aren’t there to impress them with our Bible knowledge; we are there to introduce them to the one who can forgive sins.
5. We are there to impress them with the Savior.
B. How do you need to prepare the way for Christ this Christmas?
1. How do you need to prepare the way for the Babe of Bethlehem in your own heart?
2. How do you need to prepare the way of the coming of the Christ in someone else’s heart?
