SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). When He Came (vs 1-2).
(2). How He Came (vs 3).
(3). Why He Came (vs 4-20).
(4). What He Said (vs 10-14).
SERMON BODY
illl:
Hope yopu have been enjoying the snow! We don't often get it in this part of the UK, so remember to heed the warnings!
The AA (Automobile Association) have warned that anyone travelling in icy conditions should take a shovel, blankets/sleeping bag, extra clothing (including scarf, hat & gloves), 24-hour supply of food and drink, de-icer, rock salt, torch, spare battery, petrol can, first aid kit and jump leads....
I have to admit, that I looked a right fool on the bus.
• TRANSITION: Our pasage thoday contains a warning;
• John the Baptist warned the people of his day to get ready for the Messiah who was to come.
• So, let's look at both the warning and the man who gave it.
• Let's look at a profile of a strange evangelist!
(1). When He Came (vs 1-2).
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar – when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene – 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
(A). God’s Timing:
• When John the Baptist appeared on the scene:
• No prophetic voice had been heard in Israel for 400 years.
• Don’t miss that 400m years of heavenly dumbness.
• 400 years of God being silent!
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“John 's coming was a part of God's perfect timing for everything that relates to God's Son is always on schedule.”
• John was written about 700 years before he was born;
• In the prophecy of two men called Isaiah & Malachi.
• Prophecy is predicting future events,
• Both John the baptiser and Jesus were predicted, prophesised about.
• The gospels inform us, they let us know that John & Jesus were:
• Not accidents or here by chance,
• But part of God's master plan of saving the world.
(b). God’s Choice:
Notice that Luke named seven different men in these verses;
• These include a Roman emperor, a governor and three tetrarchs,
• (A tetrarch ruled over a fourth part of an area),
• And two Jewish high priests are also mentioned.
• Yet notice that God's Word was not sent to any of them,
• Instead, the message of God came to John the Baptist, a humble Jewish prophet.
The point is this:
• A person’s position in society,
• Or a person’s wealth or good looks do not impress God as much as that persons heart.
• These seven men were like Jaguar cars with Skoda engines.
• John may have looked like a Robin Reliant but he had a Rolls Royce engine.
"He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins".
(2). How He Came (vs 3).
“He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Ill:
• Just like we might stumble on a busker or an open-air preacher,
• As we walk through a busy city centre:
• So John appeared on the scene one day and people stumbled upon him.
• And as they came across him, he stood out!
JOHN THE BAPTISER STOOD OUT FOR 3 REASONS:
(A). Unique Appearance.
• John the baptiser;
• Resembled the Prophet Elijah in manner and dress:
• He wore a camel haired coat with a leather belt,
• This was not a fashion statement, but all that was available in desert where he grew up.
• John may have visually given the impression that he had just come from:
• Sleeping rough in a shop doorway.
• But John was unique;
• The people of his day had never seen anything like him.
(b). Unique Preaching Style.
• We would say he was a ‘fire & Brimstone’ preacher!
• Here is a sample of John's preaching to the crowds that came for baptism:
• (Shout it angrily for effect)
"You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God's coming judgment? Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God".
• When John the baptiser preached:
• Things happened because his words impacted people’s lives.
• It made a difference to the way people would live and behave.
Ill:
• Actors words can move you to tears,
• Comedians words can move you to laughter.
• Preachers words can move to get right with God.
• John the baptisers words moved people to repentance.
(c). Unique Practice.
• John's message called for people to be baptized in the river Jordan.
• Again and again we read words like verse 7: "to the crowds that came for baptism".
• That might not sound too radical to you:
• But if you were Jewish this was explosive stuff.
• Jews believed that they didn't not need to be baptized:
• Baptism was for proselytes.
• That is non-Jews (Gentiles) people like me and you.
• Who wanted to become Jewish.
• And take on the Jewish faith & life-style.
So John SHOCKED the Jewish people of his day by insisting THEY:
• Had to participate in this baptism.
• Implying that they needed the same kind of repentance as the Gentiles (non-Jews).
• Let me illustrate the impact of John's words:
• i.e. Like telling an Olympic Gold Medal athlete to get in shape.
• i.e. Like telling a group of professors, get an education.
• i.e. Like telling the crowd at F.A. Cup Final, to get excited.
Here is a crowd of Jewish people standing out in the desert:
• Listening to this wild, weird looking man,
• Who is telling them to get what they already thought they had.
• Not just to get people wet.
• But to show these people that they had to be changed, they needed repentance!
• You claim to believe the right things;
• That is in your heads you are Jews,
• But I'm talking about your heart, your practice.
• Look at your lives, examine your attitudes and admit your need.
Ill:
• Spiritual anorexia.
• Physically, on the outside looked like Amie Swartznigger, El McPherson.
• But inside they were walking skeletons!
We need to understand the background, culture of these people:
• The Pharisees (The religious leaders) believed and taught that;
• ''All Israel has a share in the age to come".
• That is in God's kingdom, what we would call heaven.
• Inherit salvation like we inherit some property or title.
• For a Gentile (A non-Jew/ non descendant of Abraham) to know God:
• He had to be converted to Judaism,
• Go through a process of becoming a Jew.
But for Jews that was not a problem:
• Because, "All Israel has a share in the age to come".
• Automatic rights and qualifications into the kingdom.
• So John shocked the Jewish people of his day by insisting THEY too,
• Had to participate in this baptism:
• Implying that they needed the same kind of repentance;
• The same kind of change of heart as the Gentiles.
Ill:
• John's arrival on the scene:
• Was like a bomb exploding,
• For these people, life would never be the same again.
(3). Why He Came (vs 4-20).
• In these fourteen verses Luke the writer of this gospel,
• Gives us two reasons why John the Baptiser came to this nation.
FIRST: John the Baptist was an illustration.
• A walking, talking, living picture;
• Who would help people to understand spiritual truths.
• Two illustrations are given in this passage.
• John the Baptist is pictured in two ways.
ILLUSTRATION #1. A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS (VS 4-6).
“‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.””
• Remember that John the Baptist was the voice,
• The Messiah (Jesus) was the word.
• John was the messenger,
• The Messiah (Jesus) was the message.
Ill:
• John was a herald, a kind of town-crier who went ahead of the royal procession,
• His job was to make sure the roads were ready for the king to travel on.
John's task was to prepare the nation for the arrival of the king:
• At this time in Jewish history the nation was in a spiritual desert;
• It was spiritually barren. A wilderness of unbelief.
• The priesthood was in a mess,
• Instead of one there were two high priests.
• The scribes and Pharisees the religious leaders were full of hypocrisy,
• They weakened the nation with their man-made rules, regulations & dead traditions.
• Jesus described them as: "The blind leading the blind'
• (Matthew chapter 15 verses 10-20)
• And even worse he described them as; "White washed tombs".
• (Matthew chapter 23 verse 27)
The nation desperately needed to hear from God:
• John the baptiser was that faithful voice,
• He was like a lighthouse blazing light in the middle of a dark night.
ILLUSTRATION #2. A FARMER BUSY ABOUT HIS WORK (VS 9&17).
“The axe has been laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’”
“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.’”
• Now John is speaking language that was familiar to the people of his day.
• Most people were dependent on agriculture for their food and income.
• So those who were listening to him, were well-aware of what he meant.
• And in this second illustration:
• John the Baptist is compared to a farmer who chops down useless trees (vs 9)
• And who winnows the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff (vs 17).
• The point is simple:
• Judgement is here repent or you will be condemned.
SECOND: John the Baptist was a WARNING (vs 7).
“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
• To get a clearer understanding,
• Let me quote from Matthew chapter 3 verse 7:
• Here we will find out who made up this group of people, the crowds.
• This verse tells us exactly who those hard-hearted people were.
''But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them, ''You brood of vipers!"
• Although John was publicly speaking to everyone;
• He was specifically looking at the religious leaders,
• Because where the leaders go the people are sure to follow.
• John was calling the religious leaders a bunch of poisonous snakes,
• John compares them to something, sly, deceptive and full of all kinds of poison!
• That is not the way to win friends and influence people,
• That does not lead onto to people corning back for seconds.
Ill:
• John's statements would have made the local papers:
• "Odd bod slanders local leaders".
• This was radical, unheard of, revolutionarily stuff!
• NOBODY ever, criticised the Pharisees,
• They were the religious mafia of their day.
Ill:
• Imagine you are in church one Sunday:
• Visiting preacher stands up and says:
"Everyone look at your minister, pastor, elders, deacons, leaders, get a good look, because this lot are a bunch of selfish, cheating lying, deceiving nasty bunch of frauds".
• Now that will hopefully never happen,
• And if it did, it probably would not be true anyway.
• But John did the equivalent thing and it was a 100% true.
Then John the Baptist goes on to say:
"You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
• John says: “You lot are going to get exactly what you deserve,
• You might fool this lot, these people but you cannot fool God!”
THEREFORE: "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance":
• Don't just look the part, wearing the right gear,
• Saying the right words, Going to the right place,
• That is all an outward,
• You are only doing it to impress other people.
• I want to see evidence that you are alive inwardly,
• That you are spiritually alive and healthy, so where's your fruit?
Ill:
• Apple tree will produce apples.
• Plumb tree will produce plumbs.
• Pear tree will produce pears.
• If it does not produce fruit, the tree is either sick or dead.
• TRANSITION:
• John says; “God expects to see spiritual fruit in your lives”
• If a tree does not produce fruit it is either sick or dead!
Note verse 8b: John knew exactly what they were thinking.
• "And do not think you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father"
• John knew exactly where they were itching, so that's where he scratched.
• Your physical family, i.e. the fact you are Jews.
• Will not affect your spiritual family i.e. getting right with God.
Ill:
• God has no grandchildren (only sons),
• It was true in John's day, it is true today!
So John says to his hearers (vs 8b-9):
"I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children of Abraham.
The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire".
• John's message was radical & explosive:
• He told them straight; it is not your ancestors that are important.
• But it's the condition of your heart.
(4). What He Said (vs 10-14):
• John’s message is twofold:
• A message of action and a message of predication.
(A). A message of Action.
• In these few verses we have three different groups of people mentioned:
• John gives each group some advice.
(A). THE CROWDS (VS 11):
• ""What should we do then?”" THE CROWDS asked".
• Notice how simple and practical John's answer is to them in verse 11:
"The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same".
(B). THE TAX COLLECTORS (VS 13):
• "TAX COLLECTORS also came to be baptized.
• "Teacher" they asked, "What should we do?"”
• Again notice how simple and practical his answer is verse 13:
• "Don't collect any more than you are required to he told them"'.
(C). THE SOLDIERS (VS 14B):
• "Then the SOLDIERS asked him, ''And what should we do?"”
• Again, he gives another simple and practical answer (vs 14b):
• He replied, '
• “Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay".
Note: that to all three groups:
• The crowds and the tax collectors, the soldiers and the Pharisees.
• John the baptiser says; God wants, expects more than Head knowledge;
• Having the right information is only half the answer,
• You then have to apply it!
Ill:
• What would you think of a man:
• Who lived all his life in a kitchen surrounded by food.
• All day long he read recipe books,
• And watched programmes like "Master Chef".
• Yet he starved to death,
• Oh! And his last words were; "I believe in bread".
• TRANSITION:
• What you believe (head knowledge)
• Needs to be worked out in your living, needs to be applied:
So John answers each group of people with a simple practical answer:
• To these people, who made up the CROWD.
• Prove your sorry, not by the words you say, but by what you do to others.
• To a group of TAX-COLLECTORS:
• Whose corruption was legendary in those days,
• He says, prove your repentance, by your honesty.
• To some SOLDIERS who were known for taking whatever they wanted.
• He said, true repentance is seen in respecting other people and also their property.
JOHN’S MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE IS SPECIFIC AND PRACTICAL.
• It involves more than just:
• A dip in the river and a religious experience.
• Just like when someone becomes a Christian, a follower of Jesus:
• It calls for a change of attitude, a change of life-style.
Ill:
• A young woman on Camp came up to me at the end of a meeting;
• She looked me in the eye and said:
• "I am a Christian, but I'm blown away if I'll let Jesus interfere with my life".
• Then she calmly walked away!
• Being a Christian, following Jesus is a walk, a journey, an adventure;
• It is not an exam, or just a new set of beliefs.
(B). What He Predicated (vs 16-18).
"And this was John's message,
"After me will come one more powerful than I,
the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit'".
John’s prediction is threefold:
(1). MORE POWERFUL (VS 16A).
• John proclaimed the messiah, the saviour as:
• "More powerful than I".
• John had considerable physical strength (he was hard!).
• John was a man who had been hardened by the endless buffeting of the desert,
• John was physically strong, but the coming Messiah would be stronger,
• He would have a supernatural INNER strength.
(2). MORE WORTHY (VS 16B).
• John says: "I am not worthy to be his slave".
• John says to the crowd; "You think I'm a big shot, but really I'm a no-body".
• John says; some-one is coming, and he really is a big shot,
• In fact they don't come any bigger!
• I am not even worthy to do what a slave would do, bend down and untie his shoes.
• He is so great I am even unworthy of even doing, that humiliating duty.
Ill:
• This isn't phoney/false humility, he's not out trying to impress:
• i.e. Pavarotti saying, "I can't sing",
• i.e. Ronaldo saying; "I can't play football".
• This is the truth!
• John realised that he would be in the presence of greatness!
• Question: Have we?
(3). MORE HOLY (VS 16C).
• He is holier than I:
• "I baptise you with water but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit".
• Don't miss the impact of those words:
• John the baptiser says; ''All I did was wash you with water".
• If my HUMAN words and actions have made a difference to you,
• And impacted your lives, and helped turn them around,
• Then wait till the messiah comes:
• "He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit".
• John the baptiser says; "I touched your body",
• But Christ will transform your hearts.
And Finally:
• In a few minutes time this meeting is about to finish.
• But God is still in the business of touching lives.
• If he has spoken to you today through my words,
• You need to do something.
• Not be baptised in the river Jordan.
• But you need to get right with God.
• You can do that quietly right where you are,
• Or go find someone you know is a Christian and chat with them.
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=y04EoDE1fF6wxzJN4jwDU8ptg9HhODjm
