Tag: John the Baptist

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Understanding John the Baptist’s Role as a Forerunner (John 1:6-7)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  (7) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of that Light that all men through him might believe.”

John 1:6-7

Explain:

Verse 6 introduces us to a man “sent from God” named John.  This is not the namesake of the Gospel, but John the baptist.  He came as a forerunner of the messiah who proclaimed who Jesus was and why He was coming.  This was predicted in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 40:3-5

[3] 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.

Isaiah has been called “the Bible within the Bible.”  As the Gospels begin with the proclamation of the witness of the forerunner, the 40th chapter of Isaiah foretells of this prophet coming proclaiming the Messiah’s coming, and preparing people for His ministry.

This is also predicted in Malachi.

Malachi 3:1

[1] Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

What John the Apostle says here about John the Baptist is literally what John the Baptist said about himself.

Luke 3:15-18

[15] And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; [16] John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: [17] Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. [18] And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

John the Baptist was not the Light, but he prepared people about Jesus Christ.

What was his aim?

“that all men through him might believe.

Who is “him”? Some say that “him” here is John the Baptist.  Some say that “him” here refers to the Light.  It works either way.  All people who believe eventually believe because of the evidence of who the Light is and was. John’s whole ministry was to get everyone to believe.

Apply:

The ministry of John the Baptist should be imitated by every person who is a Christ follower. We bare witness of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We point people to faith and repentance. We testify that we are not God, we are not the Savior, we are not the answer for people’s sins.  Jesus Christ is.

Respond:

God, I pray that today you’d help me to be a good witness for You.  I love you!  Amen.

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Recognize our sin. Luke- Week 6- Day 1

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Recognition of Personal Sin.  vs.4-6

As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  (5)  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;  (6)  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  Luke 3:4-6 

Explanation:

John’s preaching and teaching are described here.  This is not a recording of one message that he taught.  This is a sampling of the themes of the message of John.  You can see in verse 4 that Luke helps us to understand that Isaiah predicted the coming, the message, and the mission of John the Baptist, this voice in the wilderness.

What was that message and mission?  John was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah.  How were the people to prepare?  The answer is repentance!  It is described here starting in verse 4-6.  For repentance to happen there must be a recognition and a turning from personal sin.

Like a king sending people ahead to make the journey easier for him travel, John was coming to do the same thing in the hearts of the people to ready them for Jesus. 

There are topographical metaphors to speak to matters of the inner person.  The crooked path is made strait.  Preparing people’s hearts means straightening out what is crooked in them.  The valley shall be filled.  The low and base things of the heart are brought up.  The mountain shall be brought low.  The high and prideful things of the heart must be brought low.  John said “he must increase and I must decrease.  The rough ways shall be made smooth.  Anything in the way of God coming and working in the heart, or any sin that is loved and keeps people from turning to Christ must be abandoned.

Application:

There is no salvation without a recognition of personal sin and repentance.  If the heart is not prepared to acknowledge and turn from sin then they are not ready to accept Christ as their Savior.  What did Jesus came to save us from?  He came to save us from our sin and its’ consequences.  Sin is the obstacle to heaven.  It is the obstacle to a right relationship with God.  It is also the obstacle to repentance.  Often, people do not want to repent because they love their sin.  We can make church as “cool” as we can, and I’m certainly not voting that we strive to be irrelevant.  But no matter how “cool” you make things, if you preach the Gospel it will be rejected by some people, because to preach the Gospel you must preach repentance of sin.

Is there a sin keeping you from believing in Christ? Is there a sin keeping you from fellowship with Christ?

Repentance is the answer.  Turning from your sin to Christ by faith is the answer.

Response:

Is there a sin you need to repent of today?