Please open your Bibles this morning to the Gospel according to John.
We finished John's prologue last week, verses 1-18, so this morning we are officially jumping into the narrative section of this book.
And so turn there to John chapter 1, we're going to read this morning from verse 19 through verse 34.
John chapter 1, verses 19 through 34.
And if you're using the pew Bibles there in front of you, you can find this passage on page 833.
We invite you and encourage you to have a Bible open.
So we're going to be on John chapter 1, verses 19 through 34 this morning.
Please follow with me as I read.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him,
Who are you?
He confessed and did not deny, but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
And they asked him,
What then? Are you Elijah?
He said, I am not.
Are you the prophet?
And he answered, No.
So they said to him,
Who are you?
We need to give an answer to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?
He said,
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.
Make straight the way of the Lord,
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
They asked him,
Then why are you baptizing,
if you are neither the Christ,
nor Elijah,
nor the prophet?
John answered them,
I baptize with water,
But among you stands one you do not know,
even he who comes after me,
the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.
These things took place in Bethany,
across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
Behold the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
This is he of whom I said,
After me comes a man who ranks before me,
because he was before me.
I myself did not know him,
but for this purpose I came baptizing with water,
that he might be revealed to Israel.
And John bore witness.
I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove,
and it remained on him.
I myself did not know him,
but he who sent me to baptize with water,
said to me,
He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain,
this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
And I have seen and have borne witness
that this is the Son of God.
This is God's holy, perfect, true, and inspired word.
Let's bow and pray once more.
Father, we simply ask again
that as we open up your word,
that you would do a miracle here.
That we wouldn't just hear it as information,
but by the power of your Spirit,
would it transform us
as we hear and receive your word.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,
then John the Baptist has got to be
one of the least flattered figures in the Bible.
We sing David's songs,
and we pray his words from the Psalms.
David wrote a large portion of the Old Testament.
We simply don't have that same wealth of information
from John the Baptist.
Just a handful of verses in comparison.
Plenty of people want to live in big,
fancy houses like Solomon.
I don't hear many people wanting to live
out in the wilderness like John.
People love to talk about Joseph
and his coat of many colors.
As I look around,
I don't see anybody wearing camel's hair
like John the Baptist did.
And I've heard of plenty of people
following the Daniel diet,
but I don't know of a single person
who has ever followed the John the Baptist diet
of locusts and wild honey.
That might not be what we want to imitate
from the life of John.
But despite his lack of press,
John the Baptist is one of the most significant figures
in human history.
In fact, R.C. Sproul,
he observes that secular historians
from the first century,
they wrote more words,
they gave more attention to John the Baptist
than they did to Jesus himself.
He was that unbelievably significant.
And no, it's not primarily because of his clothes
or his lodging or his diet.
It was because of his witness.
John the Apostle,
he first introduced us to John the Baptist
up in verse 6.
And here's what we said.
You may remember this from several weeks ago.
We said that we cannot imitate John's unique position,
but we can imitate his posture
and his proclamation.
I wonder if you remember that.
We cannot imitate John's unique position.
He was one of a kind,
one of one, utterly unique.
But we can and we must imitate his posture
and his proclamation.
If you are a Christian,
then you are, like it or not,
a witness to the glory of God
in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our passage this morning,
as we look to who John the Baptist is,
how he acted,
what he said,
our passage this morning,
it gives us two keys to that witness.
If you're taking notes,
this is going to be our outline this morning.
We're going to see two keys
for our witness to Christ,
our posture
and our proclamation.
First, what is our posture
as witnesses to Christ?
Look there to verse 19 with me.
It says,
and this is the testimony of John.
Let's stop there
because that might not sound like much,
but this was an unbelievably,
unbelievably significant moment
in God's story of redemption.
The Old Testament,
it had concluded with Malachi's prophecy
and then for 400 years,
God was silent.
There was no vision.
There were no prophecies.
There was no prophets.
God did not speak.
It was utter silence from God
for 400 years
until a prophet comes out of the wilderness
and begins to testify.
Apparently, John was causing
a little bit of a scene.
People from all over were coming to him,
listening to his message
and as we see in the Gospel of Matthew,
he was preaching a message of repentance.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
His message was,
turn from your sin.
Repent.
The king is coming.
He's on his way.
You had better prepare yourselves.
He is near.
And as a way of demonstrating that repentance,
we see that he was baptizing there in the water.
Now, this is not quite the same as our baptism today.
We baptize in a hot tub.
But not only that,
we baptize believers in Christ.
We demonstrate externally, visibly,
the internal transformation
that has happened by the power of the Holy Spirit
when God saves someone
and they come to faith in Christ.
This was not that.
John's baptism,
this was something called proselyte baptism.
Proselyte baptism had arisen
during that 400 years
between the two testaments.
And it was traditionally only for Gentiles
who converted to Judaism.
And they were considered unclean.
And so they needed to be washed.
They needed to be cleansed.
And actually, the convert would baptize himself.
He would wash himself,
clean himself up,
have to wash away his uncleanliness
before joining the Jewish community.
But here comes John,
out of the wilderness,
preaching a message of repentance,
not just for the Gentiles,
but for the Jews as well.
Not just for the Gentiles
who didn't know the Lord,
but for Israel.
He came saying that the kingdom of God is near
and they are not ready.
They need to repent.
And on top of that,
people are coming to him
and he is the one doing the baptism.
He's administering baptism
to all of these people.
So naturally,
the religious leaders were curious.
What in the world is this guy doing?
Who does he think he is?
And that's exactly what they asked him there in verse 19.
It says,
The Jews sent priests and Levites,
some of their religious experts from Jerusalem,
to ask him,
Who are you?
And here's where we begin to see
the posture of John.
In the strongest terms possible,
he confessed and did not deny,
but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
See, he didn't even begin to tell them
who he was.
He told them who he was not.
Don't look at me.
Don't worry about me.
I'm not him.
Look to him.
I'm just here to pave the way for him.
So they moved on to the next option.
Well, what then?
Are you Elijah?
Elijah the prophet famously did not die.
He was taken up to be with the Lord,
and so it was believed that Elijah himself
physically, literally,
would return in the future.
And in fact, Malachi,
the last prophet of the Old Testament,
it concludes with this prophecy
that I will send Elijah the prophet
before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
So John here, he says,
no, I'm not Elijah,
and technically he's correct.
No, he's John.
He's not Elijah.
But Jesus, in Matthew 11,
he tells us that John is in fact
the fulfillment of this prophecy.
He is Elijah who is to come.
So they're down to one more option.
Are you the prophet?
If they had said,
are you a prophet?
Maybe John would have said,
yes, I am,
but they didn't say that.
They said,
are you the prophet?
They're referring to the prophecy
of Deuteronomy 18.
God had told Moses in Deuteronomy 18,
I will raise up for them a prophet like you
from among their brothers,
and I will put my words in his mouth,
and he shall speak to them
all that I command him.
They were looking for this particular prophet to come.
And of course,
that is a prophecy fulfilled in Christ.
So again, John says,
no, that's not me.
I am not him.
So they're finally out of options,
and they give John a turn to speak and say,
well, then who are you?
We need to give an answer to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?
And John tells them,
referencing Isaiah 40, verse 3,
which we read this morning,
I am the voice.
Not the word,
the voice.
Not the word,
but a witness.
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
make straight the way of the Lord,
as the prophet Isaiah had said.
See, John knew his role.
It was not to attract glory,
or fame,
or attention to himself.
It was to prepare the way of the Lord.
His role was to clear the way,
to make the path straight.
The King is coming.
When I was in college,
I lived in a house with three other college guys,
and if you came to our house,
you would notice that it was inhabited
by four college guys living there.
It was an absolute mess.
And every now and then,
we would get a message,
a warning.
The landlord is coming.
He's on his way.
He will be there soon.
How do you think we responded?
It was a whirlwind.
We hopped up into a whirlwind of cleaning.
The dishes were done.
Clothes were thrown into the closet.
Floors were cleaned.
We prepped ourselves for his arrival.
Well, John says,
in that same way,
the King is coming.
Don't look at me.
I'm just the messenger.
Listen to the message.
The message is urgent.
You need to repent
and prepare yourself
for the coming of the King.
Get your affairs in order.
The King is on his way.
Now, I'd like to have thought
that that would have satisfied me,
but they had another question.
It was probably the one
that bothered them the most.
Look what they said.
Then why are you baptizing?
If you're neither the Christ,
nor Elijah,
nor the prophet,
what are you doing?
And John's little addition there
in verse 24,
I think,
says it all.
My Bible has it there
in parentheses.
If you look there,
maybe yours does as well.
He gives a little aside
and says,
now they had been sent
from the Pharisees.
This is the first appearance
of the Pharisees
in the Gospel of John,
but as you know,
it will not be the last.
This is the beginning
of some tension
that will build
throughout this book
and of course will culminate
in the death of Christ.
The Pharisees were not all bad.
I want to give them
some credit.
I want to be clear about that.
Some Pharisees wound up
following Jesus.
They believed in Him,
but many did not.
The Pharisees were
the religious elite of the day.
They held the law of God
in high esteem on one hand,
but we see that they also
tended to hold
their own tradition
in high esteem as well.
And they had a hard time
reconciling or understanding
or accepting anyone
who would go and teach
contrary to what they said,
to what their tradition was.
And again,
we should note here
that there is no Old Testament
command or instruction
about baptizing a convert
to Judaism.
That had developed
as tradition,
Jewish tradition,
in that intertestamental period.
Traditions are great,
but scripture is better.
And sometimes,
I think we tend to get
that priority lopsided.
Traditions are wonderful,
but scripture is better.
And again,
I love how John responds here.
Look what he says.
He doesn't respond
how I might have responded
to that.
He doesn't even give them
a straight answer.
He could have said,
don't you realize
that I am a prophet?
Which means
that I carry the same weight
of authority
as all the prophets
of the Old Testament.
And so,
if I come saying
that we need to repent
and be baptized,
that's the word of God
telling you,
lay aside your tradition
and accept this new word
from the Lord.
You need to be baptized.
Come wash yourself.
You are unclean.
When God says
the Messiah is coming
and you are not ready,
it's time to toss
your traditions aside
and listen to the voice of God.
But he doesn't say that.
What does he say?
Look there to verse 26.
He says,
I baptize with water,
but among you
stands one you do not know.
Even he who comes after me,
the strap of whose sandal
I am not worthy to untie.
He again lowers himself
and he elevates Christ.
That was John's posture.
When someone became
a disciple of a rabbi,
they came under the teaching
of a rabbi,
they would do all sorts
of things for him,
almost to the level
of being a bondservant.
It was much more
than just listening
and taking notes
and following along
with their teaching.
When someone became
a disciple,
this was an all-of-life
commitment to service,
to the mission
and the teaching
of the rabbi.
So they would take care
of all sorts
of arrangements.
They took care
of everything from food
to lodging
to carrying their belongings,
all sorts of things.
But one thing
they did not do
was handle
the rabbi's shoes.
They didn't do that.
That one task
was reserved
for the bondservants,
for the lowest
of the low.
But John says,
for this man,
go even lower
than that.
I'm not even
worthy to untie
the strap
of his sandal.
Church,
I think we could
learn something
from the posture
of John the Baptist.
Don't you?
If you want
to be great,
make yourself
less than a servant.
Go lower.
Matthew and Mark,
we talked about this
in Sunday school.
I love when Treg
preaches my sermon
before I come in here.
I really do.
It primes the pump.
Matthew and Mark,
they both tell
the story of how
James and his brother
John,
the John,
the John who wrote
this book,
John the Apostle,
who were reading
this gospel,
how they pursued
greatness.
They came up to Jesus
and they asked
that it be granted
to them
to sit one
at his right hand,
one at his left hand
in glory.
That's a bold request.
They wanted
to be great.
You know,
John just happens
to leave that story out
of his gospel.
You notice that?
And it says,
when the other ten
disciples heard of it,
they were angry
at them.
Not because that was
such a foolish request,
but because they
wanted to be great.
They didn't want to be
beaten to the punch.
And Jesus hears
all of this
and he says,
listen,
y'all need to come
over here,
sit down,
I need to tell you
something.
Listen to me.
He says,
you know that
those who are
considered rulers
of the Gentiles
lord it over them
and their great ones
exercise authority
over them,
but it shall not
be so among you.
But whoever would
be great among you
must be your servant.
And whoever would
be first among you
must be slave of all.
For even the son of man
came not to be served,
but to serve
and to give his life
as a ransom for many.
See, that's how Jesus
viewed greatness.
No wonder he says
in Matthew chapter 11
that among those
born of women
there has arisen
no one greater
than John the Baptist.
Not David,
not Joseph,
not Abraham,
not Isaac,
not Jacob.
No one
is greater
than John the Baptist.
Do you want to be great
in the kingdom of God?
John,
lower yourself.
Humble
yourself.
Stop making it
about you
become
a servant.
Imitate
the posture
of John.
Take this posture
of a humble
servant,
unworthy
even to be
a bondservant
of Jesus Christ.
Could you imagine?
what would your life
look like
if it wasn't
all about you,
but it was about
the glory
of Jesus Christ?
What would that do
for the dynamic
of your relationships?
If the goal
of your relationships
was to humble
yourself
and serve
that those
other people
might know
the glory
of Christ Jesus,
what would that do
for your marriage?
if you put
yourself aside
to serve
that they might
know Christ
more,
what would it do
for this church?
What would this church
look like?
If you can imagine
this,
if there was
no task
that was beneath
us,
if we would
jump to serve
whether people
saw us or not,
whether people
gave us credit
or not,
whether the only
person who saw
what you did
was the master
himself.
And I do
want to commend
you,
Siwe Bay,
because there
are many
humble servants
in this church.
I think this
is one of our
strengths.
But I want
to challenge
you.
Go lower.
We can go
lower.
The world
knows all
about climbing
the ladder
to greatness.
What would it
look like to
bring someone
into this place
and have them
see a family
of servants
who say,
don't look at us.
We're nothing.
Look to Christ.
Church,
this humble
posture of
our lives
will give
weight to
the proclamation
of our lips.
We need
both.
I'm going to
say that again.
The humble
posture of
our lives
will give
weight to
the proclamation
of our lips.
That's the
second key
to our
witness
to Christ.
Our second
point this
morning.
Second,
we see
our
proclamation
as witnesses
of Christ.
Our
proclamation.
Now,
we talk a lot
about evangelism.
That's one of
our three
key aspects
of our
philosophy
of ministry.
We want
to enjoy
God.
We want
to equip
the saints
and we
want to
evangelize
the lost.
That means
sharing the
gospel.
That requires
us to
proclaim
something.
But talking
with many
of you,
I know
that sometimes
you get
to that
point and
you aren't
even really
sure exactly
what to
say.
I want
to let
John help
us out
here this
morning.
You can
remember
this with
three S's.
Three parts
to John's
proclamation
and his
testimony
here.
Three S's.
Substitute,
Spirit,
Son.
If you
want to
know who
Jesus is,
John tells
us here that
he is the
sacrificial
substitute,
he is the
Spirit-filled
Spirit-giver,
and he is
the Son
of God.
First S.
And Jesus
is the
sacrificial
substitute.
Look there
to verse
29.
Verse 29.
He says,
The next
day John
saw Jesus
coming toward
him and
said,
Behold,
the Lamb
of God
who takes
away the
sin of
the world.
This is
he of whom
I said,
After me
comes a
man who
ranks before
me because
he was
before me.
Behold,
the Lamb
of God
who takes
away the
sin of
the world.
What does
he mean
when he
calls Jesus
the Lamb
of God?
John is
no doubt
as he's
done so
many times
already through
this first
chapter,
time and
time again,
he's drawing
us back
again towards
the Old
Testament
scriptures.
And he's
showing us
how Jesus
is the
fulfillment
of everything
the Old
Testament was
looking forward
to.
So here
calling Jesus
the Lamb
of God,
he's
specifically
referencing
all the
Old Testament
language that
dealt with
sacrifice.
Abraham
brought Isaac
up to the
mountain,
prepared to
sacrifice his
son in
obedience to
the Lord,
and what
happened?
The Lord
himself provided
a sacrifice,
a ram,
caught in
the bush.
In Exodus,
God told the
Israelites in
Egypt to put
the blood of
the Lamb on
the doorpost
of their
home,
and those
who were
covered by
the blood
of the Lamb
were spared.
Those who
were not
suffered the
wrath of
God.
At the
Passover,
the Lamb
without blemish
was to be
offered to
the Lord
as a
sacrifice.
It was a
substitute to
bear the
wrath of
God and
cover the
sins of
the people.
And of
course,
we know
Isaiah
chapter 53,
one of the
clearest and
most beautiful
passages,
of Scripture
pointing us
forward towards
the sacrifice
of Christ,
written 700
years before
Jesus ever
stepped foot
on the
earth.
He was
oppressed
and he was
afflicted,
yet he opened
not his
mouth.
Like a
lamb that
is led to
the slaughter,
and like
sheep that
before its
shearers is
silent, so
he opened
not his
mouth.
all of
this is
language of
sin and
sacrifice and
substitution.
If you want
to understand
who Jesus
is and what
he came to
do, we need
to remember
these three
words.
In my
place.
In my
place.
That's what
substitute means,
isn't it?
There's
something
happening in
my place.
Jesus Christ,
if we want
to understand
who he is,
what he's
done, we
need to know
he lived
perfectly in
my place.
That he
died in
my place.
That he
bore the
wrath of
God for
my sin.
In my
place.
That he
rose up
from the
grave,
defeating
sin,
defeating
death,
defeating
the enemy.
in my
place.
Listen, we
cannot
understand who
Jesus is
apart from
understanding
that it
was in
my
place.
As a
sacrifice
and a
substitute.
You all
know the
hymn,
What Can
Wash
Away My
Sin?
Y'all can
do better
than that.
What can
make me
whole again
is nothing
but the
blood of
Jesus.
I read an
article this
week about
the origin
of that
hymn.
That's one
of my
favorite
hymns.
Robert
Lowry,
he wrote
that song
in 1876.
He introduced
it at the
Ocean Grove
Campsite in
New Jersey.
And revival
broke out.
The following
summer, over
710,000 train
tickets were
sold.
Christians from
all over were
making the
journey to
Ocean Grove
to gather
and to
worship and
to sing
about the
blood of
Jesus that
covers their
sin.
Nothing can
for sin
atone.
Nothing but
the blood of
Jesus.
Not of good
that I have
done.
Nothing but
the blood of
Jesus.
But then I
got to the
end of the
article and I
saw something
that really
bothered me.
It said,
singing about
the blood of
Jesus may
offend the
sensibilities of
many 21st
century singers
and as a
result causes
them to
reject any
hymn that
mentions blood.
I'm sorry
if your 21st
century sensibilities
are offended
by talking so
much about
blood.
But God is
offended by
your sin.
And without
the shedding of
blood, there
is no remission
for sins.
Unless Jesus
Christ, the
Lamb of God,
is slain for
you, unless
His blood
covers you,
you will
bear the
wrath of
God for
your sin.
Wouldn't
you like a
substitute to
step in to
your place?
John says
that is what
Christ has
done.
This is not a
side issue of
Christianity,
church.
This is at the
very heart of
the gospel.
We don't need
a Christ who's
just a good
example.
We need a
Lamb of God
who will die
in our place
and cover us
with His
blood.
Not only
that.
John says
He is also
the Spirit
filled,
Spirit
giver.
Verse 33
tells us that
God had
revealed to
John previously,
we don't have
that conversation
here, but He
had revealed to
John previously
that He on
whom you see
the Spirit
descend and
remain.
This is He
who baptizes
with the
Holy Spirit.
This was how
God planned
to visibly
and powerfully
affirm the
unique Spirit
filled ministry
of the Messiah.
Again,
throughout the
Old Testament,
the Spirit of
God would
come on to
people,
come upon
people,
empower them
for a time,
but it
did not
remain.
It would
come and
it would
go,
it was in
and it
was out,
it was
temporary.
But again,
because Jesus
is who He
is,
because He
is God
Himself
in the
flesh,
God the
Father,
God the
Son,
God the
Holy Spirit,
He is one
with the
Spirit.
He is
Spirit filled
in a way
that no one
before Him
ever was.
the Spirit,
it doesn't
just come
and go
from Jesus,
it descends
on Him
and it
remains.
But John
says one
step further,
the Spirit
doesn't remain
and stay
there.
John says
this Spirit
filled Messiah
baptizes
with the
Holy Spirit.
He gives
the Holy
Spirit to
all who
come to
Him in
faith.
See,
John's
baptism was
temporary,
it was
external,
it was a
sign of
cleansing and
repentance,
it washed
the body.
But the
baptism that
Jesus gives,
John says,
to all who
know Him
in faith,
is permanent,
internal,
total,
complete
cleansing and
renewal by
the power of
the Holy
Spirit.
John says,
I baptize
with water.
He baptizes
with the
Spirit.
This is what
Ezekiel
promised in
Ezekiel
chapter 36,
what we call
the new
covenant.
He says,
I will give
you a new
heart and a
new spirit I
will put
within you.
Now I will
remove the
heart of
stone from
your flesh
and give
you a
heart of
flesh and
I will put
my spirit
within you
and cause
you to
walk in
my statutes
and to be
careful to
obey my
rules.
I have
been asked
before whether
or not I
believe in
baptism of
the Holy
Spirit.
And I
say,
absolutely.
But then I
have to
clarify because
that doctrine
has been so
confused and
twisted and
turned that
we have to
understand exactly
what that
means.
So let me
be clear.
Baptism with
the Holy
Spirit is not
for a select
few Christians
out of all
of the church.
It's not a
second later
event sometime
after your
conversion as
if you get
some spirit
now and then
you might level
up later as
you get holier
and more serious
in your faith.
No, this is
for everyone
in Christ.
Everyone in
Christ, everyone
who belongs to
Christ has the
Spirit of God
in them
in full.
Now our
experience of
that Spirit,
our walking
with Him,
our dependence
upon Him can
ebb and flow
with the
trajectory of
our life and
our dependence
upon Him,
but it's not a
question of
whether you
have the
Spirit.
If you are
in Christ,
you have
the Spirit.
This is what
Paul says in
Romans chapter
8.
If you want
to know what
a gift you've
been given in
the Holy Spirit,
go home this
afternoon and
read Romans
chapter 8.
I can't read
it all right
this minute,
but I'll
summarize it
for you.
This is what
he says.
You, however,
talking to
believers,
are not in
the flesh,
but in the
Spirit.
Two types
of people in
the world,
two types
of people in
this room.
There are
flesh people,
there are
spirit people.
He says,
you are not
in the flesh,
but in the
Spirit,
if in fact
the Spirit
of God
dwells in
you.
Listen to
this.
Anyone who
does not
have the
Spirit of
Christ does
not belong
to him.
He says,
I'm summarizing
here,
he says,
the Spirit,
he sets us
free from
condemnation and
guilt.
The Spirit
wages war
against the
flesh.
The Spirit
puts to
death the
deeds of the
body.
The Spirit
renews our
minds.
The Spirit
leads us in
holiness.
The Spirit
leads us to
delight in
the Lord.
The Spirit
bears witness
with our
spirit that we
are sons of
God.
The Spirit
helps us in
our weakness.
The Spirit
prays on our
behalf when we
don't know how
to pray or
what to pray.
The Spirit
himself intercedes
for us according
to the will of
God.
The Spirit
gifts us for
ministry.
The Spirit
convicts us of
sin.
The Spirit
bears the fruit
of godliness
in our lives.
The Spirit
stirs up love
for Christ
in us.
And we
think we
can live the
Christian life
according to
the flesh.
Church, the
Christian life
is impossible
apart from
his Spirit.
And John
says, come
to Christ.
All I can
do is clean
you with water,
but Christ
will baptize
you with the
Holy Spirit.
This Jesus
is a
substitutionary
sacrifice.
He is the
Spirit-filled
Spirit-giver.
Who else
can he be
but the
Son of God?
This is
how John
concludes
his testimony.
Here in
verse 34,
he says,
I have
seen and
borne witness
that this
is the
Son
of God.
We're told
in Matthew
3 that when
Jesus was
baptized,
he went down
into the
water and
as he came
up out
of the
water after
400 years
of silence,
everyone there
heard the
voice of
God.
This is one
of only three
times in the
New Testament
that God
speaks audibly
for everybody
to hear.
It's at the
baptism of
Christ,
this is my
beloved Son
in whom I
am well
pleased.
It's at his
transfiguration
of Christ,
this is my
beloved Son,
listen to him.
And it's in the
final week of
Jesus'
earthly life,
I have glorified
your name and
I will do it
again.
What do you
think God
wants us
to hear?
All three
times,
he points
our attention
to the
glory of
Jesus as
the Christ,
the only
Son of
God.
He wants
us,
he wants
you to
listen to
him,
to believe
in him,
to trust
him,
to love
him,
to share
him,
to behold
him.
That's
exactly what
John calls
us to do.
How do we
respond to
a man like
this?
With the
eyes of
spiritual sight
by the power
of the Holy
Spirit Church,
we must
behold
him.
Behold
the Lamb
of God.
Behold
the Lamb
of God
who takes
away the
sin of
the world.
But please
don't be
content to
just hear
this and
understand in
your mind
who Jesus
is.
You must
behold him
by faith
in your
heart.
Apply the
gospel to
yourself.
church.
To know
that everything
he did,
he did
on your
behalf.
Know that
Christ Jesus
came to
take away
the sin
of the
world,
but trust
that Christ
came to
take my
sin.
Jesus came
to take
away the
sin of
Jonathan
love and
have been
To be forgiven in my place.
Know that Christ is the spirit-filled spirit giver.
But look to him.
Come to him.
Behold him.
Depend on him daily.
Abide in him.
Walk in him.
Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you.
Sanctifying.
Purifying.
Convicting.
Leading you.
Christ in us.
The hope of glory.
And know.
Know that Christ is the beloved son of God.
But behold him by faith and rejoice.
To all who received him.
He gave the right.
To become children of God.
And by his grace you.
Are a son.
And a daughter.
Of Christ.
Son and daughter of God.
God.
Good news like this.
Church should.
Humble us.
And it should compel us.
To lower ourselves.
To point to Jesus.
To invite others.
To come and to behold the glory.
Of God.
Let's pray.
Amen.
God.
We thank you for the good news of the gospel.
That Christ came to take away the sin of the world.
Lord.
We pray that we would trust that to be true for us.
Specifically.
That the blood of Christ would wash away our sin.
And Lord.
When we realize that.
The gift that we've been given.
As we walk according to the spirit.
Lord.
Make us humble.
And make us joyfully.
Joyfully missional.
As we proclaim the glory of God.
To those who've never heard.
We pray this in Jesus name.
Amen.