John the Baptist: The Great Announcer

Introduction: Do you remember “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson? I was young, so I didn’t watch the show very often. However, the iconic introduction by the announcer is famous – Here’s Johnny! Who was the announcer? It was none other than Ed McMann. What a voice, and what an introduction (Play audio of the introduction).

Today, I want to talk about an even greater announcer, and he even introduced someone far more important than a nightly entertainer. I’m speaking about John the Baptist, and the individual he announced was Jesus Christ. His announcement was,

“Behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).

Let’s look at John the Baptist today. What do we discover about this man?

I. The Man – v. 1

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

John the Baptist is found in all four Gospels. However, you can read about the birth in Luke 1. John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. His father was a priest, and his mother was beyond child-bearing years. He was an answer to his parent’s prayers. An angel told his father that he was going to have a son. He was also told to name him, John.

One other bit of insight – John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin. He was born six months before Jesus was born.

John the Baptist was born for a specific purpose. He was considered a prophet and he was going to provide the greatest announcement the world has ever heard. He was going to herald the presentation of the Messiah. John became the front man for Jesus. He prepared the way for the Messiah.

Preaching

What else do we discover about John the Baptist? We read that he was a preacher – he came preaching (to proclaim, make known).

Wilderness of Judea

We also told the area where John preached. In the wilderness of Judea. I have read that this area was barren and rugged. It was west of the Dead Sea. I wonder how many of our Bible school graduates today would have desired the wilderness of Judea as their first preaching location.

John the Baptist came as an ambassador for the King!

In Matthew 11:11 Jesus said the following about John the Baptist,

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

John the Baptist was God’s man for the hour.

II. The Message – v. 2

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

His message was one of repentance.

What does it mean to repent? The Greek word is metanoeo and it means: to change one’s mind and to act on that change. It means to make an about-face and to go in a different direction. One author penned that repentance is,

“essential to experience God’s grace.”

The second part of his message involved announcing the Kingdom of heaven. These three words are used thirty-two times in Matthew’s Gospel. What is the kingdom of heaven? It is the sphere in which God rules and reigns.

When you become a believer, you become a part of the Kingdom of heaven. You become a part of the sphere in which God rules and reigns.

III. The Mission – v. 3

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’”

As I mentioned a few moments ago, John the Baptist was born for a purpose. He was a part of God's divine plan for the redemption of humanity. He was prophesized in the Old Testament. If God were making a cake, John the Baptist would have been an ingredient. We read in Isaiah 40:3,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

There is also a couple of verses in Malachi 4 that speak about the mission of John the Baptist. We read in Malachi 4:5-6,

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Again, Scripture tells us that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of that prophecy and that he came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. We read in Matthew 11:13-14,

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (other references: Matthew 17:10-13, Mark 1:2-4, Luke 1:17; 7:27).

IV. The Manifestation – v. 4

4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Scripture seeks to make it abundantly clear that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the Elijah who was to come. Look at how similar these two men really were.

We read about the appearance of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8b,

“A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.”[1]

A brief look at the ministry of John the Baptist reveals many notable ways that he was “Elijah.” First, God predicted John’s work as being like that of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Second, he dressed like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8 and Matthew 3:4). Third, like Elijah, John the Baptist preached in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1). Fourth, both men preached a message of repentance. Fifth, both men withstood kings and had high-profile enemies (1 Kings 18:17 and Matthew 14:3). (Got Questions Web Site).

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “His raiment and his food were like his doctrine, rough and simple.”

On the funny side: How would you have liked to have been invited to the fellowship meal at John’s gathering? Today’s menu includes locusts and wild honey. Sounds delicious!

V. The Ministry – vs. 5-6

5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

People came out to hear John. Why? God’s hand was upon him. He was God’s anointed prophet and preacher. John was fiery and people came to hear his fiery messages. And after hearing him they responded to the altar call. They made decisions to follow God.

We read that John baptized them. The word “baptism” here means “water immersion, to plunge or dip” (BDAG).

L.A. Barbieri writes, “John’s baptism was not the same as Christian baptism, for it was a religious rite signifying confession of sin and commitment to a holy life in anticipation of the coming Messiah.”[2]

John’s baptism was the outward sign of repentance, that you wanted to live for the coming Messiah. You were telling those who watched your baptism that you want to live a different life. “Hey, I’ve turned to God, and I was to declare it.”

Coming up out of the water meant that they wanted to live their lives in such a way that others could see the fruit of their repentance. They lived their lives differently!

VI. The Method – vs. 7-10

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

John’s method was STRAIGHT FORWARD PREACHING!John the Baptist wasn’t a soft-spoken preacher. He didn’t beat around the bush – No! He preached it like it was. He spoke the truth in love. And speaking the truth in love isn’t always done with flowery speech.

· John the Baptist called the Pharisees and Sadducees a Brood of vipers. Pharisees were the traditionalist and the Sadducees were the liberals of the day.

· He asked them, Who warned you to flee the wrath to come?

· He told them to “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,” Fruits are a changed life!

· He told them not to think they were secure just because they could say that Abraham was their father.

· He told them that even “now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.” This meant that judgment was closer than they realized.

· Finally, he said, “every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Does that sound like a popular sermon? It’s a sermon about getting right or getting judged.

VII. The Mightier – vs. 11-12

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John the Baptist came to be the announcer of the MIGHTIER. Who is the MIGHTIER? It is Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist baptized with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is MIGHTIER than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

What happened on the Day of Pentecost?There was a baptism of the Holy Spirit and cloven tongues of fire fell upon the 120 disciples in the Upper Room. Was this the fulfillment of John’s message here? I think so!

The message however doesn’t stop there. John the Baptist said that Jesus Christ will gather His own. That He will separate the wheat from the chaff. How? With a winnowing fan. Farmers would bring their crops into the threshing floor. Someone would have the job of tossing the chaff and wheat into the air, and someone else would use a winnowing fan. This process would blow away the lighter chaff and the heavier wheat would fall back to the ground. The wheat would then be gathered up and placed in the barn, and the chaff would be burned up with unquenchable fire. I ask you, is this figurative language or real language? It’s real. This is speaking about hell. All who reject the Messiah and refuse to turn to Him shall face eternal judgment. In Malachi 4:1 we read,

“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.

In Matthew 25, we read about the judgment of the nations, and in verse 45 we read,

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into eternal life.

My friends, what will you do with Jesus Christ? What will you do with the ONE that John announced? You must do something! Choose to follow Him.

Conclusion: What are spiritual truths from our text that we can walk away with?

1. God always has an announcer to announce important events. We see this throughout the Scripture. Today, you and I are the announcers. We are Christ’s Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).

2. The message we share is the same as John the Baptist. We are to call people to repentance and tell them about the Kingdom of heaven.

3. The Church is On Mission – It is called the Great Commission. We go into the world and announce Jesus Christ to all people.

4. God’s people are recognizable. There really is a change in us.

5. Be faithful like John the Baptist. Carry on your ministry.

6. Reach those who will repent and warn those who refuse to repent.

7. Always tell of Jesus. He is CENTRAL to everything.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (2 Ki 1:8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [2]Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 24). Victor Books.