The opening act
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The opening act's performance serves to "warm up" the audience, making it appropriately excited and enthusiastic for the headliner.
Sometimes it doesn’t go as planned.
1968- 1969 Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Country Joe and the fish all booked the same opening act.
Led Zeppelin
But the purpose is to prepare the way of the main act.
Obviously in this analogy, John the Baptist is the opening act and Jesus is the headliner.
In our minds, thats the way it worked.
John’s preaching repentance and heralding the way of the King and the Jesus steps on stage, John baptizes him as his introduction to the world and then John exits stage left in the awaiting hands of Harod’s soldiers, who promptly arrest him.
And when we read Mathew, Mark and Luke, we can come to the conclusion that that’s pretty much what happened.
John will show us this morning that there was some overlap in their ministries.
It serves as a reminder of how the Gospels are not complete biographical works of Jesus. They are snapshots of Jesus’ ministry.
We are given enough to be followers of Jesus but not so much that we become fanatics
JOHN’S FINAL TESTIMONY
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
His disciples were baptizing.
23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—
24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
John was clearly correcting some thought from the readers of Mark.
25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.
26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.”
They were presenting a problem.
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Clarification:
28 “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’
29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.
Saucey!!!!
Bride - Israel.
Bridegroom - God.
Friend of the Bridegroom.
31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
All Bikers ride, but not all who ride are bikers.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
The opposite of belief is disobedience.
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
Helping those in need
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
demons also believe and shudder.
20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Abraham
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.