All in the Family

All in the Family

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Luke 1:11-17; 3:1-6; 7:18-35

Introduction: (What?)

Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. John was born some six months before Jesus. As prophesied, he was to be the one who prepared the way for Jesus (Messiah). Quite likely they knew each other growing up, but neither of them understood at that point the significance of their individual callings. However, the OT prophesies concerning both would soon be fulfilled as each moved into their God-given roles.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The Forerunner Prophesied

Mal. 3:1-3 ““See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.”

Mal 4:5-6 “Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.””

Both of these scriptures were fulfilled in the coming and ministry of John the Baptist. In vss 5-6 the phrase “turn the hearts” refers to repentance which was the primary focus of the preaching of John. Some believe that it also refers to Elijah being one of the two “witnesses” referred to in Rev. 11:3 “I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”” When the disciples raised a question regarding Malachi 4:5 Jesus indicated in Matt 17:12 ““But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”” In the next verse we are told that the disciples understood that He was referring to John the Baptist.

Isa 40: 3-5 “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Over 700 years before the birth of John the Baptist, Isaiah described the ministry that John would have.

The next prophecy we find is in the NT when the angel of the LORD appeared to Zechariah, who was to be John’s father.

Luke 1: 11-17 “An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.””

In this passage we see the miraculous declaration of the angel when he appeared to Zechariah. The phrase “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the LORD their God” is directly related to the prophecy of Malachi about “turning the hearts of the children to their fathers...”

The fulfillment of these prophecies is found in...

Luke 7:57-66 “Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.” Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.”

From these OT and NT scriptures we see that John’s appearance was not random. His ministry was prophesied hundreds of years before he was born. (Something worth considering at this point is that God determined your purpose in life before you were a gleam in your earthly father’s eye.)

2. The Forerunner’s Doubts

Lk 7:18-21 “Then John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” When the men reached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ” At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people.”

John was subject to doubts just as you and I are. Even though he had announced confidently the appearance of “The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” he had bought into the Jewish idea that Messiah would be a warrior-king who would overthrow Rome and remove the yoke from the necks of Israelites. When he was in prison and occasionally getting snippets of news about his cousin, he began to second guess his confident pronouncement. In much the same way we are prone, when things in our lives don’t fit our pre-conceived notions of what the Christian life would be like, to have doubts regarding our salvation. Jesus wasn’t upset with John’s question. Legitimate doubt leads to spiritual clarification that builds faith. Here is what Jesus told the disciples of John to report to him. “He replied to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.” That last phrase was not a rebuke of John, but was rather an encouragement for him.

3. The Forerunner Praised

Lk 7:22-35 After John’s messengers left, he began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you. I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But since the Pharisees and experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves.)”

Then Jesus seemed to be exasperated with the Pharisees. He said,

31 “To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other:

We played the flute for you,

but you didn’t dance;

we sang a lament,

but you didn’t weep!

33 For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” (All her children means, the consequences produced by wisdom.)

Application: (How does this message impact my life?)

Just as John was born to fulfill a special mission for God, we are born again to be witnesses to Christ and to make disciples.

Have you surrendered your life to Christ? Do you sense today that God is drawing you to Jesus. Pray; “Lord, I give you my life.”

If you have surrendered your life to Christ, are you fulfilling your mission as a witness and disciple-maker?

What do you need to do today to get “on-track” to fulfilling your purpose in life?