Luke 1 - John the Baptist
Notes
Transcript
Handout
I’m so grateful that they put signs on the streets.
I’m so bad about passing up my turn.
I’ll recognize I’m passing it as I’m passing it.
I didn’t read the sign.
Signs are designed to point you to or warn you of something.
A sign’s sole purpose is to tell you about something else.
Definition: an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
No Diving Sign
Danger
Some people thinks this means shortcut.
Do not touch
This is the most disobeyed.
Signs are to point us in a particular direction to or from something.
Big Idea: A Life Pointing to Jesus
Big Idea: A Life Pointing to Jesus
Stand to read
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Leader: This is God’s Word.
Everyone: Thanks be to God.
Context:
God sent His prophet Isaiah, during a time when Israel was in exile, to give them a word of comfort.
Isaiah was to speak tenderly to His people and give them a message of hope.
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A herald is someone who goes before a monarch and brings news.
Isaiah prophesied the forerunner of a Messiah that was to come.
There would be an official messenger to go before the Lord and proclaim to the people “The King is coming!”
Around 540 years later, an angel meet a priest and tell him that Isaiah’s prophecy is going to be fulfilled in this baby boy, to whom his wife, though “advanced in years” would give birth.
This is a miraculous birth.
This is a fulfilment of God’s promises to His people.
Look at what was going to happen in John’s life! (vv. 14-17)
This man was going to be a man used by God!
He was going to be great before the Lord and filled with the Spirit!
God is going to have mighty regard for this child.
He will turn many of God’s people back to the Lord.
He would go before the Savior in the Spirit and power of Elijah
Elijah was one of the memorable prophets of Israel.
He performed miracles, opposed false gods, and ascended into heaven.
Elijah would also appear at the Transfiguration of Jesus.
Elijah’s life was geared toward presenting a proper vision of who God is.
Now John was to be in the Spirit of Elijah.
John the Baptist was set up to be a big deal.
But the number one thing was that he would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (v. 17)
This is why John exists.
He would prepare people for the coming of the Lord and surrender to the Kingship of Jesus Christ.
He was the forerunner, declaring “Get ready! The King is coming! Get ready! God is almost here!”
Church, we are to do the same.
We must...
APPLICATION:
Prepare people for the gospel.
Prepare people for the gospel.
There are people in our lives that are living in the dark.
They’re bound by the weight of the world.
They’re trapped in their sin.
Yet, there is hope. There is one who has come to set us free from the bondage of sin!
There is a Savior, who has come to redeem us from the hand of trouble!
We must prepare our friends, family members, and neighbors to receI’ve the gospel!
We mustn’t hinder them, but point them to Jesus!
John’s whole life was to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
How does this play out in your life?
Are you making it easy for people to be introduced to Jesus?
Zechariah questioned how this was to be considering he and his wife were older than dirt.
The angel finally introduced himself and said that he brings good news.
But Zechariah was going to be mute until John was born, because he did not believe in the good news Gabriel spoke of.
The day John was born, there’s an argument about his name.
Zechariah said that his name would be John, just as Gabriel told him.
Then, Zechariah begins to worship
The brother begins to preach!
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Zechariah praises God for the horn of salvation that was to point to the God who visited and redeemed His people!
God had promised mercy to His people and made a covenant with them.
His people would be delivered and would served God without fear and walk in holiness!
But the messenger of the covenant was baby John! (vv. 76-79)
Zechariah prophesied who John would be, but notice: John’s life isn’t about John.
John’s life is to be a servant the gospel!
He was to prepare the way for the Lord
He was to prepare the people for salvation
So they would know that forgiveness was coming
So they know that God was faithful
So they know that the tender mercy of God was going to lead them out of the darkness that sin and death brings into a beautiful light!
He was to guide them to the way of peace
Gospel Presentation
The world in which we live was broken.
At that time, Israel hadn’t heard from God in 400 years after the book of Malachi
The silence has been broken
Now, there is a messenger born!
He’s going to give light to those in darkness?
How?! By pointing them to the Light of the World!
John 1:4–9 “4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
Jesus was the light coming into the world to redeem the world from darkness!
In this coming Savior, there is grace, truth, love, and forgiveness!
This Savior would come as a person, to sympathize with us in every way!
Lived perfectly as a man, though He was still God
Died on your behalf so that your sins would be punished and paid for
Was raised to life so that through faith in Him we would have eternal life!
Church, John came to “guide our way to peace!”
We don’t have to be at war with God anymore!
What does this mean?!
APPLICATION:
Jesus is our way to peace.
Jesus is our way to peace.
We spend all of our lives trying to find peace and happiness!
Jesus is the peace with God that transcends all other peace!
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can have peace with God.
This was the message of John the Baptist’s life!
Let’s jump into the future and see how John deployed this message.
John 1:29 “29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
In declaring this, John is pointing to the reality that Jesus was going to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins!
Jesus was going to lay down His life so that we could be reconciled with God!
The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus is no longer dead, but after making atonement for our sin, He was raised to life!
Now, through faith in Him alone are we saved!
We can have joy, peace, relationship with God again!
At one time, we couldn’t glorify God because we were dead in our sin
Now we can glorify Him by living for Him!
25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John puts an “amen” on Zechariah’s prophesy.
John’s disciple noticed that Jesus was becoming more popular than John
John says, “This is a good thing! The Wedding day isn’t about the friend, but about the bridegroom! He’s here now!”
John’s joy was now complete
Jesus was here!
So what?
Jesus must be exalted, John must begin to fade.
John’s whole life was to clear the path for the King to come!
Now, John watches as the King ushers in the Kingdom
John likely had a longing look in his eyes and took a deep sigh of relief.
Satisfied in all his work and ministry.
The Savior is here now.
John was never the point. Jesus was the point.
Similarly, you are not the point of your life.
You were created for a much bigger reality than yourself.
You were created as part of God’s plan to restore all things back to Himself!
John was the model for our lives:
APPLICATION:
We put Jesus first in our lives.
We put Jesus first in our lives.
John was untouchable.
John lived in the wilderness, stood up to kings, baptized thousands of people.
He was more joyful than any of us. Why? Because John put Jesus first.
Jesus was John’s source of joy!
If you’re here and you’re not a Christian, you can have this full joy!
This is the promise of God, that when Jesus is the source of our peace, He will be the source of our joy.
All of this comes from a life given to Him.
John’s life was fully yielded to bringing glory to Jesus.
I want to be just like John and call people to have this joy in the forgiveness that is inn Christ!
Behold, the Lamb!
In our lives, we get to be the signs that point people to Jesus.
We cannot save anyone, but we can point to the One who can.
Who are you going to begin pointing to Jesus?
Maybe your next step is to invite someone to church
Maybe it’s to invite them to coffee and share your faith with them.
Let’s resolve today, that since I want complete joy and absolute peace, I’m going to put Jesus first in my life for my neighbor.