Yet Not I
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Yet Not I
Yet Not I
Intro
When I was a teenager and even a young adult, I struggled with my identity.
People would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up and I would always struggle b/c I didn’t know.
There were so many options and many of them were appealing, but on the other hand many of them were not.
My soul would be in turmoil over the question what do you wanna be?
Because intrinsically the question behind that question is who are you.
This situation was even harder for me b/c my best friend and the girl I was crushin on had an answer every time they would be asked.
I felt alone in the dark.
My best friend had his future planned out.
He wanted to be a counselor.
He wanted to help people.
The girl I liked, didn’t know it at the time, but she would become my wife.
All of her hopes and dreams fulfilled.
She wanted to
So I would do things like take endless personality tests online.
I would consult with other people see what they thought I should be.
All the while I would stay lost and confused with what the future would hold.
So I lacked Identity and direction.
I would spend countless sleepless nights worried about my future.
Angsty and frustrated I would call out to God for my purpose.
I would wonder what kind of an impact I would have on the world.
My family. My friend groups.
It is not until we realize and recognize who God truly is that we can have true security in our identity.
Our Identity isn’t found in what we do.
Our shady past.
Our current or future mistakes.
If we are followers of Jesus our identity is Child of God.
How we live that out is what’s important.
Whether we live it out as a pastor, stay at home mom, clerk, welder, truck driver, retiree.
What we do to live and point people to Jesus is what ultimately matters.
It would be awesome if from the day of our birth or even our conception that we knew the plans that God had for us.
That would certainly help us to know who we are.
Well there is a guy in the NT that had just that.
From before his birth God had already determined what he would do and how he would participate in God’s grand Story.
He’s an important character in all the Gospels and he isn’t Jesus.
He’s John the Baptist.
He served a specific purpose in God’s plan of redemption.
And it started before his conception.
John the Baptist’s was born to a priest named Zechariah and his barren wife Elizabeth.
Luke 1.
Zechariah has a vision in the Temple
He is visited by Gabriel the Angel and This is what was said of John
13 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.
14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 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.
16 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 fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
And at his birth this is what Zechariah prophesied over him.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times;
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us.
72 He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant—
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham. He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued from the hand of our enemies, to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us
79 to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 The child grew up and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
This is why we read in Jn 1:6-8 “6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.”
John had a purpose, a focus, mission, and a testimony that all pointed to Jesus.
After the prologue of John’s gospel, the first scene we have is John the Baptist being interrogated by some Jews from Jerusalem.
jn 1:19-21
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he said. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.
Testimony
Testimony
The Jewish priests and Levites show up to John and want to ask “Who are you?”
Why would they care who he is?
It appears as if John is making quite a splash in the region.
He has amassed some followers and some disciples.
He may become a threat.
A threat to lead a revolt.
A threat that may cause some disunity between the Jewish authorities and Rome.
A threat that may cause unrest amongst the Jewish people.
So he immediately tells them that He isn’t the Messiah.
As we read a couple of weeks ago he isn’t the Light. Jn. 1:8
He isn’t the long awaited one.
They are somewhat confused by his claim to not be the Messiah that they Jump to the next possible conclusions.
Is he Elijah?
Is he the Prophet?
Why would they think he’s Elijah?
If you don’t know who Elijah is he is an OT prophet who, according to Scripture, didn’t die but was taken into the presence of God in a whirlwind. 2 Kings 2:11.
He first steps on the scene in 1 Kings 17.
When he is called and sent by God to the Israelites they are steeped in worshipping false idols.
They have traded the glory of God for that of creation.
He calls them to repentance. Calls them to abandon their sin.
Well in Mal 4:5-6, there is a prophecy about Elijah showing back up.
Mal 4:5-6 “5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 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.””
John’s ministry looks a lot like Elijah’s
He is calling people to repentance.
Calling out the sinfulness in the lives and hearts of people.
Their descriptions are even similar.
2 Kings 1:8 “8 They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.””
Matt 3.4 “4 Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
So the Jewish leaders are thinking that maybe this following that John has amassed is b/c he is the return of Elijah.
You ever heard the phrase if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…it must be a duck.
So they thought if he looks like Elijah and teaches like Elijah, he must be Elijah.
But John denies being Elijah.
You may be thinking, hold on, doesn’t Jesus call John the Baptist Elijah.
And you would be correct.
Matt 11:11-14 “11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.”
So either John doesn’t know his calling, or he is demonstrating some extreme humility.
We talked about it before.
John the Baptist was all about making much of Jesus.
He didn’t want to distract from Jesus’ ministry.
He didn’t want to distract from God’s calling.
He wanted to point the way to Jesus through the work he was doing.
The Jews then though that maybe he was the Prophet.
Notice they didn’t say a prophet.
They had a specific Prophet in Mind.
This is the Prophet Promised by Moses through the Words of God.
Deut 18:18-19 “18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.”
See at this time there was some confusion about the identity of the Prophet and the Messiah.
Many Jewish people believed that they were going to be two separate people.
But we know that Jesus came to fulfill both roles.
He was the greater Moses and the Promised Messiah.
He came to accomplish both roles.
John is not hem-hawing over who he is.
He is very direct.
Look at it.
Who are you?
I am not the Messiah.
Are you Elijah?
I am not.
Are you the Prophet?
No.
So at this point the Jewish people have to be scratching their heads.
They have to be a little confused about John.
So they ask him one more time
22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Testimony
Testimony
The response from John comes from Isaiah 40:3 which reads, “3 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.”
What’s significant about this is that Isaiah 40 is like a reset in the book of Isaiah.
When Isaiah writes these words the Israelites are in captivity.
They are in bondage in Babylon.
They are slaves of another nation.
Because of their rebellion and disobedience they had been cast out of the Promised Land.
And God is going to be the one restoring them.
So he is making a path from them to be restored into the Land that was promised them.
When it comes to making a straight way, it means that he is removing all obstacles that stand in the way of their redemption.
John is now taking that mantle and saying that He is preparing the way, removing all obstacles, so that the people would come to know and love the Messiah, Jesus.
He is calling them to repentance.
He is calling them to acknowledge their sin.
He is performing baptisms.
He is setting the stage for the light that is coming into the world.
And notice, that John aligns himself with the voice.
He is the one crying out.
While Jesus is the Word.
John wasn’t the message.
He was the one proclaiming the message.
This is inherently a humble posture.
He wasn’t ambitious.
He wasn’t seeking self-aggrandizement.
He was seeking to make much of the one to come.
Still confused the Pharisees continue to probe John’s mission, ministry, and purpose.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him.
27 He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”
28 All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Testimony
Testimony
John is still trying to help them realize that it isn’t him they are look for.
Though he is doing the Work of the Lord, there is another that is much greater.
But they don’t know him.
They don’t recognize him.
They refuse to acknowledge him.
this refers us back to Jn 1:10-11 “10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Though John the Baptist is making a splash.
He is baptizing people into repentance and preparing the way of the Lord.
He is not the one that should be sought after.
He is not the one that people should make a big deal about.
The humility of John is astounding.
He says, Jn 1:27 “27 He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.””
I’m not sure we grasp the fullness of what he is saying here.
During this time period Rabbi’s or teachers would have their disciples that would follow them around.
And because being a Rabbi was an unpaid position they would often have their disciples do tasks for them.
But the line in the sand, a line that wouldn’t be crossed is that a Rabbi would not ask his disciple to untie his sandal.
The untying of the sandal was a lowly task saved for servants and slaves.
John is telling those Jewish leaders that he isn’t worthy of even acting as a slave toward Jesus.
His position and calling is completely subservient to Jesus.
Oh that we would all have this mindset when we follow Jesus.
Many who claim to be Christians think that God is lucky to have them on his side.
They may not say that with their words, but they scream it with their actions.
Those who think that serving others is beneath them.
Those who think that God owes them anything.
That God owes them health, wealth, and happiness.
When we realize that God doesn’t owe us anything only then can we truly be grateful.
God doesn’t owe you his love.
He doesn’t owe you his grace.
He doesn’t owe you his mercy.
He is not better off because you serve him.
That’s what is so amazing about Grace.
God chooses to love you.
He chooses to extend grace to you.
He chooses to grant you mercy.
He chooses to invite you to serve him.
And when we truly understand that.
When we fully grasp that reality.
That’s when our devotion radically changes.
Where we don’t want to serve God when it’s convenient.
Rather we live in complete service to the one who loves us.
We are not worthy of his love, but he grants it anyway and that should floor us.
The truest and fullest position where we can serve God the most effectively is when we are humble.
We can only serve when we live in humility.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’
31 I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him.
33 I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on—he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Message
Message
John had stood trial and held fast that he was not the one that the Jewish people were looking for.
Yet the day after his encounter he testified to the coming of Jesus.
Jesus was coming toward John and cried the words that are familiar to us. “Look or behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
Let’s not overlook this designation placed on Jesus by John.
What does John mean in calling Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?
Prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection this wouldn’t have been an understood designation of Jesus.
There are a couple of things that this phrase could bring to mind.
First and foremost the passover lamb.
The passover story and themes is “one of the most important framing ideas in John’s gospel.”
It is foundational to understanding John’s theology and purpose.
Before the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, each family slaughtered a lamb and painted it’s blood on the door frame of their house.
This was to avoid the judgement and wrath of God in the 10th plague of Egypt.
The families that obeyed God’s instructions were saved by the blood of the the lamb.
Second, Isaiah 53:7 “7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.”
and Isa 53:10 “10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.”
Remember, the Gospel of John is written after the resurrection.
So He knows that Jesus is the lamb that was lead to slaughter.
That he was the one that fulfills this prophecy in Isaiah.
Finally, John the Baptist’s father was a priest.
Daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, a lamb was slaughtered at the temple to cover the sins of the people.
John would no doubt see his father covered in blood when he came home.
Knowing that it was these animals that were sacrificed for the sin of the people.
But John could see that something greater than the sacrifices of the temple was at hand.
God came down to offer his life as the sacrifice not for individuals or for the nation, but for the sin of the world.
John says something that rather confuses some scholars and bible students.
jn 1:31 “31 I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.””
Why is this confusing?
Because John and Jesus were cousins.
They surely knew each other.
They probably grew up with each other.
So why would he say he didn’t know him?
The most likely answer is that he didn’t realize that Jesus was the messiah as they grew up.
He didn’t know that Jesus was the one he was making the paths straight for until
john 1:32-33 “32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him. 33 I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on—he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”
I want to take a minute and talk about baptism.
I know that there are some of you who were baptized as children or even as teens.
But I want to ask you, when you were baptized, what did it mean?
The reason we baptize people is because they Gave their life to Jesus.
Many of us come from different backgrounds from unchurched, catholic, baptist, Pentecostal, and Methodist.
So our conviction is if you were baptized and weren’t committed to Jesus, then the baptism wasn’t done in obedience to Jesus.
With that being said, baptism doesn’t save you.
Baptism is your outward expression of faith, trust, and obedience to Jesus.
So if you haven’t been baptized as a follower of Jesus, I want to encourage you to do so.
I am even in the process of planning a Baptism service in the next couple of months.
If you want to be baptized, I want to have a conversation with you.
Baptism is a public profession of an inward change brought about by faith in Jesus and the power of the HS.
I can assure you that there is nothing to be ashamed of.
There is nothing to be embarrassed about.
We would all love to celebrate you baptism together.
John was baptizing people to point them to Jesus, but Jesus is bringing a baptism that signifies renewal.
When we trust in Jesus we are sealed and baptized by the Holy Spirit.
And that is demonstrated when we are baptized in the water.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit simply means that we are transformed and changed to seek after Jesus.
It happens when we believe the message of the gospel.
We are transferred from the domain of darkness to the light.
We are raised from dead and brought to life.
We go from being children of wrath to children of God.
We are no longer enemies of God we are his ambassadors.
The power of the living God comes and lives within us to empower us, satisfy us, and restore us into right relationship with him.
This is the testimony of John the baptist.
That when Jesus shows up people change.
So what?
What do we do with this truth?
I want to tell you that it wasn’t until I fully submitted my life to Jesus that I found and felt my true purpose in life.
The anxiety, frustration, and confusion that once marked my life was gone once I realized that my sole purpose was to love God and tell others about him.
That’s what it means to testify.
It means to tell others about the Jesus.
To be a witness for Jesus.
The song we sand earlier Yet not I but through Christ in me, is that the song your soul sings.
If you claim to follow Jesus are you commited enough to say “STOP LOOKING AT ME, LOOK AT JESUS”
When people see the way you act, the way you talk, the way you live are you testifying about Jesus or about something else?
I’m probably about to make some of you uncomfortable or even a little mad, but I want to tell you this because I love you.
One of the most frustrating things that I have seen over the last few years is that many Christians are known more by their admiration and love for Donald Trump than they are for their love of Jesus Christ.
Look it doesn’t matter to me if you support DT or not.
But when People think about you do they picture you in a MAGA hat more than they would with the cross on your back.
And it doesn’t have to be just DT. What are you known for?
If I asked the people you work with who you are would the word’s that came out of their mouth be follower of Jesus?
When people look at you do they see someone who loves, serves, and adores Jesus?
Who are you?
What or who do you behold?
Who does your life point to?
If there's one thing the last couple of weeks revealed to us is that we are not promised another day.
Are you living your life in such a way that you can say with John the Baptist Don’t look at me, look at Jesus.
Your life is not your own if you belong to Jesus.
Love him, serve him, tell others about him.
Live out Yet not I but through Christ in me.