The Witness To A Greater Lig..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So we're back in John, and we're back in the introduction of John. And as we have always, when we're looking at the first chapter, I've always had us read the first 18 verses simply because we want to remember the context of the passages we'll be reading.

And we have already examined the first five verses, which have some very deep foundational Christological truths that I said before are foundational not only for the rest of this book, a foundation for our Christian faith, that we'll know who Christ is, that He is not only man, but He is the eternal God as well. So, if you have your Bibles, John 1, we're going to be reading from verses 1 through 18, but we'll be concentrating our efforts this morning on verses 6 through 8, where we're introduced to a new person, a forerunner of Jesus Christ. So, John chapter 1, verse 1, and I'll be reading from the ESV. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him and cried, This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me. For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's hand. No one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the Father's hand has made him none. Amen.

Well, it's been 400 years of silence, 400 years since God has spoken through the prophet Malachi to his people. And now, in the text before us, we see the prophet John come into the scene. It's interesting that Malachi is the last prophet that foretold of John's coming. in the last words of the last book of the Old Testament. But don't be mistaken that the John who's mentioned in our passage here this morning is not the author of this book.

He's not the Apostle John. It's the John known to all of us as John the Baptist. The title the Baptist is given to him to signify that he is the baptizing one, the one who baptizes. The prophet who, as far as we know, baptized people who spent most of his time in the wilderness preaching repentance and faith and baptizing people in the Jordan River because Jordan had an abundance of water. And John, being a Baptist, baptized by full immersion and the Jordan was the place to be.

But truth be told, we don't know that much about the Baptist. He has no writings that we can look to, but he does occupy much of the narrative in the first chapter of this Gospel, and is unquestionably a key figure in all four of the Gospels. So I've decided in this sermon to cut it up into three sections, three points that I believe will help us better understand the three verses we'll look in this morning, verses 6 through 8. And the three sections or the three points will be titled, The Man, The Mission, and the motive, the man and the mission and the motive, the man. Well, since he's the fourth most mentioned person in the New Testament behind Jesus, Peter and Paul, we should probably get to know what we can about John the Baptist.

We know John was from the tribe of Levi. The Levites were chosen by God as priests of Israel to take care of the temple duties and offer sacrifices to Yahweh on behalf of the people, or at least on behalf of the people who drew near by faith. His father's name was Zechariah. No, he's not the same Zechariah or the prophet Zechariah who has a book named after himself in the Old Testament. No, this Zechariah, John's father, was an elderly Levitical priest.

His mother, Elizabeth, was the cousin of Mary, the mother of Christ. But it's no surprise to us that when Luke introduces Elizabeth, he introduces her as a woman unable to bear children. So many times in Scripture, a key character is born from extraordinary circumstances like this, in order that we see the mighty hand of God, the sovereign hand of God at work. This leaves no room for human exaltation, no boasting for man. Instead, God rightly receives all the glory and all the praise.

The Baptist's ministry was foretold some 700 years earlier by another prophet, Prophet Isaiah. All four Gospels refer to his prophecy, and they all say that it's prophetically speaking of this man. Isaiah, being a true prophet, speaks as the mouthpiece of God, and what he says will come to pass. In words of comfort and consolation to Israel, it's foretold that a deliverer will come, the Messiah. But His coming will be preceded by a forerunner who will prepare the way.

So now in verse 6 of our reading this morning, God has sent that forerunner, the man John. Against all odds, we're told in Luke, the angel of Gabriel tells Zechariah that God will open the womb of his aging wife, Elizabeth. So she falls pregnant with John, and the Bible tells us he was filled with the Spirit. In his mother's womb, he leaped with joy when he heard Mary's voice, because Mary was also pregnant with Jesus. John the Baptist would grow to be a voice who cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the desert a highway for God.

Isaiah 40 chapter 3, calling all people everywhere to repent of their sins. and to await expectingly the one who is coming, one greater than he, one whose sandals he is unworthy to untie. His ministry was primarily to point all people to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." This is in verse 29. Is there a more glorious mission?

Is there a more glorious mission, I ask, than to point sinners to the light of the world, the only Savior, Jesus Christ? Now a few weeks ago we spent a whole sermon opening up what it means to be the Light. So we looked at the Gospel of John speaks of Jesus being the Light. So we won't do that again this morning, but keep this in the back of your minds. When you hear me referring or when you hear the Apostle referring to Jesus as the Light, it not only means He's pure and holy and righteous, it means those things, but also In this context, it speaks of the illumination or revelation of God.

Jesus has come to reveal God to mankind. He is the source of spiritual life. He illuminates the way things really are. Our sins are exposed, our unrighteousness revealed, and he shines for his people the way of salvation. This is the light that the Baptist bears witness to, so keep that in your mind.

Now, not only was God responsible for sending John to bear witness about Christ, he also told his parents to name him John. And when you hear names in the Bible, you need to pay special attention to them. John can mean one of two things. Either Jehovah is gracious or the gracious gift of Jehovah. It's such a fitting name, isn't it?

For the man who will usher in the greatest gift of God to all humanity. Reminds me of Romans 6 chapter 20 chapter 6 verse 23 the wages of sin is death But the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ Jesus our Lord Jesus is the greatest gift of all Growing up into adulthood, John abstained from strong drink, we're told, and remained in the wilderness, forgoing all the pleasures and the indulgences of the world. No creature comforts, just total dedication to the Lord. Many have suggested John may have been under a lifelong Nazarite vow. It's possible.

But either way, he was a man of strong conviction and wholly consecrated, set apart to the work of the Lord, a man of character. a man of faith, standing firm on the truths of scripture, not compromising on those truths. God was with him and he gave him boldness even to stand up to the hypocrisy of the leaders of that day, the religious leaders who would skew the teachings of God. He once said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and he called them a brood of vipers when they came to him in the wilderness. Why?

Because they were not producing fruit in keeping with repentance. John's life came to an end by beheading at the command of Herod the Tetrarch. For the sake of his spiteful wife Herodias, she was offended at the candidness of John the Baptist in condemning her unlawful marriage. So the danger here, beloved, is for us to marvel at this man's character and faithfulness and think that he's the main point. I assure you, The Apostle John doesn't mention him this early in this chapter because of his notable commendable qualities.

You see, it never was about the greatness of this man. His whole existence has purpose in pointing himself to another. This point is so clearly portrayed for us in verses 35 through verse 37 of this chapter. It's easy to miss this one if you're not careful. The apostle writes, the next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus and he walked by and said, behold, the Lamb of God, the two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

They left the Baptist and followed Christ. One of these men was Andrew, the brother of Peter, the apostle, the disciple of Jesus. Do you think John the Baptist was upset? that in one day he lost two of his own disciples? Of course not.

This was evidence that he was faithful to his calling. This is what he wanted. His purpose wasn't to retain disciples, but to lead them to the light. He wasn't the light. He admits to this.

His mission was to bear witness about the light. So he's mentioned so early, I think in this gospel, not because of who he is, but because of who he bears witness to. That leads us to the second point, the mission. The Baptist had the greatest honor of all the prophets. As the last of the Old Testament prophets, his mission was unique.

You see, the Baptist was the prophet that connected the Old Testament to the New Testament. Let me explain. The other prophets foretold of the Messiah's coming and how he would come and rescue the people of God from their enemies, establish his kingdom, and rule in peace and righteousness. And as New Testament Christians, we know that the first coming of our Savior has accomplished all these things, spiritually speaking. His saving work, both spiritual and physically, will become a full reality in the consummation of his kingdom.

But the Baptist's mission is a special and unique mission in the sense that he would announce the Messiah to come, as did the other Old Testament prophets. But unlike the other prophets, he will also see with his eyes the promised Messiah. And he'll introduce this Messiah, you see, he'll introduce this Messiah to the world. You see, he was sent by God with power and authority to declare into the darkness the light of life. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.

He said to them that Jesus is not coming, but he has come. The Baptist is the link that connects the old and the new. And we need to remember this. Otherwise, we may misinterpret what he says and what's spoken of him. What an incredible privilege to usher in the saviour of the world and to point all people everywhere to this saviour.

I believe this is why Jesus says in Matthew 11, truly I say to you, among those born of woman, there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. No other prophet until that time, until John had the privilege and honour of witnessing the arrival of the long awaited Messiah. the Baptist did and he introduced that light to the world and to Israel. Israel wasn't expecting, wasn't, was expecting the Messiah and they, they were anticipating the Davidic King who will rule and reign for eternity and the Baptist proclaimed his coming. That's what made his mission so unique.

Think of it like this. John's mission is somewhat similar to when a royal trumpeter goes before the king. He blows his trumpet as the king in his royal garb enters into the palace or enters the precinct. The sound of the trumpet signifies to all people near and far, get ready, your king has come. Much the same way the Baptist mission was to blow that trumpet and proclaim, the light is among us, the Messiah is here, the King has come.

But did Israel rejoice? Did they even recognize their King? Sadly, mostly, mostly didn't. They were awaiting a spectacular king and a commanding warrior who would come and conquer their enemies, the Roman Empire, by force and give them back the land of promise. But you see, the king of kings came into the world in all humility, no royal garb, no glitter, no sparkle, just a simple carpenter with a profound mission to bear the sins of his people and to establish his spiritual kingdom.

So when the Messiah came, very few people recognized him. John knew what his mission was. He knew he was not to attract people to hope in himself. He wasn't the hope of Israel. His message was about another.

We've said that before. It's about the Messiah. In fact, his mission was twofold. Firstly, to prepare the way of the Lord as prophesied. And then as we're told in verses seven and eight of our passage, to bear witness about the light.

Of course, referring to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In other words, his mission, firstly, was to prepare for the coming Christ. Secondly, when Christ arrives, the Baptist was to declare that he has come. Let's look at those two things. The prophecy in Isaiah states, a voice, this is Isaiah 40, chapter 40, verse 3.

a voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. I said this before, all four Gospels attribute this prophecy to John, but we have to ask, how? How is he preparing the way of the Lord? How is he making straight the desert a highway for God? Well, the passage tells us that he was a voice, a proclaimer, an announcer, And Matthew 3 tells us, in those days, the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness in Judea.

So he was proclaiming through preaching what was the essence of his message. The very next verse in Matthew tells us, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. He was preaching the way. He was preparing the way by preaching repentance. and faith in the imminent arrival of the King.

He was making straight by straightening the paths by teaching what he has made or what people have made crooked by the corrupted religious leaders of the day. Love for God was replaced with cold legalistic ritualism. It became all about rules, do's and don'ts. Jesus makes this point really clear in Matthew 15 referring to the scribes and the Pharisees as giving honor with their lips, but their hearts are cold and far removed from true worship, from love for God. To add to this, first century Jews were eagerly awaiting the advent of the Messiah, but the messianic hope was mostly limited to a political redeemer who will save them from Roman oppression.

The Baptist message was not political, it was not physical, And it wasn't philosophical. It was a spiritual message of repentance, a call to believe in the coming savior. Those who repented and confessed their sins, he baptized. He baptized them with a baptism of repentance, which symbolizes cleansing from sin. But for those who did not, he warned with a terrifying, terrifying cautions.

He didn't hold back. His message to those who mocked or ridiculed with hardened hearts was, you will perish in your sins like chaff you will burn with unquenchable fire. Open your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 3 verses 7 through 9. Luke chapter 3, 7 through 9. He said, therefore, to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come.

Bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Do you see, do you sense the tone here?

There's a real strong sense of urgency in the Baptist's message. He preached repentance of sins and faith in God because judgment is just around the corner. He didn't care that they were children of Abraham as though The spiritual promises of God would apply to them just because they were born in the right family. It didn't matter to John. If their repentance was not genuine, they will perish under the judgment of God.

Simple as that. His message was powerful and true. It's no surprise that John had many enemies. Beloved, isn't the urgency of this message just as applicable to us in our day as it was for them? We know the Messiah has come as saviour, but we also know he'll return as judge.

And like a thief in the night, the time and the hour is completely unknown to us. But to add to this, we don't know when our lives will come to an end. We too should sense this urgency for ourselves in the way we live, how we spend our time, the fruit we bear, and in our witness, Christ. Time is running out. We must redeem the time for our Lord.

The Baptist also taught the need to produce spiritual fruit in keeping with repentance. Outside appearance just won't cut it. The hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day will, will it all be exposed. True repentance and faith is a work of the spirit. And that means He will produce good fruit within the life of the one who trusts in Jesus.

Jesus said a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Thus you will recognize them by their fruit. In other words, if someone claims to have true repentance and faith, but does not produce good spiritual fruit, they are a fraud. They're a false convert. Those who have been truly saved will produce good fruit.

Otherwise, we would have to deny the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. And we must never, never do that. Now, massive crowds gathered and they traveled long distances to hear what John had to say. But we're told in Luke, as the people were in expectation, and all questioning in their hearts concerning John, hear this, whether he might be the Christ. They thought that the Baptist may have been the Messiah.

John would have been horrified at this. He quickly responds that he's not who they think he is. He clears that straight away. But this goes to show that even though John made every effort to point to Christ, to bear witness about him, people can still be easily deceived in placing their hope and their trust in the wrong man. I think the Apostle John in verse 6 of our passage this morning knows this.

And I think that's why he introduces John the Baptist in the way he introduces him. Listen to what he says. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. There was a man. Don't miss that point.

You see, in the first five verses of this gospel, the apostle has enlightened his readers to the astonishing truths of the eternal word, Jesus Christ. His whole point in the first five verses is to display that Jesus was no mere man. A man, yes, but not a man only. He's the God-man. From the onset, he presents to us some of the attributes of Jesus Christ's outstanding resume.

He's from everlasting to everlasting. He's God. He's Creator. He's the author and the fountain of life, and He is light, the illumination of God to all mankind. He's taken our minds into the glories of heaven, into eternity, into the fellowship of the triune God, and we're left totally amazed at the infinite greatness of Jesus Christ.

This is what He does in the first five verses. In the very next verse, the Apostle introduces us to a man, a man named John. A great man? Yes. I've already mentioned what Christ has said in his own testimony of John.

He's the only man in history that we have recorded to have been filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb. His father Zachariah, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, prophesied of the greatness of his son. You can read this prophecy in Luke chapter 1. His greatness is not disputed, but he was nevertheless a man. You see, the apostle leaves no room for error, lest someone tries to place their hope, as some have or did in the first century, in a mere man.

In the most simple of words, the apostle John tells us in verse 8, he was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The Baptist himself confessed, I am not the Christ. I'm not the Messiah. The hope of Israel is not found in me. In other words, don't place your hope in the wrong man.

Beloved, our hope, our rest, our comfort must be placed only in the God man, Jesus Christ. That's where our hope ought to be. The Baptist's mission had an objective. and it was overarching objective to his mission. And verse seven tells us what it is.

He was to bear witness about the light, hear this, that all might believe through him. This brings us to our last point this morning, the motive. We've seen the man and we've seen the mission. Now let's look at the motive. The motive is clearly stated in the verse I just read, that all might believe through him.

because whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." John 3, 20, 36. You see, John's purpose was not to start a movement or make a name for himself. John went to great lengths to point to the one who is to come, the one greater than himself, You remember his famous words in the wilderness, I baptize you with water for repentance.

But he who's coming after me is mightier than me or than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The one who comes after me is mightier than I. And his motive wasn't even primarily to baptize, preach, or teach. That sounds wrong, doesn't it?

But we must not confuse means and method with motive and purpose. His motive is clearly stated in our text and was solely to lead people to believe in the light, the light of life, Jesus Christ. His testimony has the goal that people should trust in Jesus salvation of souls was on this man's mind. He faithfully pleaded with all to believe upon the Savior of the world. His preaching and his teaching was a method for this purpose.

And of course we know it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that people are made to believe. So when the time came for Jesus to come onto the scene in the wilderness where John was baptizing, the Baptist cries out, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Lamb sacrifices were common sight for the Jews in those days. Every morning and every evening, a lamb was slaughtered as a sacrifice on behalf of the people. They knew that the way to fellowship with Yahweh was with an atoning blood sacrifice.

They understood the words of the Baptist. He was referring to Jesus Christ as being that sacrifice, as being the one who atones for their sins and bringing them into fellowship with God. But many questions no doubt would have entered their minds at that point. Is Jesus going to be the final sacrifice which will cleanse his people from their sins? Was there no need for any further sacrifices?

What about the temple? Do we still need the Temple? Questions like that would be answered in due time. But the Baptist testimony was clear. The long-awaited Savior of Israel is also the Savior of the world, and He has come.

Incredible insight that the disciples of Christ, after three and a bit years, were still amiss about the need of Christ to be the substitute atoning blood sacrifice for his people. But John, filled with the Spirit, seems to have known this already, and he proclaims it in hope that through his testimony, many would come to believe in the Messiah. But of course, not everyone believed, but we're told many did. This was the beginning of the earthly ministry of Christ, and when the Baptist reluctantly baptizes Jesus in the Jordan. He hears the voice from heaven.

This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. The son of God has come and he is now to take center stage. From this point forward, the Baptist would say Christ must increase and he must decrease. Why? Well, beloved, when the bridegroom arrives, the best man steps aside and all admiration and all attention is to be given to the man of honor.

The Baptist was the forerunner, preparing the way for Christ. John was the lamp in the wilderness, preparing the hearts and minds of people for the coming Messiah. So when the light of the world comes, John willingly moves into the shadows and points to Christ. So as to say, now follow him. and many do because of John's crucial testimony.

Because not many recognized the Messiah on their own. They knew he was coming and were expecting him to come. But because the light came into the world, hear this beloved, with glory so totally veiled and humility so great, God sent before him a witness, John the Baptist. to bear witness about the light. It was the testimony of the Baptist that turned the attention of Israel to Jesus Christ.

You see the importance of the forerunner to Christ? He was sent by God to make Christ known. In a dark, sinful world, who for the most part did not recognize him, John's existence found purpose in bearing witness to the Messiah, calling people to trust in him alone. His petition was that through his testimony, all would believe upon the one who takes away the sins of the world. He knew without Christ, who is the only spiritual light, no one can know God.

He was fully aware that apart from the light that he bears witness to, no one can know forgiveness of sins. No one can know salvation. No one can know eternal life. The Baptist's ministry above all else was to herald the light coming into the world so that all would believe in the light and be saved from death to eternal life. That is so incredible to me.

Jesus, the light of life, comes into the world and God chooses a man to bear witness about him. Beloved, as Spirit-filled people, we too ought to bear witness about our Savior. The Baptist is unique, yes, but he bears witness to the same Savior who has called us all to be witnesses about Him. Did you know that the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the man who is esteemed by Jesus himself as the greatest in the Old Testament era, with such a revered ministry, did not even perform a single miracle? Listen to the confession of some in John 10 41.

John, that's the Baptist, did no sign, but everything that John said about this man, speaking of Christ, was true. The one who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord and bear witness to Him did all this through the preaching of truth and by the power of the Holy Spirit. That shouldn't be a surprise to us. After all, faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. And we know since God sent the Baptist to bear witness to Christ in order for many to believe, then it will be a powerful, effective, far-reaching ministry that will achieve its end and has achieved its end.

Here's some proof. Some 20 years later, Paul meets 12 men who were disciples of John all the way in Ephesus. And listen to what Luke says in Acts chapter 18. Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, that's in Egypt, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only, hear this, the baptism of John. Now we know that Aquila and Priscilla pulled him aside and explained things more accurately. But this is to say that John's mission was very fruitful. And as a result of his powerful witness about the light, many did indeed believe in the only savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

He was obedient to his call and God was faithful to save sinners. Beloved, we too have a mission. It's called the Great Commission. It's not quite the same as the Baptists, but we have been entrusted to use the same means, to preach repentance and faith in the only savior of the world, Jesus Christ. In other words, to proclaim the gospel.

That is our responsibility. God's mode for salvation of sinners is still the same 2,000 years later. He calls ordinary people just like us. who he's redeemed through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, he's gifted them with his Holy Spirit, and they are now to bear witness about that light. Just like John the Baptist.

The Baptist mission was unique for a particular time in a particular place. I'm not disputing that. But beloved, we're to trust that our faithful sharing of the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in our day will be empowered by God as the means by which He produces the miracle of spiritual life to those who believe. God is still saving people the very same way through the only Savior of the world. May it be our joy and our privilege to bear witness about Him for the glory of God.

Amen.