(John 1:19)
�And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?�
At this place we find the record of John the Baptist.
I had a job a few years ago that required me to visit most of the county court houses in the Northwestern section of Illinois. My job was to do background checks on people who had applied for employment. There were a few other things I did; but this was the main thrust of my visits. I was to check a person�s name to find if they had a �record� of arrest and/or conviction in my area of responsibility. Several times I was even sent to the nearest federal court house to check for federal violations by these persons.
Most of the time I found nothing. Sometimes I found that the persons I was checking did, indeed, have a record.
What is a �record?� It is a mark that a person has done something contrary to the laws of the land. It is an evidence that a person has willingly committed an act.
Wouldn�t it be great if all Christians had a record? Wouldn�t it be great if all Christians had left evidence among their friends, family, acquaintances and others that they had done something for God?
John the Baptist had such a record in the area wherein he lived. His record was that he was a preacher of righteousness. His record was written in the life he lived, and the message he preached, among those with whom he had come in contact.
I Peter 3:15 tells us, �But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.�
John the Baptist was ready with this witness when the delegation came to interrogate him about the message he preached.
First, we look at the Baptist�s witness. �And this is the record of John...�
The first thing we can note about the record of John was that this witness contained a recitation about Jesus. Many preachers want to talk about the great ministry they have established. �Why, when I got to this church there were only three members. Now look at how big we are!�
It doesn�t take long for preachers to inform the pulpit committee of the next larger church to which they�ve applied, how great of a job they do - �for the Lord,� of course. We preachers are just human beings like everyone else. We want to see our name in �lights.�
This was not the thrust of the message of John the Baptist. Had it been his intention to glorify himself, he could easily have done so. He attracted great multitudes of hearers out into the wilderness where he preached his message. If he had decided to move into a large city those crowds would have followed him and even increased.
John could have had a comfortable life. He didn�t need to eat locust and wild honey. He could have had the best food, from the best restaurants, of the land. He could have worn the finest clothes. He didn�t. He had a job to do.
The purpose of John the Baptist was to preach the Good News of the coming Savior. That was his purpose.
Gaining these other things, when the Lord decides that we can handle the adversity of prosperity, is not wrong. But it is far better to simply preach the Good News that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity.
It always amazes me to read the proclamations put forth by the education union leadership. �If we only had more money we could do a better job of teaching the young.� What I have seen is that any amount mentioned by someone will be considered as not enough by the �professionals.� It always makes me wonder to where is their commitment. I am not adverse to educators receiving just compensation; they have student loans to pay off and deserve a �professional� salary.
But, from the same people will often come the cry about the �greedy preachers.� Folks, I�ve known some greedy preachers. But, I have known many more who received not one thin dime from the congregations to whom they stood and proclaimed the timeless truths of eternal consequence. This despite their years of educational labor to prepare for the ministry.
Most preachers are like John the Baptist. We don�t really care about our ability to �raise a buck.� Yes, we have families, bills, needs and wants just like everyone else. Yes, we are trained professionals. But, our burden is to simply tell the story that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity.
John the Baptist was such as one as this. The response of John was toward Jesus. John�s message was of Jesus and his profession was simply to point toward Him and then withdraw. John put it this way, �He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe�s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.� (John 1:27)
John was asked whether or not he was �that prophet.� This was in reference to the coming Messiah. John�s answer was, �NO!� He was not the coming Savior. John was only the herald who announced the fact of the coming Christ.
Rather than being the Savior, John, like the rest of us, was in need of the atonement offered by that Savior.
My son has a DVD recorder. He also has a camera that can record the birthdays of his children. If John had a recording of the highlights of his life it would have been of his message of the coming Savior. The recording of John was of the story of Jesus.
When people looked back upon the mission of John the Baptist, they could recount that he had not sought glory for himself; he had only sought to point out the Glory of Him Who was to come into the world to save the people of the world from their sins.
Next, of course, we have the story of the baffled religionist�s. �...when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him...�
Here is a picture of the religion of man. It is popular among the liberal churches to talk of the religious journey of mankind. They often display a view of Scripture as simply a �God Story� of an ancient people�s quest for a reality of life. The Bible stories are seen as morality plays which give us guidance as we follow our own quest for spiritual enlightenment.
That is not the religious view which John the Baptist preached. It is also not the religious view which a committed Biblicist will hold. Folks, we have a �know so� religion because we have an �I told you so� God. He gave us this Book to enlighten our path. We don�t have to stumble about, never certain about the great spiritual truths.
We know how to approach God because Jesus has informed us that He is The Way. (see John 14:6) Salvation comes through a trust in Jesus and His finished work of reconciliation at the Cross of Calvary. If the narrowness of that view would disturb you, well, you�d better get over being disturbed because this is fact. Two and two will always equal four. That isn�t a narrow view; that is a correct view. So, also, is it correct that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, and only through Him. (see Acts 4:12)
This is the message that religious leaders came to hear. It may not have been the one they were expecting to hear. But, when they came to hear John the Baptist speak they came to hear the message of the evangel.
They came to hear the story of Emmanuel in their ears. They came to talk with John. They came to examine John. The interest of John, the whole ministry of John the Baptist, was not to talk of himself. John spoke of Jesus, the Christ, Who would come to give the world a means of becoming free from their sins.
The world of today needs to hear that same message because the people of this day are, for the most part, still lost in their sins.
I heard a story; I don�t know if it was true or apocryphal. The story is that the great British Queen Elizabeth, of whom the Elizabethan Age was named, was said to possess an iron fist in a velvet glove. The meaning was that she was a gracious woman. But, she was also a strong woman.
Brethren, we have a strong message. It is one which will grate on the ears of unregenerate mankind. It is the same message as that which John spread. Jesus is come into the world. He, alone is the means of our salvation. May we always remember to use the velvet glove of civility as we take this message into the world.
God asks us to take the message. We must do this faithfully. We must do this firmly. We must do this with all the skill we can muster. But, we leave the heavy work of conviction to the Holy Spirit.
This means, of course, that we must be often in prayer.
Sadly, these same religious people of our text verse were left to reject the story of eternity.
Just a short time after these people has questioned John the Baptist, probably less than five years later, they were to form a lynch mob. They would demand the execution of Him Who John had testified about.
We have not the power to decide who will, and will not, accept Jesus as Savior. That means that we must continue to give out the message of the evangel with the utmost of care and fidelity. We search out people, and pray for them, and witness to them, and pray again... But, in the end, their response to the wooing of the Holy Spirit is theirs, alone.
The purpose of our ministry is to be faithful to man and God. We are to give forth the good news that Jesus Christ died in time that we might live in eternity. May we not be discouraged by seeming failures. May we be greatly encouraged that God counted us so blessed as to be the carriers of His Own Message of Love!
The questioners came to John with a burdensome question. �...Who art thou?�
These religious questioners came to the man who had the message of salvation. They heard the messenger and rejected his message. While John the Baptist was faithful in his proclamation of his God given message, these men nonetheless rejected that which he had to say.
That happens often with us, as well. We give forth the good news that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity. People fail to accept that message. Some even scoff, or sometimes get angry, at our message.
Yet, we may have a clear conscience before God and man if we continue to give forth this message. May there be no one who will look back from the flames of hell and say, �If only that Christian had told me...� Our duty to mankind is to give forth the warning. Man�s responsibility is to accept the Savior.
By giving forth the message we also are able to face the God of Eternity with a clear conscience - at least on this point. We are fulfilling the mission our Heavenly Commander has given us.
These religionist�s had heard the man but rejected the Messiah.
That should be our clear purpose in spreading the gospel. We should want people to make a decision about Jesus Christ. Our oratorical, or scholastic, or theatrical skills should never enter into the preaching of the Gospel. Of course, we must use all that God has given at our disposal. But, we should preach the gospel of Jesus Christ rather than the pride of ourselves.
May we remember, when we are true to the message and the Christ of that message, any rejection is not a rejection of ourselves. The One being rejected is Jesus. That should further serve to drive us to our knees that those who hear the message would be convicted and converted. It is for their sake which we give forth the good news, not ours.
We do this in obedience to our Lord and for the spiritual betterment of lost mankind! No other purpose can be considered!
These religious leaders heard the marching but rejected the manifestation.
The great crowds around John the Baptist testified to the fact that he had a message that was the answer to the heart needs of the people. These religious questioners saw the crowds and dismissed their edification. These leaders were more interested in a theological question than they were in the obvious theological movement among the people.
How sad that so many are so tied up in their idea of what theology should be that they fail to find the Way to approach the True God Who is the object of all true theology. It is sin that blinds so many people to the Truth that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity.
What about you? Have you ever considered the claims of Jesus Christ? He alone is the True Path that leads to life eternal.
Why not accept Him as your Savior, right now? Don�t just examine - experience the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ.