JOHN THE BAPTIST

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JOHN THE BAPTIST

• What was his mission?

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Luke 113-15

• But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid,
  Zacharias, for your prayer is heard and your
  wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall
  call his name John. And you will have joy and
  gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For
  he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and
  shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He
  will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even
  from his mother's womb.

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Luke 116-17

• "And he will turn many of the children of Israel
  to the Lord their God. He will also 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 a people prepared for the Lord."

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John the Baptist What was his mission?

• Many thousands wear the name, "Baptist," today.
• But there is a great difference between them and
  the people who claim to be Christians only.
• We should study to see if Gods people should be
  distinguished as Baptists or as Christians only.
• If God intended for any of his people to be
  Baptists, in the modern sense, He intended for
  them all to be.

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John 1720-21

• "I do not pray for these alone, but also for
  those who will believe in Me through their word
  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in
  Me, and I in You that they also may be one in
  Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."

This is the Lord's prayer for unity.
The Lord wants all believers to be one.
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1 Corinthians 110

• Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of
  our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the
  same thing, and that there be no divisions among
  you, but that you be perfectly joined together in
  the same mind and in the same judgment.

This is Paul's plea for unity.
Christians are not to be divided.
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Ephesians 314-15

• For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of
  our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family
  in heaven and earth is named,

The whole family derives its name from Christ.
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John the Baptist What was his mission?

• All and whole - Let us make a fair
  investigation to see what Gods will is in the
  matter.
• No one should be afraid to make such
  investigation but should be glad of opportunity.
• No better place to begin than with John the
  Baptist.
• Let us make a fair and impartial investigation of
  his mission to the world.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• 1. Was announced by an angel

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Luke 113

• But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid,
  Zacharias, for your prayer is heard and your
  wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall
  call his name John."

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• 1. Was announced by an angel.
• 2. Was miraculous.

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Luke 118

• And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I
  know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is
  well advanced in years."

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Luke 136

• "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also
  conceived a son in her old age and this is now
  the sixth month for her who was called barren."

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• 1. Was announced by an angel.
• 2. Was miraculous.
• 3. Was to good parents.

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Luke 15-6

• There was in the days of Herod, the king of
  Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the
  division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters
  of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they
  were both righteous before God, walking in all
  the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
  blameless.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• 1. Was announced by an angel.
• 2. Was miraculous.
• 3. Was to good parents.
• 4. Was under Law of Moses - temple service
  -circumcision.

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Luke 18-9

• So it was, that while he was serving as priest
  before God in the order of his division,
  according to the custom of the priesthood, his
  lot fell to burn incense when he went into the
  temple of the Lord.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• 1. Was given by angel, therefore important.

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Luke 113

• But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid,
  Zacharias, for your prayer is heard and your
  wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall
  call his name John."

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• 1. Was given by angel, therefore important.
• 2. Was regarded as important by both parents.

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Luke 160, 63

• His mother answered and said, "No he shall be
  called John."
• And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote,
  saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• 1. Was given by angel, therefore important.
• 2. Was regarded as important by both parents.
• 3. Was John, not Baptist.

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John 16

• There was a man sent from God, whose name was
  John.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• 1. Was given by angel, therefore important.
• 2. Was regarded as important by both parents.
• 3. Was John, not Baptist.
• 4. Never was a Baptist in the modern sense.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• 1. He lived a quiet life.

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Luke 180

• So the child grew and became strong in spirit,
  and was in the deserts till the day of his
  manifestation to Israel.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• 1. He lived a quiet life.
• 2. He was a great preacher. He had great
  audiences and great influence on them.

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Matthew 1111

• "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of
  women there has not risen one greater than John
  the Baptist"

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• 1. He lived a quiet life.
• 2. He was a great preacher. He had great
  audiences and great influence on them.
• 3. He never performed a miracle.

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John 1041

• Then many came to Him and said, "John performed
  no sign, but all the things that John spoke about
  this Man were true."

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• 4. Was humble. - Humble dress and food

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Matthew 34

• And John himself was clothed in camel's hair,
  with a leather belt around his waist and his
  food was locusts and wild honey.

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Matthew 311

• I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
  but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
  whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will
  baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• 4. Was humble. - Humble dress and food
• 5. Was pure - opposed sin in all.

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Matthew 37-8

• But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
  Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,
  "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
  wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of
  repentance,

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Matthew 39-10

• and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have
  Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God
  is able to raise up children to Abraham from
  these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the
  root of the trees. Therefore every tree which
  does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
  into the fire.

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Luke 318-20

• And with many other exhortations he preached to
  the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked
  by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's
  wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
  also added this, above all, that he shut John up
  in prison.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• D. Had enemies.
• 1. Herod, Herod's wife, Herod's daughter

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Matthew 141-4

• At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report
  about Jesus and said to his servants, "This is
  John the Baptist he is risen from the dead, and
  therefore these powers are at work in him." For
  Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and
  put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his
  brother Philip's wife. Because John had said to
  him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

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Matthew 145-8

• And although he wanted to put him to death, he
  feared the multitude, because they counted him as
  a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was
  celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced
  before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he
  promised with an oath to give her whatever she
  might ask. So she, having been prompted by her
  mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head
  here on a platter."

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Matthew 149-11

• And the king was sorry nevertheless, because of
  the oaths and because of those who sat with him,
  he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent
  and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was
  brought on a platter and given to the girl, and
  she brought it to her mother.

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The Life of John the Baptist

• A. His birth
• B. His name
• C. His character.
• D. Had enemies.
• 1. Herod, Herod's wife, Herod's daughter
• 2. Others who were not willing to repent

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Matthew 2124-26

• "The baptism of John--where was it from? From
  heaven or from men?"
• And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If
  we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why
  then did you not believe him?' But if we say,
  'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count
  John as a prophet."

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