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38th Street Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“The Right Man For The Job” |
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“The Right Man For The Job”
(Matthew 3:1-3)
I. Introduction.
A. There are some people who just refuse to be satisfied. At
some time, you’ve probably encountered them at work, in
your neighborhood, even in the church. It’s always either
too hot, or too cold. They’re just too busy, except for those
times when they’re bored to death. They always have too
much to do, too much responsibility, or they feel slighted
and left out. Nothing is ever quite the way it ought to be,
at least in their minds.B. The chronic fault-finders have an easy target in
Christianity. It’s too exclusive, too unyielding, and there
are too many hypocrites. It requires too much commitment
and sacrifice.1. The Bible itself tells us that people who are
determined to resist the truth of the gospel are
impossible to please, no matter what anyone says,
or does.2. Even taking the dangerous path of changing the
message to make it more acceptable will not work.
There are those who will reject Christ, no matter
how much biblical truth they are exposed to.C. Such rejection was the lot of John, the baptizer (or
immerser) when he appeared to tell Israel that the Messiah
had arrived.1. His appearance, his lifestyle, his teaching and
teaching methods, all put off some of his hearers.
His was too radical an approach, too challenging
to conventional thinking, and too harsh to be
accepted by those who had spent a lifetime
studying, and discussing, this matter of a Messiah.-2-
2. But, when Jesus Himself began to teach, in a
different style from John, these same people
rejected Him, too.3. They refused to accept the message from anyone
regardless of the way it was presented by the
message.D. John came from a common, humble Palestinian family,
and he had no great education or social grace. When he
first got the attention of his peers, he had no previous
accomplishments to recommend him to anyone. His
resume simply read: “Messenger from the true, and living,
God.”1. But, when the One he heralded spoke of him, he
identified John as the greatest human being who had
ever lived (Matthew 11:11: “Assuredly, I say to
you, among those born of women there has so risen
one greater than John the Baptist; . . .”).2. The way Jesus began this statement was with a
word that meant “a fact beyond dispute”
(“Assuredly”). Jesus offered this not as an opinion,
but as a statement of fact.E. But, what made John so great? By Jesus’ words, greater
than Abraham, greater than Jacob, greater than Moses,
or Joshua, even greater than David and Solomon.II. True Greatness.
A. One of the qualities that made John the Baptist great was
his own character. He was one who could recognize,
acknowledge, and overcome his limitations. He was not a
victim of his circumstances, but a victor over his
circumstances.-3-
1. Like everyone, John faced challenges, had
weaknesses, failings, and problems. His character
allowed him to meet the challenges and never
compromise his message; to confront his problems
and not let them overwhelm him; to accept
weaknesses and failings and not lose his purpose or
his faith in the One who gave him that purpose.2. He was a humble person who did not see himself
as greater than he was and greater than the role he’d
been selected to play. He did not let pride take
away his greatness by thinking more highly of
himself than he ought.a. Whereas Jesus called him great, John said
of himself, “. . . He who is coming after me
is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not
worthy to carry . . .” (Matthew 3:11).b. When some of John’s disciples expressed
their concern that Jesus was now attracting
more attention, and followers, than John,
he told them: “He must increase, but I
must decrease” (John 3:30).c. John’s quality of humility was rather unique
in his world. Neither the Greeks nor the
Romans had a word for “humility” in their
vocabulary.3. When some people began to doubt the greatness of
John, Jesus made his pronouncement found in
Matthew 11. Here is how he prefaced his remark
on the greatness of John: (Read, Matthew 11:7-10).4. John had proclaimed the coming of the Lord’s
Messiah, but people had doubted whether he was
really a reliable voice to listen to.
-4-5. John was not only humble, but, also,
uncompromising. In Matthew 3, when the religious
leaders came to him, John had the opportunity to
please these men. He did just the opposite, with a
sharp rebuke from God’s own word (Read,
Matthew 3:7-10).6. The boldness that accompanies greatness is seen
in John’s attack on Herod Antipas for marrying his
brother, Herod Philip’s, wife. It cost him his life
to speak the truth regarding this marriage. John
upheld a basic principle, expressed by William Penn
centuries later: “Right is right even if everyone is
against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is
for it.”B. A second element of John’s greatness was seen in his
self-denial.1. John lived his adult life in the wilderness, south and
east of Jerusalem. His existence there was hardly
one of comfort. He had no interest in gaining favor
with secular, or spiritual, rulers and leaders. He
separated himself from the temptations of power,
and control.2. His commitment to God was all-important, and all-
consuming. In Luke 1:15, we find an angelic
proclamation regarding John the Baptist: “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.” John took a Nazarite vow, where he not
only gave up any social life that involved drinking,
but also did not cut his hair (which no doubt,
contributed to his “wild” appearance).
-5-
3. There were those who took such a Nazarite vow for
a few weeks, or months, but very few took it for an
entire lifetime (Samson; Samuel; John the Baptist).C. Another indicator of John’s true greatness was the privilege
of his calling: to announce the arrival of the incarnate God,
“God in the flesh.” Only Mary, the mother of Jesus, could
be said to come even close to this privilege, as she gave
birth to the Messiah John proclaimed.1. Mary gave birth to a baby. John announced the
coming of a king.2. Mary and Joseph raised Jesus in obscurity. John
baptized Jesus to start His three-year ministry.3. At first, many saw John as the Messiah, (“Now as
the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in
their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ
or not. John 3:15). He exhibited the characteristics
of what people may have expected in a Messiah:
dynamic, articulate, confrontational, powerful.
These made him a great prophet, but not the
Messiah.4. What can be said is that true greatness always
matches the right man with the right position
(Lincoln – Civil War; Churchill – England in
World War II).5. In John, the man and the mission merged
Amos 3:7: “Surely the Lord God does nothing,
unless He reveals His secret to His servants the
prophets.” The mission was to proclaim a message
from God, after over 400 years of prophetic silence.
And many believed the message because of the
greatness of the messenger.-6-
D. John was the right man, in the right place, at the right time.
He became a pivotal figure at the very time God’s
redeeming of humanity was imminent. John was the
culmination of the Old Testament, as the Christ was the
transitional figure to bring the new covenant to men.1. Malachi 4:5-6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children
to their fathers. Lest I come and strike the earth
with a curse.”2. Compare this prophecy of four centuries before
John’s appearance with the angel’s words to
Zacharias (Read Luke 1:13-17).E. John made waves. He upset the “status quo.” He had an
impact on his contemporaries. He became the eye of the
storm. But, people were turning to God once again. People
were repenting of their sins. God had truly found the right
man for the job.III. Conclusion.
A. John brought the message that had its beginnings in
“Genesis”; the promise that “the seed of the woman” would
crush Satan’s head. God’s kingdom was coming, and
people were told to get ready to receive the Messiah and a
place in that kingdom.B. Jesus summarized John’s greatness in Matthew 11:14:
“And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to
come.” This, again, looks back to the prophecy of
Malachi 4:5.1. Jesus did not mean that John was in fact Elijah,
but one like Elijah.
-7-
2. This is born out from the statement John makes,
found in the gospel of John, Chapter 1. (Read
John 1:19-23). He was like Elijah, a voice to turn
God’s people back to Him, a strong character to
announce the coming of God’s Son and of His
kingdom.C. If John the Baptist was so great, then why did Jesus also
say this, at the end of Matthew 11:11: “. . . but he who is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”? This,
too, is a true statement. Our greatness, as disciples of Jesus
Christ, as citizens of His kingdom, is not in being like John
the Baptist, whose greatness was in his mission as the
forerunner of the true Messiah, the true Christ.D. Our greatness is not in our mission, but in our relationship
to Christ, that makes us a part of God’s kingdom, now and
forever. But, Jesus taught that His disciples should be of
sound character, people of self-denial, and those who
accept with joy the privilege of being called children of
God.E. The religious “elite” didn’t believe in John, nor did they
accept his message to prepare for the coming of the
Messiah. They looked for a different kind of messenger
who, when He appeared, they rejected as well. Some
people just cannot be satisfied.