God’s Witness Questioned

I would love to have God’s people
turn to the Gospel of John, but before I have you turn to the
Gospel of John, I want you to find your way to the Old Testament
and specifically to 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles chapter 29. We’ll get to John here in just
a moment. For those of you joining us,
we are preaching through the Gospel of John, but I wanted
to take what perhaps will be my most lengthy introduction
ever into one of our passages in John. I want to take you to
a king named Hezekiah. I’m doing this for a reason,
not merely for some kind of a cheap illustration. I think that when
you begin to put this particular passage that we’ll consider this
morning in its context, You can’t leave Hezekiah out. You might
remember that Israel had clamored for a king. God eventually provided
them a king. The first one was Saul, and he
was a dreadful king. It was a miserable failure. But
eventually that led to what was no doubt the apex of Israel’s
kingdom, that of King David’s reign. And there were many others. King David’s son would follow
nowhere near the king that David was. And because largely his
reign, the kingdom split. Rehoboam and Jeroboam, remember,
12 tribes followed one king. Two tribes followed the other. And for centuries, the kings
would come in rapid succession. It’s interesting and really important
to note that with regards to Israel, there was never a good
king. Never in the pages of scripture did Israel enjoy even one decent
king. Of course, the scriptures don’t
use that word decent. It’s either evil or good. They either did evil or they
did good. There were no half rate kings. Ultimately, Judah, Judah enjoyed
some good kings. They enjoyed many bad kings along
the way, but ultimately, because of the reign of these kings,
the nations declined and ultimately were destroyed. We pick up in
Hezekiah’s reign in chapter 29 of 2 Chronicles, And we do so
for a reason, as I’ve already mentioned. Hezekiah was a good
king. In fact, you might even say that
he was just about as good as they come. If you’re in chapter
29, glance down. And what you get from a lot of
these introductions, you get kind of an overview of the reign
itself. Second Chronicles 29.1 says that
Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old and he reigned
29 years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah,
the daughter of Zechariah. In other words, he came from
a good family tree. He did right in the sight of
the Lord according to all that his father David had done. Now
I’m not going to take the time to have you turn there, but 1
Kings 18, remember Kings and Chronicles walk parallel with
one another and a lot of times supply detail that the other
does not. 1 Kings 18 says this about Hezekiah,
He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after Him
there was none like Him among all the kings of Judah, nor among
those who were before Him. For He clung to the Lord. He did not depart from following
Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded
Moses.” Now mind you, even with that glowing testimony, Hezekiah
was not perfect, and you’ll see that in a moment. But by and
large, the general evaluation of his reign was that he was
a good king. He obeyed and followed the Lord. And it says that the Lord was
with him wherever he went, he prospered. Glance, if you would, at verse
3 of 2 Chronicles 29, in the first year of his reign. In the
first month, you talk about a guy committed to the principles on
which he candidated. He said that this is what he
was going to do. Now mind you, they didn’t vote
for him, but immediately he gets about the business of reforming
the nation. In the first year of his reign,
in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the
Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and
the Levites and he gathered them into the square on the east.
Then he said to them, listen to me, oh Levites. These are
the priests of God and you have Hezekiah commanding them. But
watch what he commands. He basically tells them, do your
job. How sad is this that the nation
had fallen this far? Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate
yourselves now and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God
of your fathers, and carry out the uncleanness from the holy
place. In other words, he begins by
saying, look, clean up this priesthood, go have your time at confession,
come back here, purified vessels for service to the Lord, and
start with the house of God. I mean, it’s a powerful thing.
So he starts with the reform of the temple itself, of the
priesthood, and of those who served God. Glance down at verse
10. Now, this is the reason behind
all of what he’s doing. It is in my heart to make a covenant
with the Lord God of Israel that his burning anger may be turned
away from us. In other words, he was wise enough
to look up and recognize that the calamity, the trouble that
is befalling his nation was because of their sin. And as the king,
he was going to do everything in his power to remedy that. glance down at verse 16. So the
priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse
it and everything every unclean thing which they found in the
temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house
of the Lord. All right. So we’ve got one chapter behind
us. We’ve got three to go. We’re doing an overview a quick
flyover. Second Chronicles chapter 30.
Here you see just something absolutely astounding. It had never occurred
before. Remember the kingdom’s divide
and there was bitterness in that divide. There was hatred. Even
from time to time Israel would take up arms against Judah. Watch
what Hezekiah does. Verse 1, now Hezekiah sent to
all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh. In other words, to the farthest
corners of these nations. that they should come to the
house of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to
the Lord God of Israel. In other words he used that to
reunify these nations. Absolutely astounding. Jump down
to verse 25. all the assembly of Judah rejoiced
with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came
from Israel both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel
and those living in Judah so that there was great joy in Jerusalem
because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days
of Solomon the son of David king of Israel then the Levitical
priests arose and blessed the people and their voice was heard
and their prayer came to the holy place to heaven. In other words, just the right
thing of unifying these nations was seen as a motivation, a prompter
to worship. 2 Chronicles 31. Hezekiah is not done yet. It
wasn’t enough for him to just purify the priesthood and purify
the temple. What Hezekiah sets to do now
is go far and wide and rid the land of their idols. Look at
verse 1. Now when all this was finished,
all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke
the pillars in pieces, and those were pillars that were used for
vile worship of false gods, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down
the ashram, pulled down the high places and the altars throughout
all Judah and Benjamin as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh until
they had destroyed them all.” Astounding. These things had
crept in for centuries. They were part of the fabric,
unfortunately now, of these nations. And in one command, One command,
Hezekiah dispatches the masses to go and rid the land of these
idols. Jump down to verse 20. Now admittedly,
we’re doing a flyover, right? We’re not reading every verse,
but you get the gist of what Hezekiah, who he is and what
he accomplished. Look at verse 20. Thus Hezekiah
did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good, right,
and true before the Lord his God. Every work which he began
in the service of the house of the of God in law and commandment
Seeking his God he did with all his heart and he prospered. Oh
So that’s a good perspective on Hezekiah. He sought to follow
God. He sought to be obedient to him
He sought to do his will and because of that God blessed him
chapter 32 Here we see that not only was Hezekiah a man of God
and a man of peace in reunifying these nations, he was a man of
purity in sending the people out to rid the land of these
idols, but he’s also a man of military defense. And he knows
that these nations have enemies. 1 Chronicles 32, pardon me, 2
Chronicles 32. beginning in verse one. After
these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and invaded
Judah. And if you don’t get the kind
of irony that’s woven in there, it tells us after these acts
of faithfulness, and what you expect is more blessings are
going to be heaped upon Hezekiah and Judah, but that’s not the
case. After these acts of faithfulness, this evil king of Syria came
and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities and thought
to break into them for himself. In other words, he couldn’t wait
to get into Jerusalem to pillage and take everything that was
in there for himself, great wealth. Jump down to verse five. And
he, that is Hezekiah, took courage. and rebuilt the wall that had
been broken down, and erected towers in it, and built another
outside, and strengthened the millow in the city of David,
and made weapons and shields in great number. He appointed
military officers over the people, and gathered them into the square
at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, Be strong and
courageous. Do not fear or be dismayed because
of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the horde that is within
them. For the one with us is greater than the one with them.”
Do you understand that? He said, look, your God, your
God is far greater than any heathen king. Look at verse 8, with him
only is an arm of flesh. But with us is the Lord our God
to help us and to fight our battles. And the people relied on the
words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Well, you may know the rest of
the story. Sennacherib came up against them
and he began to send his guys to the wall and they talk and
bad bite against not only Hezekiah but against his God and against
the people, essentially calling them chicken. But Hezekiah the prophet, look
at verse 20, son of Amos prayed about this and cried out to heaven,
what else should you do? The Lord sent an angel who destroyed
every mighty warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the
king of Assyria. That’s answered prayer. They’re
being besieged by this evil and powerful nation. Hezekiah puts
his trust in Almighty God, prays the prayer, and God answers decisively. Decisively. So the Lord saved
Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of
Sennacherib king of Syria and from the hand of all the others
and guided them on every side. Just astounding what this man
accomplished. But he’s not perfect and you’re
about to see it. Goes on to say that many were
bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents
to Hezekiah the king of Judah so that he was exalted in the
sight of all the nations thereafter.” In other words, wealth was just
heaped upon him, even by other nations, heathen nations. And
then, and then Hezekiah gets sick. And
I take this to mean that this is not just a cold, this is not
just the flu, this is a major life-threatening illness. In
other words, it was one that They expected it to take him.
Look at verse 24. In those days, Hezekiah became
mortally ill, and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke
to him and gave him a sign. In other words, he knew that
this would not take him, but Hezekiah gave no return for the
benefit he received, because his heart was proud. Therefore
wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. I get the
sense that it was maybe even just a thanksgiving prayer that
he forgot. He didn’t give thanks. He went
to God in prayer. That was the right thing to do.
Just like he had when his nation was being attacked. Now he’s
physically being attacked. He goes and he prays. God gives
him a sign and he does not acknowledge it. It was that simple. And you
say, well, that’s not that big a deal, is it? It is a big deal. It’s a big deal for you and I,
and it was a big deal for Hezekiah. However, Hezekiah humbled the
pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days
of Hezekiah. In other words, God’s anger is
mounted. The fires have been stoked. And
in a sense, for both of these nations, it’s a matter of time. I mentioned Hezekiah’s wealth.
Look at verse 27. Hezekiah had immense riches and
honor and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold,
precious stones, spices, shields, all kinds of valuable articles.
I take it that these were like giant warehouses where that’s
the gold warehouse and they’d heap that full of gold and they’d
build another one as that got full. Storehouses for grain,
wine, oil, pens for all kinds of cattle, sheep folds for the
flocks. He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds
in abundance, for God had given him every kind of wealth. What a God-honored man he was. And other than his lack of thanksgiving,
you can look at Hezekiah, the testimony of him, there really
aren’t any really glaring errors. Except one. Turn, if you would,
to Isaiah chapter 39. We’re working our way to the
New Testament, aren’t we? Isaiah chapter 39. I told you
that both Kings and Chronicles parallel these accounts. This
account is also chronicled in 2 Kings. part that I’m about
to read you but I think it’s important this morning that we
read it in Isaiah’s account Isaiah chapter 39 beginning in verse
1 and I take this to position this if you would immediately
after Hezekiah’s recovery from this illness the great wealth
that he’s enjoying it’s just kind of a it’s a great day in
Judah great day in Hezekiah’s kingdom at that time Merodach,
son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to
Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been sick and recovered.
Hezekiah was pleased and showed them all his treasure house,
the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and
his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries.
There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah
did not show them. What a nice guy, right? You guys came from so far, let
me show you what God has done. Then Isaiah the prophet came
to him, came to King Hezekiah and said to him, what did these
men say and from where have they come to you? Hezekiah said, they’ve
come to me from a far country, from Babylon. And I’m sure that
even as he said it, he had to catch himself. Babylon? I just
showed the evil nation of Babylon all of our treasures? He said, Isaiah said, what have
they seen in your house? So Hezekiah answered, they have
seen all that is in my house. There’s nothing among my treasuries
that I have not shown them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah,
hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the days are coming
when all that is in your house and all that your fathers laid
up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon. Nothing
will be left, says the Lord. Now how’s that for an evaluation
of your hospitality? I mean, Hezekiah must be just
absolutely stunned. Because of what I’ve just done,
everything that we have is going to be taken, stolen, pillaged,
and some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will
beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in
the palace of the King of Babylon. Now, I don’t know what, you know,
maybe this guy is just so utterly positive, just, you know, let’s
put a good spin on it, After all, my sons are going to be
officers one day, even if it is officers in a foreign heathen
kingdom. Look at verse 8. He just doesn’t
get it. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good. For he thought there would be
peace and truth in my days. And to a great degree, he was
right. The other foot never dropped in Hezekiah’s day. In a sense, there was truth and
peace, relative peace in his day. And he died and another
king replaced him. In fact, seven more would follow
Hezekiah before the nation was destroyed. Six evil kings, one
good king. And now, if you would, turn to
the Gospel of John. John chapter one is where we
find ourselves. Having completed that lengthy
introduction in the first 18 verses, we come to the ministry
of John the Baptist. And for the sake of setting the
tone of not only this Lord’s day, but the days and weeks to
come, if you would pick up in verse 19, I want to read all
the way to verse 34. This is the testimony of John
when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, who are you? And he confessed and did not
deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. They asked him, what
then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am
not. Are you the prophet? He answered,
no. Then they said to him, who are
you? So that we may give an answer to those who sent us, what do
you say about yourself? He said, I am a voice of one
crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord,
as Isaiah the prophet said. Now they had been sent from the
Pharisees. They asked him and said to him,
why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah,
nor the prophet? John answered them, saying, I
baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me,
the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. These things
took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming
to him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world. This is he on behalf of whom
I said, after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I,
for he existed before me. I did not recognize him, but
so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in
water. John testified saying, I have
seen the spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he
remained upon him. I did not recognize him, but
he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, he upon whom
you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this
is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen
and have testified that this is the Son of God. But for today’s purposes we’ll
look at just those first five verses of this section verses
19 through 23. And I would probably position
this interview if you will inquisition perhaps likely after the baptism
of John and so you’ve got to almost use a harmony of the Gospels
to fit this in. likely John had already baptized
Christ. Christ has already, in a sense,
begun his ministry and it begins with the temptation. We don’t
know exactly where this positions, but certainly John has had interaction
with the Lord Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ’s ministry has not
been manifested in John’s gospel. And so, the forerunner, ministry
of John the Baptist comes to us, and it comes in John’s gospel
in a very different manner than what we get from Matthew, Mark,
or Luke. There we hear all about this
wild character. Camel’s hair, coat, not the kind
that you’d find at the men’s store in our day and age, leather
belt, locusts and wild honey, calls to repentance. This is
just an intense character, one of the most interesting characters
in all of Scripture. And it just says in John the
Apostle’s style, this is the testimony of John. Remember,
he introduced us to John back in verse 6 through 8. He briefly
introduced us to him as a witness. He reintroduces us to him in
verse 15, and now he’s going to spend some time with John
the Baptist. And he just says, this is the
testimony of John when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? This term, the Jews,
a lot of times people recoil at that. And I think people can
use that in a harsh or racial way. That’s not how John the
Apostle is using it. That’s not how John the Baptist
would use it. It’s not a disparaging term.
It’s not even a racial term. It’s a technical term. But especially
in John’s gospel, John uses this term, this phrase, the Jews,
more than 50 times. And he uses it 10 times as often
as the synoptics do combined. And he uses it to describe the
doubting, the disbelieving nation of people who should have been
the most ready to receive Jesus Christ and who prove themselves
the least ready and the least willing. So it’s the Jewish leader’s
responsibility to check up and they hear this ministry going
on, it’s their responsibility to check out John the Baptist
and that’s kind of how they come. And when they come and they ask
him, who are you? They’re not asking him about his family upbringing. They know well who he is. They’re not curious about his
parentage. They knew that his father was
Zacharias, the priest. These are priests. They know
well his family life. They know that his mom is Elizabeth.
But because of the nature of this ministry that’s having such
a profound effect, it says the great crowds were flocking to
hear him and many were being baptized and he was almost being
universally regarded as a prophet. He had to be examined. He had
to be checked out. And note his reply. It’s a very
funny reply, isn’t it? Look at verse 20. He confessed
and did not deny, but confessed. In other words, John the Baptist
reads between the lines. They don’t tell him what they
are wondering. They don’t come right out and
ask him, but he knows why they’re there. He confessed, did not deny, but
confessed. They didn’t verbally suggest
that he was the Messiah, but they wondered. They certainly
thought about it. In fact, they hoped for it. They
even assumed it. But John the Baptist reads between
the lines and he speaks directly to it. He says, look, you didn’t
ask me, but let me volunteer. Let me confess. I am not the Christ. You know
people frequently thought that of John. In Luke’s gospel it
says while the people were in a state of expectation that’s
the nation of Israel right? It had been almost 700 years
since all those messianic prophecies. Enough waiting already. We want
to see the Messiah. We need the Messiah. We’re under
this Roman oppression. While all the people were in
a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts
about John as to whether he was the Christ, they would have loved
that. They would have loved this homely, poorly dressed guy that
they could clean up and shape up and craft after their own
image. They wanted their kind of Messiah.
In fact, one commentator noted, that if you realize it, John
the Baptist gets more respect from the religious elite of the
Jews than even the Lord Jesus Christ did. They would have loved
to have him as the Messiah. And so he tells them plainly,
he is not the Christ. Verse 21, what then, are you
Elijah? Maybe you’re the forerunner.
You see, they didn’t understand the day of the Lord, the day
of judgment that was going to come, that Elijah would come
on that occasion, but that wasn’t this occasion. They didn’t have
this whole scene figured, that a Savior was going to come, that
he was going to preach the gospel and call people to repentance
and to faith. They weren’t ready for that.
They were ready for Elijah. They wanted to go right into
the kingdom. They take that from Malachi 4, that Elijah would
one day be the frontrunner, the forerunner for the day of the
Lord. Malachi 4.5, behold, I’m going
to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and terrible day of the Lord. Well, that day hasn’t come. That’s
not this day. But John the Baptist’s character,
even his appearance, probably caused people to wonder that
maybe this was Elijah. The way that he dressed, the
way that he carried himself, the intensity of his ministry,
very similar. 2 Kings 1 says of Elijah that
he was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.
And then you know the story of Elijah, just his intensity. Matthew 4, pardon me, Matthew
3, 4 says of John the Baptist, John the Baptist had himself
a garment of camel’s hair, a leather belt around his waist, his food
was locusts and wild honey. He was just the same kind of
guy, cut out of the same cloth. In fact, Jesus would even go
on to say that in a sense, John the Baptist did come in the spirit
and power of Elijah. But when he’s asked directly,
are you Elijah? No, I’m not Elijah, I’m John
the Baptist. And so he denies that and they
immediately move to a third option, running through their whole list
of potential people that should be out there baptizing and preaching
and creating such a stir. If you’re not Christ and you’re
not Elijah, maybe you’re the prophet. This kind of unnamed,
varied, undefined person who was to come spoken of most people
believe in Deuteronomy 18 is the one they’re talking about
the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me
from among you from your countrymen you shall listen to him maybe
you’re that guy no no and John almost just shakes
his head no he just says one word no And now they’re frustrated. Now
they want to cut to the chase. Because you’re out here in our
community, speaking to our people, baptizing, you’re drawing great
crowds. We were really thin in church
last Saturday because of you. Who are you? So that we may give
answer to those who sent us. Not for us, we’re just emissaries. And he said, I am a voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord. As Isaiah the prophet said. Now it’s vital to acknowledge
here from the very start that by the Holy Spirit’s influence,
all four gospel writers cite this same passage when they introduced
John the Baptist. It’s not coincidence. John the
Baptist is the voice that Isaiah mentions in Isaiah 40. The gospel
of Matthew reveals that John the Baptist is the voice referred
to by Isaiah, and that truth was echoed by all the other gospel
writers. The Holy Spirit highlighted to
Matthew these two clear connections, two elements, really, that revealed
the identity of the one to whom Isaiah had pointed. Isaiah just
said there’s going to come this one, a voice. He’s not a personality
to be followed. He’s not really anything all
that special because all that he mentions is the fact that
he’s a voice, he’s a mouthpiece. It’s the message that’s so crucial
that he brings. He would be in the wilderness.
that his ministry would be a ministry of repentance. The gospel of
Mark tells us that Isaiah was pointing to the beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s crucial. It’s a crucial
piece of detail that by referring back to Isaiah chapter 40, Mark
says, look, this is the start of it all. This is the start
of the Messiah’s advent. The gospel of Luke. The Gospel
of Luke highlights the baptism of repentance, a preparation,
a readiness for the forgiveness of sins. And so all the synoptic writers,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit,
they all identify John the Baptist as the voice, the very one that
Isaiah speaks to in Isaiah chapter 40. But in the Gospel of John,
Just in case we might have this idea that, well, Matthew, Mark,
and Luke cooked this thing up on their own, you know, and they
just kind of applied this Old Testament scripture to him. Oh,
this is kind of like, this sounds a lot like Isaiah 40. Let’s put
that on him. No. Not only did the Holy Spirit
oversee their writings, John the Baptist comes out plainly
and says, I am the voice. When Isaiah spoke, that was me.
he was talking about nearly 700 years ago. I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. And when he speaks of wilderness
here, it’s, a lot of people think that he just, because he was
outside the city limits, right? He was a rural guy, hiking through
the mountains and the foothills, out there having a perpetual
camping trip. That’s not it at all. Not only
these passages, but the passage especially in Isaiah point to
a spiritual wasteland that’s in view. He’s a voice in the
wilderness, a spiritual wilderness. It’s figurative. And you know
what? At the mere mention of Isaiah
40, This delegation sent to investigate John the Baptist should have
immediately stopped in their tracks to consider his words. They should have invited him
to dinner. They should have said, you know what, hey, could you
be the next speaker at the Shepherd’s Conference? Right? They should
have sat down with him. They should have literally sat
before him and had him unfold to them his ministry. for a people waiting for, longing
for, looking earnestly for the Messiah, the mere mention of
this chapter, Isaiah chapter 40, should have been the ultimate
red flag. They should have known immediately,
this is the forerunner of the Messiah. It was the very thing
for which they sought. You see, every Jew knew. Every
Jew knew very well at this point, after more than 600 years of
waiting, that Hezekiah’s enthusiastic response at the end of chapter
39 was really off the mark. Hezekiah said, the word of the
Lord which you have spoken is good. No, it wasn’t. It was judgment. For he thought, there will be
peace and truth in my days. And in Hezekiah’s days there
were, but it got worse, it got much worse. I already mentioned
there were seven kings that followed. Six did evil, only one did good. And they really saw that Hezekiah’s
hopeful days really never materialized. Not in Hezekiah’s day, not ever. Listen to 2 Kings. 2 Kings chapter
25, here’s what happened. Now, in the ninth year of his
reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, came. He and all his army against Jerusalem,
camped against it, built a siege and a wall around it, so the
city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine was so severe
in the city, there was no food for the people in the land. Then
the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night
by way of the gate between two walls beside the king’s garden,
and they went by way of the Araba.” In other words, the troops fled
some army. But the army of the Chaldeans
pursued the king, overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All
his army scattered from him. Then they captured the king,
brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and passed sentence
on him. They slaughtered the sons of
Zedekiah before his eyes, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah to Hezekiah. then put out the eyes of Zedekiah,
bound him at bronze fetters, brought him to Babylon. Now the
seventh day of the fifth month, which was the 19th year of King
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, captain of the
guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the
houses of Jerusalem. Even every great house he burned
with fire. This is the judgment that was
prescribed coming to fruition. Just not in Hezekiah’s day. So all the army of the Chaldeans
were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around
Jerusalem, the rest of the people who were left in the city, and
the deserters who had deserted the king of Babylon, and the
rest of the people. Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of
the guard, carried away into exile. He took them away. And so you come to the end of
chapter 39 and every Jew, every Jew who knew his scriptures knew
that this was not good news. This is the heartbreak of the
nation of Israel. This is the judgment, the final
judgment prescribed upon them. But there was Isaiah chapter
40. And a lot of people read into that that this must be talking
about what was going to happen to Hezekiah. And yet, the longer
it went, they realized that’s not the case. So the Jewish people knew that
Isaiah 40 had to be future. It was yet unfulfilled. It had
never yet happened. Isaiah 40 was a message of hope. Would you turn to Isaiah chapter
40? I don’t even know where I left
you. John? Okay, come to Isaiah 40. John the Baptist has told them
that he is the voice in the wilderness taken directly from Isaiah chapter
40. He is that guy. He is the forerunner. He’s the
forerunner of the Messiah. And chapter 40 had to be every
Jew’s, almost their favorite chapter of scripture because
it was a chapter of hope. It was a chapter of redemption.
It was a chapter of restoration. It was a chapter all about their
God and what He would do. Verses 1 and 2 open with ultimate
words of comfort, assuring words from God Himself. Comfort, oh
comfort my people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem
and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity
has been removed, that she has received of the Lord’s hand double
for all her sins. What great news that Israel needed
to hear. What great news for sinners that
God is a God of comfort, And then down in verses six through
eight, following the passages that John the Baptist quotes,
it tells of the eternality of God’s word, that God’s word is
perpetual, even in the face of the frailty of humanity. You
know these words. The grass withers, the flower
fades. When the breath of the Lord blows
upon it, surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the
flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. And that
meant all that God had promised. What words of hope these were.
Verses 12 through 17 tell us about the God of peace, that
He’s a God of peace. He enacts the peace treaty. If
there is to be peace, God must be at the table. Look at verse 12. Who has measured
the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked out the heavens
by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by measure,
and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in a
pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of
the Lord, or has His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult, and
who gave Him understanding? Who taught Him in the path of
justice, and taught Him knowledge, and informed Him of the way of
understanding? God is the one. God is God. God is the God of peace. God
is the one that is moving here in this passage. And then in
verses 18 through 26, much more brief, it just talks about the
contrast of God and idols, a message that Israel absolutely and desperately
needed to hear, but so do we today. Anything outside of God,
any man-made image of God, any man-conceived idea of God is
an idol. Then it closes with that powerful
section on the strength of the Lord. What a great ending to
this great chapter was this. Do you not know, verse 28, have
you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord,
the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary
or tired. His understanding is unscrutable. He gives strength to the weary
and to him who lacks might He increases power. He’s God. He’s God Almighty. Though youths
grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet
those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will
mount up in wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired.
They will walk and not become weary.” What a great chapter
this is. And the mere reference to it
by John the Baptist had to point the Jews back there, at least
in their minds. Oh yeah, Isaiah chapter 40. What a great chapter! But we’ve left out the best.
We haven’t even touched upon the best part of this chapter.
The best part of this chapter was about the Messiah. It’s verses
9 through 11. The messenger is told, get yourself
up on a high mountain. I have news, great news, the
best news that mankind has ever heard. Get yourself up on a high
mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news. Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news. Lift it up, do not fear. Say
to the cities of Judah, here is your God. The Messiah is introduced. And the first thing it tells
us about him is that he is going to be God. He’s going to be God
incarnate. Say to the cities of Judah, here
is your God. And that’s what Isaiah is telling
us, and that’s what John the Baptist points back to that says,
look, I’m the voice. And all they had to do is think
back in their minds high, if you’re the voice, then you are
the spokesman, you are the forerunner of the Messiah himself. Matthew records the giving of
the name of this baby that was born. You shall call His name
Immanuel, which translated means God with us. It was the blending,
the union of two natures, man and God, when Jesus Christ was
born. And that’s why in Hebrews chapter
1 it can say He is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation
of God’s nature. It’s one of the plainest facts
of Scripture that Jesus Christ is God. But Isaiah goes on, Isaiah
10, Isaiah 40, chapter 40, verse 10 says, Behold, the Lord God
will come with might His arm ruling for Him. This Messiah
that’s coming is not only going to be God, He’s going to be mighty,
almighty. And they knew that that was said
of God, but now they have to acknowledge, as they begin to
digest this verse, that this verse is talking about the Messiah,
and the Messiah too would be mighty, almighty. That if He’s
God, He lacks nothing of God’s might. That’s what Paul in Ephesians
says of Christ, doesn’t he? I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints, what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward
us who believe. These are in accordance with
the working of the strength of His might which He brought about
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, seated Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion. Jesus Christ is Almighty God. Not only is this Messiah God
and mighty, but Isaiah continues, Here is your God. Behold, the
Lord God will come with might, His arm ruling for Him. Behold,
His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him. Friends, that talks about His
judgment. It says that the Lord Jesus Christ is judge. And John
the Baptist is alluding to the fact that He was the voice. They
should have known immediately that John the Baptist is the
spokesperson for God Himself, God the mighty, God the judge.
Jesus Christ would come as judge. John, the apostle, will go on
to talk about that. In John chapter 5, just as the
Father has life in Himself, even so He gave the Son to have life
in Himself, and He gave Him authority to execute judgment. Jesus Christ
will decide. At the end of Acts, Paul says
the same thing. Pardon me, at the end of Acts 10, Paul says
the same thing. He ordered us to preach to the
people, not Paul. He ordered us to preach to the
people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has
been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. That’s
some judge. From time to time we hear about
these decisions that are made by the so-called Supreme Court.
This is the Supreme Court. And then Paul Preaching in Acts,
Acts chapter 17, therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to every man, to men everywhere that they
should repent because he has fixed a day in which he will
judge the world in righteousness. Jesus Christ is the judge. In Isaiah, laid out these things. When John the Baptist points
back as being the voice, the forerunner of these very things,
they should have known that this is the God, this is the mighty
one, this is the judge of whom is spoken in Isaiah. But the fourth feature of this
Messiah is so touching, so comforting. here is your God behold the Lord
God will come with might his arm ruling for him behold his
reward is with him and his recompense before him like a shepherd he
will tend his flock in his arm he will gather the lambs and
carry them in his bosom he will gently lead the nursing ewes
he points to one of the most beautiful images of God in scripture
doesn’t he? Psalm 23 the Lord is my shepherd
and it was a recurring image that was used, but here it is
absolutely said of Christ. Christ is the shepherd. Like
a shepherd, He will tend His flock. He’s going to do all the
things that a shepherd would do for His sheep. He’s going
to come to them and He’s going to bind up their wounds. He’s
going to rescue the lost. He’s going to protect them and
guard them and feed them and water them. In the New Testament,
Christ is frequently spoken of as not just a shepherd, but the
great shepherd. Matthew 2.6, the Magi came to
Herod, they quote Micah 5, where is this Jesus going to be born? You, Bethlehem, land of Judea,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of
you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people. Matthew 9.36, you see there a
shepherd’s heart in Christ. Seeing the people, he felt compassion
for them. He saw these people scattered,
lost, wayward, poorly taught, poorly fed by God’s Word, without
any earthly examples of godliness. seeing the people he felt compassion
for them because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without
a shepherd. Here he is. John chapter 10,
the very testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep. As one said, Like a good shepherd,
Christ cares tenderly for all His believing people. He provides
for all their wants. He leads them by the right way.
He bears patiently with their many weaknesses and infirmities
and does not cast them off because they are wayward, erring, or
sick, or lame. He guards and protects them from
all their enemies and from those that the Father has given them.
He will be found at last to have lost none. You know what is absolutely amazing? Is that these were priests and
Levites, and they were sent to check out John the Baptist in
the context that maybe, possibly, he might be the Christ. After
all, we’ve been looking for him for 700 years. And they ask him who he is, and
he’s careful to tell them that he’s not Jesus. He’s careful
to tell them, I’m not Elijah. I’m not that undefined prophet. I’m just a voice. But by that
one word, they should have been gripped. He quotes the entire
two verses, they should have been absolutely gripped. This
is the forerunner of the Messiah. Pointing us back to the greatest
chapter of the Old Testament, the good news of Isaiah chapter
40. Have you caught the significance
of those words? Do you sense what John the Baptist
is saying when he says, I am a voice of one crying in the
wilderness? There are quite possibly people
who have sat here for years and years. They’ve heard all kinds
of talk, sometimes a sermon. And they know about Christ. They
even know what a great chapter Isaiah 40 is. But you can’t miss the Messiah
in Isaiah 40. You can’t overlook the Messiah
that the voice came to give testimony to. Let’s humble ourselves before
him. Our merciful God, we do humble
ourselves in your midst. The Lord Jesus Christ and his
forerunner, his faithful servant, John the Baptist, who was well
pleased to be nothing. To be an insignificant servant
who came and for a very short season preached and then was
brutally murdered. All for the privilege of serving
his God and proclaiming the savior of the world. Lord God, we thank
you and praise you likewise for Isaiah’s testimony, for these
words given 700 years before John the Baptist would even point
to them. Words that testified not only of the nature of God
and of his compassionate heart issuing comfort, speaking of
strength, but telling us absolutely clearly of the Messiah who would
come. Who would come as God. Who would
come as judge. Who would come as a shepherd.
O merciful God, we humble ourselves before you. Let us not miss what
the scribes missed that day. Let us not miss what the Levitical
priests missed that day. Those who should have known the
Scriptures better than any. Let us not miss that the Lord
Jesus Christ has come. John the Baptist was His forerunner. Let us humble ourselves before
Him and place our faith in Him. In Him alone for salvation. Outside of the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is no salvation. It’s in His name that we pray.
Amen.