Witnesses of Christ

Turn back once again to John
chapter 5. John chapter 5. It has been a
month since we were in John chapter 5. And we are looking at this
strange occurrence that kicked it off as Jesus returns back
into Jerusalem. There is this strange occurrence
of this man who was healed by the pool. As much, and I know
that you know this, as much as I would love to go back and read
the entirety of John chapter 5, I just need to do a flyover
as we set the context for the verses that we’ll consider this
morning. If you look back at John chapter 5 verse 1, there’s
this strange healing, the angel stirring the water, and we looked
at that and saw that those verses were likely in the margin, kind
of as an explanation for what was held to be a, it was kind
of a myth, a common, a commonly held myth of healing, not unlike
the idea that going to the hot pools, the hot springs in our
own day and age has some healing properties. Well, we saw that
Jesus approached this man waiting for the water, unable to put
himself in the pool, watching Year after year, and time after
time, others enter into the pool for the purpose of receiving
the healing. And Jesus has mercy on this man. And He approaches him, and simply
tells him, ultimately, get up and walk. Get up, pick up your
bed, and walk. And, by God’s grace, and by God’s
grace alone, He does it. Well, so far so good, except
that the Jews are observing this, and it was the Sabbath. They
see the man carrying his bed. They’re quite offended at that.
He explains to them that essentially a miracle had just happened,
that he was given his legs, he was given the ability to walk,
his disease had been healed, and the very one that healed
him was the one that told him to pick up the bed. They want
nothing of it. They’re fixed upon this so-called
offense of carrying his bed on the Sabbath. Nevertheless, they
approach Jesus, and when they do, they’re quite irritated,
aren’t they? They approach Jesus, they begin to query Him, and
that irritation quickly gives way to persecution. We see that
in verse 15, when the man went away, told the Jews it was Jesus
who made them well, and the Jews at that point began, it says,
persecuting Jesus. Pursuing Him, dogging His steps,
criticizing His every move. Well, we also saw that this progression
was not finished. The irritation gives way to persecution,
and the persecution gives way to their plot of execution. We
tend to think that this whole hatred of Christ built up over
a lengthy period of time, two, three years, it’s not the case. This is almost the first interaction
that they’ve had with Christ, the first offense that they’ve
seen, notwithstanding the cleansing of the temple, and they are already
ready to kill the Lord Jesus. Look at verse 17. For this reason,
my father is working until now, and I myself am working. For
this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to
kill him. The more they knew about Christ, the more they hated
him. What they saw initially was a
minor offense, relatively so, offending the Sabbath, which,
with repentance and a gift to the temple, would be quickly
forgiven. making himself equal with God,
could not be forgiven. It was blasphemy in the Jews’
ears, and they would make Jesus pay, so they believed. As we course further into John
chapter 5, Jesus begins to respond to their charge. Jesus begins
to respond to the hatred that was already resident in their
heart. And in verse 19, he begins a
discourse. a defense, if you will, but the
first thing that he does is make these three powerful and very
solemn declarations. Look at verse 19. The first of
the three, Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, Truly,
truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself unless
it is something he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father
does, these things the Son does in like manner. In other words,
Jesus says that He and the Father were absolutely one, one in nature,
one in purpose. There is no way that Jesus can
prosecute an agenda of His own. There’s no way that He can introduce
a new idea. He and the Father are absolutely
in lockstep together. They have formed their plan of
redemption in eternity past, and what Jesus is doing is exactly
in concert with what the Lord God designed. The second solemn
declaration we find in verse 24. Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and does not come into judgment but is passed out of death into
life. Now, I don’t know about you,
Human nature tells me that the last thing that I’m going to
do if people are plotting my murder is plead with them and
offer them salvation. But if you look at it, that’s
exactly what Christ does. He lays before them the very
gospel that would save them if they only yielded in repentance
and placed their faith in Christ, He who hears my word. and believes
Him who sent me has eternal life. But there’s a third solemn declaration. Not only verse 19 and verse 24,
but look at verse 25. Truly, truly, I say to you, an
hour is coming, and now it is, when the dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. There is
coming a day when all will be raised, some to judgment, and
sung to eternal life. Jesus sets before them with great
solemnity that He was in absolute harmony with Almighty God. On the whole plane of redemption,
He sets before them with great clarity and solemnity the Gospel
itself, and He sets before them the urgency of the hour. that
an hour is coming and now is. There are already those who are
already coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus summarizes there at the
end of this solemn series of declarations, He summarizes in
verse 30, I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear,
I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own
will, but the will of Him who sent me.” What Jesus says to
those who are already plotting His murder is that He is the
judge, and that one day He will sit in judgment for men’s sins,
and even in that, there is a merciful call to repentance. We come into
verse 31, into this lengthy section, the section where Jesus is going
to offer other proofs, witnesses, added testimony to the veracity,
the truthfulness of His claims of being Almighty God. We pick
it up in verse 31, if you would. Read along with me. Jesus says, If I alone testify
about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who
testifies of me, and I know that the testimony which he gives
about me is true. You have sent to John, and he
has testified to the truth, but the testimony which I receive
is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
He was the lamp that was burning and was shining, and you were
willing to rejoice for a while in his light. Jesus begins to counter their
doubtfulness, their coldness to the truth, their deadness
to the truth, by suggesting that he had a long list of witnesses
that he was prepared to bring forth as a testimony to what
he had already said to them. Now, what Jesus will ultimately
present is a series of five witnesses, but he begins, first of all,
with his own witness. Look, if you would, back in verse
31, Jesus himself It is whose testimony is disallowed,
they would suggest, if it is by itself. Verse 31, If I alone testify
about myself, my testimony is not true. Well, those are difficult
words. I am sure that many of you, as
you just read those, did as I did. re-read them and re-read them
and read them again, can this possibly be the case? That Jesus
goes out and says things without a corroborating witness, and
because He says it without a witness nearby, those words are therefore
necessarily untrue? You can’t possibly begin to take
these words with a bare literal he is not sinless, and if he
is not sinless, he is no God, and if he is no God, he is no
Savior. Some might come to this, the
Jews certainly thought this, that what he said was not true, and that if it was true, that
he would have some kind of a corroborating witness, and he didn’t have that.
His words were suspect. If that was the correct interpretation,
as I said, then Jesus is no longer sinless. And so we have to approach
this verse, we know that it means something, we know that we have
to proceed with caution because on the face of it, it does look
like a suggestion that Jesus is not God. It has to be very
carefully and delicately reasoned. himself is false, and so we have
to approach with caution. What Jesus is saying here, simply,
is that the claims of Christ, the claims that He is making,
don’t rest on His testimony alone. They are backed and supported
by a symphony of testimony of others. Knowledge about Christ
does not, in fact, it could not, in fact, depend on His testimony
alone. It is the testimony of God Himself,
as we’ll see in a moment, but ultimately, knowledge about Christ,
as the Jews so maintained, Jesus here affirms, one man’s witness
is not enough to prove a thing. There must be corroboration of
that witness. And what Jesus does, incredibly
here, is anticipate and even head off the criticism of his
Jewish detractors. The laws regarding witnesses
in the Jewish culture were very specific, and they were rigidly
observed. You had to have two witnesses.
They were always necessary if you were going to establish any
fact in a court of law. Another very common and commonly
and rigidly held rule was that a man’s evidence or testimony
about himself was automatically suspended. Indeed, that’s still
a common rule of law. As one said, self-testimony without
supporting witnesses is not legally valid. Another one said it this
way, in any disputed question, a man’s assertions in his own
favor are worth little or nothing. Now, from time to time, you know
this. From time to time, you’ll be asked to put your signature
on a document of paper, but it says, wait. Before you put your
signature on that paper, you must take this and present it
before, you know this, a notary. This must be signed in the presence
of the notary. And all the notary is, is another
person who has gone through some degree of training, has been
found to be relatively trustworthy, trustworthy enough to say that,
yes, when this man came in, he came in before me, he put his
signature on this paper before me as I stood. And they attest to that truthfulness. It’s a second witness. Again,
this is a common law, and even given in the scriptures, Deuteronomy
19.50, a single witness shall not rise up against a man on
account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed. On
the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be
confirmed. So you couldn’t just go pointing the finger at any
one individual. Matthew 18, Jesus uses that very
law when He talks about brother going to brother and confronting
sin. Matthew 18, 16, If he does not listen to you, take one or
two witnesses with you, so that the fact may be confirmed. The same principle is held forth
in 2 Corinthians 13. The third time, Paul says, I
am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed
by the testimony of two or three witnesses. This was a common
practice. To stand before and make a claim
for anything was invalid. And Jesus is just acknowledging
that before these Pharisees. This is their charge, not His. In fact, the Jews ultimately
would use this very argument against Jesus at a later date.
Turn, if you would, to John chapter 8. In John chapter 8, look at verse
12. Jesus spoke again to them, saying, I am the light of the
world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him,
you are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not true. His testimony was deemed to be
not true simply because he said it of himself without another
corroborating witness. Verse 14, Jesus answered and
said to them, even if I testify about myself, my testimony is
true. for I know where I came from and where I am going, but
you do not know where I come from or where I am going.” He
had already offered forth a host of witnesses. Back, if you would,
to John chapter 5. So, in the midst of this dialogue
with these rabbis, Jesus doesn’t shrink back. He doesn’t hide
from the fact. He knew their law. He had given
their law. He knew their principles. He
knew how they were operating. He knew what they were thinking
as He began to make these claims, these assertions, those solemn
declarations that He had just made. He knew what they were
thinking. Where are His witnesses? And Jesus says, If my testimony
is about myself, my testimony is not true. I know how you’re
thinking. The Greeks and Romans held to
those same principles, and Jesus makes essentially the same point
that He makes in verse 19. We read that verse a moment ago.
It’s that solemn declaration. Truly, truly, I say to you, the
Son can do nothing of Himself unless it is something He sees
the Father doing. I can make these assertions because
God is my witness. He cannot possibly bear witness
to anything other than that to which His Heavenly Father testifies
and vice versa. Jesus Christ and the Father are
in absolute concert on the great plan of redemption. And so Jesus
doesn’t say, that he is not a personal witness. When he says, if I alone
testify about myself, my testimony is not true, he doesn’t say that
he’s not a witness, nor does he say that the words he utters
are inherently false. He merely says that his testimony,
if it were the only one presented, that testimony would not be proof,
and he knows that. It would need the corroboration
of another, and such corroboration is to be plentifully provided. And so he alludes here in verse
32 to another witness. And I’ll just tell you flat out,
he’s alluding to the witness of the Heavenly Father. We’ll
get to that in a moment. But it’s a testimony that is
inherently genuine. Look at verse 32. There is another. who testifies of me, and I know
that the testimony which he gives about me is true.” Now this really
had to get the Pharisees’ attention, because Jesus is not only talking
about another witness, but He is already verifying, validating
the truthfulness of this claim. Jesus points to this so-called
another. He doesn’t name him. He just
says that there is another witness who is already testifying. And though He does not name him,
He’s not here pointing to John the Baptist. He’s pointing to
the Heavenly Father. This other witness, is none other
than God the Father himself. It’s almost universally maintained
among commentators that Jesus here is not possibly referring
to John the Baptist, he’s referring to the Father. Jesus is alluding
to his heavenly Father as the ultimate witness. And there are
others in concert with this testimony that combine in one harmonious
testimony We should observe also that this
testimony is not a one-time testimony, you know, in-the-books, finished
kind of thing. I want you to note this. The
form of the verb, look at it, there is another who testifies
of me. His testimony is ongoing, and
the form of the verb indicates that it’s a perpetual thing.
It’s an ongoing testimony. The Father started testifying
about Christ and he will not stop testifying about Christ.
The action is continuous. It’s a present, continuous action. He is, if you will, testifying
of Christ. He is speaking. He’s on the witness
stand even now, if you hear him. That can’t possibly be said of
John. We’ll talk about John in a moment.
John’s testimony, though, abides to echo in the ears of those
who heard it but he’s no longer bearing witness, not only in
our day, but John’s ability to testify was very short-lived,
wasn’t it? A few years on the face of the
earth, functioning as the forbearer of the Lord Jesus, John’s testimony is ended. It’s ended in our day. In fact, it was ended even in
Christ’s day, The Father, on the other hand, continues to
pour forth testimony about Christ, and observed as well that Jesus
Christ knows the quality of this testimony. Look at the verse. There’s another who testifies
of me, and I know the testimony which he gives about me is true. He knows that it’s true. Jesus
could fully rest upon the certainty, the absolute certainty of this
knowledge. He doesn’t sit, fretting as it
were, behind a defense table as God takes the stand. Jesus
isn’t fretting, wondering if the Father’s testimony is going
to be received as true. He already knows what the truth
is from eternity past. who else but the Eternal Son,
to know the genuineness of the Father’s testimony. God, His
Heavenly Father, would never bear witness to a lie. He is
absolutely incapable of lying. He’s absolutely incapable of
sinning in that sense. And so what Jesus implies here
is this deep awareness that He has of the nature of Almighty
God. God’s perfect righteousness,
it’s God’s perfect truthfulness. He knows what the Father’s testimony
is. He knew the quality of His testimony
because He knew the nature of God’s character and being. But there is another witness.
There’s not only the witness of Jesus Christ who, before the
Pharisees, his testimony is disallowed if it’s by himself, but there
is another witness. There is the Father’s witness,
and we’ll come back, as John’s habit has us, of circling back
again and again, picking up additionally more detail. There is another
witness who testifies of Christ, but there is even a third witness
This witness is not the primary witness. We wouldn’t call him
the key witness to the case, but he is a witness. He’s one
witness. He’s the witness to Christ. He’s
John the Baptist, a witness disregarded because of his style. Look at
verse 33. Jesus says, you have sent to
John, and he has testified to the truth. Now, the form of these
verbs is striking, and I want you to note them. Jesus says,
You have sent, and He has testified. They heard it. Jesus is basically
saying that John did testify, and that testimony still stands.
It’s entered into the books. They heard it. They knew what
John said. And it continues to echo forth. The testimony, essentially, it
preserves its God-given value. Even though the witness has disappeared,
he’s no longer on the stand. John the Baptist is no longer
even on the scene, but his testimony is registered. His testimony
stands. You call to him. You heard him,
and he testified to the truth. The prominent idea here isn’t
so much about this historical fact that took place, but it’s
about the nature of this witness, that it was permanent. The value
of this witness, that it was final. They heard it. The Jews heard
this testimony firsthand, and that testimony continues to act
as a clarion call in their ears, that he both was and still is
a witness to the truth. John the Baptist, a mere man
and a strange man admittedly. As one said it, the Jews did
not receive John’s witness. But he goes on to make it plain
that they could have. A witness had indeed been given
to them, a witness that they could understand and appreciate,
that they could even regard it highly. But in the end, they
had not accepted his witness. And Jesus speaks to the facts.
Jesus doesn’t have to argue here. All he has to do is mention it,
and the Jews know immediately that that was the case. you might recall, sent a delegation
to John the Baptist. That alone proved that they believed
him to be somewhat legitimate. Remember, they weren’t asking
whether he was real or not. They were asking not whether
he was a prophet or not, but how great a prophet. Are you
Elijah? They would not have done this
unless they believed that he was a trustworthy source. And
so what they sought really was just his particular identity. Let me refresh you to that scene. Turn back to John chapter one,
keep a finger in five. John chapter one, let’s just
look at verse 19. John chapter one, verse 19. 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. There was no equivocation
for John. John doesn’t pretend to be anybody
that he’s not, and he wants to make sure absolutely up front,
look, I am not the Messiah. They asked him, what then are
you, Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you
the prophet? They had this super prophet idea,
and he said no. They then said to him, who are
you so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do
you say about yourself? And this is what Jesus wanted
them to recall, mercifully so. He wanted them to remember, look,
we sent this delegation, they went to John, they clarified,
he wasn’t just any prophet. He wasn’t just Elijah. He certainly
wasn’t the Christ. What do you have to say about
yourself? They remembered the question. He said, I am a voice
of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. He was the forerunner of the
Messiah. They knew. They knew that John
had come to bear witness, to testify about the light, that
He never claimed to be the light, but that He came to proclaim
Christ. You see, Jesus had a witness
in John, but He had a greater witness than John. And He doesn’t
put all of His stock in John’s testimony, but He does call them
to remember that John did come, you did hear Him, He did testify
to these things. Stay in John chapter 1 just one
moment. Jesus says that what they have
heard from John was the absolute truth. You sent to John and he
testified to the truth. You heard it with your own ears.
John didn’t equivocate. John didn’t beat around the bush.
John didn’t claim to be something that he wasn’t. What he heard
from John was the truth, the truth about who Jesus Christ
was. Jesus Christ, what He does is
essentially rubber stamp John’s Christology. What did John think
about the Messiah? What did John think about Jesus
Christ? Well, he declared Him to be the
Son of God. He declared him to be the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world. If you’re in John
chapter one, glance down at verse 26. 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 it, 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 it. 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
testified that this is the Son of God. That’s the testimony.
that Jesus was recalling to mind when he says that you sent to
John, you heard him, and John testified
to the truth. But note something else about
John’s testimony. This witness who was disregarded
because of his style, his testimony, though ultimately unnecessary,
offered salvation. When I say that it was ultimately
unnecessary, Jesus doesn’t need it. He says it here in verse
34. Jesus doesn’t need this testimony
to prove himself. There was nothing wrong with
John the Baptist’s testimony. He completely fulfilled his God-given
purpose. Isn’t that a goal? Doesn’t that
just have a nice ring to it? John the Baptist did what God
sent him to do. He fulfilled his God-given purpose,
that of proclaiming Christ, and his testimony was true. It was
trustworthy. But Jesus has an even more sure
witness. Several of them, in fact. And they can’t begin to think
that Jesus’ legitimacy depends on a testimony of a man. As one pastor said it, not that
I would have you think that I rest my claim to be received as the
Messiah on the witness of John the Baptist. Jesus wasn’t staking
his life and ministry on a testimony of this man, sent though he was. You can’t begin to think that, but
he says, The nature, the purpose, rather, of John’s witness? Look
at this. The testimony which I receive
is not from man. Ultimately, Jesus doesn’t need
John the Baptist’s testimony, but I say these things to you
so that you may be saved. Perhaps some of them had jotted
down a few notes as they sat by the waters watching John baptize,
making all these grand claims. And essentially what Jesus says
is, go back and read your notes. Go back and read your notes.
I would have you come on knees of repentance and come to faith
in Christ. John said enough. John said enough
for you to be saved. I say these things so that you
may be saved. They had listened, had they listened
only to John. If John’s testimony of Jesus
Christ was all that they had, it was enough. It was enough
to be saved. They had turned their eye. They
were deafened and dull to the testimony of the Old Testament
Scriptures. But Jesus lays forth hope that
there is still opportunity for them to mull over the testimony
of John. that this Christ, this man who
stands before them as the Son of God, that He is the Lamb of
God, takes away the sin of the world. There’s still hope. And in fact, if you think back,
some, seizing only upon the testimony that John offered, had already
come to faith in Christ. You think of the early apostles,
those early responders to John’s ministry ultimately followed
quickly after Christ. There’s a third thing to observe
in John’s testimony. Not only was he held to be a
credible witness, whose testimony was true, his testimony, though
ultimately unnecessary, offered salvation. But the third thing to observe
is that his testimony was for a season well-received. It was for a season well-received.
Jesus points this back to the Pharisees. They’ve had a witness. They’ve had a faithful witness.
And for a while they even believed. Look at verse 35. He was the
lamp that was burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice
for a while in His light. Many believe that the use of
the past tense here, when Jesus says He was burning and was shining,
is an indication that John was no longer on the scene, that
he’s either in prison or dead, and that’s absolutely possible,
maybe even likely. But it also underscores the truth
that John’s light, his mission, was not perpetual. It was not
forever. It wasn’t designed to be. It
was for a limited time, and is perhaps now concluded it would
be at one point in time. John the Baptist, as was his
calling, his equipping, his God-given function, was like a torch. Some of you have them. Post them
in your backyard. Maybe you take one to the campsite.
A torch doesn’t have a perpetual flame. A torch isn’t light itself. It doesn’t even provide light
unless another light is put to its wick. In other words, John
was just a lamp, not light itself. And John, John the Apostle, had
already secured that testimony that he came, John chapter 1
verse 7, he came as a witness to testify about the light. so that all might believe through
him. He was not the light, but he
came to testify about the light. There was the true light which
coming into the world enlightens every man. John the Baptist never
claimed to be the light. He was a lamp and he knew it.
God had set the flame to his wick. This little lamp generated
light while it burned. The revelation that God had given
to him. But John’s light was not self-generated. It was not self-sustaining. It
was not perpetual. And as all lamps must, John as
a lamp would burn out. He was a temporary light. A temporary
resident testimony of truth. And he would do the Lord’s will.
He would testify of Christ and then he would cease. But while
it burned, while it witnessed, it was light indeed. It was a
light of truth. But note how fickle, note how fickle the response
was. He was the lamp that was burning
and was shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in His light. For a little while, John the
Baptist was all the rage, right? He was a cultural phenomenon. People flocked to him. People
came to bask in the great testimony of John the Baptist. the light
of his little torch, but only for a short and fleeting season.
The novelty of John the Baptist would soon wear thin. He would
be only a passing interest. The joy was real. They were very
happy, rejoicing. They really believed that he
was something and that his testimony was legitimate, that just like
those seeds that fell on the rocky soil and spring up so quickly
and look so vigorous for a short season, they died off. The novelty
quickly wore off. They had made pilgrimage to the
banks of the Jordan River to watch John do his thing. They
never submitted to the baptism, mind you, because the baptism
required repentance. It required self-denial. Jesus himself rebuked this same
kind of fickleness later in their treatment. John the Baptist was all the
rage, wasn’t he? Mark 1.5 says it this way, all
the country of Judea was going out to him. That’s a little bit
of hyperbole. Not every single soul. But what
it says is he was overwhelmingly popular. All the country of Judea
was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem. Everybody
loved John. They were willing to rejoice,
but they weren’t willing to repent. As one said, they were willing
to enjoy religion, but not to bring forth fruit They flocked
in great crowds to John’s baptism, but they were not ready to do
justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God. They
liked what John had to say until he pointed his finger in their
particular direction. Their enthusiasm was only for
a season. It made no practical, no lifelong
change in their character or conduct. They liked John. They didn’t care so much for
Christ. I want to close by having you turn
to an echo of this same scene. Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter
7. And in Luke chapter 7, You have the words here of Christ really written for all those
who doubt God, who criticize God’s methods, who question His
plan, who wonder about His motives. In other words, these words are
really for us. They were written for our instruction. And Jesus provides for us lessons
that we can glean from the life and ministry of John the Baptist. Look first, go all the way down
to verse 24. The first thing that we need
to be aware of, as Christians living in a really skeptical
world, we need to be aware of what I would call blinding criticism. Look at verse 24. When the messengers
of John had left, he began to speak to the crowds about John.
This is Christ speaking. What did you go out into the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Jesus
challenges this false conclusion that John the Baptist was a fickle,
vacillating person. If you think back, Jesus says, to
the first time you went out to see John, You admit it wasn’t
much of a spectacle. He wasn’t a wavering figure.
He was a stalwart. He stood on principle. He proclaimed
the truth. Look at verse 25. But what did
you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed
live in luxury and are found in royal palaces. They used to criticize his appearance
because he wore this camel hair coat. Shabby looking, they thought. Jesus says, what was your impression
when you saw John? You knew he wasn’t a sellout. You knew he wasn’t a phony. He
wasn’t in it for the money. He wasn’t in it for power and
influence. He was just a man proclaiming
the truth. Verse 26, what did you go out
to see, a prophet? Yes, I say to you, one who is
more than a prophet, this is the one about whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your
way before you. I say to you that among those
born of women there is no one greater than John, yet he who
is least in the kingdom of God is greater than me. The criticism
of him is blinding. He was the forerunner of the
Messiah himself, and all they would do is criticize his methods
and his attire. But we need, in our day and age,
to beware of that same blinding criticism. We need to read the
Scriptures and derive out of it the truth that is there. And
when we find it to be truth, we stand on truth and we hold
to that truth. And when God says that we’re
saved by faith alone in Christ alone, nothing can push us off
that mark. Secondly, the second lesson that
we learned from John the Baptist is that we need to be aware of
blasphemous rejection. It is common in our day. Look
at verse 29, when all the people and the tax collectors heard
this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized
with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers
rejected God’s purposes for themselves, not having been baptized by John. See, the Jews’ rejection of John
was ultimately a rejection of Christ. It was a rejection of
Christ as the Messiah. It was blasphemous toward God. This was God’s plan. To reject
John didn’t hurt John’s feelings. To reject John was to blaspheme
God Almighty Himself. There is one way of salvation
And you have countless other religions, so-called, promoting
every manner of salvation under the sun. But we must do this,
or must do that. There is one religion that says
it’s through Christ and Christ alone. There’s a third thing
that we learn. It’s still blasphemous to reject
God and His ways, God’s methods. It’s still blasphemous to read
our Bibles and reject out of hand God’s principles. It’s still
blasphemous to neglect God’s Word in any way, shape, or form. And it’s absolutely blasphemous
to negate the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there’s
a third thing. Not only do we need to beware
of a blinding criticism and a blasphemous rejection, The third thing that
we learn from John the Baptist’s ministry is beware of the crippling
fickleness. Look at verse 31. To what, then,
shall I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the market and call to one
another, and they say, We played the flute for you, and you did
not dance. We sang the dirge, and you did not weep. For John
the Baptist has come eating. no bread, and drinking no wine,
and you say he has a demon? The Son of Man has come eating
and drinking, and you say, behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard,
a friend of tax gatherers and sinners. He says it’s like a bunch of
babies, a bunch of kids, playing in the yard. And one group wants
to play one thing, and the other group wants to play something
else. They can’t even agree on what they want to play. It says
you’re like a bunch of kids. Here’s John, who came in this
extreme, austere asceticism, denying himself, living on meager
means, preaching the gospel, and you criticize John for looking
like a bum. comes, befriending sinners, eating
with them, drinking with them, fellowshipping with them, you
say he’s a glutton. You are people who cannot be
pleased. People, we live in such a skeptical,
such a critical, such an absolutely sideways society that looks at
the claims of Christ and mocks almost everything, they’re cynical
to the core, mocks almost everything that Christ stands for. And then
there’s us. We can’t take casually the things
of God’s Word. We can’t hold those things flippantly. We can’t hold those things as
if they don’t matter. We’ve been given a mighty privilege.
We’ve had our eyes open to the truth. We have the truth ever
before us in our tongue. Not every generation has had
that. Look to His word, hold to His word, stand for the truth. We’ll take up additional witnesses
in the next week. Our merciful God, We humble ourselves
before you, and we thank you that you did send John as a witness
to testify of the truth. But you didn’t need John. You
alone are a witness to what the Heavenly Father has done, and
in sending the Lord Jesus Christ, He has remedied mankind’s greatest
need. A Savior who has paid for our
sin, In our merciful God, we thank you for opening our eyes
to our need of a Savior. Those who have placed their faith
in Him, may we never stoop to lay claim to anything else for
the hope of salvation but Christ and Christ alone. Lord God, if
there are any in our midst, even this day, who place their hope
in anything other than Christ, May you gently pry those fingers
open. May you woo their hearts to place
their faith in Christ only for salvation. You’ve already given a mighty
witness. Jesus Christ testifies to these
things. God himself testifies to these
things. John the Baptist himself. testifies
to these things and there are others. Lord, draw these to yourself. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.