John the Baptist

The bible is written so we can learn about God, how God has interacted with man, and how man has interacted with God, and with what results.
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition...

A quick look at John the baptizer teaches us about what it takes to be successful in God's kingdom ministry.
John had 3 important things.

1. Dedication
Mar 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Mar 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Mar 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Mar 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mar 1:6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

You will note that John wasn't in town at the latest social event, he certainly was not the finest dressed person around. His goal was to be alone with God and to do His will.

2. Revelation
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Mar 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
Mar 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.


John was the first prophet to have a COMPLETE revelation of the Messiah. Everyone before him only had small pieces of the puzzle. John saw the Lamb of God, the Forgiver of Sins and the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and the Great Judge that will separate the wheat from the chaff.
No one before John had this kind of revelation.

3. Communication
Mar 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Getting the word out. This was John's calling. It wasn't about him, it was about Jesus. When Jesus came by, John was willing to step aside and let Jesus have the spotlight. In our worship services, we appreciate all that the preachers and ministers on the stage do as God's vessels, but
when the Holy Spirit begins to move on the church, it's time to step back and receive.

John fulfilled his destiny when he announced Jesus, the Lamb of God.
What happens to him a little bit later is rather startling.

Mar 6:17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
Mar 6:18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

John was standing for what was right. His triumph in the Gospel was complete (announcing Christ), yet he still stood for what was righteous in God's sight.
Bad things happen to good people, and this is what happened to John. He was put in prison for
saying the right thing.
What happens next show us John's humanity and Christ's great love.
Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
At John's lowest point, he wondered if he had really done the right thing with his life.
The devil comes in when we are weak, and tries to make us doubt the very foundation of our life.
Look at Jesus' response in another place;
Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
After John, full of questioning asks if Jesus is really the Christ, Jesus says about John, he's the greatest prophet.
2Ti 2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
John paid the ultimate sacrifice for his faith in Christ.
In his darkest, most forsaken moment, Jesus still loved him and received him.

John the Baptist, a great example.

Mystery #2

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:24 about the Kingdom of Heaven.
To help us understand spiritual things, Jesus tells us about natural things.
In the first mystery, Jesus told us about different soil.
Now He explains what grows in his field.
There is wheat and tares (a poisonous grain).
Someone came in at night and sowed the tares with the wheat.
Jesus said, let them grow up together and at harvest time we will burn the tares and store the wheat.
Verse 38 explains that the field is the world,
the good seed (wheat) are the children of God,
the tares are the children of the wicked one.
At the end of time, the righteous will shine as the sun and the wicked will be gathered into a furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Only through God's great salvation by Jesus Christ can any one avoid being a tare in God's field.
Jesus says, If you have and ear, then hear!
God pours out His Great Love to mankind, calls out to people who only stumble in darkness, and shines His Great Light of Love through the Cross of Christ.
Anyone who is thirsty can come and drink from the water of life that is freely given.

The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven

The mysteries of the kingdom are in Matthew 13.
Jesus tells us about different kinds of soil, the hearts of mankind.
The word of God is sown by Christ, the sower.
4 kinds of ground are mentioned: wayside, stony, thorns and good ground.
The wayside lacks the spiritual understanding to accept God's Salvation.
The stony ground accepts the Gospel, yet does not grow because of persecution and lack of root.
The ground full of thorns is very common, I believe. Hearing and receiving, yet the world
chokes out the goodness of the Gospel in them, and the cares of this life become more important than serving Christ.
The good ground is what we want to be. There are various levels of growth in the good ground, yet it is still all of God.
A prayer the Lord gave me goes like this, "Lord, give me ears to hear, a heart to understand and endurance to bear fruit."
We should desire to be "good ground" and "profitable servants".
Remember, the trials of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will one day be revealed in us.
Take comfort in knowing that God looks forward to eternity so that He can show us His great kindness through Jesus Christ