Not far from here meets a small but ancient people group. They used to live in Iran and Iraq. But recently with the Iraq war they have fled. They are called ‘Mandean Sabeans’. And there are about 5 thousand in Sydney. There are about 70 thousand in the world. They meet on the banks of the Nepean River. Apparently, they sought permission to build a baptismal pool at Wallacia, but Wollondilly council refused permission. But on the banks of the Nepean they perform ritual washings. In doing so, they believe they are following their teacher, John the Baptist.
Of course, John the Baptist for most religions is a goodie. Everyone wants him on their side. Christians, Muslims, Bahais, Mandaeism.
Indeed, someone might say that the Mandaens give John the Baptist the most honour. According to Wikipedia, they reject Jesus as saviour or prophet. They view John the Baptist as the only true Messiah.
Does such a view honour John the Baptist? What would a true follower of John the Baptist do? WWJBD What would John the Baptist Do?
We turn to Luke’s Gospel, the Essential Jesus. Who was John the Baptist? What was his message? What did he do and say? Who is Jesus?
Now, in the Essential Jesus, we’ve been already introduced to John the Baptist. In fact, we were introduced to him before we met Jesus.
In chapter 1, we met him. He is introduced as unexpected son of the elderly and barren Elizabeth. He is a relative of Mary, and thus Jesus, through his mum Elizabeth. His Father is Zachariah, a priest, involved in temple worship, of the tribe of Levi, of the descendants of Aaron.
The Angel Gabriel brings news of him to Zechariah.. It is appropriate that the same Angel who brough tidings of the Messiah to Daniel over 500 years previously, now again brings his Message of joy to Zecharaiah. And this is how the Angel Gabriel describes him. Turn with me in the Essential Jesus, page 8, 3rd paragraph down. Here are the things said of him by Gabriel: He is described as ‘great before the Lord’. He will not drink wine, as the Nazirites of the Old Testament did, as Samson did. He is filled with the Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many Israelites back to God. And he goes before the Lord in the Spirit and power of the Elijah. And his job is ‘to prepare a people who are ready for the Lord’.
Even in the womb, John rejoiced in Jesus Christ. For Elizabeth felt the Spirit-filled child kick for joy, when Mary came to her house and called out her greeting. (Essential Jesus pg 9, final paragraph.) And when Zechariah finally gets his voice back, this is what he says of his Son. Essential Jesus, Page 11, About half way down.
‘And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord, to prepare his way, to make salvation known to his people by the forgiveness of their sins, through the compassionate mercy of our God, which will visit us like a sunrise from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
He is a prophet. He goes before the Lord. He prepares his way. He makes salvation known. And key to that salvation is forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is key to the gospel. . He speaks of the compassion and mercy of God. Those who are dying will see the mercy and compassion of God.
That is the testimony of the Angel Gabriel, Elizabeth’s tummy, and Zechariah. And the final thing we read in chapter 1 is this. The boy grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until the time when he appeared publicly to Israel. John is a dessert dweller. He lives away from people, in the wilderness. But the reason for this will become clear in chapter 3.
Chapter 2 doesn’t mention anything about John the Baptist. But then we meet him in chapter 3. He comes out publicly. And he is presented in the style typical of an Old Testament Prophet. Luke locates him in world history, and in the history of his people. The great and powerful men of John’s day are merely calendars and diaries, as far as God’s history is concerned.
As an aside, think of Pontius Pilate, who is one of the 6 leaders Luke mentions to date John the Baptist. His name is recited every Sunday all around the world. “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried”, we say in the Apostle’s Creed. He has become more famous than Tiberius, than any of the other rulers. Pilate crucified thousands of people. And lots of other petty tyrants crucified people to have peace. Yet this once feared powerful man is now remembered for his politically expedient decision to crucify one more Jewish troublemaker. His life is remembered only in his response to Jesus. A stupid expedient decision was what he became known for.
I wonder what off the cuff statement, what brain explosion, what bad idea, what stupid decision, our lives will boil down to? May God preserve us from ourselves.
John is located in the desert. His in the desert because that’s where Isaiah 40 verse 3 said he would be. Page 15 of the Essential Jesus, 3rd paragraph:
A voice crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight paths for him.
John is the one who announces the Lord is coming. He is the road builder for the King. He roles out the red carpet for the great one who is coming.
Imagine a 12 year old boy gets a bike for his birthday. But he spends all the time playing with the box it came in. Imagine you take a friend to the Art gallery. But they are fixated on the hooks behind the paintings. You go to see some great building, and your friend asks all about the scaffolding they used to build it. You go to a concert, but your friend won’t look at the stage, but the man operating the spotlight.
People wondered whether John was the Christ. But John said 'I am not the Christ. I am not worthy to untie his shoes.'
And friends, that is the sad situation of people who see that John is a Prophet, but do not listen to his prophecy. For John was self-effacing. He pointed away from himself, and to a greater one that is coming.
Let’s look a bit more closely at John’s message.
The first thing was that John preached a baptism of repentance.
Baptism, something being dipped in water, was a common thing. Lots of people and things got baptized. It is still a common thing. After all, we baptize our pots and pans, our plates and cups. It’s called doing the dishes. And we hopefully baptize ourselves frequently. It’s called having a bath. Often Gentile converts to Judaism had to submit to baptism. Being filthy Gentiles, they were thought to need more even than circumcision to become Jewish.
But the thing is, John took this ritual washing to the children of Abraham. He was saying that Jews should be baptized. And this symbolic ritual washing was pointing to something. Page 15, 2nd paragraph He [John the Baptist] went throughout the country around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John’s baptism indicated a change of mind. For that is what repentance is. The word literally has to do with our thinking and our minds. But it is a change of mind leading to a change of action.
Now, it’s no good saying ‘I’ve changed my mind, that should be enough’. For John says 'every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down’. And this change of mind and change of behaviour was to get ready for the forgiveness of sins that was coming. For the forgiveness of sins was bound up in the coming one and his work.
Usually, when I start church, I say something like. “Welcome to church today, it’s good to see you, I’m so glad you’ve come today. We’re going to be hearing God’s word and praying. And stick around for morning tea.” Imagine I said this: “You children of snakes. Who told you church was on today. You offspring of vipers. Who warned you that God was going to nuke the world. You sing Father Abraham has many sons. So what! I want to see changed behaviour, not just turning up for a religious show."
That’s what John the Baptist said. Page 15, 4th paragraph:
‘So John said to the crowds that had come out to be baptized by him, “You snakes! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, produce fruits that are worthy of repentance. And do not start to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’. For I tell you that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these rocks. Indeed, the axe is already poised at the root of the trees; and every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
John wasn’t happy with pew warmers. He wasn’t happy with people coming out to hear him. He wasn’t happy with people going through a little religious ritual. This is what he wanted. Page 15, last paragraph:
The one who has two shirts should donate one to someone who has none; and the one who has food should do the same.
Have you got two pairs of damart thermal underwear. You only need one. Give it to someone who has none. And share your food.
Does this mean we can only have one set of clothes? Does that mean Christians need to wash and dry every evening for the next day? Does this mean Christians should only have one car? They really should give the second one away? Christians should not have a second house, or a second guitar or piano or computer, or a second anything.
That is a legalistic application of John’s command, given in an ancient subsistence economy. But the principle is clear. The principle is simplicity to enable equality. Be content with having enough. And with your extra, be generous and give, so that not just your needs are met, but that those who have the same needs as you may have their needs met too.
Charity begins at home. How can I share in my family? How do we work out who gets the nice food at home. Is it the one who eats fastest? Is it the one who gets up earliest? Is it the man – after all, he’s the head of the house! Is it the children – after all, we live in a democracy, and in most families they can outvote the parents.
It’s a heart thing. The command is ‘Be generous and willing to share’. And of course we must start at home.
But charity must spill over outside the family home. How about our church? Do we have poor people in our church? We need to be generous and willing to share.
And what about the seriously poor overseas, or in the outback. In an age of modern technology and communication, our neighbour lives not just next door, but half way around the world. The one who has two shirts should donate one to someone who has none; and the one who has food should do the same.
John also had a message for particular people with particular temptations. Tax collectors asked John what to do. Tax collectors were notorious for adding a bit extra on the taxes for themselves. And John’s words were not ‘Stop serving the pagan emperor and betraying and oppressing our people and giving their money to the invading Roman armies’. He could have said that, but he didn’t.
It was, ‘Don’t take anything more than what’s commanded to take.’ Do only what you are commanded. The government is instituted by God, sinful though it is. So obey the commands, but do not use it as an opportunity to enrich yourself. The principle is honesty. Don’t use your position to supplement your income at the expense of your neighbour.
And to the soldiers, John had a word appropriate to them: Page 16, 3rd paragraph ‘Don’t threaten people for money or be corrupt, but be content with your wages’ Three commands. First, don’t threaten people for money. If anyone is scary, it’s a foreign soldier in a conquered country who is hungry, uncomfortable, an armed. So John says literally, don’t make people shake with terror to get what you want. This is talking about bullying to take people’s lunch money, stand over tactics. None of us are soldiers. But almost all of us have power over someone. And we need to exercise that power in a godly way. Not in bullying, making people shake with fear to get what we want.
Second, don’t be corrupt. Literally, the word means, ‘don’t show the fig’. In Athens, it was illegal to export figs. But a group of informers rose up to conduct inspections. But out of greed, they would plant figs on people and blackmail them. And so ‘showing the fig’ became synonymous with blackmail. And John’s word is ‘don’t blackmail’. Don’t demand money with menaces.
Third, be content with your pay. Literally, with your ration money. Put up with the limited and poor food that your ration money can buy.
CS Lewis in the Screwtape letters talked about two types of gluttony. The first was the greedy overeating variety. And that of course is a problem. The issue is quantity. The second was the fussy picky variety. And the issue is quality. Hey, this isn’t cordon bleu cooking I’m used to. I know there are special diets and people have allergies and intolerances. And who wants to get food poisoning? But food can be safe to eat, healthy, and keep body and soul together, but not be fit to be seen on Masterchef. Both varieties are too concerned with food and the belly. And the soldiers were called to tolerate the food that their money could buy. And so are we.
We also learn what John said to Herod. John the Baptist had guts. He spoke truth to power. And Herod had taken his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias. Celebrity marriage and bed swapping and serial monogamy isn’t a new thing. And John knew what the bible said about pinching other people’s wives or husbands. But speaking out and rebuking King Herod would cost John the Baptist not just his standing in society, not just whether he was a good bloke, nor wedding fees, but his freedom, and then his life.
Friends, John the Baptist held the line on this kind of ‘spouse stealing’. Will we? Will we as a church uphold the biblical teaching on ‘What God has joined let not man put asunder’ and be different to our society? John the Baptist did. And so should we.
These types of changed behaviours were what John called his people to exercise. They came from a changed mind. A mind that had returned to God They came from repentance toward God.
But they also looked forward to the coming one who was about to bring forgiveness of sins. For John just wasn’t a morals crusader. He was called to prepare people for the coming Christ. This is how John compares himself to Jesus Christ.
In answer to this, John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water; but someone much stronger than me is coming – I would not even be worthy to undo the strap of his sandal. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has a winnowing fork in his hand to clean out his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into his barn. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This is the gospel according to John the Baptist. There is forgiveness of sins. And there is a coming one. And he is much stronger than John the Baptist.
John the Baptist baptized in water. But Jesus will baptize in the Holy Spirit. And here we see the superiority of Jesus’ baptism to John’s water baptism. On the day of Pentecost and thereafter, Jesus would send his Spirit in a new way. Thereafter, every Christian is said to be baptized in the Spirit. As Paul says to the believers in Corinth, not all of whom spoke in tongues, or prophesied or healed,
‘The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts: and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Cor 12:12-13 NIV)
Jesus is the one who baptizes in the Spirit. And if you have Jesus as Lord, you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. You don’t need a second experience. If you have Christ, you have the fullness of the Spirit and God as your Father. There is no second baptism of the Holy Spirit, for the Christian. If you are a Christian, you have not missed out on anything. For when we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, we receive Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all their fullness.
That is why it is so surprising when Paul meets some disciples in Ephesus who have received John’s baptism but do not even know about the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1ff). How can this be? Were they not listening to John? And Paul says: ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is Jesus.” (Acts 19:4) He says exactly what Luke has reported that John said. And then these 12 Ephesian disciples, probably meaning disciples of Jesus, receive what John promised would come through Jesus Christ, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And they do so when they hear about the message of Jesus Christ.
So friends, if we meet any Mandaens locally, we will love them and welcome them, just as we do every citizen or refugee. And we will speak about the one John the Baptist pointed to. Jesus. For the gospel according to John the Baptist’s big topic was forgiveness of sins and the baptism of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.
Is the greatness of the present enhanced by the quality of the wrapping? Does showing the beautiful painting depend on the quality of the hook? Does the erection of a magnificent building require scaffolding? Do we not see a concert performer better when the spotlight is powerful and well directed? Yes, yes, yes, yes. And the greatness of John points to the far surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ, the one he prepares his people for.
On Christmas eve I observed from chapter 1 of the Essential Jesus that Jesus is the Son of God in two ways. The words of the Angel Gabriel make it clear there are two reasons why Jesus is the Son of God.
The first, is his human ancestory. Jesus is to be called ‘Son of the Most High’ because he will receive the throne of his father David. God promised David in 2 Samuel 7 that he would have an eternal dynasty where the Davidic King is called ‘Son of God’.
And the Second is the Holy Spirit’s ministry. The Holy Spirit comes on Mary so that Jesus is conceived. And the Holy Child is the result. And this Holy Child is also called the Son of God, because he is conceived by the work of the Spirit of God.
And in chapter 3, Luke again highlights Jesus’ human ancestory, and the Holy Spirit’s ministry, in connection with Jesus as God’s Son.
The first is in the baptism of Jesus. When all the people went to John for baptism, so did Jesus. And this is fitting. Because Jesus came to save all the people. So it is right that he identifies himself with the people he came to save. Though Jesus is Holy and has no need of repentance (and Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism makes this clear), he still is prepared to stand with sinners and by sinners and undergo the things that sinners must undergo. As Paul would say later, He who knew no sin became sin for us.
But during his baptism, we see the Spirit once again involved in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus already had the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That is why he was conceived of the Holy Spirit. That is why he is called Holy from conception.
But Luke makes it clear that it was while all the people were being baptized that God’s voice was heard. In other words, it seems that Luke is pointing out that this landing of the Spirit upon Jesus was a demonstration for all the people. That is why the Spirit could be seen. Usually he is not seen. But at this point, he came in the form of a dove. For the sake of the sinners who Jesus identified with, the Spirit of God took on the appearance of a dove. And there was an audible voice directed to Jesus, but no less for those there: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am very pleased.” The Ministry of the Spirit makes it clear that Jesus is the Son of God.
But second, Jesus is one of us. His human ancestory makes it clear he is the Son of God. That is why Luke includes a genealogy. First, he reminds us that Jesus was not the natural son of Joseph. His birth is directly the result of the Holy Spirit. But second, he runs the genealogy through David. Then back through Judah. Then Abraham. And then even Adam. So that Jesus is the Son of God through Adam, through Abraham, through Judah, through David. But while Adam sinned, and Abraham sinned, and Judah sinned, and David sinned, Jesus never sinned. Jesus is declared Holy from conception, and at his baptism 30 years later, God indicates that he is pleased with him. So here, finally is a Son of Adam that is in truth the Son of God. He is one with us, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. Yet he is different, holy, set apart from sinners. And he was this so that he would be the one stronger than John the Baptist, whose shoes John was not fit to untie, so that he would bring salvation and forgiveness to every sinful child of Adam who confesses him as Lord and Christ.
Let’s pray.
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