SHARING BREAD

²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

John 1:22-23 (NIV)

Quoting from Isaiah, John the Baptist gives his job description to the questioning Jewish leaders of the day who demanded an explanation about himself.  These leaders were basically sent to get to the bottom of the Baptist’s actions.  Isaiah tells us:

³ A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.   Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

The word translated “voice” in verse 23of our verses for today  is from the Greek word “Phone” meaning a sound or tone made or given forth; a thunderous trumpet cry of a man used here in delivering God’s message.  Of this word Plutarch states:

“That which brings light upon that which is thought of in the mind.”   Plutarch

John the Baptist was sent to bring light to that which was on God’s mind and heart – a clarion call drawing the people back to Him.  Malachi 3:1 also prophesizes a messenger to be sent by God to prepare the way which Jesus quoted in Matthew as being fulfilled in John the Baptist:

¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’   Matt 11:10 (NIV)

True prophets were “voices” in that their messages were from God – sent by Him to call the people back to Him.  God desires a proper relationship with all people.  His “voice” is constant – as author Margaret Feinberg aptly terms it – “the Sacred echo”.  In her wonderful book that bears that title she states:

“Throughout Scripture God speaks through kings and queens, princes and prophets, poets and pilgrims.  He speaks through weather patterns, barnyard animals, and even the stars in the sky.  God is not only creative, but He is persistent in getting our attention and communicating with us.”   Margaret Feinberg

Just as God called out to Adam and Eve after the fall, He persistently calls to us all:

⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”   Gen 3:9 (NIV)

Our original parents hid from God because of their sin and we continue on with that unfortunate tradition –   wallowing in our dirt in lieu of running to Him in repentance.  God’s great desire is to get us out of wandering in the desert and bring us into the fullness of a right relationship with Him.  There is consistent dryness that accompanies a broken relationship with the Father.

“The voice of God is a friendly voice.  No one need fear to listen to it unless he has already made up his mind to resist it.”   A.W. Tozer

“Serious and sincere repentance routes us back into God’s will.”  Robert J. Morgan

God gets my attention to draw me to Him.  The greatest demonstration of love toward man was about to be accomplished and God wanted His people ready – “prepare the way” – “make straight in the wilderness”.  Are we not to be about the same in anticipation of His return?  Are we not to watch our life and doctrine closely; turn to God for cleansing; listen to His persistent love call; be as prepared for His return as His desire for His people to be prepared for His first advent?  This is not a trite matter rather a hugely important one.  Jesus warns us in Matthew:

⁴² ”Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.   Matt 24:42-44 (NIV)

If there is one doctrine I have preached more than another, it is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints even to the end.    Charles Spurgeon        

Believe me, we want to be the faithful and wise servants that are ready on His return – even the wise virgins fell asleep while the bridegroom tarried.  It matters greatly how we live our lives, both for our benefit now and for His ultimate return.

“Let this be a warning to me, O Lord.  Set thou a guard before my eyes, ears, and other faculties, lest the world again should enter through these avenues of the heart:  if the spark be not speedily extinguished, it will soon break out into a flame:  thus sin is of a progressive nature, and its venom spreads very quickly and very wide, unless it be stopped and opposed in time.  Watch, therefore, over this unsteady heart of mine, O thou Keeper of Israel; that as soon as it begins to wander from thee, I may be alarmed to flee from sin as from a serpent.  Give me grace to look upon every hour as my last; so that being ever wisely upon my guard I may meet thee with joy when my time is run out, whenever it shall please thee to call me hence.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky

What I glean from this:

• The Baptist was sent by God as a trumpet call to His people for repentance.
•  God’s voice is constantly calling me.
• It matters how I live my life.

SHARING BREAD

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

John 1:19-21 (NIV)

John the Baptist’s influential ministry began to raise the eyebrows of the Jewish leadership of the day.  Indeed, his influence began causing such a stir that the authorities in Jerusalem sent delegates to question him – “Just who are you anyway?”  You can only imagine the prodding he received. It reminds me of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when they were being relentlessly pursued by a group of bounty hunters which they were unable to shake and they asked themselves a similar question – “Who are these guys anyway???”  These prominent Jewish leaders, on the other hand, should have known full well from prophecy that the Baptist was the forerunner of the Christ in lieu of sitting there scratching their heads in wonder.

“Secular learning, honour, and power, seldom dispose men’s minds to the reception of divine light.”  Matthew Henry

Ever like the Baptist to not only confess but to confess freely that he was not the Christ.  I am reminded of the greatness of this forerunner of Jesus in his words to his disciples when they came to him with questions regarding Jesus’ growing popularity and the crowds beginning to follow Him instead him:

 ²⁷ To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.  ³¹ ”The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.     John 3:27-31 (NIV)

The sovereignty of God is stressed here by John the Baptist and the apostle John also addresses this same subject again several times in his gospel.  Scripture tells us:

⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”   John 6:65 (NIV)

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.  Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”   John 19:11 (NIV)

God alone has ultimate and full power and in His sovereignty, He bestows His blessings upon one’s ministry.  It was God’s will at that time for John’s ministry to be shrinking and for Jesus’ ministry to be growing – and that was exactly what occurred.  John also reminds his followers that he had previously stated he was not the Messiah rather his forerunner.  This fulfillment was the divine order of things and consequently brought much joy to the Baptist.  When Jesus is glorified we are the most satisfied.

 “To the child of God, there is no such thing as an accident.  He travels an appointed way…..Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God’s hidden providence.”    A.W. Tozer

John the Baptist did not come upon the scene to present himself as some great one.  While his spirit, his conversation and his doctrine of repentance commanded respect he had no intention of elevating himself to some lofty position.  Dressed in camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey, he was more interested in doing good than appearing great.  How necessary that thought and action are in modern day disciples of Jesus as well. Oftentimes it is we who find ourselves in

the limelight (and unfortunately enjoying it I’m afraid) rather than our Lord.  It is He who is to be glorified and magnified never mere flesh.

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”  William Booth

“God’s faithful witnesses stand more on their guard against undue respect than against unjust contempt.”     Matthew Henry

The Baptist also disowned the honor of being called Elijah.  Indeed, he was prophesized under that name, he also came in both the power and spirit of Elijah and Jesus Himself states in Matthew:

 ⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’  ¹¹ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears, let him hear.    Matt 11:7-15 (NIV)

John the Baptist was a true prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit even from the womb, proclaiming God’s requirement of repentance, sent by God to be the forerunner of His Son and an example of humble obedience to every follower of our Lord Jesus.

What I glean from this:

• Sometimes my worldly secular learning can veil the truth of divine light.
• God is sovereign over the affairs of men (and everything else for that matter!).
•  John the Baptist’s humility is a worthy example for me to follow – “He must become greater; I must become less.”  John 3:30   

SHARING BREAD

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John 1:18 (NIV)

Jesus came to manifest God to man.  No one has ever seen God for God says “no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).  I am reminded of Moses who, while sojourning here on this earth, most certainly had an intimate fellowship with God.  Yet his desire was to see fully God’s glory – for God to somehow make His glory visible and enable him to bear the sight of it.  The following was the response he received:

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” ¹⁹ And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” ²¹ Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”   Ex 33:18-23 (NIV)

God denied that which was not fit to be granted – fleshly eyes cannot bear to behold the pureness and holiness of God’s full glory.  Yet, He was gracious to His servant Moses.   Notice the place where God in His compassion told Moses to stand:  on the rock.  Notice where He mercifully puts Moses as He passes by:  in a cleft in the rock.  That Rock signifies Christ and it is only through Christ that we have the knowledge of the glory of God.

²⁷ ”All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.    Matt 11:27 (NIV)

⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.   John 6:46 (NIV)

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.   1 Tim 6:15-16 (NIV)

“A full discovery of the glory of God would quite overpower the faculties of any mortal man in this present state, and overwhelm him, even Moses himself.  There is a knowledge and enjoyment of God which must be waited for in another world, when we shall see Him as He is.  In the meantime let us adore the height of what we do know of God, and the depth of what we do not know.”   Matthew Henry

Paul gives us this wonderful Doxology found in Romans:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!  ³⁴ ”Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?”  ³⁵ ”Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things.   To him be the glory forever!   Amen.  Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)

Our God is so totally other – impossible for mere flesh to get their arms around.  Christ came to demonstrate for us the qualities and attributes of God – removing the veil, so to speak, to give us a clearer view of His love and mercy and compassion.  Just as God caused His goodness to pass in front of Moses, Jesus, fully God and fully Man, came to flesh out God’s goodness to man.  Filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and robed in righteousness, compassion and humility, Jesus makes God known allowing man the glimmer of the Unapproachable Light.  Just as Jesus was sent for our benefit, believers in Him are sent for the benefit of the lost.  Equipped with the power of His Spirit, we are to be His ambassadors – being the aroma of Christ to a needy world.  Jesus tells us:

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”   John 20:21 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁵ For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?   2 Cor 2:15-16 (NIV)

 The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four." 

“Every hour we make decisions on whether or not to be to others what Christ has been to us.”  Wales Goebel

“Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.”   Oswald Chambers

“The Christian should stand out like a sparkling diamond.”  Billy Graham

What I glean from this:

• Our God is the blessed and only Ruler, King of Kings and Lord of Lords who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light whom no one can see.
• Jesus came to make God known to me.
• Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am to make Jesus known to others.  “Every Christian life ought to be a force among men, a witness for Jesus and an influence for blessing and good. I know that there are few people like Billy Graham, whom God calls to do great things for Him. For men like  me, and perhaps you, the best thing that we can do in the small time allotted to us in this world is to live out a genuine, simple, beautiful, strong Christian life. In our little measure we can repeat the life of the Lord Himself, doing in our imperfect way a few of the wonderful things He would do if He were Himself in our place.”  Wales Goebel

SHARING BREAD

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 (NIV)

Paul tells us in Romans that the law was given to make us conscience of our flaws:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.   Romans 3:19-20 (NIV)

There is no one righteous, not even one – no one who is able to follow the law perfectly.  Paul tells us:

 ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,   Romans 3:23 (NIV)

Solomon also tells us:

²⁰ There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.  Eccl 7:20 (NIV)

“Sin is a fundamental relationship – it is not wrong doing, but wrong being – it is deliberate and determined independence from God….The first thing Jesus Christ confronted in people was the heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored this in our presentation of the gospel that the message of the gospel has lost its sting and its explosive power.”   Oswald Chambers

We not only fall short of God’s glory, we continuously fall short.  As Paul tells us in Romans:

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?   Romans 7:21-24 (NIV)

The answer, Hallelujah, comes in his next breath:

²⁵ Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!   Romans 7:25 (NIV)

Further, Paul goes on to proclaim the following very good news:

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.   Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)

“I remember two things:  that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”  John Newton

As a result of our faith in and our identification with Christ Jesus, we are justified, we are declared righteous, we are now able to stand firm in His grace and not under His wrath, and we are possessors of eternal life.  In our verse for today, John tells us that through Jesus, grace and truth have come to us.  Surpassing the Law of Moses, though it were ever so glorious a revelation, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a much clearer and sweeter revelation filled with love, mercy, grace and truth.

“That which was given through Moses was purely terrifying and threatening, but that which is given through Jesus Christ has all the beneficial uses of the law, but not the terror, for it is grace.  The endearments of love are the genius of the gospel, not the terrors of law and the curse.”  Matthew Henry   

“In the gospel we discover that we are far more wicked than we ever dared believe, yet more loved than we ever dared hope.” Tim Keller

“It is well to be poor, when the knowledge of our poverty serves but to unfold to us the exhaustless riches of divine grace. That grace can never suffer any one to go away empty. It can never tell anyone that he is too poor. It can meet the very deepest human need; and not only so, but it is glorified in meeting it. This holds good in every case. It is true of every individual sinner…Grace is the grand and only resource for us all.  It is the basis of our salvation; the basis of a life of practical godliness; and the basis of those imperishable hopes which animate us amid the trials and conflicts of this sin-stricken world. May we cherish a deeper sense of grace, and more ardent desire for glory!     C H MacIntosh, 1860, Notes on Leviticus

“The covenant is the heart of God written out in the blood of Jesus.”  Charles H. Spurgeon, Grace, God’s Unmerited Favor

What I glean from this:

• All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.
• Sin is not wrong doing rather wrong being.
• Jesus rescued me from this body of death – Praise Him!

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁶ From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

John 1:16 (NIV)

Fullness is such a great word is it not?  It brings to mind thoughts of satisfaction, completion, entirety and contentment.  When we read the words “fullness of his grace” it speaks to all that is found within our Jesus that “causes joy and pleasure, that which creates delight in the recipient or observer.  To be sure, grace may express itself in the form of gifts or endowments (the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts); but they do not constitute grace in the proper sense.  Strictly speaking, grace is the favorable disposition of God toward sinners on account of Christ.”  Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids.     

I have thought a lot about those four words – “fullness of his grace”.  All that is within Jesus – all the blessings of joy, delight and satisfaction, all the gifts and endowments of the Holy Spirit, all the favor of God toward us as sinners because of Christ – all this we receive one right after another.  Grace giving way to grace so to speak.  Just as one wave gets to the seashore and another follows suit, then another and another, in like manner, we receive never ending waves of His unmerited favor.  God’s love, giving, joy and satisfaction contrasts with human love, giving, joy and satisfaction in both nature and degree – while man’s perhaps appears as a flicker, God’s as the brightness of the sun.  

“‘I have enough,’ said Esau, this is the best thing a worldly man can say, but Jacob replies, ‘I have all things’, which is a note too high for carnal minds.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“There is a fullness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fullness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect.  There is a fullness at all times; a fullness of comfort in affliction; a fullness of guidance in prosperity.  A fullness of every divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fullness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore…. Oh, what a fullness must this be of which all receive!  Fullness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever.  Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this ‘fullness’ is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel – God with us.”   Charles H. Spurgeon   

¹ ”Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.   Isaiah 55:1-2 (NIV)

 ³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”   John 7:37-38 (NIV)

¹⁰ I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.   Psalms 81:10 (NIV)

Further, Paul gives us these words in Ephesians regarding the blessings and the fullness of Christ:

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.   Eph 1:3 (NIV)

¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰ which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.   Eph 1:18-23 (NIV)

“It is well to be poor, when the knowledge of our poverty serves but to unfold to us the exhaustless riches of divine grace. That grace can never suffer any one to go away empty. It can never tell anyone that he is too poor. It can meet the very deepest human need; and not only so, but it is glorified in meeting it. This holds good in every case. It is true of every individual sinner…Grace is the grand and only resource for us all.  It is the basis of our salvation; the basis of a life of practical godliness; and the basis of those imperishable hopes which animate us amid the trials and conflicts of this sin-stricken world. May we cherish a deeper sense of grace, and more ardent desire for glory!   C H MacIntosh, 1860, Notes on Leviticus.

“Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

What I glean from this:

• In Jesus, I receive one blessing after another from the fullness of His grace.
• The world can only proclaim “I have enough”; in Christ I can proclaim “I have all things”.
• Divine grace will never allow me to go away empty – Jesus came to overflow my cup with streams of living water.

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁵ John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”

John 1:15 (NIV)

Here we have John the apostle expressing for us the continuous testimony of John the Baptist.  The Old Testament prophets constantly cried aloud pointing people to an awareness of their sins, yet John the Baptist came crying aloud pointing people to the awareness of their Savior.   Indeed, the verb tense stresses the continuous crying out of the Baptist – our original go green kind of guy!  Not at all blending with the world, dining on wild honey and locusts, donned in camel’s hair and leather, he came preaching repentance in the desert, proclaiming the kingdom of heaven is near and baptizing in the Jordan.  He was a clarion call to the Lord’s people in the driest desert of life to prepare them for the coming of their Savior.  Just as Isaiah the prophet had prophesied:

³ A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.   Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

“It was an open public testimony, proclaimed, that all manner of persons might take notice of it.  He was free and hearty in bearing this testimony.  He cried out as one who was both well assured of the truth to which he witnesses and well affected toward it.”  Matthew Henry  

Believer, are we well assured of the truth to which we bear witness and are we well affected toward it?  This is how John the Baptist impacted his world for Jesus. This is how we impact our world for Jesus.  We who know the Truth must proclaim it to those who may be in the driest desert of life.

“We have the truth, and we need not be afraid to say so.”  John Charles Ryle

John the Baptist provides several “takeaways” from his life which we can glean and apply to our own lives as well.  A few are mentioned below:

1.      John the Baptist constantly pointed to Jesus.  Indeed our verse for today marks this truth – “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”  Of course the Baptist’s most humble statement in this regard is found in John 3:30:  “He must become greater; I must become less.” It is not about us; rather it is all about Jesus.

“Remember Whose you are and Whom you serve.”  Oswald Chambers.

 “Our identity as Jesus’ followers should define and dictate our lives.”  Joseph Stowell, III. 

2.   John the Baptist did not try to blend with the world.  He was in the world but the world was not in him.  Jesus prays for His disciples in the same manner:   ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.   John 17:15-18 (NIV).  He knew the truth and he was not afraid to speak it.

“Taking a stand for Christ is increasingly unpopular in our pagan and pluralistic society.  If you believe that God created the world, that He is a God of both love and holiness, that Jesus died and rose again for our sins and is the only way to heaven, and that we have a responsibility to take that message to a needy world – those beliefs will vilify you in many segments of our society.  Our world is determined to intimidate, marginalize, and silence Christians.  But our goal isn’t popularity; it’s to know Him and make Him known.  We shouldn’t be needlessly offensive, but we shouldn’t be afraid of the ‘offense of the cross’.  These are exciting days in which to bear a witness for our Savior!”  Robert J. Morgan.

“The best protection against Satan’s lies is to know God’s truth.” Anonymous.  

“Never, for fear of feeble man, restrain your witness.”   C.H. Spurgeon. 

“If you keep in step with God, be out of step with the world.”   Anonymous

3.   John the Baptist was zealous, constant and passionate; believers are to be likewise.  Paul tells us in Romans 12:11:  “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

“Catch on fire with enthusiasm, and people will come for miles to watch you burn.” John Wesley.

“Christ has told us He will come, but not when, that we might never put off our clothes, or put out the candle.”   William Gurnall. 

“The true Christian cannot be hid, he cannot escape notice.  A man truly living and functioning as a Christian will stand out.  He will be like salt; he will be like a city set on a hill, a candle set upon a candlestick. But we can also add this further word. The true Christian does not even desire to hide his light.  He sees how ridiculous it is to claim to be a Christian and yet deliberately to try to hide the fact.  A man who truly realizes what it means to be a Christian, who realizes all that the grace of God has meant to him and done for him, and understands that, ultimately, God has done this in order that he may influence others, is a man who cannot conceal it.  Not only that; he does not desire to conceal it, because he argues thus, ‘Ultimately the object and purpose of it all is that I might be functioning in this way’.”  Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.

What I glean from this:

• John the Baptist gave a clarion call to the people of his day pointing them to Jesus.
• John the Baptist was assured of the truth he professed and was well affected by it.
• A true believer cannot escape notice by the world nor would they desire to.   

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SHARING BREAD

 ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (NIV)

The fullness of the Godhead in bodily form is difficult for us to get our hands around much less appreciate fully the magnum opus, if you will, of Christ becoming flesh.  Deity condescending to dwell in a tent of flesh, Jesus’ incarnation makes known the depth of His love and concern for mankind.  Subjecting Himself to all the miseries and calamities of human nature, sharing in our humanity, Jesus became flesh and tabernacled or dwelt among man and this so pleased the Father. 

“God loves you as though you are the only person in the world, and He loves everyone the way He loves you.”     Augustine

“Love seeks one thing only:  the good of the one loved.”   Thomas Merton

Paul tells us ion Colossians:

¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.   Col 1:19-20 (NIV)

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,   Col 2:9 (NIV)

Jesus came to be with man just as God was pleased to tabernacle among the Israelites in the wilderness – leading them by the cloud of His Presence by day and the fire of His Presence by night.  We find in Exodus:

⁴⁵ Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.  Ex 29:45-46 (NIV)

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.   Ex 40:34-35 (NIV)

“The God of Israel, the Saviour is sometimes a God that hideth Himself, but never a God that absenteth Himself, sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.”    Matthew Henry

“It probably isn’t as important to say ‘you need a heart for God’ as it is to say ‘you need to know God’s heart for you’.  The gospel isn’t about your goodness or your work, it’s about Christ’s goodness and work for you”.  Steve Brown

Certainly, our God is a “with us” God. From Genesis to Revelation, it has always been His desire to be among His people.  He is the One who “brings us out of Egypt” (bondage to sin) that we may dwell with Him and bring Him glory.  Through the poor choice of sin, man’s fellowship was broken with the Father.  Jesus came in human form yet, unlike us, lived a perfect life and became the perfect sacrifice so that through Him we may again tabernacle with our heavenly Father.  His purpose in coming was to bring us out of the bondage of our sin into the glory and fullness of Him.  As believers we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.  Furthermore, we are now Christ’s ambassadors.  Paul tells us:

²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Cor 5:20-21 (NIV)

“Christ became what we are that He might make us what He is.”   Athanasius of Alexandria

“Is it not wonderful news to believe that salvation lies outside ourselves?”   Martin Luther

The rays of divine glory glistened beneath the veiled Deity of the God Man Jesus.  As the sun is still the fountain of life though hidden by a dark mist of clouds, Christ clothed in flesh was yet God though His glory was not apparent to all.  The witnesses of His glory were His disciples and followers – those who were willing to go with Him gleaned more of Him – that is still true today.  Those who seek Him diligently will be privy to more of His glory.  The word translated “seen” in our verse for today is from the Greek word “Theaomai” meaning “to wonder, to behold, view attentively; to contemplate.  It is regard for something marked by a sense of wonderment:  a contemplative and ponderous gaze which carefully and deliberately observes an object in order to perceive it correctly and in detail.  Theaomai involves more than merely seeing, it is noticing, recognizing, and taking note of something with reflection and interest.”  Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids.  This was no simple glance at Jesus by the apostle John.  Peter also gives us his eyewitness account of Jesus:    

¹⁶ We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  2 Peter 1:16 (NIV)

These guys lived life with Jesus – they walked along the road with Him, ate with Him, laughed with Him, ministered with Him – did life with Him.  Their claim – “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only”.  Our faith is not grounded and built on hearsay or cleverly invented stories but on Truth.

What I glean from this:

• Jesus’ coming shows the depth of His and the Father’s love and concern for me.
• Our God is a “with us” God.
• The closer I walk with Jesus the more of His glory I will perceive.

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SHARING BREAD

¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 1:11-13 (NIV)

Ever not been accepted by your family?  Ever not been welcomed by your own people?  Ever not been received by those to whom you should be most familiar?  Jesus can relate.  Isaiah prophesizes this rejection of Jesus in the Book which bears his name:

³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.    Isaiah 53:3-4 (NIV)

Not accepted by His relations, rejected by His familial ties, unknown by His lineage, He counters graciously with a loving “all”.   “All” is such an inclusive word is it not?  All who would receive Jesus; all who would believe in Him; all who would come to Him; indeed “all” who would put their faith in Him would become children of the Great I AM.  What an unspeakable privilege that we, mere flesh and blood, mere dust of the ground, can become children of the King!  How lavishly He has loved us!  Oh! What great love is this!

¹ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.   1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)

John’s words remind me of Job’s jubilation of faith and his unwavering confidence regarding his future face to face encounter with God, his Redeemer, Defender, Protector and Vindicator:

²⁵ I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. ²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; ²⁷ I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!    Job 19:25-27 (NIV)

How incredibly amazing that by that “all”, anyone coming to Jesus for salvation – accepting Him as the Revealer of the Father’s will and as the Sacrifice for sin – He will by no means drive away:

³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.     John 6:37 (NIV)

“The privilege of adoption is entirely owing to Jesus Christ; he gave this power to those who believe in his name.  The Son of God became a Son of man, that the sons and daughters of men might become the sons and daughters of God Almighty.”     Matthew Henry

“Believe in his name” is far deeper than simply knowing what He is called. e is caled The word translated “Name” is from the Greek word “Onoma” meaning “title, reputation, fame; implying authority, dignity, used to indicate the character described by the name or identification with the person bearing the name.”  Hebrew Greek Key Words Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids.  Simply put, believers bearing His name are to bear His character.  Just as we bear resemblance to our earthly families, we, as children of God, are to bear resemblance to our heavenly Father.  Setting our hearts and minds on things above rather than on earthly things, we are to grow up in Him yielding to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work within each true believer.  Paul gives us a glimmer of what this should look like in his letter to the Colossians and with this, I close today’s devotion:

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Col 3:5-14 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• Jesus was rejected by those closest to Him.
• Jesus was familiar with suffering.
• “All” coming to Jesus in faith – believing in His Name – He gives the right to become children of God.  Praise Him!

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

John 1:10 (NIV)

Fully God and fully Man condescending to stoop and silently grace the world with His presence -   the Creator paid a visit to His creation.  Unlike this first Advent, Jesus’ second coming will not be as quiet or anonymous – it will be visible to the entire world including those who do not believe.  John tells us in Revelation:

⁷ Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen   Rev 1:7 (NIV)

Taking our nature upon Him, Jesus humbly dwelt among us.  The fullness of the Godhead in bodily form left a world of glory and bliss to enter into the misery, melancholy and mayhem of this world brought on by the poor choice of sin – a world where darkness reigns and where Satan waves his withered hand promising all, yet delivering none.  For a time, Jesus surrendered His right of deity to manifest Himself visibly in all of His Glory.

“To sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love.”   Frederick Buechner

Paul tells us in Philippians:

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Phil 2:5-11 (NIV)

Indeed the light came to shine in the darkness.  Matthew speaks of this in his gospel quoting the prophecy from Isaiah:

¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁵ ”Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles–¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” ¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”   Matt 4:14-17 (NIV)

Yet, we are told, in our verse for today that “the world did not recognize him”.  The world and everything in it He had created yet the world was blinded by the darkness to their Creator. 

“The ox knows his owner, but the more brutish world did not.  They did not confess him, did not bid him welcome, because they did not know him.  When he shall come as a Judge the world shall know him.”   Matthew Henry

“If you keep in step with God, be out of step with the world.”   Anonymous

Distracted by pagan cultures the people were blinded by the glitz of the world – filled with fickleness and idolatry.  Simply put, they did not recognize God.  The word translated “recognize” is from the Greek word “Ginosko” meaning “acquired knowledge, knowing by exposure to something, knowing by learning and experience.”  The people had been given plenty of prophecy.  Jesus had performed for them many miracles.  Indeed, Jesus had Himself proclaimed who He was – yet the people remained unknowing – they had not come to know Him by experience.  Have we come to know Him by experience?  Has our knowledge of Him been acquired by our exposure to Him?  Have we chosen rather to stay on this side of the Jordan, devoting ourselves to destruction, clinging to that which is worthless?  God states through the prophet Isaiah:

¹ ”I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ ² All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations–  Isaiah 65:1-2 (NIV)

Jesus states similarly the following to all those who are weary from carrying the burden of sin, both the guilt and the power of it – all invited to rest in Jesus – all those who are aware of sin as a burden, and are groaning under the weight of it:

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• Precious Jesus silently graced the world with His presence at the first Advent yet His second coming will not be as quiet or anonymous.
• Everything was made by Him and for Him.
• Jesus desires for us to come to Him and lay our weary heads between His shoulders.

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SHARING BREAD

⁶ There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:6-9 (NIV)

A shooting star sent forth from God to shatter the darkness of sin by shedding light in preparation for the “Son” to shine, John the Baptist came as a witness to the true Light.  This witness was prophesized by Isaiah and subsequently applied by each gospel writer to John the Baptist – the forerunner of Christ:

³ A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.   Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

John the Baptist was equipped and commissioned by God for this special ministry of pointing the people from the error of their ways to the truth of Jesus.  He had a specific message, addressed to specific recipients, intended to elicit a specific response.  He came with a call to repentance for those wallowing in the wasteland of life pointing them to their need for a Savior.

“Repentance does not cause a sense of sin – it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness.  When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals.”   Oswald Chambers   

 At his birth, his father Zechariah states the following regarding his son’s life’s work:

⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”    Luke 1:76-79 (NIV)

“One of the keynotes in John’s thoughts regarding Jesus is that Jesus is the Light of the World.  It means that Jesus, as the Light of the World, is the One who makes clear the Meaning and Destiny of Human Existence.  Jesus was God’s expression of Himself.  Jesus was God.  Jesus was God’s Message to Mankind.”    Halley’s Bible Handbook 

Jesus Himself gives us the following information regarding the Baptist:

³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. John 5:35 (NIV)

Certainly, John proves to be a wonderful example of Jesus’ Words in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew regarding our lights.  Our lights were meant to shine forth giving direction and pointing others to the proper path:

 ¹⁴ ”You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.    Matt 5:14-16 (NIV)

Further adding this information:

¹¹ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears, let him hear.     Matt 11:11-15 (NIV)

“John was only a lamp, not the true Light. The Jewish nation for a short time was stirred by and rejoiced in his ministry. For a moment they thought the Messianic Age was dawning. Even though his preaching had some stinging rebukes, there was a great popular excitement about his message. The people thought that though Israel might be disciplined, their enemies would be destroyed.”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

What a wonderful example the Baptist set for all in ministry – always pointing to Jesus and not to himself.  Indeed, his greatness and humility shine forth clearly through his words as we discover in chapter three of John:

²⁷ To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.   John 3:27-30 (NIV)

“There is no true holiness without humility.”  Thomas Fuller

“Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.”    St. Ignatius Loyola

John the Baptist was sent to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah. He baptized with water and Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit – this was the set divine order of things and one of which John was comfortable.  When Jesus’ popularity began to grow and his began to shrink, the Baptist joyfully accepted God’s plan.  When the King arrived there would be no further need of the herald.  Every believer should have such a mindset as this.  It is not about us; rather it is ALL about Jesus. 

“Every Christian life ought to be a force among men, a witness for Jesus and an influence for blessing and good. I know that there are few people like Billy Graham, whom God calls to do great things for Him. For men like  me, and perhaps you, the best thing that we can do in the small time allotted to us in this world is to live out a genuine, simple, beautiful, strong Christian life. In our little measure we can repeat the life of the Lord Himself, doing in our imperfect way a few of the wonderful things He would do if He were Himself in our place.”  Wales Goebel

What I glean from this:

• John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus.
• The Baptist was a lamp that burned for just a short time giving people “the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:77).
• John’s ministry pointed to Jesus and not to himself.

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