Monday, June 11, 2012,
6:23 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Near the Cross” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 1:19-28 (NIV 1984):
Now this was John’s
testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he
was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”
They asked him, “Then
who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said,
“Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you
say about yourself?”
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.’”
Now some Pharisees who
had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the
Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
“I baptize with
water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one
who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
This all happened at
Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
My Understanding: The
Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John the Baptist who he was.
Some Pharisees were among those who questioned John the Baptist. Based upon
this passage alone we might conclude that their intentions in questioning John
were noble and honorable, and that they truly wanted to know if he was the
promised Messiah so that they could put their faith in him. Yet, if we fast-forward
through the gospels, we get a different picture of the chief priests, elders,
teachers of the law, Pharisees, Sadducees and the Sanhedrin, i.e. the religious
and political leaders of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day.
“When John the Baptist
saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he
said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
(Matt. 3:7) Jesus said about them and to them (Matt 23): “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned
to hell?” The Pharisees, chief priests and elders were among those who
plotted to kill Jesus. They were Jesus’ strongest and fiercest opponents. They
hated Jesus because he did not follow their traditions and because he publicly
chastised them (see Matt 23) for their superficial show of being righteous, and
he exposed their wickedness. Jesus warned his disciples against the teaching of
the Pharisees, and told them to not do what the Pharisees do, for they are hypocrites.
Jesus said of them that they shut heaven in men’s faces, and that their “converts”
they make “twice as much a son of hell as you” (they) “are.” They were great
about following the externals of the law, but they neglected the greater
matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt 23). They appeared
righteous on the outside, but inside they were full of wickedness.
Who was John?
So, these are the guys who questioned John. So, maybe their
motives were not so pure. When they began to ask John who he was, he confessed
that he was not the Christ, i.e. the long awaited and promised Messiah of whom the
Jewish people had been told was coming, and who they were waiting for. So, they
asked him if he was Elijah. He said he was not. Then they asked him if he was a
prophet and he said, “No.” Now this was not to say John was not a prophet, but
that he made no claim to that title for himself. This is also not to say that
he had no association or resemblance to the prophet Elijah, but that he was not
Elijah reincarnated. Jesus said that John was the Elijah who was to come (see
Matt 11). The angel who spoke to Zechariah concerning the son he was to have
told him: “And he will go on before the
Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk
1:17). Jesus said that John was a prophet, but more than a prophet, for he was
the one spoken about in the prophets of old: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way
before you” (see Luke 7).
Finally those who questioned John said, “Who are you?” “What
do you say about yourself?” If John did not claim to be the Messiah, Elijah or
a prophet, then who did he claim to be? John answered with the words of Isaiah
40:3: “I am the voice of one calling in
the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” He knew who he was. His
mission and his calling were clear. He was the one Isaiah spoke about who would
prepare the way for Jesus Christ. He was to make a straight path for him. And,
his message was always, “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus Christ began his ministry with that same
message. Jesus Christ was the embodiment of that kingdom, so he was speaking of
Jesus, of his divine character, his ministry and mission, of the death he would
die for our sins, of his resurrection, of his sending of his Holy Spirit to
indwell the lives of believers, of the true church, the body of Christ, and of
the future kingdom in which Christ will reign and rule on the earth. People had
to turn from their sins. This was preparation for Jesus Christ.
One Single Direction
John was to make a straight path (way) for the Lord in
people’s hearts. His mission was to turn people’s hearts to the Lord and to
make ready a people prepared for Christ. Continuing with this quote from Isaiah
40, it says: “The crooked roads shall
become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s
salvation.” For the roads to become straight and the way smooth, rocks and debris
had to be removed. This is in reference to the removal of sin from people’s
hearts to make way for Jesus Christ to enter into their hearts. This is the
working of the Holy Spirit of God, yet we must cooperate with that work through
repentance, i.e. through willingly choosing to leave our lives of sin behind us
so that we can walk faithfully in obedience to Christ and to his commands. A
straight path is one that is “not curved, without bends, irregularities, or
deviations; extending or proceeding in one single direction” (Encarta). Wow!
That says it, doesn’t it?
Jesus Christ said that to get to heaven we have to “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it” (Matt 7:13-14). Jesus said he was the gate and he was
the way, so first and foremost he is saying that he is the only way into heaven
and to the Father. Yet, he is also letting his listeners know that his way is
restrictive, limited, confined and focused. It is a straight path with no
deviations, and it extends in one single direction. David and Ezekiel spoke of
this:
David prayed (Ps. 86:11): “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear
your name.” Ezekiel wrote: “They will
return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give
them an undivided heart and put a
new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them
a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my
laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezek. 11:18-20).
Ezekiel and David were both speaking of this “single direction” of this
straight path without deviation (departing from the path).
What about Us?
Ok, so this was John’s calling. He was to prepare the way
for Christ, and he was to make a straight path to lead people to the Lord. His
message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus Christ preached
the same message. So, what about us? What is our calling? What are we supposed
to tell people or do with people, believers and non-believers alike? Jesus told
his disciples that when the Holy Spirit came upon them - they had not yet been
given the Holy Spirit to indwell them - that they would be his witnesses to the
ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). A witness is one who attests, validates or
corroborates the testimony of another, usually because of having seen or
experienced what he or she is witnessing about. When we come to faith in Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit enters into our hearts and lives, and we are now
empowered by him, we speak, in the power of the Holy Spirit within us, of what
Jesus Christ did in saving us from our sins (in sharing the truth of the
gospel) and in what difference that has made for us in our lives personally.
Jesus also told his disciples, as well, that they were to “Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matt.
28:19-20). To make a disciple is to teach, preach, witness, and share the truth
of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others in the hope that they will choose to
become followers of Jesus Christ themselves. We can’t make people come to
Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit who draws men to Christ and who convicts
hearts of sin, but we can share the truth, and we can instruct, encourage,
counsel, edify, assist and nurture others in the truths of God’s word so that
they can know how to and will hopefully become followers of Christ. To follow
Christ means to do what he says, and follow his lead and his example, to obey
his teachings, to turn from our sins, to go wherever he leads us, and to seek
his will for our lives and to follow his will, etc. So, this is not speaking
merely of leading someone to salvation, but it is continuing to teach, exhort,
encourage, nurture, edify, and love (with Christ’s love) the people of God so
that they can continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of their Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
Opposition
John faced opposition to his message from the religious
leaders (authorities). So did Jesus, and so did the prophets before them and
the disciples and apostles after them. And, much of that opposition arose from
within their own ranks, among their own people, and from the religious and/or
political leadership of the people. And, we can expect the same. Not all who
are in positions of religious leadership are truly following Jesus Christ. Many
are followers of men and man-made religion based upon the teachings and
philosophies of men, yet they are passing off their lies as though it is truth
from God’s word. They are telling their followers that all they need to do is
to be “nice” to people and to give them a hug, and that is “love.” And, they
are telling them that they are not supposed to speak words of conviction to people’s
hearts, even if what we speak is the word of truth, i.e. the word of God. They
say we need to be more tolerant. I suppose that was the Pharisee’s message to
John the Baptist and to Jesus. They basically say we are to “butt out” of other
people’s lives and to mind our own business. I am glad Jesus didn’t do that.
And, we are to emulate him!
Near the
Cross / Fanny
J. Crosby / William H. Doane
Jesus,
keep me near the cross;
There a
precious fountain,
Free to
all, a healing stream,
Flows
from Calvary's mountain.
Near the
cross, a trembling soul,
Love and
mercy found me;
There the
bright and morning star
Sheds its
beams around me.
Near the
cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its
scenes before me;
Help me
walk from day to day
With its
shadow o'er me.
Near the
cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping,
trusting ever,
Till I
reach the golden strand
Just
beyond the river.
In the
cross, in the cross,
Be my
glory ever,
Till my
raptured soul shall find
Rest
beyond the river.
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