Who Was John the Baptisst?

 

"John baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4 KJV).

      John the Baptist was a good man doing what he thought he was supposed to do, but he chose to run his own program and in so doing kept his relationship with Jesus at a distance. John proclaimed that Jesus was the “lamb of God” (John 1:36). He would have been smart to have abandoned his own movement and join forces with the “lamb.” Jesus commented on John’s spiritual status in Matthew 11:11. Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

     John’s attack on the lifestyle of Herod demonstrated his conviction that Jesus had come to lead a successful rebellion and overthrow the grip that Rome had on Israel. As Matthew, chapter fourteen, tells us, John was offended that Herod, the tetrarch, had taken for himself Herodias, his brother’s wife. It is reasonable that John would have been offended, because God surely was, and God’s endorsement of the Hebrew effort was an absolute necessity for victory and freedom. John felt that he had to say something––which he did––and he must have felt strongly that Jesus would come to his aid, and a line would be drawn in the sand––the rebellion would begin. Herod arrested John and Herodias had him beheaded. Jesus chose not to get involved. Jesus did not make the long and painful journey from his home with God the Father in order to make war. Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).

      Matthew 11:2–3 states that John the Baptist, obviously disappointed that he was in prison and Jesus was making no effort to get him out, sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus what was going on. Jesus described his program and let the two disciples return with a clear message of how his program differed from that of John. John was on his own, and his fate was sealed. Actually, sometime later when Herod heard of Jesus, he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead (Matthew 14:2).      

       It is clear from the words of Jesus that John did not make it into the Kingdom of God. Even though he was a good man, the son of a priest (Luke 1:5) and a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36), he did not make it in, because these things did not matter. The Kingdom of God is only for those believers who are in relationship with Jesus or with his replacement, the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt that Jesus appreciated John as he does others who do good things, but his kingdom is only for those who with whom he has a relationship; believers born "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13 KJV). 

 

Commentary - John 1:14

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Perhaps the most important single statement in the entire New Testament. “The word (God) became flesh, and dwelled among us...” John’s metaphor states the parameters of God’s intervention. Jesus came into the world as a human being, no more and no less with the same feelings, emotions and energy that you and I experience when things go right or wrong or in any one of the thousands of variations that come along every day including all forms of diversion and temptation.
Another point that must be made is that according to John, Jesus brought with him into this world no supernatural power whatsoever. Jesus came as human flesh. Most Christian theology proclaims that Jesus came as a God Man, fully God and fully man. John said that Jesus came as a man.

In the second part of this verse, John acknowledges that a distinct difference does exist between the begotten son of the Living God and those of us who are the sons of mere humans. As we proceed through the book, many of these differences will become apparent. John's reference here to “grace” and “truth” reflect John’s admiration for Jesus’ style and appearance. Jesus must truly have been a striking individual with remarkable mental clarity.

A Book for a Book

How important is it for Christians and Moslems to talk? I personally don’t believe that the world can make the progress necessary for survival unless the Moslems change their theology. Of course, they probably would say the same about me and other Christians, and if either side is right, the answer is the same: talk, conversation, theological study, even compromise. Both sides must be willing to walk away from tradition, give up dogma and seek the truth, a very difficult assignment indeed.

The obvious place for Christians to start is the Bible, and for the Moslems, the Koran. How can we possibly hope to play as a team and seek solutions for the world’s problems when both sides insist on playing with a different rule book? I am not suggesting that we should not read the bible or the Koran or any thing else we choose to read, I am merely saying that dogma, set in the stone of the written word is very difficult to get beyond.

The issues are peace and progress and mutual understanding. Would it not be worth compromise, not on truth, which is bigger than Christians and Moslems and all other forms of religious thought, but on dogma? World progress is a very serious business.

God's Responsibility

God has no interested at all in taking responsibility for the decisions of human beings. We were created to run the world and we are obligated to do it on our own. The Holy Spirit came to live within us and give us comfort and insight and even wisdom, but The Spirit did not come to take responsibility for our decisions or the repercussions thereof. If one human being wants to kill another, that individual has the power to do it accept of course when God is protecting a particular individual for God’s reasons which only God understands for sure.

Have you ever been in conversation with someone when a decision was close and all of a sudden the conversation came to a close, because the other person said, “I have got to go pray about it?” That comment did a number of good things for the person who wants to pray. 1 It removed all pressure to make an immediate decision at that time. 2. It gave them time to think, pray or whatever they do under such circumstances. 3. It put them in control of the conversation. 4. It added another dimension (God’s Will) to the conversation.

The question is, was it fair? And was it appropriate? The implication of the person who took control of the conversation was that God, the Creator of the World, was willing to give direction and therefore take responsibility for the decision in question, which of course is not true, and I have to believe that God resents being used in such a manner.

From time to time an individual will make reference to their “call to preach.” There is no doubt that they are sincere and that they have had an experience with God, but the idea that God picked them out of the crowd and told them to go preach is not reasonable. Such a calling would make God responsible for their actions, and we all know of terrible things that preachers, etc. have done. If would be more appropriate to say that The Holy Spirit pointed out for them the opportunity to preach, probably along with several other opportunities. God does not jerk people around and tell them what to do nor does God take responsibility for their failures. At this time I know at least three people who were "called to preach" who are not preaching. Did God make a mistake? Of course not, and these people were not "called to preach." Let me quickly point out that all three of these people are marvelous Christians and I am sure have a strong relationship with God, but the word "call" is too strong to be used in this setting.

Why Did Jesus Come?

Why did Jesus Come?

It had to have been a very difficult thing for Jesus to leave his world in heaven, which must be a marvelous place, and come to the earth which he created and live as a human being. One has to ask, why he did it? I am going to offer below for your consideration three reasons.

1. God’s creation and especially God’s human creation was not making the progress that God felt it should. People were not being as creative as they were created to be. Other than in the Roman Empire where the economy was driven by slavery and the plundering and pillaging of their magnificent army, the standard of living around the world was low and not improving. The major inventions that had to happen in order for the world to rise above the problems which were being created by an ever increasing population, the spread of disease and the motivations of greed and power were not even close. Progress in farming was almost nonexistent. The Hebrew nation, which God had hoped would provide leadership for the rest of the world had failed and only continued to exist as a temple community.

In order to better understand the problem, God decided to take a closer look. God wanted to experience life as we do; to see what we see; hear what we hear; feel what we feel and experience the joys of progress, acceptance and success as well as the agony of rejection. God wanted to experience life from a human perspective. It was not God’s intent then or now to run the world. That is what human beings were created to do, but God was very interested that humans would succeed and make the world go forward. Jesus wanted to experience what humans experience so as to better determine just why they were not getting the job done.

2. Jesus came to introduce to the people to The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. One thing that God needed was a more efficient method of communicating with human beings. Speaking to the people through the prophets as God had attempted to do in the Old Testament had not worked well, mainly because the prophets had their own language and their own religious perspectives. It proved to be impossible for God to break through their religious dogma and their historical jargon. The Hebrew people came to see God as the source of all happenings, be they good or bad, and they blamed God for all tragedies and set backs, which of course was inappropriate and counter productive.

The Kingdom of God which Jesus came preaching (Mark 1:14) offered hope, self reliance, and the opportunity to live a better, more productive life through the leadership and support of The Holy Spirit. Those who were born into this kingdom could live higher and produce more from that day forward. The Holy Spirit would know each individual, the problems they faced and the types of things they could do move their life forward.

3. Another reason for which Jesus came was to rid the world of the highly sophisticated, very motivational but irrelevant and destructive sacrificial system utilized by the Hebrew people. This system had been created by human beings for the benefit of human beings and it needed to be removed. Time and again God had tried to speak through the Hebrew Prophets to tell the people that the sacrificial system had no value (Micah 6:6-8, Isaiah 1:10-11) but they would not hear the words. The system continued. It was only the human sacrifice of Jesus, The Man without sin, God in the Flesh, that could create the change.

It is fair to say that the overall reason Jesus came to walk with human beings in this world was to make our world better. God was willing to get involved and help the people of the world to turn things around. The challenge was, how? The world that God has made runs on a cause and effect operating system. It is a good system. It works, and it would neither be in God’s best interest nor the interest of society for God to break into this marvelous system, at least not so much that people would begin to doubt the system and depend more on God than gravity, or good nutrition or gun powder or love or even in common sense. God does not want to assume the responsibility for things we are supposed to accomplish. But Jesus came to help, and he brought with him The Holy Spirit.

Commentary - John 1:10 - 13

John 1:10 - 13
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came to his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John seems to have believed that there was something about Jesus’ personality and his style and that should have made it obvious to everyone that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This presumption says a lot about John’s spiritual optimism, but it was not to be. John recognized Jesus as did Andrew, James and Peter, probably with John’s help, but most people did not.

In verses 11 & 12, John tries to make it clear that the Full Gospel of Jesus, the new birth, the abundant life is available to all people. He first addresses those who did not recognize Jesus and then the Jews who ignored him and finally by implication the gentiles and all people everywhere. Obviously, there are some people who couldn’t care less and others who are just mean, but most people are just ordinary folks who need a savior, and anyone who has the slightest interest in the things that are holy; anyone who believes in God even in a casual or legalistic manner has the opportunity to experience the “new birth” and become one of Jesus’ special people; one of the “chosen” whom John called “sons of God.” They are not there yet, and most, because of the nature of things, will never get there and never know the experience of an intimate relationship with God, which of course is a tragedy, but John makes it plan, they have the opportunity. Regardless of race, creed or economic status or any other possible deterrent, all interested people have the opportunity to become son’s of God, although it must be noted that people caught up in restrictive creeds and dogma, either because of birth, geographical location or personal commitment have a more difficult road. Communication with God is not easy under any circumstance.

John also makes the point in v.13 that human beings can not make it happen. The “new birth” is an act of God. Human beings can prepare themselves in various ways as they think best, but the decision as to who gets in and when and under what circumstances is Gods and Gods alone. John specifically spells it out. Not of blood (The Kingdom can not be entered through intimidation, violence or the threat of violence.) Nor of the will of the flesh (The new birth will not happen because of lust, sex or natural reproductive methods) Nor of the will of man (People cannot buy their way in or utilize some religious hoop or ritual). Jesus chose his twelve disciples and Jesus chooses, for reasons known only to himself, those who will be on his team and part of his family.

Comentary, John 1:6-9

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.

Jesus did not come into his position because of his power. In the natural sense, Jesus had in no way earned the right to recruit followers or expect people to listen when he spoke. Jesus came on the scene all of a sudden. John looked, and there he was. Had Jesus’ arrival been as other religious and political leaders, through years of work and performance, he would have needed no witness. Those he served, entertained and motivated would have would have helped him tell his story. But such was not the case. Jesus began his ministry as he did everything else, when he chose and for his own reasons. Therefore, Jesus needed a witness, someone who knew him and understood at least to some extent the theology of his presence and one who was willing to direct the attention away from himself and toward the true light. John, a recognized preacher with a following of his own, was the one.

The point that John the evangelist and writer of the Gospel wanted to make clear was that this person, Jesus, who was on the scene to provide supernatural leadership, instruction, and protection for selected believers was also the one who created all people and provided the principle of life for everyone. All people are special. Every human being, the atheist, the criminal, the leader of a competitive religion, has value. And that value exists because of Jesus and the role he played in the creation of the world.