John Baptist

Transcript

so you know the question that we can ask x is why you know why should we even look x at john the baptist x why is he important well obviously he x was uh he's mentioned in scripture um x and he we are told that he paved the way x for the messiah the or the savior x and um x he was a precursor or a forerunner to x christ and in fact a lot of the scribes x and the pharisees uh asked him if he was x the messiah and he always deferred to x christ in other words you know he had x this tremendous mission that was in x front of him to prepare you know the way x of the lord x uh but he was very humble in what he did x even though he was a powerful prophet x and even though x you know he he spoke x you know to uh the scribes and pharisees x the religious leaders even spoke to x kings x um you know he had no fear because he x knew god was with him x uh and he took his role x seriously you know he didn't he didn't x just do it halfway he did it x fully to begin to bind the children of x israel's heart back to their god and it x was a major undertaking because the x children of israel x uh they were struggling they were x struggling with their relationship with x god you know a lot of the x um you know the kings and the other x political leaders during this time were x really you know trying to you know gain x more political power more wealth the x people were um you know not being taken x care of the way that they should have x you know a lot of the same things that x the prophets were concerned about in the x old testament that god was concerned x about in the old testament well a lot of x those same things were going on x were they worshiping other gods no they x weren't they were worshiping yahweh and x they had the temple but that whole set x up now opened up a lot of doors for x you know other issues as well where x you're just centering on the x you know on the temple itself but x forgetting about the righteousness of x god forgetting about the love of god and x this is one of the big things that john x the baptist really had a problem with um x and christ is going to pick up on that x as well so um you know let's let's think x about you know we could start with luke x chapter one and we're gonna take a look x at luke luke chapter one but um you know x two of the four gospels in mark and also x in matthew describe uh john the baptist x somewhat so you know i always like to x have a um x you know a picture in my mind and x obviously no one was there with john the x baptist but i think we can get a little x uh you know x a little glimpse into what maybe you x know john the baptist was like so let's x take a look first at matthew the third x chapter x and um you know well verse 3 for this is x he that was spoken of by the prophet x isaiah saying the voice of one x crying in the wilderness prepare ye the x way of the lord make his path straight x and the same john had his raiment of x camels here and a learning girdle about x his loins and his meat x was locus x in wild honey so you know he was not um x you know he he certainly wasn't dressed x in the in the best you know greek x fashion uh of that time a roman fashion x of that time you know he lived x he lived outside primarily he lived a x very hard life x and so you know his mind really was x focused on the things of god his mind x was focused on um the things of the x gospel being that forerunner preparing x the children of israel uh x for x for the appearance of christ and so you x know that's x i think there's a lesson in that x brothers and sisters you know what x you know we have a lot of distractions x in our lives john didn't have a whole x lot of distractions he had simplified x his life x uh to a pretty serious degree right i x mean we're we're not all walking around x with uh you know camels here and we're x not eating wild honey you know we have x the opposite problem in this day and age x you know we have access to almost x anything almost instantaneous you know x i've said this before you know we can x hold in our hand all of x uh humanity's x information in the literally in the palm x of our hand you know and so our lives x can be extremely hectic x you know i was kind of you know i was it x was pretty hectic today for me x um you know i think we all had hectic x days where we're just busy x and it's not like we're doing anything x extra or anything like that you know x we're just doing the stuff we need to do x um you know john i don't think was very x stressed x about uh certain things of this life so x there's got to be a balance there and x john the baptist chose a path it was a x path of simplicity and it was a path of x dedication to god in taking his role x seriously he knew from a ver the very x beginning as a child that he had a x special job to do when he took it x seriously and so that's the question for x us right are we taking our calling x seriously x are we serious about uh living the x gospel in our lives about preaching the x gospel to people x um you know about being loving and kind x and merciful and you know all those x christ-like attributes that we struggle x with you know are we doing that in our x lives are we just kind of mealing it in x you know john the baptist was not a guy x that mailed it in ever x you know he was he had he cranked it up x to 11 at all times and x most likely brothers and sisters is what x got him killed right he didn't sugarcoat x anything when he was talking to uh you x know to herod so it's just it's x interesting there's a little picture x right there you know a lot of different x artists um x you know you know x uh you know give him a different x appearance but it's all it's relatively x same but in uh matthew the third chapter x we'll look at this as well real quick um x because he you know he's mentioned in x matthew obviously as well in the third x chapter verse four x um x you know very similar uh x you know verses right the voice of one x crying in the wilderness verse three x and the same john x um x that did we do yeah we just did matthew x come on what's going on people x uh and did we do matthew or mark anyways x they're very similar let's not look at x both of them but um x you know the raymond of camels here uh x wild honey locust you know he's eating x he's literally eating bugs x uh in bugs and honey right uh so not uh x you know a very um x you know very smart in life for sure not x very comfortable and christ picks up on x that right x you know the they that you know they x that uh dressed sumptuously they're in x um x they're in the palaces you know they're x in they're in the palaces of uh of the x rich x all right so we we already looked at x this locus and wild honey that was his x that's what he ate x uh and he really was wearing the bare x bones of things as well and so he was a x forerunner or a precursor someone who x runs before another who announces the x arrival of someone else and obviously in x john the baptist case we know he was x preparing the way he was preparing his x ministry x um was to prepare the way for christ to x come x all right and so all he's mentioned in x all four gospels as well x um x you know the voice of one crying in the x wilderness that's used in matthew that's x used in mark it's used in luke as well x and it's also uh used as um x in john that first chapter uh in verse x 23. let's take a look at that x in john x this first chapter in verse 23 x and he said i am the voice of one crying x in the wilderness make straight the way x of the lord as said the prophet isaiah x and they which were sent were of the x pharisees and they asked him x and said unto him why do you baptize if x thou be not the christ or elias x neither that prophet x john answered them saying i baptize with x water but there standeth one among you x whom ye know not he it is who cometh x after me x is preferred before me whose shoes latch x and i am not worthy to one loose you x know so um x you know x the x john the baptist was outside of x jerusalem right jerusalem is the x political and religious center of the x israelites during this time um x and so well it is the x you know now as well so they don't they x sent you know the religious leaders sent x the delegation x down to john he was down in the valley x in the jordan valley baptizing they send x a delegation from jerusalem x right x and so you know we may look at this as x kind of you know kind of being somewhat x humorous x right that the scribes and pharisees are x sending a delegation down to john but x this was serious business x right things concerning the law are the x torah uh in jewish tradition was serious x and x the chil the children of israel and the x scribes and pharisees remember they had x done away with all of their polytheism x right the worshipping of the other gods x that wasn't an issue now x um but there was also this internal x struggle about the direction of the x nation and we we did a little study on x that i think uh maybe last year or a x year before you know all the different x characters that jesus interacted with x describes the pharisees the sadducees x um the samaritans you know all of these x sit you know the sinners the publicans x and so john the baptist is going to x interact with all these people as well x and he has this tremendous following and x word gets back to the temple leadership x and so they send a delegation down and x they ask him point blank x who what though who are you x right x um x and he said straight away he said i'm x not the christ i'm not the messiah x but there's someone that's going to come x after me x who is so much better than me that john x says that i'm not even worthy to untie x his sandal x right do we think about that like you x can see john just uh debasing himself x or subjugating himself x to christ x um because he knew that he was the was x the messiah x um so you know all four gospels show x that john the baptist is is an x additional evidence a confirmation of x the better or superior work of christ x and so this was one of the things that x the scribes and pharisees were doing um x and it was based upon the law in the x 17th chapter of deuteronomy just take a x look at that x in the 17th chapter x um x in verse 6 x at the mouth of two witnesses or three x witnesses shall he that is worthy of x death be put to death but at the mouth x of one witness he shall not be put to x death the hands of the witnesses shall x be upon him so on and so forth and so x we're talking about establishing the x truth of the matter by two or three x witnesses and i think this is one of the x purpose um of sending down this x delegation x uh to um x to john that first john is talking about x you know they sent this delegation to x establish the truth about john the x baptist you know who x who was he what was he preaching about x you know what was what was his his role x in all of this right and in verse 19 um x when the jews sent priests and levites x from jerusalem x and so this was a big deal you know you x had this x uh you know this prophet who x you know what brothers and sisters i bet x a lot of these priests and these levites x that were sent to john they might have x known john as a child x remember john grew up in a priestly home x uh his father zechariah and his mother x elizabeth they were they were levites x and in actuality as luke the first x chapter tells us um x zechariah was in the process of serving x within the temple when he saw the angel x and this is the first time x that we have recorded for us for over x 400 years of face-to-face x uh interaction x um between a messenger of god x and a human being in israel x right and it's going to be zechariah who x was an old man x uh who and his wife was old too and they x were desperate for a child x you know you can think about you know x maybe the uh the burden of carrying that x right they desperately wanted a child x here they were they were old and you x know x even zechariah questioned the angel like x you know x uh x you know i'm old my wife's old right x um so anyway say i want to go down the x rabbit hole of that but that was you x know they were trying to establish x whether or not john was a prophet or not x okay x um and this is what we're talking about x you know they wanted to know if john x the baptist was he the one was he god's x anointed messiah x and in uh john that 19th chapter right x with 19th first that's what we are x um they asked him in verse 21 what then x i tell elijah and he said i am not x thou on x another prophet he said i'm not x who art thou he says and this is when x you know this is when john says i am the x voice of one crying in the wilderness x right so he goes right back to isaiah x uh to give himself a label right i'm i'm x just a voice x of one crying in the wilderness x you know x uh make straight the way of the lord x that's all he was doing that was his job x and he was focused on that you know and x i think you know it's it's hard brothers x and sisters you know to compare x ourselves to these great people x uh in scripture x right uh x and john the baptist is one of those x guys where he was just x committed x he was just committed to his role as x being the forerunner and it's also x interested in me x interesting to me anyways is um x you know they both had different tactics x i'm talking about jesus and uh and john x the baptist right they both had the x gospel obviously christ was uh the x messiah x but look at how they you know they dealt x with things you know um x john the baptist didn't have a lot of x interaction right he was in the x wilderness a lot of times x people came to him to be baptized so he x lived a solitary life for the most part x you know there are some biblical x scholars that say he may have been um x associated with the aseans right who x lived out in the desert areas and this x is where um thanks to the aseans we have x uh the dead sea scrolls right they were x they were a group that loved you know x love the scripture was john the baptist x in the sea and maybe it's possible x you know but um yeah anyway so they you x know they they would have they would x have recognized you on maybe you know x they would have remembered him as a kid x they would have known their his parents x and you know and they're so they're x asking this question you know what's x what's your deal he says i'm just a x voice in the wilderness right x he's not i'm not the messiah i'm really x nothing i can't the guy that's coming x after me i can't even take his sandals x off right x so that's how much greater he is x all right um x you know we took we already discussed x that as well in luke um x in luke x 5 3 15 x and then in mark 7 we'll take a look at x this x in mark seven x in the first uh x in the first chapter here x in um x mark one verse seven x uh yeah what did i say i said something x uh x yeah so mark 1 verse 7 x and preach saying again there one there x cometh one mightier than i after me the x latchette of whose shoes i am not i am x not worthy to stoop down x and unloose you know think about the x words he's usually using in the in the x imagery you know he wasn't he wasn't x worthy at all to even take off you know x christ's um x you know christ dirty sandals so to x speak right x um x yeah so he's you know so john the x baptist he's not only announcing jesus's x superiority but he's also um x he's showing it physically through x public baptism right so that he did he x baptized with water john the baptist x baptized with water but you know god x is going to say that he's you know that x christ is going to x um x baptize with the holy spirit and we know x that this is this happens as well x um well in mark in mark 9 through 9 x through 11 we're in mark right and it x came to pass in those days x that jesus came from nazareth of galilee x and was x baptized of john in jordan x and straightway cometh out of the water x he saw the heavens opened and the spirit x like a dove descending upon him and x there came a voice from heaven saying x thou art my beloved son in whom x i am well pleased x right and so christ comes out of the x waters of baptism x and god tells everyone around them that x this is his son i'm what he's well x pleased i love him very much x and we know that in acts as well x after the death and resurrection the x ascension to heaven that the holy spirit x on the day of pentecost is gonna come x down on um on the believers as well so x there's a foreshadowing of that event x um x so yes although you know the holy spirit x descending not only on christ as a dove x but again that is going to happen to his x uh his followers on the day of pentecost x you know i always um i always ask this x question i don't really have an answer x for it but it's just kind of one of x these interesting biblical questions you x know why x was the holy spirit you know when the x holy spirit x descended upon christ why was it in the x form of a dove x you know why not like the form of a lion x or something you know more powerful x right it was x it was uh you know in the day of x pentecost it was like flames of fire x right which okay that's interesting well x why you dove with christ you know maybe x that's something we can uh we can think x about you know and i don't know if x there's a right or wrong answer to it x but x you know came down like a dove maybe it x was just the shape of it that you know x that people saw i don't know but anyways x um so let's take a look at the parallels x just uh you know briefly here um let's x take a look at the parallels between the x birth of john and the birth of jesus so x we know x from uh the account in luke the second x chapter first and second chapters x that an angel is going to visit x zechariah as we talked about x but in a the angel gabriel is also going x to visit mary you know afterward and x they both have to do with an x announcement of the birth of special x sons x with john the baptist well let's x let's take a look what is mentioned x of john the baptist in the first um x excuse me in the first chapter of luke x um x [Music] x yeah um x in verse 13 x yeah so yeah in um x verse 10 and the whole multitude of the x people were praying without at the time x of incense x and there appeared unto him an angel of x the lord standing on the right side of x the altar of incense and when zechariah x saw him he was troubled x and fear fell upon him you know that's x like an understatement you know you're x in there you're doing the you know x you're performing the duties of uh of x the temple with the incense so on and so x forth it was his time you know it was on x a rotating schedule and it was his month x and he was doing all of the duties in x there and so it's interesting you know x zechariah was in the process of x um x you know he wasn't worshiping but he was x performing a service x within the temple he was actively x working x when the angel uh when the angel came to x him i don't know if there's any x significance in that but he was a x righteous individual luke tells us that x him and his wife were uh x what does it say about them um x yeah they were both verse six and they x were both righteous before god walking x in all the commandments and ordinances x of the lord blameless x right these were good people brothers x and sisters they were righteous people x and even though they had been incredibly x disappointed with the lack of an ear or x lack of her son or daughter x uh you know here's zachariah is still x performing his duties x you know this just this this older x couple you know they're they're growing x old together uh you know there's some x sadness there i'm sure there's you know x who knows the range of emotion but they x they loved each other x and they both loved god as well and i x think there's a lot of uh you know x there's a lot of good food for thought x in in that relationship you know they've x never lost their faith even though x you know at this time of their lives i'm x sure they were disappointed x uh they were disappointed that they that x they couldn't have children you know and x there's a lot of cases like that you x know i you know in the account in x genesis with jacob and rachel right x rachel was so exasperated by it that he x you know she kind of yells at jacob and x said give me give me children i'm gonna x die she says x uh you wonder you know if that was maybe x the mentality with elizabeth too like x you know i don't know i'm just kind of x thinking outside but anyways the angel x comes he's fearful x um x you know x you know you turn to the right he's x doing the incense he looks over to the x right and boom there's there's gabriel x you know so you can understand the fear x that he would have x in verse 13 don't be fearful gabriel x says for thy prayer is heard and thy x wife elizabeth shall bear thee your son x and now shall call his name john so you x know there's a couple things there x number one don't be fearful i'm bringing x you good news right so there's an angel x again x bringing good news of hope it is the x beginning x of the salvation of the of the children x of israel first of the seed of abraham x but also x the salvation of all mankind first x through the forerunner of john and then x through x the messiah as well x and so there's that little a little x short little x uh sentence right x for thy your prayer x is heard x um x you know that's uh i think it's a very x powerful uh sentence there your prayer x is heard and you know how many prayers x you think zachariah and elizabeth had x made x you know about x uh that you know about elizabeth's being x barren how many prayers you think they x said x and it had there was no response x uh to god you know maybe the thousands x of prayers i bet brothers and sisters x they had made to god thousands of them x uh and they kept doing it over and over x and over again and they waited their x patience of these people x and the love and the commitment of x zechariah and elizabeth you know you can x understand why they were chosen x to be the forerunner of the messiah uh x and here's you know x his his gabriel saying don't be afraid x god has heard your prayers x um x and i think sometimes in our lives you x know we're x we're desperate for those words don't be x fearful x i've heard your prayer x uh and maybe it's not as direct as that x you know we don't have x the angel gabriel gabriel you know uh x appearing to us on our right hand side x um x but god hears our prayers and you know x and sometimes we don't understand you x know why he's not acting right away or x doesn't act x um and maybe zechariah and elizabeth x were asking you know the little seeds of x doubt you know why why isn't god heard x our prayer but he had heard their prayer x they just didn't know it yet right and x so now it is revealed to them the true x plan of plan of god you know that they x these two righteous individuals were x going to glorify god x um by being the parents of the the x forerunner of of christ x um x and so x you know first of all you're going to x bear a son call his name john in verse x 13 verse 14 let's take a look at this x rigorous time you know okay x and thou shalt have joy x in gladness x and many shall rejoice at his birth what x wonderful words right the gabriel is is x speaking here you're going to have joy x and gladness x that was that's what that's what the x message was that uh gabriel was bringing x from god we're gonna have joy and x gladness x and many x shall rejoice x at his birth x um and so you know on a very personal x level x did zechariah and elizabeth have joy x and gladness of course x it was a wonderful time did their close x relatives x and their family did they rejoice with x elizabeth and with the zechariah at the x birth of john of course we're told that x um x but on a big and a macro level right on x a big picture level x uh the bert like i said you know the x birth of john was the beginning of the x salvation of mankind x right he was the forerunner he was that x voice x in the wilderness preparing the way for x christ x and ultimately brothers and sisters you x know even though we struggle now and x even though we have our weaknesses and x our hang-ups and we're weak in a lot of x different ways and we miss the mark all x the time x um x you know we have been promised joy x we have been promised gladness we have x been promised that many will rejoice x uh and we're looking for that day x not for the birth of john enough for the x birth of the messiah we know those x things have happened x but we look for the joy and the gladness x that that kingdom x uh is going to bring that kingdom that x christ is going to bring with him and so x like zechariah and like elizabeth we can x never lose hope x we can't lose hope x in that joy and gladness that is uh that x is to come x um so i think that's that's it's really x powerful it's a really powerful lesson x um x and so let's take a look what type of x individual was john gonna be well x gabriel tells us right x for he shall be great in the sight of x the lord and shall drink neither wine x nor strong drink and he shall be filled x with the holy spirit x even from his mother's womb x and many of the children of israel shall x he turn to the lord their god and he x shall go before him in the spirit and x the power of elijah to turn the hearts x of the fathers to the children and the x disobedient x to the wisdom of the just to make ready x a people prepared for the lord x you know while there's there's a lot in x those verses x but that's the type of individual he was x going to be great x in the sight of the lord right and he x was going to drink neither wine nor x strong drink now now there's an echo x right brothers and sisters back to um x the uh the vow of the nazarite x uh when that uh that that is found in um x in in the law right uh and the most x famous net you know nazareth he took the x vow of nazarene was um x was samson x and so it's always good to me like do a x like a character x comparison he has both a you know he's x both individuals right one x uh takes a vow of complete dedication to x god keeping himself from you know all x you know from wickedness x so we have samson on one hand x and we have john the baptist on the x other x right both you know strong drink and x wine they keep themselves away from that x they focus their their lives on god but x you know we're told that samson had this x weakness incredible weakness for women x for other women and it was ultimately x his downfall x you know john what was john's downfall x uh x speaking the truth x speaking the truth to a king x right john was never he was never going x to shut up he wasn't one of these guys x where you know okay yeah that's all i'm x going to say x you know he had no fear and that was x when when gabriel talks about this what x does he say there about elijah he says x uh in the spirit and power of elijah x think about all those confrontations x that elijah had with ahab x right it is you and your family's house x who troubles israel x elijah you know he reeled at uh ahab x um you know he's confronting x uh elijah is confronting all all of the x prophets of baal on mount carmel right x it's just elijah against these people x against israel how long he says are you x going to halt x between two two opinions between two x gods how long are you gonna do it and x it's very similar to what john is is x saying right the time has come to repent x john says x because the messiah is coming x um x and so there's you know you can do you x can make a lot of uh you know a lot of x comparisons obviously between john and x elijah um but he's tr also here's the i x think this is the biggest one like this x is going to be big the big one big one x of his character characteristics right x to turn the hearts of the fathers to the x children and the disobedient to the x wisdom of the just x to make ready a people prepared for the x lord so again on a very small x micro level that's exactly what happened x with john when he was sent x to the children of israel to baptize and x to preach he turned a lot of sinners to x god x he prepared the children of israel for x the coming of the messiah x um x you know then that's that's what he he x began the process right of x making ready a people x prepared for the lord x and so that's a good question for us i x think brothers and sisters x are we living up to our calling x right x are we part of the people that uh that x are prepared for the lord x we take it seriously x that we have been called that we have x been bought with a price x that many x righteous individuals like john have x come before and literally have laid x their lives on the line x to preach the gospel of the kingdom of x god and so what do you know what are we x doing in our lives you know it's very x hard to compare ourselves to john the x baptist right i don't think we can x compare ourselves to john the baptist x but what we can do is we can compare x ourselves to his characteristics x he was he was someone that was always uh x working he had a lot of energy x um x yeah there's a lot of great x characteristics um that we can emulate x and um x you know those those verses right there x you know we can emulate those things x right we can turn the hearts of the x fathers to the children we can do that x by our preaching hopefully by our x actions by being peacemakers x um we can do all of those things we can x we can help to turn the disobedient back x to the ways of god x we can help to prepare a people x for god you know he's still calling out x a people for his name we're told that x uh and so those are some some x interesting and so i think some x important um x important things about john x um and so zechariah he says you know x whereby shall i know this he says in x verse 18 for i'm an old man x and my wife x is well stricken in years x um x and so because of that you know because x of that little uh x you know a little doubt that zechariah x expresses x right he he was x mute he was mute of uh for the whole uh x you know as uh as john grew in the womb x and he was mute until his birth and look x at the things that he says x um x you know he comes out he saw that he saw x um x you know gabriel there x and um x [Music] x yeah in verse 64 after the burden well x before that you have elizabeth and mary x coming together and we have this great x event x um x where uh x john x is going to x leak x in her womb right in verse 41 and it x came to pass that when elizabeth heard x the salutation of mary x john x leaped in her womb x and elizabeth was filled with the holy x spirit right for verse 44 for lo as soon x as the voice of thy salutation x sounded in mine ears x the babe leaped in my womb x for joy x right that brings us back x um to verse 14 x with what gabriel had said to zechariah x and thou shalt have joy and gladness x and so here's john as a you know x uh as a as a baby growing in his x mother's womb has joy and he leaps x within the womb right and he has x elizabeth she has joy because she knows x that her cousin x uh you know mary is going to give birth x to the savior of mankind to the christ x uh in the beginning of the redemption of x the people of israel x all right x um so that's one thing we have the x wonderful prayer x of salvation by mary we're not going to x look at that now but they stay together x for a little bit x um x verse 64 john is going to be born and x finally uh zechariah can speak again x verse 67 and his father zechariah was x filled with the holy spirit right so we x have john baptizing x uh with water x right but we have the holy spirit now x coming upon these people these righteous x individuals x um x the holy spirit was on john the baptist x from his x conception x elizabeth gets you know the holy spirit x comes upon elizabeth and she prophesies x and now the holy spirit is coming down x on uh on on zechariah as well he's x filled with the holy spirit right the x outpouring x of god's power to his people to these x righteous individuals um and so he's x filled with the holy spirit and he x starts uh he starts prophesying he says x blessed be the lord god of israel x uh for he hath visited and redeemed his x people x and he had raised up a horn of salvation x for us x in the house of his servant david verse x 72 to perform the mercy x promise to our fathers to remember his x holy covenant right so he goes on and on x now now let's take a look at uh verse 76 x because he's he's talking about his son x now you know he's he has his son and he x now he's talking to his son x um x you know that's that's gonna be a pretty x powerful moment for him x right even just you know for those those x of us that are parents or grandparents x whatever it is you know think about the x time the first time you held your your x children x right and your arms how x uh x you know magical x it was how powerful it was you have this x just almost x indescribable feelings of x joy x right love contentment you know looking x at this other this little tiny human x being that kind of looks like you x uh you know x uh it's it's like wonderful and so here x is you can just see it right zachariah x is speaking now he has the child and he x says x and now child in verse 76 x you are going to be called the prophet x of the highest x for thou shalt go before the face of the x lord to prepare his ways x to give knowledge of salvation unto his x people by the remission of their sins x through the tender mercy of our god x whereby the day spring on high hath x visited us x to give light to them that sit in x darkness and the shadow of death x to guide our feet x into the way x of peace uh and then verse 80 is kind of x like uh you know the the ending of that x and the child grew and lacked strong in x spirit x and was in the deserts x the day of his showing unto israel so x there's a lot to unpack there but let's x just take a look at what you know uh x zechariah being filled with the holy x spirit and he's got his son in his arms x and he's prophesying x and um x you know so again we talked about x characteristics of john and this is his x dad kind of you know prophesying about x what type of individual john was going x to be what are some of the x characteristics x well he's going to be called the highest x the prophet of the highest okay that's x pretty good x thou shall go before the face of the x lord to do what to prepare his ways x to give knowledge of salvation that's x preaching of the gospel the remission of x sins x talking about the tender mercies of god x so x can we be like john the baptist you know x are we going to be in the wilderness x and you know x from a very very young age filled with x the holy spirit no we're not but um x you know there's a lot of things here x that zechariah is telling us about his x son x about what his son was going to do later x on in life that are characteristics that x we can emulate brothers and sisters we x can do these things x we have those powers x we can prepare you know we can prepare x uh the way of reward x we should be preparing the way of the x lord we know we should when whenever x every we go we should be x preparing x for the day of the lord and i you know x how are we acting to people that don't x know the gospel you know are we a good x ambassador x because in a lot of ways john the x baptist was an ambassador of christ he x came before x uh he emulated christ x in the way that he acted are we doing x those things x uh preaching the gospel we preach about x the knowledge of salvation to people do x we talk about the remission of sins x do we talk about the tender mercies of x god x um x you know to give light to them that sit x in darkness that's another that's that x that's taken from isaiah too uh x i want to say isaiah 62 you know talks x about that or 58 or something but it x talks about the people that sat in x darkness have seen a great light x and this was uh x you know this x this was the job of of john x and his father knew that he's kind of x foreshadowing x or giving us some information a little x taste x about the type of individual x um that john was going to be x and so i think that you know x luke chapter 1 um x it's x it's a beautiful chapter it's a very x long chapter it contains a lot of x information but it's beautiful it's one x of my favorite uh x chapters of scripture because you know x we have the gospel message right here x you know we have the beginning of the x salvation of the redemption of the x children of israel and redemption of the x world x and this great responsibility that john x was given to prepare the way for the x messiah could we do it x could we have done what john did are we x doing it right now are we preparing the x way x right oh you know because john never you x know he wasn't a shrinking violin x um x yeah i want to find that because he x talks um i sure x should have probably wrote this down hey x if someone can find um x you know find find where uh jesus is x talking to the scribes and pharisees x what went you out to the wilderness to x see x a reed shaking in the wind x uh who x someone tell me where that is x please x let me i want to find that we got a crew x working on it here okay yeah x you keep going x um john by the people right john's x ministry he's immediately perceived as a x prophet to israel you know because x number one he's got the he's got the x holy spirit number two he was brought up x in a priestly home x okay zechariah knew the law he knew how x to be a priest he knew it inside and out x and he obviously is going to pass this x on to john the baptist as well so he's x growing up in a great home a spiritual x home by two righteous individuals x john was their pride and joy x right and then x it sounds like once he became old you x know he he had you know he understood x the job and he he went into the x wilderness right x um so yes all right sandy and jason x thank you for that x um x matthew 11 7. let's take a look at it x matthew 11 x 7. x uh x all right okay x all right now this yeah okay so let's x end with this we're gonna end with this x um x so x john you know john had been cast into x prison right and eventually he's gonna x die because he spoke out against the x adultery uh herod uh was was committing x with herodias uh his brother his brother x philip's wife right and that whole x sordid thing x you know the mother passing on this her x jealousy and sickness to the daughter x she's dancing seductively herod's being x a sicko you know the whole thing is x gross and then unfortunately john the x baptist is going to uh you know lose his x head over because he spoke out against x the wickedness that he saw right x and so here's verse 2 x and when john had heard in the prison x the works of christ x he sent two of his disciples and he said x unto him are thou he x that should come x or do we look for another now what in x the world is going on here x right john the baptist is asking he x sends two of his disciples right so we x know that john the baptist had disciples x just like jesus is going to have x disciples so he had a whole ministry x but he's going to be cast into prison x and he asked this question x uh uh x are you that we're looking for do we x look for another x you know this is john who in luke right x when he started matthew and mark he's x saying x uh you know there's someone before he's x baptized christ x he's seen christ come out of the waters x of baptist he's seen the holy spirit x descending upon his head like a dove x but i think brothers and sisters you x know g you know john was at a pretty low x point wasn't he x he was in prison you know just being in x an ancient prison he can't even really x describe x how bad that was and he was pretty low x mentally i think he was probably just x you know x you know he is x here's a guy too that's used to being x outside x that's used to going in the desert you x know walking miles and miles x eating honey locusts x traveling x incredible amounts of personal freedom x and now here he is x stuck in a prison x you know think about that mindset right x and so yeah x it's like he wants some encouragement he x wants some hope i'm stuck in this prison x are you are you really the christ john x says x you know and jesus jesus's response to x this is really wonderful because he x doesn't come on and say yeah of course i x am john what do you know what's the x problem x go he says in verse 4 and show john x again those things which he hear and see x the blind received their sight x and the lame walk the lepers are x cleansed and deaf here and the dead are x raised up x in the poor x have the gospel preached to them x yes john i am the one i am the messiah x these are the things that your disciples x see x and they hear x i am the messiah i am the one x look at the things that i'm doing x and so you know i wonder what john's x response was i'm sure it gave him hope x you know it kind of x uh you know brought joy x the limited amount of joy i guess x to him you know x did he rejoice at these things we're not x really told but here x in verse seven we're gonna end with this x right x and they x and as they departed x jesus began to say unto the multitudes x concerning john x what went ye out into the wilderness to x see x a reed shaking with the wind did you go x over the desert to see some kind of x wishy-washy guy x that can go with the flow just x wherever the wind blows he's going right x did you go out and see x did you expect john to be that the x answer of course is no x but what went he out to see x a man clothed in soft raiment x behold they that wear soft clothing are x in king's houses x john wasn't in king's houses x in fact the time that he went into a x king's house to speak up against herod x he got tossed in jail and ended up x losing his head that wasn't his scene x he was out with the people he was x baptizing x he was preparing the way of god x preparing the way for the messiah x but what would yell for to see x a prophet x yes x i say unto you and more than a prophet x for this is he of whom it is written x behold x i send my messenger before thy face x which shall prepare thy way x before thee x and so that was john's mission x that was his one you know mission in x life was to prepare the way x and so we have a mission in life as well x brothers and sisters we have one mission x in life x that has to live the gospel message x to be a brother or sister of christ to x be part of that x righteous spiritual family x uh to support each other to love each x other to be there in the good times and x the bad x um x [Music] x and to bring joy ultimately x uh to all mankind and hopefully in that x kingdom to come brothers and sisters x we'll all be part of it we'll all have x special jobs to do just like john had a x special job to do x um x so yeah so think on those things x thank you