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John 1:19-34 "Ready for God"
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?" What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.’" As the prophet Isaiah said." Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing. (John 1:19-28)
We live in an age of personal religion, when we are encouraged
not to ask and not to tell. We are told to mind our own business, "You
have your beliefs and I have mine." But the first century was very
different. In that day religion was everybody’s business. There
were spiritual busybodies who made sure that you believed the right
things. When John the Baptist started to baptize Jews in the river Jordan,
the authorities were on top of him in a flash. The Jews were very concerned
about this young prophet who had such a large following. They were worried
that he might cause trouble with the Roman rulers and so they sent a
team out to deal with the situation. In that time baptism was only for
Gentiles who wanted to become Jews. It symbolized repentance from their
past life and a desire to be washed clean in the Jewish traditions of
purification and sacrifice. But John called for the Jews themselves
to repent because they needed a Messiah to save them from their sins.
He cried out, "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Thousands responded to what God was speaking through him, because they
realized the emptiness of all their traditions and desired to really
know God. They came out from all over Palestine to the river Jordan
to be baptized.
Baptism is an outward confession, an outward testimony to what God is
already doing on the inside. From the very beginning Christianity involves
us telling the world what we believe. The people who came to John to
be baptized were making a confession to the world that they were sinners
and needed a savior. Of course they still did not know that savior yet,
but they were ready for Him when He would come. John also made a testimony.
He confessed to the authorities, "I am not the Christ…it
is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap
I am not worthy to loose."
Testimony is speaking out the truth. We are very afraid of the truth.
In my country people are afraid that if they say what they really think
they will be accused of being racist, or bigoted, or intolerant. In
Japan people are so used to covering up their own ideas and thoughts
that there is even a word for it. "Tatemae" means the mask
that you put up in front of yourself so that you look to the world as
if you conform to their expectations, even though all the while you
are rebelling on the inside. The expectation that the world had for
those Jews who came to John to be baptized was that they were already
God’s chosen people and they should simply go along with the traditions
and rules that the religious leaders were teaching. But instead of going
along with that they spoke out the truth. Baptism became almost a form
of protest, shouting out louder than words the emptiness that these
people felt with the religious system that they were in. They spoke
out the truth that they didn’t feel like God’s chosen people,
instead they felt empty and distant from God, and like the Gentiles,
they felt the need to repent.
Notice that they did not know Jesus yet, but they were closer to Him
because they chose the truth and they did not just keep it to themselves,
they testified of it. What is the truth that you know today? If you
are not a Christian, let me ask you what is the truth in your life?
It is hard to know. But what do you truly feel? Are you satisfied with
the expectations of this world. Do you really believe that your life
is just the time between birth and death and when you take your last
breath it is over? Do you really believe that all there is to life is
a family or a career and to have one you have to sacrifice the other?
Are you satisfied with the current state of your soul or would you admit
that there is something missing that you don’t really know where
to find? Maybe you are feeling other things that are much more complex,
but tell me, have you told these things to anybody or are they just
hidden away down deep inside? Choose the truth, it is always better
than a lie. Speak it out. It may not be pretty, it may not sound very
good but speak it out. It may be as simple as, "My life is messed
up, and I need help."
The team sent from the religious authorities to deal with John the Baptist
didn’t know Jesus either. They asked questions, but not because
they wanted answers to the problems deep in their souls. They asked
questions because they needed to take back something to the ones who
sent them. They were trying to be objective researchers, assessing the
situation, observing but not taking part in it. As a consequence they
went away with nothing. They could not even understand the answers that
they got. It is impossible to understand baptism without getting wet.
It is an experience with God, not a doctrine or a definition. These
guys standing high and dry up on the side of the river could not begin
to understand what John and the people were experiencing down in the
water. Their analytical minds could not handle the watery mixture of
joy and tears on the faces of those who came up out of the river. They
asked John, "What do you say about yourself?" and he said,
"I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight
the way of the Lord." The way to the Lord is straight. It is not
difficult. It is not complicated. But the religious authorities had
made it so hard for the people to find their way to God. They could
not hear what John was saying, they could not understand what these
people were doing, because it did not fit the complex system of rules
and traditions that they had worked our for themselves. The way of the
Lord is straight. Choose the truth, speak it out and admit that you
need a savior. Don’t hide behind a philosophy or an empty religion.
If you are willing to be honest then God will meet your need. He will
send the Savior to you. This is what happened to John and the people
who were confessing their need for God in the river.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. (John 1:29-34)
John and the people in the river were ready for the Savior
when He came. Are you ready for God? If you are like the Pharisees looking
on those who are in the river and wondering why, then you are not ready
for God yet. Don’t try to understand Christians, or understand
the church, you need to understand God. The way to do it is not to study
why Christians are worshipping God but to get down on your knees with
them. Be honest and real with God and you will find Him. But if you
are not willing to do that you will never know God, even though you
know all the facts and have the answers to all your questions. Faith
means that even though you are not sure what is happening you are willing
to be a part of it, because God is there. We can learn a lot from John
about how to be ready for God.
John did not know that Jesus was the Christ. But He did know that God
was going to send a savior and he knew that he should get ready and
that he should get the people of Israel ready as well. I have asked
you today, what is the truth in your life? Jesus said "Know the
truth and the truth will set you free". John was not willing to
settle for anything that wasn’t the truth. He cut through all
the religious junk of the time and got down to the real issue, "Are
you ready for God?". The second question I have asked today is
that one, "Are you ready for God?". John was ready, when He
saw Jesus he recognized Him as the "Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world." He knew that even though he was righteous,
even though he was probably the most spiritual man of his time, he still
could not compare to God. He knew that there was someone who was before
him, that he needed in his life. He knew that he needed to repent of
his sins and he needed to have those sins taken away. If you are ready
for God, if you want to know Him personally, not just intellectually
but really, if you know that you need to have your sins taken away then
Jesus is only a prayer away. You can invite Him into your heart today
and He will baptize you not just with water but with the Holy Spirit.
He will live in your heart and be with you forever. He will change your
life and save you from sin and death. John said, "I have seen and
testified that this is the Son of God." What is your testimony
today? Can you say, "Jesus is the Son of God!" If so, then
you are ready for God and He is welcoming you into the kingdom of heaven
today.
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