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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE #29
JOHN THE BAPTIST
THE GREATEST BORN AMONG WOMEN
DATE: 1/18/2012 Wed.
TEXT: Matthew 3:1
INTRODUCTION
There are many personalities in the NT
But none as unique as John the Baptist
If we were honest, we would all have to admit that there
have been times when we fished for Compliments
John never fished for Compliments,
Yet he was paid the highest Compliment that was ever
made to anyone
The Life and Ministry of the Baptist was never about him
There was never any Self Promotion or Self Exaltation
So how do you Measure Real Greatness?
The world often confuses Greatness with Popularity
Just because someone is Well Known, doesn’t necessarily
make them Great
Greatness is often something people associate with
Position and Power
Hitler had both, but there was certainly nothing Great
about him
John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
Real Greatness does not lie in someone’s Popularity,
Position, or Power
Quote: A.W. Tozer said, “True greatness lies in character, not in
ability or position.”
As we will see later in our study, Jesus defined John the
Baptist as a Great Man
He had Popularity, but it was not his Popularity that made
him Great
He had Power (Divine Power) but it was not his Power that
made him Great (By the way, he never did any miracles)
His greatness lay in The Kind of Man he was
So what Kind of Man was John the Baptist?
Let’s pray and find out
~~~Prayer~~~
I. HIS “ANNOUNCEMENTS”
2 Announcement given John’s coming
The Lord’s coming
In Matthew 3:1 we read –
“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the
wilderness of Judaea”
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
John stepped out of obscurity and into the public’s eye as
a preacher breaking 400 years of silence
Between the book of Malachi and Matthew there are 400
years
During those 400 years the voice of a prophet had not
been heard
But suddenly that silence was broken As declared in John 1:6 - “There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John”
When John started his Ministry, he was something to see
He came as a preacher, but he did not look like any of the
religious leader of that day
Matthew 3:4 describes his Appearance –
“And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair,
and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was
locusts and wild honey”
His “garment of camel’s hair”
This was a coarse and rough covering which was
common to the prophets
His clothes were practical and long-wearing, but far
from being comfortable or fashionable
He was much like the OT Prophet, Elijah in that regards
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II Kings 1:8 – “… He was an hairy man, and girt with
a girdle of leather about his loins …”
John’s diet was “locusts and wild honey,”
Possibly dried locusts fried in honey or combined in
some other manner,
(By the way insects are still an article of food in many
Asiatic countries)
His diet of locusts and wild honey was as spartan as
his clothing
It was nourishing, but little else
When he stepped into the public view,
It wasn’t done quietly,
But with the Manner and the Voice of a Prophet
He was sent by God with a Particular Message and Ministry
First, when we consider his Announcement A. The ‘Message He Delivered’
His Message is seen in vs. 2, 3 “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”
“For this is he that that was spoken of by the prophet
Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight”
The message of John was simple - repent!
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
The word “repent” means “to turn around, to change
direction”
It speaks of a change of the Mind and Will
Quote: J.A. Broadus states that “wherever this Greek word is used
in the New Testament, the reference is to changing the mind and
the purpose from sin to holiness”
Repentance is more than feeling sorrow because you
have been caught in sin
It is an act of the will and a change in the mind
It is more than tears
II Corinthians 7:8-10
There is a turning; a turning from sin and a turning to
God
Ill. Someone has written - "'Tis not enough to say, 'I'm sorry and
repent' And then go on from day to day, Just as I always went.
Repentance is to leave the sins we loved before, And show that we
in earnest grieve by doing them no more"
It was a message that called for them to turn from their
sins and turn to God
This was the same message of the Lord Jesus
Twice in Luke 13 (3,5) Jesus said –
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
likewise perish”
Repentance is missing in pulpits today,
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But Jesus made it clear that it is necessary
John didn’t beat around the bush, cut any corners, or
pull any punches
Furthermore, he wasn’t afraid of anyone
He was especially adamant toward the religious leaders
We read in vs. 7, 8 of our text “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
meet for repentance”
Ill. Peter Cartwright was a circuit riding Methodist preacher from
Kentucky. On one occasion he was preaching when General
Andrew Jackson slipped into the service. Someone reach over and
tugged on his coattail and said, “General Jackson just walked in.”
He kept preaching. They did it again, “General Jackson just walked
in.” After about the fourth time, Cartwright whirled around and
said, “You tell General Jackson then, that if he doesn’t get saved he
will go to hell like anyone else”
John looked at these pious and holier-than-thou
religious leaders and told them to repent or they were
going to hell
Now, that’s some good ole fashion preaching!
Regardless of what the so-called Church growth
experts may say, that’s the kind of preaching we need
today
Instead of worrying about hurting someone’s Feelings,
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
Preachers need to be concerned about being Faithful to
God
Instead of worrying about Losing Members,
Preachers need to be concerned about getting people to
heaven
Furthermore, we not only see –
The ‘Message He Delivered’
But also B. The ‘Messiah He Declared’
The Ministry of John the Baptist was to announce the
arrival of the Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ
John 1:7, 8 says of the Baptist –
“The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the
Light, that all men through him might believe. He
was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of
that Light”
John’s primary purpose of his Ministry was to
introduce men to the One who could save them from
their sins
Matthew 3:3 says that he was sent to –
“Prepare ye way of the Lord” and to “make His paths
straight”
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
The image is of someone who went before a king, and
prepared things for his arrival
John was sent as a herald of the coming Messiah—the
Lord Jesus Christ (a bringer of news)
As John preached, he told the people that the Lord was
coming
He said in Matthew 3:11 –
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but
He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”
Then, one day as John was baptizing, the Lord Jesus
showed up
The moment John saw Him, he knew who He was
We read in John 1:29 –
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and
saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world”
The Baptist declares in John 1:30 –
“This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man
which is preferred before me: for He was before me”
One of the things that made John the Baptist a great
man is that he had no other purpose in life than to
Proclaim and Magnify the Lord Jesus Christ
In John 3:30 he says –
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
“He must increase, but I must decrease”
Truth: He was never trying to draw attention to himself
He was always pointing people to Jesus!
Greatness is never found in self-centeredness
Spiritual greatness is found in those who live to make
Christ known to others
In all we do and say, it must never be about us
We need to hide behind the cross, so that Christ, and
Christ alone, gets all the glory
HIS “ANNOUNCEMENTS”
Secondly, let’s look at II. HIS “ARREST”
The public ministry of John the Baptist was short lived
In Matthew 4:12 we read –
“Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison, he departed into Galilee”
Approximately a year had passed since
announced the Lamb of God to the public
The reason for
Matthew 14:3, 4 -
John’s
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arrest
is
John
explained
had
in
John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
“For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and
put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his Brother Philip’s
wife”
“For John had said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to
have her”
We will shortly look closer at his reason for being
arrested,
But first, let’s look at John while he was in prison
Notice with me A. His ‘Doubt’
We are not sure how long John was in prison
But while he was in prison he began to struggle with
doubts
We read in Matthew 11:2, 3 –
“Now when John had heard in the prison the works of
Christ, he sent two of his disciples,”
“And said unto Him, Art thou He that should come, or
do we look for another?”
John had publicly announced Jesus as the coming
Messiah
Yet now he is Perplexed and Confused
John was saying in effect –
“I have believed and even proclaimed you as the
Messiah, but could I have been wrong?”
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
The words - “Art thou He that should come,”?
Was a common designation for the Messiah
John was Experiencing a Crisis in his Faith,
(after being imprisoned for many months)
John was struggling in his heart with misgivings and
doubts about Jesus and if He really was the Messiah
Quote: Warren Wiersbe writes: “It is not difficult to sympathize
with John as he suffered in prison. He was a man of the desert, yet
he was confined indoors. He was an active man, with a divine
mandate to preach; yet he was silenced. He had announced
judgment, and yet that judgment was slow in coming (Matt. 3:7-12).
He received only partial reports of Jesus' ministry and could not see
the total picture.”
John was not in a place that was Conducive to living
the Christian life
Everything about John’s Situation and Surroundings
would make it hard for anyone to keep their spirits up
John was in the dungeon at the palace of Macherus
This dungeon was dug deep in the earth beneath the
palace
There was no natural light and there was only dank,
foul air to breathe
He would spend about a year in that a depressing place
There are many who think, that the reason for John’s
doubt was due to his belief,
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Let me explain
Like many Jews looking for the Messiah,
They believed that when He came He would set up His
kingdom upon the earth
This did not seem to be the course Jesus was pursuing
And there appeared to be no effort to establish a
Literal kingdom
Whatever the case for his doubts,
It is helpful to all of us to know that even men like
John the Baptist were subject to Doubt and
Discouragement
I certainly can’t point a finger at him,
For there have been times when I struggled in my own
heart with things that happen
I image that every believer has struggled in their heart
at times with the ways of God in their life
I love the answer Jesus gave to John
We read in Matthew 11:4-6 –
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew
John again those things which ye do hear and see:”
“The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them” “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be
offended in me”
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
Quote: Vance Havner translated Jesus’ answer this way, “Blessed
is he who does not get upset with the way I do things”
We may not always know what God is doing and where
He is taking us in our life,
But we can rest in His Love and Wisdom that He “doeth
all things well”
In our times of doubt, we can drop an anchor on His
promise found in Psalms 72:18 “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who
only doeth wondrous things”
Glory!
John’s ‘Doubt’
Furthermore, in his prison experience we see B. His ‘Death’
There would be no release for John
Well, at least no physical release
There would be an earthly release that would mean a
heavenly home going
John’s imprisonment would lead to his beheading
We read of his execution in Matthew 14:10-12 –
“And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison …
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… And his head was brought in a charger, and given
to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And
his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried
it, and went and told Jesus”
Let’s back up now and look at the circumstances
surrounding his arrest
John had been arrested by Herod Antipas and thrown
into the dungeon at the palace of Macherus
The reason John had been arrested was for rebuking
Herod for his wickedness in taking Herodias, his halfbrother Philip’s wife
Herod, like his father, Herod the Great, was evil, and
given to every kind of sinful excess
Herodias is one of the wickedest women mentioned in
the Bible, perhaps second only to Jezebel
It is not known exactly when John the Baptist
confronted Herod about his actions,
But, both Herod and Herodias were outraged at his
rebuke
If it had not been for Herod’s fear of the people and
how they felt about John,
Herodias would have seen to it that he was executed
immediately
Herodias would scheme to have John executed and
finally succeed when a party was held to celebrate
Herod’s birthday
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We read in Matthew 14:6 –
“But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of
Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod”
Josephus tells us the daughter’s name was Salome
The scene is very revealing to the evil heart of both
Herod and Herodias
The kind of birthday party that was being held was
more than the family gathering and blowing out
candles on a cake
The phrase “Herod’s birthday” actually became an
euphemism for parties of excessive drinking, erotic
dancing, and other unmentionable indulgences
The dance of Herodias’ daughter was more than a dosydoe
It was an erotic dance intended to inflame the passions
of the guests who were present
The word “pleased” was a euphemism describing
someone being enamored (aroused)
Herod in his drunken condition
enamored with his stepdaughter
found
himself
Herodias was so evil that she thought nothing of
having her daughter perform such a lewd dance in
front of her stepfather and the other guests
One can only imagine the thoughts Herod had in mind
when in Matthew 14:7 he said15
John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
“Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her
whatsoever she would ask”
His offer opened the door Herodias had been waiting
for and she instructed her daughter to ask in v.8 –
“Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger”
Herod was sorry that he made such an oath,
But we read - “And he sent, and beheaded John in the
prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and
given to the damsel: and she brought it to her
mother”
One of the reasons John was such a great man is that
he would not compromise with sin
He was fearless when it came to proclaiming the Truth!
A hallmark of greatness is spiritual boldness
His stand for truth may have cost him his head, but he
did not lose his life
He emerged on the scene as a prophet of God and he
died as a prophet
He never lost his character or integrity
He maintained a faithful life and witness until the day
he died
John is not the first Baptist preacher to upset someone
I’ve made a few upset myself
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Wisdom: I once heard someone say that they never wanted to
make someone mad because of their disposition, But if they made
them mad over their position they never thought twice about it
To that I say “Amen!” (and on the other hand…)
I never want to be some spiritual smart-aleck and just
make people mad for the sake of making them mad
However, when it comes to Truth and Sin,
God save me from ever wobbling whatsoever
I have actually heard some preachers say that if they
took a stand, it would cost them their church
If a preacher won’t take a stand, he needs running off!
Can I get an “Amen” there!
Quote: I think of the prayer of the old Nazarene preacher, Bud
Robinson: “Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a saw log, ribs
like the sleepers under the Church floor, put iron shoes on me and
galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and
hang a wagonload of determination up in the gable-end of my soul,
and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I’ve got
a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die”
Greatness is found in those who make Christ the center
of all they are and all they do,
As well as possessing a hatred for compromise and sin,
And then being faithful to God and His Word no matter
the consequences
HIS “ANNOUNCEMENT”
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
HIS “ARREST”
Last of all notice with me III. HIS “ASSESSMENT”
The wise man Solomon made this statement in Proverbs
20:6 –
“Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
but a faithful man who can find?”
There are some who like to brag about what they have,
what they have done, who they know, etc.
Quote: Theodore Roosevelt was sometimes known as Roosevelt the
First. One of his children said of him, “Father always had to be the
center of attention. When he went to a wedding, he wanted to be the
bride. When he went to a funeral, he was sorry that he couldn’t be the
corpse.”
I’ve known a few Roosevelt’s
It is always about them
For some, greatness is self-proclaimed
However, on another occasion the wise man Solomon later
said in Proverbs 27:2 “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
a stranger, and not thine own lips”
If there is to be any bragging, it should be others and not
ourselves
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If there is something in our life that is worthy of praise,
let it be others who draw attention to it
Another mark of greatness is that great people hardly
think of themselves as being great
They see themselves as anything but Great
John the Baptist was called a Great man, but it did not
come from himself
As we have seen, Christ was the one who got all the
attention in His Life and Ministry
However, when an Assessment was made of John’s life, he
was called Great
As we conclude this study of John the Baptist,
Notice with me –
The Assessment given of John A. ‘Personally’
The Lord Jesus Himself gave this Personal Assessment
of John the Baptist
We read in Matthew 11:11 –
“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of
women there hath not risen a greater than John the
Baptist”
What a recognition!
The greatest ever born!
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
The word “verily” was a strong affirmation
It is often transliterated, “Amen”
Jesus and the disciples were talking about John and,
Jesus said -“Amen! John is the greatest born of
women”
The phrase “born of women” was a ancient expression
that referred to John as a human being
Jesus was saying that he was the greatest human
being that had ever been born
As far as a human being was concerned, John had
no equal
The word “risen” is also interesting
The word was often used of prophets who had been
raised up to declare God’s Word
Jesus was not only saying that John was the greatest
of all human beings who had been born,
But was as well, the greatest of all the prophets!
I remind you that this Assessment was not given by The disciples of John,
The disciples of Jesus, nor
The multitudes who were familiar with John and his
ministry
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
(No doubt they all would have spoken highly of him)
This was the Lord Jesus Christ who was declaring that
he was the Greatest
This was no idle or insignificant complement
Coming from the Lord Jesus, we know that among
the greatest, John rose to the top
Understanding who it was that gave this Assessment of
John,
Think with me for its B. ‘Preeminents’
It is one thing for others to brag on us,
But the ultimate recognition came from the Lord
Himself
Others may call us Great,
But real greatness is determined by the Lord’s approval
of our life
The whole world can call us great,
But if we are not great in the Lord’s eyes, we are not
really great
The true measurement of a person’s life is never what
others say about us
People’s opinions can vary
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John the Baptist – The Greatest Born Among Woman
One may say –
“He’s a good man,” and another may say, “He’s a crook”
One may say - “She’s very compassionate,”
While another says - “She’s stuck up”
The opinions of others are often shaped by their
experiences with us, rather than what is actually true
The truth is, the only opinion that really matters is the
Lord’s
CONCLUSION
So what does the Lord say and think about us?
This is what matters most and should be the only thing
that matters to us
I am sure all the disciples would have said John was a
Great man
I am not so sure they would have called him the
Greatest
There was one or two that may have claimed that for
themselves
Yet, it was Jesus who said he was the Greatest
Of all that could have been said about him,
What came from the Lord was the most important
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When we stand before the Lord, I will not be able to
say,
“Lord, so and so said I was a great man”
On that day, nothing will matter except the Lord’s
Assessment
Matthew 25:21 - “His lord said unto him, Well done,
thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”
It should be all that matters now
HIS “ANNOUNCEMENT”
HIS “ARREST”
HIS “ASSESSMENT”
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