It was a cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, and dropped in his fishing line. He was there for almost an hour without even a nibble when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not far from him, and the young boy dropped in his fishing line, and minutes later, he hooked a largemouth bass. Well, the old man couldn't believe his eyes, but he chalked it up to plain luck. But shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. The young boy kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn't take it any longer, and, son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You've been here only a few minutes and have caught half a dozen fish. How do you do it? Well, the boy responded, well, we have to reap the rumsworm. Well, what was that, the old man said? We have to reap the rumsworm. Look, the old man said, I can't understand a word you're saying. So the boy spit the contents of his mouth into his hamp and said, you have to keep the worms warm. Well, see that boy was prepared to do what was needed for the advent of those fish to come. Advent is a season in the church calendar dedicated to the hopeful anticipation for the arrival or the advent of Jesus of Nazareth. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means coming or arrival. We might use the word to talk about the advent of the internet or the advent of the pandemic just recently. In Christian communities around the world, advent refers to a four-week season, remembering, celebrating, and preparing our hearts for the arrival of God, veiled in flesh, lying in a manger. During the four-week period leading up to Christmas, many Advent observers engage in prayer, meditation, and scripture study that emphasizes hope, peace, love, and joy. Christians from many backgrounds celebrate this time, and while their practices may look different, all focus on the hope-filled arrival of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah and King. Now John the Baptist was called by God for the very purpose of preparing the people's hearts for the arrival of the Son of God on earth. So this morning we wanna look at this man and his message as a model for us to help prepare not only the hearts of those around us for the coming of Jesus, but also our hearts as well. So our text for this morning's message is from the Gospel of John chapter one. So follow along as I read, beginning in verse 19 for a sermon I've called The Testimony of John the Baptist. And 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. So they said to him, who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, and they asked him, then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water. But among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming. And he 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 ranks before me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness. I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. I think the text this morning can be divided into three parts. And the first one would be John's identity. John's identity, and that's found in verses 19 to 23. The second one would be John's work or his mission, and that would be in verses 24 to 28. John's work or mission. And three would be John's testimony, and that would be in verses 29 to 34. What does it mean to give testimony or bear witness to something? The terminology to bear witness and to testify reminds me of a courtroom setting when an attorney calls a witness up to the stand and the witness swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The attorney then proceeds to ask questions of the witness to gain his account of what occurred so that the jury and the judge are made aware of what they would otherwise not know. Merriam-Webster defines the concept of bearing witness as to show that something exists or is true. And a form of the Greek word, martus, which is translated interchangeably between bearing witness and giving testimony, is found some 14 times in the Gospel of John. Now that one fact alone helps us better understand the purpose of this gospel. And if we needed more proof, we only have to look at chapter 20, verses 30 to 31, where it says this. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. Now, I find it interesting that the Greek word that's translated as testimony is the same word that we get our word martyr from. What is a martyr? Well, again, from Merriam-Webster, it's a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs. And Easton's Bible dictionary states that a martyr is one who testifies to the truth and suffers death in the cause of Christ. And then, of course, their example of a martyr that they give would be the first martyr in Acts 7, Stephen, who, after preaching a long message concerning Jesus Christ being the Messiah, was immediately stoned by the people. And why was he stoned? Because he bore witness, or he testified, or he showed the people that Jesus truly was and is the Messiah. Of course, the people rejected that truth. And what John 119 is saying here is that John the Baptist came to bear witness or to testify or to show the people about the one who is to come. So who was John the Baptist anyhow? This seems to be the question on everyone's mind from the everyday common person to the religious and political leaders at the time. We know from the book of Luke 3, verse 15, where it says this, that as the people were in expectation, all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ. And we know that Herod was Tetrarch of Galilee, and it was during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, according to Luke 3, one to two, that John's ministry was taking place. We also know for sure that of all these political and religious leaders, Herod had an ax to grind because of the rebuke that John gave him for having married Herodias, his brother's wife, as well as all the other evil things that Herod had done. So it seems that many had questions regarding who John was and what exactly he was doing. So we see in John 119 that the Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? Now John must have been quite the sight when they first laid eyes on him. He probably looked like one of the Old Testament prophets with his garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist and his hair was likely long and wild looking and a pair of eyes that would look right through you. Then when you add his diet consisting of locusts and wild honey, you have an extremely interesting and curious character. Now we do see in the back and forth question and answer between John and the delegation from Jerusalem, that the number one question on their mind, as well as the common people was, are you the Christ? Now we can make this solid deduction from the text, even though it does not list this as one of their questions, because of John's initial response to this group as they approach him. Look at verse 20, where we see it says, he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. Now the word confessed, homolegeo, in this context means to make an emphatic declaration. The repetition of it twice makes his statement even more forceful. He was vigorously repudiating any suggestion that he might be the Messiah. It was though he was saying, it is not I who am the Christ. Now there was a Christ. It was not he. And John stated it in such a way as to remove any kind of possibility or speculation that he could be that person. Well, if John was not the Messiah, who then? Verse 21, and they asked him, what then, are you Elijah? Why ask John if he was Elijah? Well, the answer is found in the writing of the prophet Malachi. The Jews expected Elijah to return prior to the coming of the Lord, according to two prophecies. The first is in Malachi 3.1, which states, The second prophecy is found in Malachi 4, 5, and 6. Behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse. So based on these prophecies, I mean, it was reasonable for them to ask John, are you Elijah? Well, John's answer is straight to the point. I am not. He makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he is not Elijah. However, we need to be clear on something here because this answer seems to leave the waters a bit muddied with some confusion. Because if you look at Luke 1, verse 67, John's father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied concerning him, where he says this, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give to his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. Now that prophecy also reflected what the angel Gabriel had said to Zechariah earlier in Luke. Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition had been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You will give him the name John, and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother's womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. So Zechariah's prophecy and the prophecy of the angel Gabriel make it clear that in some way, John was the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecies. But John himself said he was not Elijah. How then can John be the fulfillment of those prophecies and yet not be Elijah? Well, the question is answered by Jesus in Matthew 11, beginning in verse seven, where he says this. Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John. What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's palaces. But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I see you in one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah who is to come. So was John lying? Was he just very confused? Is this a contradiction in the word of God? Well, the solution to the difficulty is probably that there was a sense in which John was Elijah and a sense in which he was not. He fulfilled all the preparing ministry that both Malachi and the angel Gabriel had foretold. And thus, in a very real sense, Jesus could say that he was Elijah. But the Jews remembered that Elijah had left the earth in a chariot of fire without physically dying. And they expected, in time, the identical Elijah to reappear. Well, John was not Elijah in that sense. And he had no option but to deny that he was. So if he was not the Messiah, not Elijah, the delegation's gonna try another possibility. Well, are you the prophet? This question was most likely referring to God's word to Moses back in Deuteronomy chapter 18 where he says this. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen, just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire anymore lest I die. And the Lord said to me, they are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself am required of him. The Jewish leaders, though, had missed the point of this prophecy. You see, asking John if he was the Messiah and then asking him if he was the prophet was redundant. They should have understood the prophet was the Messiah. Peter and Stephen both condemned the religious leaders in the book of Acts because they not only missed the prophet, but they killed him when they crucified Jesus Christ. Well, the delegates from the leaders in Jerusalem know they had to return with more than just a bunch of nos. If John the Baptist denies that he's one of these commonly expected end time figures, then having learned their lesson, they ask him almost in desperation, well, what do you say about yourself? His answer is to apply Isaiah 40 verse three to himself where it says, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. Now the context of Isaiah 40 is the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. Because of the sin of his people, God sent Babylon to destroy Judah and to take the people captive. But in Isaiah 40, he's promising to deliver them from their slavery. This voice is crying that a road needs to be made for the exiles to return home. Steep grades need to be leveled. Potholes need to be filled. Everything needs to be made smooth because God is going to deliver his people. This voice is in essence crying, prepare yourself for God's salvation. John's role as the voice was to prepare God's people for the salvation that would come through Jesus Christ. John called people to repent, turn from their sin, and believe on Jesus as their savior. So John has answered them straightforwardly about who he is and the message that he's proclaiming. But they still have one more question, which brings us to our second point this morning, John's work or mission. These verses in 24 to 28 introduce us to John's ministry of baptism. Look again at the text. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet? And John answered them, I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. And these things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. So we see that John's work was to baptize with water. I do wanna jump forward just a bit to verse 33, so take a look there because we're gonna look at it more later too, but I wanted you to see the source of this work that John was doing. He says, I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me. So the conclusion we draw from these texts is that it was the work given to him by God to perform. Now we're gonna look a little bit closer at the context around these verses, as well as the other gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, to get a better and deeper understanding of the twofold purpose behind John's work. Well, the first purpose behind John's work of baptism was to prepare people's hearts to meet their Savior by calling them to a visible declaration of personal repentance and a turning to God for forgiveness of sins. Matthew chapter three, verses one to two tells us this. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mark 1, 4-5 says, John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to see him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. And Luke 3, 3, and he went into all the region around Jordan proclaiming a repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So that's the first purpose. What about the second purpose behind his baptizing both Jews and Gentiles with water? If we look at the immediate chapter context around this section about John, we see this stated in verse 31. He says this, I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. You see, it was not only important, it was necessary for John to be baptizing with water so that when Jesus appeared on the scene through his baptism, he would be made manifest to God's chosen people. And that, of course, brings us to our last point this morning, John's witness or his testimony. Now, even within this third point, there's three little sub-points I wanna make mention of this morning. The first one would be Jesus' identity, that's in 29. Jesus' importance, that's in verse 30. And Jesus' revelation, and that's in 32 to 34. Look at verse 29 again. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now this account took place just days before the annual Passover celebration in Jerusalem. And the focus of the Passover celebration was the sacrifice of a lamb, which served as a reminder of God's deliverance of Israel from captivity in Egypt. Exodus 12 records the first Passover when God commanded each family to choose a lamb, kill it, and wipe its blood on the doorposts of their home. Because God was gonna send death to every home except for those with blood on the doorposts. Those homes would be passed over. And as the Jews gathered in Jerusalem each year to remember this work of God, each family would bring a lamb to the temple to be sacrificed on the altar. However, lambs were not just sacrificed at Passover. Every day, two lambs were killed at the temple, one in the morning and one in the evening. John the Baptist's father was a priest who served at the temple, and John would have been familiar with the sacrifices that were offered there. But why must lambs be slaughtered every day? Their death was necessary because of sin. Hebrews 9.22 tells us that blood must be shed for sin to be forgiven. Also, these lambs pointed to the one who would be sent from God to shed his blood one time so sin could be forgiven forever, and that's in Hebrews 7, 27. So Jesus was the lamb sent by God to offer his life as a sacrifice. He was the one of whom Isaiah wrote. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb unto the slaughter and like a sheep silent before his shearers, he did not open his mouth, Isaiah 53, 7. But who was responsible for bringing a lamb as a sacrifice for sin? The sinner. But who brought this lamb to be sacrificed? God did. Was there sin in God that needed to be covered? No. God was offering his lamb as a substitute. We should pay the price for our own sin. But God provided a way of escape. He sent a lamb who could perfectly and completely pay the penalty for our sin. The phrase the Lamb of God can also be translated the Lamb provided by God. So what we have you see is Jesus, the Lamb provided by God, who died in our place for our sin. He's the only one whose death was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sin. He is not simply a Lamb of God, he is the Lamb of God. And only through Jesus can we find forgiveness for our sin. Now in John chapter eight, Jesus is arguing back and forth with the religious leaders about who he is. And he refers to an incident that took place all the way back in Genesis chapter 22 in regard to Abraham and Isaac. You remember the story. Abraham was commanded by God to offer his one and only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice on the mountain of God's choice. As they were nearing the site, Isaac asked his father, Abraham, where's the lamb? And Abraham responded by saying that God himself would provide the lamb for the sacrifice. With that knowledge, Abraham placed Isaac on the altar, and just before he plunged the knife into his son, God stopped him and provided a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Text goes on to say, then Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. Jesus then goes on to tell the religious leaders in John chapter eight, this, your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So we see that Jesus is also confirming here in chapter eight what John the Baptist was saying about him in the first chapter of John's gospel, that he was the lamb provided by God. That's his identity. Now what about his importance? In verse 30, John again stresses Jesus' importance. John was Jesus' relative, who was six months older than Jesus, and John's ministry began before Jesus. John's fame was already widespread before Jesus began his public ministry, and Jesus' message of repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand was the same as John's. I mean, all signs point to the fact that Jesus was a follower of John, and so John would be the more important of the two. John knew the truth, and so he declares it. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who reigns before me because he was before me. John was born at least six months before Jesus, but Jesus existed from eternity past. John began his ministry before Jesus because his purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. John was finite, Jesus was infinite. Jesus was of most importance, not John. As John had said the day prior, he did not consider himself even worthy to be the slave that would untie Jesus' sandal. Let me ask you a question here. Is your attitude the same as John's? Is Jesus the most important one in your life, or do you still think about yourself as something of greater importance? Do your prayers reflect that of an unworthy servant coming to his master to make requests, or do they reflect pride and self-importance in making demands of Jesus? How do you see yourself next to the Holy Lamb of God? Well, that brings us to the third sub-point we want to mention, and that is Jesus' revelation. Now, apparently, John the Baptist had baptized Jesus sometime earlier. Up to that point, Jesus himself did not know him. And starting in verse 30, we see the verb tense change from present to past because he's describing events which have already occurred. Verse 30, this is he of whom I said, Verse 31, I myself did not know. And then he goes on to explain what the result was because of his baptizing with water. Remember, all John knew was that his own ministry of preaching and baptizing with water was ordained by God to prepare the way for this coming one, that he might be revealed to all of Israel. And then in verses 32 and 33, John explains how this revelation would be recognized, and ultimately, what it was that was being revealed in verse 34. Look again at the text where it says, And John bore witness. I saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize the water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John knew that the Messiah would be revealed to him through baptism, according to verse 33. And he now repeats this statement in verse 31, that until that time of this descent of the Spirit, he did not know him. Now, this does not necessarily mean that he did not know Jesus at all, though some have taken this to be the meaning of his words. It is, of course, quite possible that this is his meaning, for Jesus was brought up in Galilee and John in the lonely parts of Judea. They may never have met until now, though they were related, but it seems more probable that John means that he did not know Jesus to be the Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit until he saw the sign. John's recognition of Jesus did not come from prior knowledge, but from supernatural revelation. He doesn't tell us how and when he'd been given the sign, only that the one who sent him to baptize had told him what to look for, to recognize the one who was to come. It was by God's gracious supernatural revelation to John that he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. You know, there are many people today who think they can figure things out for themselves. They believe they are smart enough to be the judges of truth and error, of right and wrong, through a process of what they claim is rational thought. The effort of such people, unfortunately, has resulted in the tragedy of theological liberalism, which has rejected the authority of the word of God for the authority of the word of man. Their approach demands that the scriptures be understood according to the reasoning of men instead of the declaration of God. They ignore the fact that the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and in proclaiming themselves to be wise, they have become fools. They reject what God has said because they do not understand it, or it doesn't fit into their theological system. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14 says this, but a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. He can't not understand them because they are spiritually appraised. If you want to recognize Jesus for who he is, then you need to start by asking God to open your mind to recognize the truth that John has declared. Will you believe it? You need to ask God to have the Holy Spirit do his work in you of convicting you of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Because until a person's convicted of their sins, they're not gonna repent. And if they don't repent, they're not gonna cast themselves on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And if they don't do that, then they remain self-righteous and therefore under God's judgment. So what was being revealed in verse 34? The climax of John's testimony on this day is verse 34, where it says, and I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. The purpose of the ministry of John the Baptist, again, was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was to announce his coming, call people to repentance in preparation for it. John did not shirk his calling. He pointed people away from himself and to Jesus, who was and is the Son of God. Now, John, the writer of this book, presents all of this detail because, as I mentioned earlier, his desire is that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. John the Baptist is the first witness presented with evidence to this truth. The gospel accounts will present much more evidence as they unfold the story of the life of Jesus. Do you believe already? Then rejoice in him. Do you still have doubts? Then consider the testimony of John the Baptist and keep your mind open to the evidence to come. Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the eternal one. and so is preeminent. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit because he is the Son of God. A final note here about the witness of John the Baptist. He was faithful to proclaim the truth regardless of how people treated him. Some heeded his call and loved him for it. Some thought he was a fanatic nut. The religious leaders rejected him and opposed him. Eventually, King Herod killed him for telling the truth. John's message was to repent, to turn away from our sins that so easily entangle us, and prepare. He wanted those in his day to be ready to meet their Savior, their King, their Lord. And that same message applies to us today. So in this season of Advent, while we remember the first coming of Jesus, the Son of God, let us make sure that we're ready to meet him at his second coming when he comes to judge the whole world. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you again for the testimony of your man, John. You sent him for the sole purpose of preparing the way for the Messiah, your son, the one who one day will reign on the throne of David as king forever. It is to him who we pray, Lord, that you would kneel our hearts before him. that we would honor him and glorify him and praise him and love him and worship him as only he is due for what he has done for us on the cross as a substitute, taking your wrath, your anger, our punishment upon himself. We ask it in his name and for his sake. Amen.