I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 1, the fourth gospel, and its opening chapter. We'll pick up our reading at verse 19 and go through verse 28. John 1, starting at verse 19. 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. 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? 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 his sandal, I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. The Gospel of John begins with a very lofty introduction of Jesus Christ in the opening 18 verses. In verse 19, the Apostle John transitions to a presentation, a narrative of the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. And that public ministry commenced by way of being introduced by a herald named John the Baptist. We've noticed in studying the prologue the opening 18 verses of the gospel, that the Apostle John deliberately started his gospel with the exact language that the Bible itself commences with. The words, in the beginning. That's the way Genesis 1 begins. That's the way John 1 begins. In the beginning. Now here at verse 19 and following, as the evangelist begins his narrative material, we again see a bit of a parallel with Genesis 1. in the opening chapter of the Bible, when what God did in creating the heavens and the earth, many of you are aware, is presented in a day-by-day fashion. As the Bible begins, we're drawn in our attention to what God did on a given day, and then we're told, well, on the second day, God did this, and then on the third day, God did this, and so forth. Well, there's something similar that happens here in John 1 verses 19 and 20. and following. A key event is described in verses 19 through 28. And then in verse 29, the verse begins with the phrase, the next day. And then you have a description of what took place on that next day. Then verse 35 begins again with the opening phrase, the next day. Verse 43 likewise starts, the next day. And it seems clear that John is describing a literal week, a very special week, quite possibly the first week of Jesus' public ministry. It's kind of like John the Apostle is saying, this is where it all began. The eternal God became flesh, his public ministry began, and this is exactly how it got started. On day one, this happened. And then on the second day, this happened. And then on the third day, this happened. We don't know for sure, but it's quite possible that the evangelist was deliberately following the pattern that was set forth in the opening chapter of the Bible. The Bible begins with a momentous declaration. that the God who is made the heavens and the earth, and then it gives us a blow-by-blow account. John, the apostle, is speaking now of a new creation, a momentous event that's even more momentous in some ways than the creation of the universe. And just as God did in the beginning in Genesis 1, so here John is speaking in this day by day account, underscoring the momentousness of what was taking place. This morning we'll seek to cover verses 19 through 28, where we meet again. the one that introduced Jesus, John the Baptist. Initially, the concern is over the identity of the Baptist himself. Who is this man? But the Baptist himself, like the Apostle John, is eager to put the spotlight not on John the Baptist, but rather on Jesus. And so there's a clear transition to the identity of Jesus. Our outline then is twofold. Who was John the Baptist? Secondly, who was Jesus according to John the Baptist? Who was John the Baptist? Who was Jesus according to John the Baptist? John the Apostle is concerned to present to us the witness of John the Baptist. Who are you? That was the question that brought a delegation of Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem out into that area beyond the Jordan where John the Baptist was engaged in ministry. Their question, who are you? Note again verses 19 through 24. 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. They asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? 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. The Lord in times past had spoken again and again to his chosen nation, Israel. Unlike any other tribe, any other nation on the planet, Israel had been singled out for centuries as God's special people. And one of their highest privileges, from one angle, the highest privilege they had known is that God had specially revealed himself to them. God had spoken, God had given the scriptures to them. God had given them words from heaven especially by way of prophets like Moses and Jeremiah and so forth. But the last of the prophets through whom God had spoken to his people had lived four centuries before the time of which we're reading this morning. 400 years had passed since the prophet Malachi had spoken on behalf of Jehovah to the people of Israel. There'd been this extended time of silence in which heaven had not spoken to the covenant nation. Meanwhile, Israel had come under the thumb of the mighty Roman Empire. They were a subjugated people. They longed for freedom. They were looking for deliverance. All of a sudden, in their current historical moment, there had burst onto the scene this man named John the Baptist. The other Gospels draw attention to the electrifying influence that the Baptists had had upon the population of Israel. They were going out in droves to hear this man speak. He was an anointed preacher. He spoke with boldness. He spoke with power. He spoke very directly. His message was not one that was designed to make people feel good. He demanded that people repent. I mean, he got right in their face and told them they needed to get real about dealing with their sins. They needed to get right with God. The Spirit of God was upon him and multitudes were being impacted. Well, this drew the attention of the religious leadership centered in Jerusalem. They were concerned to check out this guy. Does he have the right credentials? Is he safe? Is he legit? And they sent out a delegation of religious leaders to go and to investigate this matter who exactly was John the Baptist? Well, he made very clear that he was not the Christ. There were many messianic expectations in Israel at that time. Again, their condition in life was one of being in servitude to the Roman Empire. They had to pay taxes to the Romans. They resented, they hated being under the thumb of the Romans. They were looking for someone to come riding over the hill on a white horse with a sword in his hand who would lead them to political liberation. And they don't, according to our passage, explicitly ask John if he's the Christ, but he recognizes that that's the real burden in their minds because that's the first issue that he himself speaks to. His language is emphatic when they ask who is he, he confessed He did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. He knew that that was really the underlying concern. Are you possibly the one? Are you the conqueror that we've been waiting for? Are you the guy who's gonna come out of the phone booth with the big S on your chest? And we're gonna be moving into a whole new section of history. Well, John's emphatic, I am not the Christ. And the way that the apostle John presents the testimony of John the Baptist, The entire concern of the latter, the Baptist, is to draw attention away from himself and to draw it to Jesus. He is conscious at this point that the anointed one, the Messiah, actually is very, very near. Not only that, he is present. John the Baptist will say in verse 26, there is one standing among them. he tells this delegation. There's one here now. He is the great one. He is the deliverer. He is the Messiah. But John himself was not the Christ. Those who had come from Jerusalem ask him, well, are you Elijah? Elijah was an outstanding Old Testament prophet. And he stood out even more because of the fact that he had never died. Incredibly, supernaturally, Elijah had been translated directly from earth to heaven. There was an eyewitness who saw a chariot of fire come down and pick up the godly man and carried him through the clouds into heaven. The man had not died. And because of that, there was a widespread expectation that the historical figure Elijah would return to earth and that he would again perform wonders on behalf of the chosen people of God. And that hope, that expectation, was supported by the fact that the Lord God had made a promise through the prophet Malachi 400 years earlier, that Elijah would in fact come. God had given his people that word to hang on to, Malachi 4, verse 5. God had said through Malachi, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. An explicit promise. Behold, now Elijah had been gone from the earth for quite a while at that point when Malachi lived, but here's his promise. Behold, I will send Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Well, the Jews were looking for this promised coming of Elijah. John the Baptist, when asked, are you Elijah? Promptly says, I am not. And the Baptist's answer has confused people because it appears to contradict what Jesus himself would later say in his public ministry concerning John. The whole issue of the identity of John the Baptist came up repeatedly. And later in Jesus's public ministry, according to Matthew 11, verses 13 and 14, when Jesus was asked about Elijah, Jesus replied, all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you're willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. That's what Jesus said concerning John the Baptist. God had promised through Malachi, Elijah will come. Jesus says, Elijah has come. John the Baptist is Elijah. But John himself, the Baptist, says quite clearly, I am not Elijah. Well, how do we put that together? Well, the Baptist fulfilled the promise of Elijah's coming. His appearance was very similar to that of the Old Testament prophet. He was bold and confrontational in the way that Elijah had been. Like the famous man of God, John demanded repentance. He came in the spirit of Elijah. He came with the message of Elijah. And he, in fact, fulfilled the promise that the Lord had made. He was a kind of Elijah. He was a modern day Elijah. that God knew his people would need before the great day of the Lord arrived. That said, John the Baptist was not the literal Elijah of history. He was not Elijah returned to earth from heaven. It's interesting, the gospels tell us that the historical Elijah actually did come back to earth. At a place we think of as the Mount of Transfiguration, the historical Elijah did momentarily appear in the flesh. James, Peter, and John saw him when Christ himself was transfigured before them with radiant glory. Moses was there, and this figure Elijah was there, but John the Baptist was not that historical figure. What may be more to the point in all this in John 121 is that John the Baptist quite possibly did not recognize that he was the Elijah that God had promised his people at the end of the Old Testament. What is emphatic in the passage before us this morning is that in the Baptist eyes, he was not the big man on campus. He was certainly not the long awaited Messiah. He was not Elijah. He was not the prophet. He was just John. Nothing special about him. He was nothing. He was simply introducing the great one. Now Jesus would later connect the dots between Malachi 4-5 and John the Baptist, but John himself, the Baptist, may well never have made that connection. At least at this point, it may not have been clear to him at all that he was in fact the one that God long ago had promised. In his mind, one thing was emphatically clear. Jesus must increase, I must decrease. That's from John 3.30, but you can see that attitude is already just gripping John the Baptist. It's about him, it's not about me. And we're reminded by way of application that what we are in our own sight is not nearly as important as what we are in the sight of Jesus Christ. what you and I are in our own sight is not nearly as important as what we are in the sight of Jesus. Many people think far more highly of themselves than Jesus does. And Jesus himself warned of that in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7, verses 22 and 23, Jesus said clearly that there are many not a few, many, a large number, who would say to him on the great last day of judgment, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Cast out demons in your name? Do many mighty works in your name? And Jesus says, I will declare to them, depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness, Matthew 7, 22, 23. Jesus will say to many, the fact that you were religious, the fact that you did some good things, the fact that you even did some things that were impressive in the sight of your fellow men, the fact that you maybe kept your nose clean from certain things that other people have been guilty of, has not led me to an assessment of you in which I am really impressed with you. In fact, I don't know you, not in a loving way, not in an accepting way, not in a commending way, because I know the real you is that you're all about justifying yourselves on the basis of the way you've been, and that there's a lifestyle that reflects disobedience to my commands. You're people that are lawless. On the other hand, there are those that have such a sense of their own smallness. their own deficiencies, their own sins, their own failures that they don't realize that Jesus himself does not look upon them as unfavorably as they look upon themselves. In another passage related to the great last day of judgment, Jesus says this in Matthew 25 verses 31 and following, the king will say to those on his right, The sheep, come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. I was hungry, you gave me food. I was thirsty, you gave me drink. He goes on to list a number of activities in which they demonstrated the genuineness of their affection for Christ. the sincerity of their love for Christ, the realness of their devotion to Christ, they had manifested it through the way they treated his needy people, visiting them when they were in jail, reaching out to them when they were sick, feeding them when they were hungry. And Jesus, on the great last day, says, this will be what's foremost in his mind as he thinks about these sheep on his right, the things that they did that reflected their real love for him. And according to that passage at the end of Matthew 25, they don't remember having ever served him in that way. But Jesus remembered, and Jesus will commend them. What matters most ultimately is not how we view ourselves, but how Jesus regards us. And that raises the question, how does Jesus regard you today? That's a question we wanna try to answer with the help of the Holy Spirit, with our Bibles open. How does Jesus regard you today? Because that's what really matters. That's the only thing that will matter in that last great day, is what does Jesus think? But when John the Baptist was asked, are you the prophet? The background's almost certainly Deuteronomy 18 verse 15. There Moses had told the people of Israel, 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. Another one of those great Old Testament promises that rightly fed in the people of God a hope for a special one coming, one who would be given to them from heaven, one, in this case, who would be in a unique way, likened to Moses, but greater than Moses, the mouthpiece of God, one who would speak for God and from God. Well, the delegation is wondering, John the Baptist, are you this prophet? Are you the prophet? John simply answers, no. Well, who was he then? The Baptist said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord as the prophet Isaiah said. And here John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah chapter 40, verse three, Isaiah had foretold the people of Judah in his day, that the judgment of God was coming upon them for their sins, and that they would be sent to the east across the desert into a condition of captivity in the land of Babylon, that God was raising up a foreign nation to act as his rod of judgment, and they would invade Judah, and that they would conquer Judah, and they would carry away the people into captivity. But Isaiah also, especially in the latter half of his book, began to speak in a sustained way of God doing a new thing, that God would do a redeeming work, that God would bring back from captivity the people who had earlier left and gone across the desert to the east. There would be a remnant who would come back to the land of promise. They would come back across the desert. and they would return to the place of milk and honey and that it would be the coming of the Lord in gracious intervention that would accomplish that. And he prophesied using that language of the roadway being prepared through the desert for the coming of the Lord. Isaiah would also use the same language to speak of an even more ultimate coming of the Lord and a more ultimate bringing of his people home that speaks of bringing his people into the new heaven and the new earth, and a way would be made plain. The Lord would come and he would do it. Some of us here can't help but think of Handel's Messiah when we think of the early verses of Isaiah 40. Makes straight in the desert, I've got a tenor line running through my mind even in this moment. I won't burst out in a tempted song, but makes straight in the desert a highway. For our God, every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the crooked shall be made straight, the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Powerful. Biblical words, and they were words first spoken by God through Isaiah. The people of Judah were not then in captivity, but captivity was coming. But beyond that, God was going to work to restore, to redeem, to recover. And beyond that historical recovery, God was going to do something far greater. He was going to bring his people into an inheritance of the earth, a new earth, a glorified earth. Well, John, in using this language, is again expressing humility. He was simply the guy on the road crew preparing the way for the king. A number of us had the privilege of being out at our picnic shelter a week ago yesterday. We had our annual church picnic. And we enjoy that as a wonderful tradition in the fall of the year. And God gave us a beautiful day to gather together for that time of special fellowship. And as I was out with you at the picnic shelter last week, there's something about the feel of the air and this time of year, it just brought back very strong memories of two of the weddings of our children, because Catherine and then later William would have their weddings here at the church, and both of them would have their receptions out back. It was this time of year, Catherine and Tim married in September, William and Michaela in October. It was just this time of year with that special fall feeling in the air. and we had the receptions out back at the picnic shelter. And the place is beautiful just in itself. God's just given us a beautiful property back there. But those of you who've been around for any length of time know that we've got some ladies here who can work magic with decorations and they turn the place into a wonderland with the lighting and with the flowers and with various decorative pieces. Last week I just, I confess I'm being sentimental, but I just had strong, just a strong sense of precious memories of being out there. My part in preparing for those receptions was to freshen up the mulch on the side of the asphalt drive that goes back to the picnic shelter and around the concrete pad where the shelter is itself. And so in the previous week, both times I was out clearing away dead limbs and wheelbarrowing in just some fresh mulch so that about six feet off the asphalt, hoping that it was going to be getting dark and people wouldn't look too far out, but just along the edge of the asphalt that there would just be nice, fresh mulch that had been laid out just to try to make the place look enhanced for this special event. Well, of course, what was going on, what was huge was the wedding, right? I mean, putting out mulch, my role was pretty small. I think my only other role was putting money in the bank. I think that Beth's main role was taking money out of the bank. It was just road crew work. It was just doing some grunt work to try to enhance in a small way a special event. In the big scheme of things, it was absolutely nil in significance. John the Baptist saw himself in a similar way. It's not that it's nil. It was an honor to be able to have a part in making those days extra special. And John the Baptist felt it was an honor to him to have a part, but the big thing was not him. It was the Lord Jesus Christ. Y'all, the queen of Christian graces is humility. We cannot pray too much for humility. God has ways of bringing humility to us in ways that we may not have asked for, but the queen of graces is humility. A proper self-image does not consist of thinking that we are worthless. That's not true. That's not accurate. That's not from God. I remember someone writing years ago that if you were to look at the label on the skin of any human being, the label would say, made by God. That means that every person has significance. We've been made by the infinite, wise, gracious creator. Our lives have significance. God has brought each and every person into this world with a noble purpose and view. There is a life that is worth living, and no one is worthless. That said, we're transient creatures, we're dust in the wind, and you and I are crooked sticks, aren't we? Aren't we, if we're honest? Every day, we fall short in manifold ways of the glory of the God who made us. There's not a day that we've ever lived where we didn't have want to say, Father, forgive me for my sins. I would forgive others as they have sinned against me. Father, I would do that in the spirit of asking you to forgive me. Jesus Christ is the one person that is truly good, truly great. He is God and he is the gracious savior of sinners like us that repent and believe. And a proper self-image is rooted in having a clear, accurate grasp that Jesus Christ is incredible. He is magnificent. He is splendid. And he invites me and encourages me and urges me and commands me to have a relationship with him. And I can have a connection to Him that He welcomes, that He has worked to secure. He would have me on the team. He would have me in the family. He would have me tied to Him forever. And a proper self-image is rooted at heart in a believing grasp of those things. I am not great, but Jesus is great. Jesus is wonderful. And Jesus wants and invites and has acted in history to take care of everything needed so that I can walk with Him. I can be employed by Him. I can be a helper. One of our nieces loved drama, she studied musical theater in her first undergraduate program. And then her conversion, she spoke of coming to realize that Jesus was the headliner. She just had a bit part in the drama. But she had come to realize how profoundly wonderful that was. And because of her own background in theater, that was a very meaningful analogy to her. She had wanted to be the star. She had wanted to be the star. She had wanted to be the star. And God brought her to see what an honor to have just a brief cameo appearance. Your name's not even in the small script as the credits roll. But just to have a part in the drama. You know, her conversion brought her to see what a privilege. In verses 24 and following, there's a transition from the question who was John the Baptist to that of who is Jesus according to John the Baptist. The delegation is still trying to figure out who is this guy. Why are you baptizing, they ask. If you're not the Christ, if you're not Elijah, if you're not the prophet, what authority do you have to do this? Why are you baptizing? And according to our passage, the Baptist did not directly answer their query. Instead, he contrasted himself as one who simply baptized with water. And he doesn't here speak explicitly as he does elsewhere of Jesus baptizing with the spirit, but here he's just simply making a point of contrast. The only thing I baptize with is water. But there's one standing among them, he said, one that they did not recognize or know, who was vastly above him. And he makes a huge declaration about this unknown person, unknown to the delegation. And then the following day, according to verses 29 and following, he makes two more huge declarations about this Jesus. As we close this morning, Let's reflect on just the first enormously significant affirmation about Christ. John the Baptist said, according to verses 26 and 27, 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. 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 here the declaration of enormous significance that the Baptist makes is the preeminence of Jesus, the unique greatness of Jesus. In our culture, Praise God, we don't have slaves. We're not accustomed to a world in which slavery is just the norm. But back then, it was a norm. There were slaves that had been conquered in battle, and they did the most menial task. And in a day before electricity and refrigeration, there were a whole lot of menial tasks to be accomplished in living life. Among rabbis who had a following, their followers were expected to engage in a lot of menial work on behalf of the rabbi. It was just part of the deal of following, a prominent teacher, is that the disciples, the followers took care of a lot of the menial tasks. But even there, it was not allowed a follower of a rabbi, a disciple, to unlatch one's sandal. That particular task was viewed as so low that it was culturally unacceptable. for a disciple to do that for his master, only the lowest of slaves could perform that task. When John uses this imagery in speaking of Jesus, he's saying, I'm not even qualified to do that. I mean, that role of unlatching the sandal, that is for the lowest of the low among slaves. but I'm not even, I don't even have a resume that would qualify me for that function. I don't deserve even to touch the dirty sandals of this one who is among us. He is so glorious, so splendid, so holy, that I am unworthy of even taking the lowest place in his presence. Once again, we see the humility of John the Baptist, but the larger point here is the greatness of Jesus. He is far more than a respected teacher. He is vastly more significant than one who is a good example. He is transcendent. He is beyond the range of ordinary. He is apart from us. He is holy. He is separated in terms of the dignity, the honor, the magnitude of his person. There's not a single place in this present fallen world where we can get a fully clear picture of the greatness of Jesus Christ. What we're doing right now this morning is the closest we can get to it. It's Christians in the presence of the Holy Spirit worshiping the glorified Christ. This is the closest we can get. And I trust that what we've experienced here already this morning is a real experience of the majesty of Jesus Christ. It hasn't been fake. It hasn't been manipulated. It's been genuine. It's been produced by the Spirit. But because of the remains of corruption in our being and because of all that attends our brokenness in this world, the fatigue, the distractions, the burdens, none of us can ever, this side of glory, be completely dialed in to the wonder of Jesus Christ. The only place where that is happening right now is there in heaven. You think of a scene like that portrayed in Revelation 5, its closing verses. The same apostle John says there, I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures, there's a scene of heaven. And he sees the throne, he sees the living creatures, he sees the elders, and he said, I heard the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, amen. And the elders did what? They did what we sang about earlier. Was that resonating in your heart? When we verbalized in song, we fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. Was there something in your soul that resonated that said, that's where I should be. That's so right. that we would prostrate ourselves, that we would not even feel free to look up, that in His presence, which we love, which we delight in, it's not repugnant in any way, we want to be there, but there's this profound sense of unworthiness to be there. We fall down. No strut is there. We fall down. We lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. Have you experienced that in your heart of hearts? Is that the real you? Have you been brought to a place of really believing that He is so great that you yourself are not worthy even to untie His shoes? That if He were to suddenly appear that you would readily prostrate yourself on the floor. How would you have responded to the statement of John the Baptist? Among you is one you do not know. You see a little prefiguring here when the Baptist speaks of the Jews. That's gonna become a very important phrase in the Gospel of John. It'll be used over 70 times. And generally, generally, it's gonna become deeply associated with the religious leaders of the Jews who were hostile against Jesus. It will be the Jews that will become the main adversaries of Jesus of Nazareth. It will be the Jews most responsible for seeing him nailed to a cross. You get a little prefiguring, John doesn't emphasize it here, but you get a little prefiguring here when John the Baptist says, among you stands this great one. We would like to think that there was at least one in the delegation who would say, can you tell me more? Could I meet Him? Is it possible that I could see Him? Could we have a meeting where He speaks? Is there some way in which I can have a connection to this One who stands among us? I'm looking for the Messiah. I need deliverance. We think of another Gospel writer, Matthew, telling us of three magi coming miles from the Far East. In a dream, they had been told that a great one had been born among the Jews. They had left their homes. They had faced the dangers and the rigors of a desert journey. They were looking for this king. And you read Matthew, and what is clear is that the response of the Hebrews when the Magi come is to yawn and just go back to their video games. It's like no one cares! Is that you? Is that you? You're not doing drugs. You don't get drunk. You're still a virgin. You're not committing adultery. but is your basic response to hearing, there is a great one here. Just to shrug your shoulders, go on to what's really important. I've said this throughout the opening verses of John 1 because it's the most prominent theme and I'm gonna say it again. this greatness of the Word, this magnitude of Jesus. This is where we find peace. This is where we find hope. The greatness of Jesus must not be just a doctrine that we've got up on a shelf somewhere. The greatness of Jesus needs to come down to our souls where life is difficult. What are the things that are stirring your anxiety? What are the issues that are depressing you? What are the things that leave you angry? And where is Jesus in the midst of that experience? is the greatness of Jesus, the magnitude of Jesus, bringing peace in your storm. It's the only place where you can really find it because the storms will come. There will be a doctor's appointment and the news is gonna be bad. There will be something happen with a child or a grandchild that will break your heart. There will be disappointments. There will be upsets. You cannot escape it. And you may find that they come in large measure. Peace is found at the feet of a Jesus who is huge. He can handle it. And most specifically in the immediate context of the passage we're looking at this morning, he can handle taking away our sin. Because that's the next enormous affirmation that John's gonna make on the next day. When he sees Jesus, he's gonna say, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Is there anyone here who's wrestling with whether your sin is taken away, can be taken away. Maybe someone's got, in a situation where sin's got a grip on you. Jesus is great enough to take away the sin of the world. That's where rest is found. Let's pray. Our God, we thank you for the opportunity to once again consider Jesus Christ. We thank you for, again, impressing upon our minds in this passage the majesty of his person. John the Baptist was so convinced of the truth that the one standing at the door was so far above him. John would pay a price for his discipleship and would later go through a period of struggle and doubt himself. But we thank you, oh God, for the ministry that you gave him and the ministry that he has to us to this day as a witness, drawing attention that the great one had come. And we bless you for that good news. Lord, you know the bad news that surrounds us. You know, oh God, the things that do discourage us, the things that do stir. fretfulness in our souls. And we thank you that in anything and everything we face in this broken world, that the great one stands among us. Oh God, help us again and again and again, and our spirits to fall at his feet, trusting that everything that we need, he has provided for. We pray in his name, amen.