January 10 -John 1

SERMON NOTES

January 10, 2010

WHO ARE YOU?

INTRO

As we make our New Year’s Resolutions, one must wonder if they are in harmony with our true identity. sometimes our Resolutions fail because we have chosen a New Year’s Resolution that is out of character to our true being.

INTRO TO SCRIPTURE

This week we begin a sermon series on the gospel of John (until Lent, then Les Miserables). In our passage for this week, John the Baptist is being questioned to "who is he?" In this passage the religious clergy take a guess and ask John, are you Elijah?

INTRO TO SCRIPTURE (The Testimonial of John the Baptist)

John has been introduced earlier in the chapter in the prologue (John 1:1 - 18); “There was a man who was sent by God, his name was John.”

JUDAISM AND BAPTISM

Not new. Baptism was for gentiles who wanted to become Jews, they were cleansed completely (total cleansing to pass through the threshold into Judaism).

Question: what does it mean when John the Baptist wants to baptize Jews?

There not complete Jews, yet?

John’s baptizing out at the Jordan cultivated the interest of many people who came out to either be baptized or to inquire. One such group was the religious clergy who sent out a group to interrogate John the Baptist. Thus they will inquire to wether or not he is one of three characters: the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet. All connected to the messianic (end) times

SCRIPTURE: John 1: 19 - 23 (John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ

19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."

QUESTION: Why would the Pharisees think John the Baptist is the Messiah?

The Messiah was to be a Moses like spiritual and political leader

There was need for a Moses type leader (held in bondage to Rome)

ANSWER: Nope. Not the Messiah.

INTRO TO v. 21

Okay, not the Messiah, how about Elijah (the Herald, the forerunner)

21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"

QUESTION: Why did they ask if he was Elijah? Why Elijah and not someone else?

Answer: Elijah is the herald for the Messiah (relationship between two)

Scripture: Malachi 4:5 (II Kings 2 v 11 - Elijah did not die & return at end times)

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and

dreadful day of the LORD comes.

21b He said, "I am not."
POINT: once again, Nope. Not Elijah

"Are you the Prophet?"

PROPHET: Deuteronomy 18: 15 - 19

15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."

17 The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

SCRIPTURE: 21c

He answered, "No."

POINT: once again, Nope. Not the Prophet

POINT: John the Baptist knew he was not Elijah, nor a prophet. He knew who he wasn't. Tomorrow we will find out that John the Baptist not only knew who he wasn't but also knew who he was.

QUESTION: Have you ever been asked, "Who are you?"

Do you know who you are not and who you are (like John the Baptist).

QUESTION TO PONDER

What is the first step for self discovery. To know who we truly are, not a being that merely responds the stimuli of our society.Have you ever been asked, "Who are you?"

INTRO TO V 22

As we continue the dialogue of John the Baptist with religious clergy of the day, they are frustrated with John the Baptist not answering the question, "Who are you?" In their frustration they point blank ask him:

22 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' "

Scripture: Isaiah 40:3

A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.

NOTE: Theme verse claimed for Qumran. John knew who he was,. Because he knew who he was he was able to accomplish his task.

APPLICATION

All of us have a quest, not only to know who we are, but our “mission” in life. For John, he was the herald for Christ/Messiah. His mission (task) was to “Make straight the way for the Lord.”

US

To know our mission, it begins with knowing who we are and who God is. This is the most important journey for each of us.

LENT

Lent begins in about a month, our Lenten Series is on Les Miserable, a powerful story of FORGIVENESS. In the musical, Jean Valjean is confronted by the tension of his own identity. His real identity is Jean Valjean, but for the last decade or so, he has changed his mind to Monseiur Mandeleine (the Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer). During that time, a criminal was arrested and the authority believe that he is Jean Valjean. If Jean Valjean, and "inocent man" will serve a jail sentence in place of Jean Valjean, but if Jean Valjean claims his true identity, he then must stand in place of the innocent man and serve his rightful sentence. If he turns himself in, many will suffer because they rely on Jean Valjean for their financial support. If he does not turn himself in, only one suffers. What shall he do? His answer is easy, when he realizes he must be true to his real identity, to know thyself, to be who he is.

US

When we are true to our true identity, decisions are easier to make. John the Baptist knew what he had to do, because he knew who he was. Jean Valjean knew what he had to do because he knew who he was.

THOUGHT TO PONDER

Once Jean establishes his identity in his decison making process, he does the right thing and in the musical breaks out in song, "Here I am." In our own lives, perhaps we need to break out in song when we are true to who we are and sing "Here I am (Lord).

POINT OF JOHN 1: 19 -

To illustrate that John considered jesus his superior and that John was just preparing the way for Jesus who is to replace him. Thus beginning the ministry of Jesus.

POINT: It’s not about John, it’s not even about us; its about Jesus.

If the purpose of life is relationship; the implication is that the focus is not to be entirely on the self, but how we relate to the other. If the greatest purpose is our relationship with God, then our focus is to love God completely, and that is why we worship. worship is not about us, but conveying how worthy our God is and how our God is to be worshiped.