John the Baptist

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

Luke iii. 4.

JOHN the Baptist is the last of the distinctively Jewish line of prophets; the last and greatest of these. Indeed, he was more than a prophet, for he was himself the subject of prophecy — “This is he of whom it IS written, Behold, I send my messenger.’’ Unlike the prophets who saw the .promise of the Messiah afar off, it was the privilege of John to point Him out, and it was his peculiar joy that he heard the Bridegroom’s voice. He showed successive generations how to ‘’ prepare the way of the Lord” by testifying against sin; and that not abstractly, but personally and concretely, sternly insisting on repentance.

He testified to Jesus as the Ax Wielder. It was no longer a quesanb 0^tx Snterpretationsi tlon of pruning the tree of fallen human nature. That was law-work. The whole history of Israel under the old covenant was a demonstration of the futihty of that method; now the “ax is laid unto the root of the tree.” Jesus is the Baptiser with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He cuts down the old tree, but plants a new one. ‘’ But one mightier than I cometh.... He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.’’ Jesus wields the separating fan. “He will thoroughly purge his floor.” Just as surely as there is a heavenly garner for the wheat of God, just so surely there is ‘^ fire unquenchable” for the tares.

Jesus is the Eternal One. “He was before me.” This, if Jesus was not pre-existent, was not true, for John the Baptist was, humanly, the elder of the two.

Isa. V. 1-7.

Matt.
11; Ac
5-8; ii.

Luke
16.

Luke
17.

Matt.
30, 4i<

ts 1.
33-

Xlll.

John i. 13.

Luke i. 25,
26.

Mo 3lom in tfie 3Jnn

John i. 29.

Matt, iil 9.

Repentance.

Matt. iii. 2.

Jesus IS the “Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” Every lamb sacrificed by the ancient people of God, prefigured this final Lamb, and had efficacy because of Him. And just here is the heart of John’s great ministry. It was convictive because the “way of the Lord” was a way of holiness, and in that way none could walk who made light of sin, or sought refuges of lies in Abrahamic ancestry, or like peculiar privileges. Men must be convicted of sin, because the mission of Christ is to save from sin, and only those who feel their need will seek a Saviour. Conviction prepares the way for Christ.

John’s ministry demanded repentance, and defined it, because while repentance saves no one, no one is saved without it. It is not feeling badly about sin; it is, in consent and will, forsaking sin. Only Jesus can save His people from their sins, but anb 0t1)tt interpretations; repentance brings every sin to Jesus to be put away. But all this is only preliminary to the presentation of Christ as God’s own Lamb, whose sacrifice puts away sin. This, and this only, is *’ the Gospel.’’ All other of John’s words and acts were preparatory, not for the church, and salvation by grace, but for the earth-kingdom of Christ.

Conviction, repentance, restitu- Luke 1. 17. tion, baptism, confession of sins — these were kingdom teachings, and therefore legal, not gracious.

And John could thus minister because he sought nothing for himself. Save Jesus, no other man has been so truly humble. To those who would know concerning him he said, ‘* I am the voice of one cryung in the wilderness.” Of Christ he said, “I am not worthy to stoop down,” even to do a servant’s work. It was his joy, not envy, that men

Humility.

John i. 23.

Mark i. 7.

a8

yo 3lom in tfie 3nn

John iii.
26-30.

forsook him to follow Jesus: ‘* He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The mys*
tery of permitted evil.

Matt. xiv.
1-12.

Matt. V. 1 1;
xxiv. 8-13;
Rev. vi. 9-
ii;xiii. is;
XX. 4.

Luke vii.
24-29.

And In the death of this humblest of God’s servants the mystery of permitted evil reaches its deepest depth. A lewd woman hated him, a dancing girl asked for his head, a filthy despot commanded it to be brought! For John, truly, a swift and welcome release. This is the age of martyrdom, and ere long martyr blood will again become a very flood.

But when John was dead the Son of God preached his funeral sermon!