Gospel of John 1 - Know who you are and who you aren't - lessons from John the Baptist

I want to hone in on one man this morning. John the Baptist. Next week we might look at Peter the Pentecostal, Matthew the Calvinist, James the Presbyterian…excellent preacher joke Bron. Does God like coffee? Well, Hebrews. Badumdumtiss.

John the Baptist – John the Baptiser. We are going to read through a large chunk of scripture now, and then from there I’ll reference scriptures but we won’t go to them. Are you ready? Somebody say “I’m ready”.

John 1, reading from the NLT

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1:14-15

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

John 1:19-40

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” he replied.

“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”

“No.”

22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”

24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

Jesus, the Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

The First Disciples

35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”

37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.

They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.

John 3:22-36

John the Baptist Exalts Jesus

22 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River,

the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

31 “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else

Pray.

This morning we are going to talk about

know who you are and who you aren’t: lessons from John the Baptist.

In 1992 shortly after my 12th birthday, the Olympics were held in Barcelona, Spain. Jose Carreras and some chick sang the song amigos para siempre. It was Cathy Freeman’s first Olympics, and the first time an Aboriginal Australian had competed. She didn’t medal that year, but Kieren Perkins medalled in the pool with the 1500m. Hayley Lewis in the pool as well. And me, along with every other primary school student in Australia at the time, dutifully went to a Newsagent to buy a large piece of coloured cardboard, on which we would draw the Olympic rings, use bubble writing for the top, do zig zaggy cut outs of pictures and facts that would be glued on the coloured piece of cardboard. This, everyone under 30, was known as a “school project”. Mrs Mutton, along with every other teacher, had assigned her students to do a school project about the Olympics. And with every other primary school student, I dreamed of going to the Olympics one day. I was a half decent swimmer, I made it to state for cross country, who knows…

Except that the only race that I could beat Kate Najor or Alison Williams, our first and second in every race, was backstroke, and only because of my big legs and powerful kick, because no one had the upper body technique right in backstroke. That was the only way I could make it to district. And seriously, you only need to watch those incredible African athletes running a marathon at a quicker k pace than I can sprint, to realise, perhaps, the Olympics weren’t for me.

What do you do when a moment like that dawns on you? The best thing you can do is to know who you are, and who you aren’t.

Who you are and who you aren’t: lessons from John the Baptist.

What John the Baptist does in the first passage, is to know who he isn’t.

So firstly: Who AREN’T you?

Ask the person next to you – who even aren’t you? Turn to the person on the other side, and say “who the heck do you think you aren’t?”

John the Baptist’s narrative in John starts with who he knows he isn’t. He isn’t the light of the world. He isn’t the most important, the one who pre-existed all things. He isn’t Elijah. He isn’t the Prophet. He isn’t the anointed one, the Messiah.

Neither are you, by the way. You aren’t Jesus. You’re like, um, yes, I’m aware. Have you heard of the Messiah complex? Or the Saviour complex? It’s where you feel ultra-responsible, and because we aren’t the Saviour of the world, it can manifest in things like trying to control people and environments, trying to rush in and rescue, finding it so hard to let go. And it’s about them, but it’s also about us, and our need to feel wanted, useful, significant. You aren’t Jesus. John the Baptist knew it. We might feel like, well of course not, He was face to face with Jesus Christ, but consider this.

Andy Stanley talks about comparison in the most compelling way I’ve heard anyone talk about it, in a series called the comparison trap, and he says that generally our struggle isn’t with people who are completely unlike us. I don’t struggle with comparison with Christelle Matumaini; she is Miss Universe! She has the voice of an angel! She and her husband sing together! Every opportunity he gets he gives her a pda – a public display of affection – by kissing her! On the lips! In front of the whole church! ON the lips! I have to remind Daz to sit next to me in church because he likes to have room, and to go to the toilet, and not distract people – by leaving, not going to the toilet in church, and if we sing together…well it’s just never going to happen! In heart and soul on Thursday night, I went to lean in to say, if God gives you something to say, just jump up, but he was just getting into worship so with his massive arm as he lifted it he clocked me in the head! So no, I don’t compare myself, or my marriage to My sister Christelle. And I love my marriage, so that’s not my area of struggle. We don’t tend to struggle with areas we are content with.

We tend to struggle when someone is very much like us. Maybe roughly the same age, doing better than us. If you are in your teens, and someone is in their late 20s, that seems like a world away, and there’s no temptation to think about that. But if someone does better than you in school, in sport, in social settings, that creates some tension. But not if you know who you are, and who you aren’t. If you are in your early 30s, and someone in their early 50s are cracking on, there’s no temptation to concern yourself with them, because you have plenty of time to do well by their age and stage as well. It’s someone in their early 30s, or mid 30s, that you tend to find tension with. You picking up what I’m putting down?

So think for a moment – we can all easily not compare ourselves to Jesus, So let’s think about John the Baptist for a moment. John the Baptist has this incredible birth story. We read in the book of Luke, that his dad, Zechariah, was in the temple worshipping when the angel Gabriel appeared to him and says that he will give him a son, with the spirit and power of Elijah – Elijah, probably the most famous figure in Jewish history. apart from the patriarchs. And King David. Ok, the most famous of the prophets. Along with Elisha.. anyway, you get the picture. It’s a big deal! The angel says, this boy is going to be special. He’s going to turn many Jewish people back to God. He’ll have the Holy Spirit in-utero. He’ll never touch wine or alcohol. And He’ll prepare the people for Yahweh. Great birth story!

However, his cousin on his mums side also has a great birth story. Same angel comes to his Aunty, Mary, and tells her look you’re going to have a baby, and she says that’s kind of impossible, being that I haven’t, you know…and the angel says it’s going to be a miracle, because it’s going to be God’s own Son, and Mary is like, you know what you’re doing, I just want to do what God has for my life.

Fast forward about 30 years, and John the Baptist is getting famous in those parts. As the angel said, he is preaching, telling people to turn back to God, and people are getting baptised in droves.

Along comes Jesus, and actually John’s disciples leave him and go and follow Jesus.

Jesus should be John’s greatest point of struggle. Why was he not?

Know who you aren’t, know what you aren’t.

He was not the light of the world. He was not the lamb of God who could take away the sin of the world.

So for me, when my kids were scruffily dressed, and I came to church and other mums had compartmentalised snacks, and their kids hair was impeccable, and I was devastated, and Daz said – Bron…you can be like them if you want. Do you want to be? And I was like, I love them, but no. I want to be me.

Who aren’t you?

You aren’t Jesus.

Who are you at risk of comparing to? You aren’t them, either.

But not only who aren’t you – what aren’t you?

You’re not Jesus, but you also aren’t your cousin. Or you’re not that person at work. Or you’re not that person at church. I always thought I was super organised. All over the details. The truth is, I’m much more creative. I can make stuff happen, but details, planning…I forget stuff all the time. Daz had to say to me – Bron, you feel like you’re organised because you get a lot done. You feel organised because you are comparing yourself to me. I am the least organised person in the universe, anyone looks organised next to me. And then I saw it happen with my daughter. Bella was like I am sick of being the unorganised family! When I grow up, on camping trips, I will be the family that remembers things and can lend it to the family that forgets everything, rather than being who we are right now. She used to be mortified, and her wall was filled with whiteboards and lists, and she felt super organised. Well, now she’s at uni, and doing an internship at her church, and she’s like, oh man, I was comparing myself to you guys- I am so not organised! I’m just better than you two!

what you aren’t. It’s not an excuse to never do anything. Oh, I’m not very loving, so I’ll leave that to the loving people. No.

Here’s what else you aren’t. You aren’t your past. You aren’t your most recent mistake, you aren’t your biggest stuff up. You aren’t any of those. So when the enemy comes to accuse you, you can say, oh yeah, I know, but that’s not who I am. You need to keep your confession, and in order to do that, you need to know who you are.

Who are you?

Know who you are: Humble in your heart. Comfortable in your skin. Confident in your call.

Humble in your heart.

The song: History Maker. You’re going to do big things for God! 20…30…40…Me at Colour, me in Guyra. Not in the way you would think.

What if we changed our mindset from doing big things to doing good things. It’s a thought I owe to a friend, when we were chatting about history makers, but they said God never says “you’ll do big things for me”. Listen to these verses:

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

2 Cor 9:8 NIV And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Tim 2:21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Matt 5:16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

I don’t think that anyone would argue that what God has planned for each one of us is good. I just wonder if we were the ones who decided that for those things to be good, they had to be big things.

Comfortable in your skin:

Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG) | "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

Kick comparison to the curb. John’s disciples, fasting, feasting and drinking. In Luke the Pharisees come to Jesus, and in Matthew John’s disciples come to Jesus, and basically say the same thing: Why do we fast, and your guys don’t. And Jesus says, well, I’m still here. They don’t need to yet.

Segue…

Main character. “oh my gosh I’m so cute”. to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

John was happy being the friend of the bridegroom. Becoming less and less.

The pressure of perception. Howyagown.

John was ok with fading into the background, because he didn’t need to prove anything. But he had to be ok with that.

Confident in your call:

What is it? What do you know to do?

The amazing thing about John was that he just did what he knew to do, and he let God worry about the rest. He knew that he had to preach – amazingly, the first person ever to preach the good news about Jesus! Before Jesus had even died! And when the Jews tried to put labels on him, tried to put him in a box, he was just like, nah…unimportant…irrelevant – and pointed everything to Jesus.

27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.

I think we get tripped up trying to label ourselves. Trying to fit into a box that has nice edges and describes us, rather than just living day by day obedience.

Zechariah, John’s dad, was told in the temple, this son you will have will have the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah was a prophet who was taken up to heaven, and the Jews thought that perhaps he would still be around – like spotting Elvis at the 7/11. What do we know about Elijah – man the dude saw some powerful moves of God – but we also read in James, that he was a man, just like us. He too, was obeying God. We read in Malachi, that one like Elijah would usher in the day of the Lord, but John just understood His call to prepare the way. He didn’t need the label. After he died, Jesus declared in Matthew, that he was indeed the Elijah that had been promised. But for John, it wasn’t about the label, it was about obedience.

We are all called to obedience – so rather than being concerned with the “call of God on your life” as in “what is my purpose?” how about getting about what you know you are to do? John 1

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Your label is child of God. You are a son, a daughter of God. That is your call. To love Him, be loved by Him, and do what He tells you to do.

Questions:

1. Do you feel tempted to compare yourself to someone? As you think about them, is it because they are largely like you in age and stage?

2. How has God called you to be you, rather than someone else? What are some unique characteristics/giftings that He has given you? If you find it hard to answer (as we often do), let the group let you know some ways they see that God has uniquely gifted you.

3. List the people John said he wasn’t from these passages.

4. What are some things that you aren’t? (e.g. organised, like Bron). How might recognising these things move you forward? How might failing to acknowledge them hold you back?

5. List what John said he wasn’t from these passages.

6. Have you had difficulty not defining yourself by your past?

7. What are some ways that God has worked humility in you? Take some time to boast about them 😉

8. Where can you see John making statements of humility?

9. Getting comfortable in your skin requires kicking comparison to the curb. How can you turn comparison into celebration of others?

10. Letting go of a main character mindset means you don’t think the world revolves around you, but you revolve around the Son. What needs to be realigned to help make this a reality?

11. Where do you feel the pressure of perception – what people want you to be? How can you not give this power?

12. Confident in your call – how can you best go about doing good?