All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Please turn to John chapter 1.
After talking to our new Pastor of First Baptist Church, Aaron, whom you met last week, he gave me a few new and interesting ideas for Bible Study. Aaron was a teacher and since Bible Study is teaching, he stated that repetition and review are very good at getting people to retain things. Of course you also have to have an interest in what you are studying and since you are sitting here with me, I’ll assume that you have an interest in this subject. I have 8 questions from the material that we have covered in the last 3 weeks and you can use your bible to help with the answers.
1. The first three words of John are the same as the first three words of Genesis. What are the three words? (John 1:1)
Answer: (John 1:1) In the beginning.
2. John says that “the Word was with God”. Then he says something else. What does he say? (John 1:1)
Answer: (John 1:1) “The Word was God.”
3. According to John, did the Word exist with God in the beginning or was God alone in the beginning? (John 1:2)
Answer: (John 1:2) He was in the beginning with God.
4. According to John, what relationship does the Word (who was God) have to everything that has ever been made? (John 1:3)
Answer: (John 1:3) All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made that ever was made.
5. What was in the Word who was with God? (John 1:4)
Answer: (John 1:4) In him was life and the life was the light of humanity.
6. When the light of Christ shone in the darkness, what was the result? How did the darkness react? (John 1:5)
Answer: (John 1:5) The darkness did not overcome it (or did not comprehend it).
7. God sent someone to bear witness of the Light. Whom did God send? (John 1:6-8)
Answer: (John 1:6-8) There was a man sent from God whose name was John… This man came to bear witness of the Light.
8. John the Baptist came to bear witness to the Light, namely Jesus Christ the Word who was in the beginning with God. What was the purpose of John’s witness? (John 1:7-8)
Answer: (John 1:7-8) This man came… to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
The life of John the Baptist.
Luke covered the birth of John quite well, so we’ll start out with something we already went over, but it’s good to review.
Luke 1:5-7
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
They were old and childless and for a priest that had to be a rather uncomfortable circumstance. As a priest, people would look at you as a paragon of virtue and holiness, at least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. With his wife being childless, his fellow priests might have thought that there was some sin in his life so that God had prevented them from having children. In the minds of the people of that day, there was a very direct correlation between what you did in your life and how God chose to show his displeasure over your sins.
We know that Elizabeth was related to Mary, probably through marriage, and she came from the line of Aaron, the first priest as designated by God, who was a brother to Moses. All this we covered the last few weeks.
We also know that his birth was a prophecy way back in the Old Testament by Isaiah and Malachi, telling that a man would come out of the wilderness to herald the coming of Christ. That would be Isaiah 40 verse 3, and Malachi 3 verse 1. It was also said that he would come with the power of Elijah, that would be Malachi 4 verses 4 and 5.
The scriptures are silent as to the fate of John’s parents although there is a legend that Zacharias was slain by Herod the Great, forcing Elizabeth to flee with her babe into the wilderness area of Judea. And since the scriptures do not say anything about this, it is not important to the message that God is giving us. This historical legend is a possible answer to Luke 1:80 “And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.”
There happens to be a desert or deserted area that stretches from Jerusalem to Bethlehem Eastward some 20 miles down river and the Dead Sea. It is a barren region of rugged hills and valleys.
We also know that John was a Nazarite from birth. The angel Gabriel said to Zacharias:
Luke 1:15
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
At all times a Nazarite was to control his appetite and passions to be in harmony with God’s moral law.
The Bible speaks about being a Nazarite this way:
Numbers 6:2
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the Lord,
3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.”
And also:
Judges 13:5
For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
The Bible describes John in Matthew 3 verse 4 this way, “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
The hair cloak might have been rough fabric woven from camel’s hair or camel skin itself, the text doesn’t really make that clear. It was very similar to certain Old Testament prophets, particularly Elijah.
Scripture refers to that in:
Zechariah 13:4
Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophecies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;
And:
2 Kings 1:8
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
What John ate was generally consumed by the poor elements of society; he stood in bold relief to the wealthy, indulgent Jews of his day. His very presence was a sermon in itself.
Scripture also says that John was somewhat reclusive. Jesus said in Matthew 11 verse 18 “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.”
Eating and drinking stood for socializing – the prophet was not a socialite. His aesthetic lifestyle appeared almost demonic, like those possessed of evil spirits who apparently frequented the desolate areas. There are references in scripture of Jesus having to deal with demonic people in remote areas. Mark 5 talks of Jesus meeting a Gerasene man with a legion of demons in him.
When John the Baptist started his ministry, he did not seek out the multitudes, rather he attracted them.
Matthew 3:5-12
Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
And this is my favorite part coming up in verse 7, continuing:
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
We will stop right here and pick it up where we left off, next week.
Romans 15:5-6 – May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.