Message Eight: John The Baptizer

JOHN THE BAPTIZER

By Dr. Michael Guido, D.D.

Matthew 3:1-7

One night, years ago, a ship was caught in a storm as it was nearing the harbor. It was being broken to pieces. The captain of a life-saving crew gave orders for a boat to be launched that they might go to the rescue. “But,” protested one of the crew, “it’s useless to go. We can go to the wreck, but we can’t come back.” “It’s not necessary to come back,” replied the captain, “it’s necessary to go.” And it was necessary for John the Baptist to go forth preaching the Word of the Lord, even though it meant his life.

Let’s meet the man. John was a child of promise. He was born when his parents were very old. His father was a man of God, and his mother was a cousin and a close friend of the virgin Mary. A man of the desert, John knew what it was to practice self-denial and to develop self-reliance. He knew God, and he served Him with all his heart. He wasn’t a coward, but a man of courage. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; it’s also what it takes, on occasion, to sit down and listen. He listened to God, and he gave out His Word faithfully and fearlessly. John the Baptist dressed plainly. His clothing was woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt. Oh, don’t get the idea from that verse that he was a freak. That’s the way poor people dressed in his day. John ate plainly. Locusts and wild honey was his diet. Was that unusual? No, not any more than cornbread, oatmeal or grits. It was a poor man’s diet, and he dressed and dined as an ordinary man of his day. But he wasn’t an ordinary man, he was an extraordinary man of God.

Look at his mission. God has a job for every person to do. He wants to do through you what He hasn’t planned to do through another. John knew what God wanted him to do, and he did it. What was it? Matthew answers in verse three of chapter three, to “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” In his day, when a king went anywhere, an advance man went before him and announced his coming. They had no radio, or telephone, or television to advertise his coming. So, when a king went anywhere, a herald went before him to arrange for his food and lodging, and to prepare the people for his coming. That’s what John the Baptist did. For this purpose was he born. To be a herald for the King of kings and Lord of lords–the Lord Jesus Christ.


Listen to his message. It’s found in one word–“Repent!” Does it mean to be ashamed of your sins? Yes, but more than that. It means to be so ashamed that you’ll abandon them. Does it mean to be sorry for your sins? Yes, but more than that. It means to be so sorry for your sins that you’ll stop them. Does it mean to be tired of your sins? Yes, but more than that. It means to be so tired of them that you’ll turn from them. But it’s going even a step further than that. It means to turn from your sins to the Savior. The wonderful thing about the Bible is that it tells you what to do about your sins. You can admit them, but that doesn’t absolve you. You can despise them, but that doesn’t deliver you. What can you do? You can confess them one by one. And what will God do? He will cleanse you of every one. One came to me this morning, weeping, “I’m a sinner. I know it. My life shows it. Oh, I’m an awful sinner.” “Thank God,” I replied, “now God can help you.” You see, before you’ll go to a doctor you must admit that you’re sick and that you need help. If you think you’re all right you won’t go to a doctor. It’s the Bible that reveals our badness. The Scriptures show us our selves and our sins. But the Word of the Lord doesn’t stop there. It goes on to show us the Savior who can and will save us from our sins, from all our sins, if only we’ll let Him. I let Him. Will you? How? By confessing your sins and claiming Him as your Savior from sin. When you do, He’ll forgive your sins, He’ll free you from your sinful habits, and He’ll furnish you with the power to live a happy, exciting, victorious Christian life.

Look at the manifestation. When the people in John’s day turned from their sins to the Savior they did something. What was that? They were “baptized of him” comes the answer from the Bible. Last night I preached the message about the Good News of God. Hearts were touched. Men and women were convicted of their sins. Tears were shed. Then I gave an invitation, saying, “You that will turn from your sins to the Savior, you that will come to Him and confess Him, come forward.” Now there wasn’t anything magical about coming forward. But there was something meaningful about it. Coming forward didn’t save them, but coming to Him and confessing Him did. By coming to John the Baptist to be baptized they were saying in effect, “We once were identified with a religion, now we want to be identified with the Redeemer. We want the mark of the Master, Whose we are and Whom we serve.” Dare you identify yourself with Christ and the Christians? Then do it now. God bless you as you claim Him as your Savior and confess Him as your Lord.

copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association

All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.

This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.