Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

Sermon, Who I Am Not – Part Two: Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

¹⁹Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²²Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^[d]²⁴Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶“I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

Do you know who Jesus is?

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the sacrificed Lamb that was led to slaughter, the High Priest, the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, God’s Only Begotten Son, and the I Am.

John the Baptist was preordained in his mother’s womb when the angels told his mother how he was to be raised.

God has a plan for each of us, like He had for John, but to know your mission, you must know and accept God. The Book of John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Although Jesus took full humanity onto Himself, He never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. This is who John the Baptist tells the world that Jesus is.

Jesus is the one true light.

We, like John the Baptist, are not the source of God’s light; we merely reflect God’s light. Jesus Christ is the one true light. He guides us to the Father. We must never think we can be the one who brings the light; we are only reflectors of Christ’s light.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become part of God’s family and are spiritually alive with God’s grace. This is God’s gift to all of us.

Don’t be like the Pharisees that went to John the Baptist asking who was he. They had the Old Testament. They had the Torah plus the prophets to tell them who he was. These same books told them about Jesus Christ. These same priests outwardly obeyed God’s law to look pious while their hearts were filled with pride and greed. These religious leaders believed their oral traditions were just as important as God’s Word.

The Pharisees asked John who gave him authority to baptize. They really were asking why was he baptizing God’s chosen people like Gentiles? When John replied that he was baptizing with water, he was merely helping the people perform a symbolic act of repentance. But one was coming who would truly forgive sins. He is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son. He is the only one with the power to forgive.

John the Baptist said he was not worthy to be Jesus Christ’s slave or to take off His shoes. John emphasized why he came; to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Messiah, the Son of God, is the only one who has the power to forgive you of your sins.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 1

Return Next Week to Read Part Three of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Read Part One of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part One: Who I Am Not

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

In John 1, John the Baptist is asked, “Who are you?” In verses 20 and 21, he tells them who he is not. People today will tell you who they are. I am a banker, a brick layer, and lawyer, a car washer, a teacher. The list goes on and on. But the real question is who are you really?

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?

Do you believe Jesus is God’s Only Begotten Son, the Lamb of God, The Messiah, the light for the world?

Some will say yes but their words have no meaning. What does Jesus mean to them? If they do not love or study the Word, and there is no forgiveness in their life, they practice or worship a religion of self-gratification.

What is your real agenda?

The priests and Levites sent the Pharisees to question John the Baptist about who he was, not about who he was serving. But their real agenda was to find out why so many people were coming to hear him preach and be baptized in the wilderness.

The Jews did not baptize. Their duty as guardians of faith caused them to want to investigate any new preaching. (Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 and Deuteronomy 18: 20-22). Deuteronomy tells them to beware of false prophets who encourage worship of other gods.

In questioning John the Baptist, they wanted to find out if he had the credentials of a prophet. John’s popularity was growing to the point that his followers were leaving them for John. They were jealous.

The Pharisees had four questions regarding John the Baptist’s identity:

Was he a prophet foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18: 15)?
Elijah (Malachi 4: 5)
The Messiah, a high priest
A false prophet

John denied being the first 3 personages. He called himself, in the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

The Pharisees kept pressing John to say who he was because they were expecting the Messiah. The Pharisees were Jewish leaders educated in the Jewish law, religious prophecy, and the Book of Isaiah telling of the voice of him crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.

These same priests rejected Jesus Christ, the Messiah, when He came. The Pharisees missed the point. They wanted to know who John was but John wanted them to know who Jesus is.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

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What Would God See From Heaven Today?

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Return Next Week to Read Part Two of the Sermon, Who I Am Not