Sermon, Who I Am Not – Part Three: Who Is the Messiah?
Scripture: John 1: 19-27
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John 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] 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned 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. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice.
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.
A life had to be given to pay the penalty for sin and God sacrificed Himself. Jesus Christ is the only perfect sacrifice; His death removed all obstacles between God and us.
Jesus gives us direct access to the Father.
We now have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ, our advocate. John the Baptist took his place as the humble servant. In Luke 7:28, Jesus says, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Think about this: the day you stand before God and He looks at you, He will ask if you did the tasks He gave you. Will He welcome you to His heavenly kingdom or will it be as Jesus says in Matthew 25: 12, “But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
If John the Baptist felt so inadequate to even unlace Jesus’s sandals, how then are we not to serve Jesus with all of our mind, body and soul? Whatever sense of pride and self-importance we may feel has to melt away.
In Judiasm, religion, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple every morning and evening for the sins of the people (Exodus 29: 38-42). Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah would be led to the slaughter like a lamb. The price for the people’s sins was the price of a life.
Jesus Christ was the price for all humankind.
The sacrifice had to be perfect, without spot or blemish. The sacrifice had to be sinless. No one except Jesus Christ fits this description. This is the way that our sins are forgiven.
This is why John the Baptist, even though he was a well-known preacher with a large following, he knew the role he was placed here on earth for: to be the kerusso, the announcer for the coming of the Messiah.
In conclusion, John the Baptist told the Pharisees who he was not. He was not the Messiah, not God’s only Begotten Son and not the light for the world. Also, he was not the Lamb of God, not the one to take away the sins of the world. Additionally, he was not the alpha or omega, and not the I AM. And he wasn’t able to raise the dead and heal the sick. He wasn’t the Messiah.
John the Baptist was the one who baptized with water; the voice of the one calling to prepare the way of the Lord. He was the servant of God.
Who are you and what are you doing for God?
What are you doing for your neighbor? Are you reflecting the light of Jesus Christ? Do you spread the Gospel of Jesus, help your neighbor, and show love? Are you trying to be the servant that God placed you on earth to be? We are not perfect but we are to be the best servant for God that God created us to be.
Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:
Read Part One and Part Two of the Sermon, Who I Am Not