The Forerunner – Part 4
Luke 3:1-20 (15-20)
November 26, 2017
If you’ve been with us the past few weeks then you know that while Luke 3 has not necessarily been enjoyable, it has been absolutely ESSENTIAL.
We have been looking at the ministry of John the Baptist
Who came for one purpose and that was to prepare us for Jesus.
John’s goal has been simple.
• He is working to expose our sin…
• He is working to show us our condemnation…
• He is working to reveal to us the judgment which comes as a result…
• He is working to lead us to repent of that sin…
And while pushing for this John will accept no false response.
John is not about to let up until
Our entire mindset and attitude regarding sin changes.
It has been HARSH
It has been PAINFUL
And yet at the same time we are so grateful
This morning we are going to bring the ministry of this forerunner to a close,
But let me remind you again about where we’ve come in this powerful chapter.
#1 JOHN’S CULTURE
Luke 3:1-2
Very simply put John ministered
In a time of Roman domination and Jewish extortion.
An extremely pagan government and an extremely hypocritical church.
It is suffice to say that truth and righteousness
Where not high on the list of cultural priorities.
#2 JOHN’S CALLING
Luke 3:3-6
This culture was sinful and that was a problem
Since the Holy One was on His way.
The One about whom Malachi said:
Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.”
And again Malachi said:
Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
So we quickly realize that the sinful culture in which John lived
Was in no way ready for the Holy One who was about to arrive.
John was called to bring about repentance.
Or again as Malachi said:
Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
• We had children in Israel who would have been unrecognizable to their fathers (that is the Patriarchs who were men of faith)
These people had so far strayed from the faith and devotion of Abraham
That one could hardly even refer to them any longer as his children.
John came to lead the people to repentance
TO RESTORE THEM TO THE FAITH OF THEIR FATHER.
He came as Isaiah said,
To straighten out crooked hearts and to smooth down idolatrous souls.
He was called to make these people ready for the coming Holy One.
#3 JOHN’S CONFRONTATION
Luke 3:7-9
Since the people were so far out of whack and so unprepared,
• John began to confront his sinful culture
• And he refused to simply allow them to go through some symbolic ritual.
With John it was either repentance or bust.
He confronted them on every level.
He confronted their SINFUL NATURE – that they were a “brood of vipers”
He confronted their SUPERFICIAL MOTIVES – “who warned you to flee”
He confronted their SHALLOW COMMITMENT – “bear fruits in keeping…”
He confronted their SHAKY THEOLOGY – “do not think…Abraham”
He confronted their SORRY DISCERNMENT – “axe is already laid…”
There was no way
John was going to let them do what they had always done,
Which was bring some token offering to God
And expect that all was square.
John went after the very root of the problem
And revealed to these people that because of their sin
They were under the very REAL and NEAR judgment of God.
Something had to change or God was about to wipe them out.
#4 JOHN’S COMMAND
Luke 3:10-14
John’s penetrating warning certainly got the attention of the crowds
Because they all responded with the same question, “What shall we do?”
And so John had no problem telling them.
• Show Compassion
• Stop Corruption
• Seek Contentment
But really even more than that John told them to stop loving the world.
The problem with this generation is that they had grown
To value the world more than they valued righteousness.
We know that because they willingly
Sacrificed righteousness in order to gain the world.
That was their root problem and it had to change.
Because the King who was coming was not coming to offer the world.
He was coming to offer righteousness.
And if they didn’t get their priorities straight
There is no way they were going to be willing to follow Him.
So…
• John commanded these people to let their love of the world go.
• John commanded these people to repent of their love of money.
• John commanded these people to flee from their idolatry.
And that is where we left off.
John is not messing around.
This morning we want to look at the final two points of John’s ministry.
#5 JOHN’S CLARIFICATION
Luke 3:15-18
What we notice is that
John had at least succeeded in one aspect of his ministry.
He had captured the people’s attention.
My dad used to talk about all the time when he would come home from a sale with a new load of horses; and we’d ride them to see what they were. Inevitably you’d have one that just didn’t handle right and dad would say, “That horse needs his attention got.” (That meant he was fixing to get in the loading shoot with that horse and wouldn’t leave until that horse knew who was in control)
Well, John has just completed his little stint in the loading shoot
And it is safe to say that he has the people’s attention.
In fact, he has their attention to such a degree
That there is a universal question regarding John.
(15) “Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,”
Now they don’t think that because John has worked some testifying miracle or because he has even fulfilled some Messianic prophesy.
They are wondering if he is the Messiah because
They have never met anyone who cares so much about holiness as John.
• His passion for righteousness and his willingness to forsake the world was absolutely foreign in every regard.
• He was such a contrast to anything they had ever seen, it caused many to wonder who he was.
John’s gospel gives a little more insight into this curiosity:
John 1:19-28 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
They didn’t know who John was,
But they knew he had to be someone special for this guy was different.
Beyond that, I think there is ANOTHER ASPECT about John that would have definitely been on the mind of at least some of the Jews.
TURN TO: EZEKIEL 36:22-32
If you are familiar with Ezekiel you know that he was a priest in Israel who had been deported to Babylon during the time of the Exile.
While there God used this man in a prophetic role to reveal
• That God was angry because of how Israel had profaned His name through their idolatry
• And His plan for cleansing them of that idolatry.
That is what we read about in Ezekiel 36.
(READ 22-32)
What you have there is a tremendous picture of salvation.
It is actually Ezekiel’s version of the same New Covenant that Jeremiah promised.
It is where God promises to take a people who have messed up
And will Himself clean them and cause them to become holy.
How will God accomplish this?
• He will first wash them with water
• Then He will fill them with His Spirit which will cause them to be obedient.
And thus God says in verse 29, “I will save you from all you uncleanness…”
That was a prophetic promise from God.
And to at least some extent this had to be included in the expectation
That is referred to here regarding John.
INCIDENTALLY, it is the exact same thing Jesus referred to during His conversation with Nicodemus.
John 3:1-5 “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ” Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
That reference to “water and the Spirit” was a reference to Ezekiel 36.
It speaks of both repentance and regeneration.
AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE
That is also the same reality that John is about to speak of.
(16) “John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Now because we just read Ezekiel 36 and John 3
Perhaps you have a better understanding of what John is talking about.
• These were idolatrous people.
• They loved the world.
• Through their love of the world, they had profaned the name of God.
• And as a result of this sin, they were a people under the judgment of God.
John came to be part of the solution.
WHAT PART DID JOHN PLAY?
“As for me, I baptize you with water;”
This is a reference to Ezekiel 36:25
Ezekiel 36:25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.”
It is the same water that Jesus referenced in John 3:5.
It is that cleansing which God said must occur.
Paul referred to it in Acts 19 (which we saw last week in reference to those unsaved disciples of John)
Acts 19:4 “Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
And this is what John is telling the crowds here.
• I certainly fulfill a role.
• I certainly have a purpose.
• I am the one who comes to lead you to repentance, to in effect wash you from
all of your uncleanness.
But if you’ve read Ezekiel 36
Then you know that you need more than I provide.
For Ezekiel indeed spoke of being washed with water,
But there was something even greater that Ezekiel also referred to.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
Certainly the people needed to be led to repentance and to be washed of their uncleanness, but that is not all they needed.
They also needed the power to obey God in the future.
If all they had was John’s baptism,
• Then it would have been no different than any other Old Testament ritual.
• They would have had to return daily to continue to be washed and cleansed
over and over and over again.
• Because although they would have been repentant, they would have had no
power to ever overcome sin in their lives.
And this is why John emphatically pointed to Jesus.
“but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Do you hear what John is saying?
• Yes, you need repentance.
• Yes, you need to be washed.
• And this I can do.
But you also need God’s Spirit to give you the strength to live holy,
AND THIS I CANNOT GIVE YOU.
(I am not mighty enough to do that.)
But there is One who is.
And He is on His way.
He is “mightier than I”
In fact, if you want a comparison, “I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals;”
That was a task usually done by the lowest and most unworthy servant,
And John says, “I’m not even worthy enough to do that for Him.”
But when He comes, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”
And thanks to Ezekiel 36, you now know what John is referring to.
• He is referring to salvation.
• He is referring to regeneration.
• He is referring to God’s Spirit moving within a person and subsequently causing that person to walk in obedience.
It is probably necessary that we do clarify this a little,
Because the charismatic movement has totally hijacked this term
And confused masses of people.
The charismatic movement has said that the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”
IS A SECONDARY EVENT TO SALVATION.
• It is when a saved person prays for a “secondary filling of the Holy Spirit” in
which God then super anoints a person with His Spirit into a new and
greater and more enlightened and more powerful closeness to God.
• This “secondary filling” or “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is also accompanied with
speaking in tongues and other miraculous abilities and manifestations.
Now, as much as I would love to go into all of that right now,
We don’t have near enough time.
(If you want to know more go to our website
And listen to our sermon series on the Holy Spirit which we studied a few years ago)
What I simply want you to understand this morning is that
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is NOT some secondary filling
Or some additional experience to salvation.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SALVATION.
Let me be clear, if you do not have God’s Holy Spirit
Dwelling inside of you then you are not a child of God.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the absolute tell-tell sign of a genuine believer.
Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
It is clear that all who believe in Christ receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
He is not merely given to the most loyal of believers,
He is given to all believers.
The question is WHY?
And that is the answer which is given in Ezekiel 36.
TO ALLOW YOU TO LIVE HOLY.
That is why He is called the Holy Spirit.
His main work is to make you holy.
His main work is to work out sanctification in your life.
And the One who has the power to give you this Holy Spirit is Jesus.
John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
Acts 2:32-33 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
AND THAT IS WHAT JOHN IS REFERRING TO.
• This crowd has profaned the name of God through their idolatry.
• They most certainly need to repent and to be washed,
• But they also need to be filled with God’s Spirit that they may be holy.
Now, let me say one more thing about this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
There are two words in the Greek that refer to baptism.
There is BAPTO and there is BAPTIZO
The word used here is BAPTIZO.
There is actually a usage of both of these words in ancient Greek culture
That help us see the difference very easily.
Oddly enough it is from a man named Nicandor and it is a pickle recipe.
But in that recipe here is what he says.
You first take the cucumber and BAPTO that is “dip” that cucumber in boiling water and then he says to BAPTIZO that cucumber into the vinegar
Does that spell it out for you a little?
You dip that cucumber into the boiling water,
But you leave it in the vinegar solution until the very properties of that cucumber are changed into a pickle.
That is what happens with the Holy Spirit.
• It is not some experiential dip where you feel all better for a moment.
• It is a full blown immersion into that Spirit and you stay there until the very
properties of the person are changed.
This is what is referred to in passages like:
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
You never thought a pickle could teach you so much about Christianity did you?
In John’s day you had a lot of clean cucumbers,
But you didn’t have many pickles.
(that relates to the church today as well)
John said, I can most certainly wash you, but I cannot transform you.
Only One can “baptize you with the Holy Spirit”
Only one can make you holy.
Only one can save you from your uncleanness.
This was John’s way of saying, “You must run to Jesus!”
But if you’ll notice the Holy Spirit ISN’T THE ONLY THING
John said that the coming One would baptize people with.
John also said that He would baptize people with “fire”.
Here is another widely misunderstood analogy.
Because the charismatic movement tries to make the baptism of the Holy Spirit something different than it is, they also distort the notion of fire. They liken this to the “tongues as of fire” that appeared above the believers in the upper room and thus say that is what John is referring to here.
IT IS NOT.
A proper Biblical hermeneutic will tell you that context is key.
John tells us exactly what fire means in the very next verse.
(17) “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
So when John speaks of “fire” what does he refer to?
JUDGMENT
• When a farmer went out to harvest the wheat, they just took a sickle and cut down the entire stalk.
• They would then beat that stalk on the ground to shake loose the grain from the head.
• They would then take a “winnowing fork” (pitchfork) and toss everything up into the wind.
• The grain was heavier and would fall straight down and the “chaff’ or empty stalks would blow in the wind several feet away.
• After gathering the grain, he would then “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”
So now John has just explained to you exactly what this Holy One will do.
He will come and give you two options.
• You can either have salvation, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• Or you can have judgment, which is the baptism by fire.
And incidentally, everything John speaks of in regard to that judgment
Can be summed up in the word “thoroughly”
You will not find a reference to judgment in Scripture that is not thorough.
That is to say He never fails to gather a single piece of grain
And He never fails to burn a single piece of chaff.
SO LISTEN TO JOHN NOW.
The people want to know who he is, and John is clear.
Look, I have a role to play, and that is to lead you to repentance
And to wash you of your uncleanness.
But there are two things I can’t do because I’m not mighty enough.
1) I can’t totally save you because I can’t make you holy.
2) I can’t finally judge you because I am not powerful enough.
So in one sense John just told the crowd that they should repent,
But if they don’t, there is really nothing he can do about it.
And that is the reality of every single preacher I know.
I can tell you what the Bible says, but if you choose not to believe me,
There really isn’t really anything I can do about it.
One person today wears a T-shirt which says, “Only God can judge me”
And to an extent they are correct.
But that should terrify them, because John says that He absolutely will.
Jesus is coming, and you will either believe in Him
And be made holy with the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Or you will reject Him and be destroyed in the baptism of fire.
(18) “So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.”
That is to say that John continually tried to push people
• To the forgiveness that is found in repentance
• And the salvation that is found in Christ.
But a good question at this point would be:
WHY WOULD ANYONE CHOOSE THE BAPTISM OF FIRE OVER THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT?
Well, let’s look at a case study:
John’s Culture, John’s Calling, John’s Confrontation, John’s Command, John’s Clarification
#6 JOHN’S CAPTURE
Luke 6:19-20
Luke actually skips many chronological events here.
There is actually a great deal of ministry that occurs in between Luke 3:18 and Luke 3:19, but Luke is making a point.
So Luke fast-forward’s to the capture of John
And mostly to reveal to us why people wouldn’t listen to him.
(19-20) “But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.”
Mark’s gospel gives a little more of an explanation.
Mark 6:17-20 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.”
That’s pretty remarkable isn’t it?
We see exactly why Herod locked John up.
• John was telling Herod that he was living in sexual immorality and that he should stop.
• He had stolen his brother’s wife, had married her, and was now living adultery with her.
• Herod didn’t like that message so he sought to silence John.
Luke’s gospel adds “and because of all the wicked things which he had done” insinuating that John confronted Herod for more than just this.
The remarkable things is that Mark said that
“he used to enjoy listening to him”
And that tells us a great deal about people who are enamored with the message of truth, but yet unwilling to yield their lives to it.
Of course you know that Herod will end up beheading John,
BUT THE POINT LUKE IS MAKING IS A SIMPLE ONE.
• Regardless of the fact that John preached the truth…
• Regardless of the fact that John offered forgiveness…
• Regardless of the fact that John revealed salvation in Jesus…
• Regardless of the fact that John warned of judgment for rejecting Christ…
We still find that there were plenty of people who rejected.
• We still find that there were people who refused to repent…
• We still find that there were people who refused to believe…
• We still find that there were people who settled instead for the baptism of fire…
AND THE REASON WHY IS VERY IMPORTANT.
John’s message could be seen in one of two ways.
In fact, as you’ve listened to John’s message
You have listened to it in one of two ways.
In your heart you have already made this distinction.
You either listen to John’s sermon and see it as a tremendous message of hope, or you listen to John’s sermon and see it as horrible message of judgment.
I can also emphatically tell you
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER.
The difference that determines whether you thank John’s message is full of hope or full of dread is what you think about your sin.
If you hate your sin and want it removed
Then John’s message is full of hope because he offers forgiveness in
response to repentance and he offers the Holy Spirit to all who believe.
But if you love your sin and want to keep it
John’s message is full of dread because the refusal to repent leaves
only one option and that is the coming fire of judgment.
Your view of your sin dictates what you think about John’s sermon.
Your view of sin dictates whether or not you really think
John was preaching “the gospel” (i.e. good news).
Incidentally, Jesus said the same thing to Nicodemus.
John 3:18-21 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Those who love their sin run from Me
Those who hate their sin run to Me
JESUS IS EITHER SEEN AS GOOD NEWS OR DREADFUL NEWS
DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU THINK OF YOUR SIN.
And Herod is the proof.
Herod saw John’s message as bad news and the coming Messiah as a threat
Only because Herod didn’t want to part with his sin.
And yet those who hated their sin and wanted it gone
Saw John’s message as good news and the coming Messiah as their long awaited hope who could finally free them from their sinful hearts.
And friends, that is where we are this morning.
There is no doubt that John’s message is direct, and bold, and penetrating, and convicting, and confrontational.
However, if you see it as negative and harsh
That only reveals that you still love your sin and don’t want to part with it.
I invite you at this moment to change your mind about sin and see that it only leads to judgment.
I invite you to throw it aside and run to this Jesus whom John spoke of who alone can forgive your sin and make you holy.
And if you do, Jesus promises not only to forgive you,
But also to baptize you with His Holy Spirit
That He might make you new.
Luke 11:9-13 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
If you ask God for forgiveness and salvation and holiness
Through Jesus Christ, God will grant it.
He will give you the Holy Spirit when you ask.
Let me close with one final quote from John the Baptist.
• It comes from John’s gospel on a day when John’s disciples leaving John to follow Jesus.
When they asked John about it, here was the end part of his answer:
John 3:30-36 “He must increase, but I must decrease. “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
That was the point John wanted you to see.
RUN TO JESUS.
