the basic message # E73
Matthew 11:11
“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Interesting. In this passage Jesus has elevated John the Baptist to the number one position in history. Imagine all of the legendary characters of the Bible up to the coming of John the Baptist. Men like Noah, Moses, Abraham, King David and many others were “stars” in Biblical history. Why would John be so special? What did he say or do that set him apart?
Mark 1:1-3
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” - “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of John the Baptist around 700 years before the event happened. By the way, for those of you who question the validity of the Bible, check out the dozens and dozens of predictions made about the coming of Jesus Christ. Don’t expect the “Psychic Hotline” to do as well unless you’re into dabbling into the dark side. John has been called the “forerunner” of Jesus, since it was known from his birth that he would introduce the world to its Savior, Jesus Christ. John is famous for something else too. Do you recall what it is?
Matthew 3:1-2
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Repentance was the real ministry of the Baptizer. Repentance was as misunderstood then as it is today. A friend of mine has told me, “You’re big on repentance, aren’t you?” Yeah, I guess I am, and for darn good reason. We’re living in a world in which any lightweight pastor can step in the pulpit and lash out at the lewd conduct of our President (Clinton at the time this was written), but when the bank President sitting on the front row does the same thing, “Barney Fife with a Bible” gets real quiet. Why? Could it be because the “bold” preacher’s salary doesn’t come from Bill Clinton, but can certainly be affected by the bank President? Many pastors will lash out at abortion from an academic posture, but what are they doing within their own church to curb unwanted pregnancies and assist in helping those women who do choose to have a baby against all odds? Yep, I’m big on repentance. Repentance needs to make a comeback, that is if it was ever with us to begin with. If America was “big” on repentance, maybe there wouldn’t have been a million abortions last year. If America was “big” on repentance, maybe the divorce rate within the Christian church wouldn’t be higher than outside of the church. You read that correctly, our divorce rate is higher than “the heathens”. Aren’t we special? Maybe many of the churches that experience “explosive” growth do so because they don’t require outsiders to experience any change in their secular beliefs once they come inside. Come as you are, and stay as you are.
Jesus announced that John the Baptist was the greatest man who walked the face of the earth. Was it because he dunked people in the river? Nope. Dunking people was the outward sign that they had repented. Apparently Jesus thought that was pretty special. One more time: John was the forerunner of Jesus. John preached repentance. Jesus said John was great. Seems simple to me.