Title: The Man Who Reveals Jesus
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Today, we will look at what John the Baptist is shouting and what it is about, and what is really important to us who live with a lot of weight on appearances.
*The words of John the Baptist in verses 15/23/27
“John testified about him, and cried out, saying, It is this man I said before, He who comes after me precedes me, because he precedes me.”
What are you shouting?
Jesus Christ.
Usually, Old Testament prophets pointed out individual sins and national sins based on the law and emphasized returning to God.
As they watched the countless sacrifices dying in the sanctuary, they must have felt visually how much God hates sin.
But John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament, introduces Jesus of grace and true love, saying, “The law was given through Moses, and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
As in verse 15, he exalts Jesus by saying, “He who comes after me precedes me, because he is before me.”
In Luke 1, John the Baptist is a cousin who was born six months before Jesus.
Rather, he is exalting Jesus Christ and humbles himself by telling the story of verse 15 in a situation where no one is paying any attention to Jesus, who is an unknown carpenter.
This is verse 23.
“He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
The priests and the Levites said, Are you Elijah? Or is it the prophet we have been waiting for? Among the questions asked, “I am just a voice preparing the way of the Lord.”
Verse 20 shows the culmination of John the Baptist's humility.
“John speaks openly and does not hide it; I am not the Christ, but I am not the one who speaks openly.”
I am moved by the part of ‘expose’.
People like to talk and show off most of their bragging rights.
And the world encourages and induces them to do this.
But what does John the Baptist repeat over and over again?
“I am not the Christ! It’s just the sound of preparing the road!”
This is a passage that clearly shows what humility is.
Notice verse 27 in the main text.
“He who is coming soon after me; I am not worthy to untie his sandals.”
There is a culture in which servants take off their shoes and wash their feet with water when guests come to their homes from the Middle East, but John the Baptist says that he cannot even take off the shoes of Jesus.
It emphasizes the greatness of Jesus.
Ex) Background explanation of ‘Ripe rice bows down’ in ‘Let’s Live as Grasshoppers’ by Dr. Si-Hyeong Lee
Because Korea is heavily influenced by Confucianism, there is a tendency to look for humility only in the outward appearance.
You have to pretend you don't have a lot of knowledge, or pretend you don't have a lot of knowledge.
But this is closer to the hypocrisy of the Bible than humility.
It's not the appearance that matters, it's the motivation.
John the Baptist did not pretend to be humble, but because he knew Jesus Christ accurately, he was able to make a correct confession.
* Comparison explanation between Moses in Exodus 3 and David in 1 Samuel 17
True humility and humility are determined by whether we rely on God or rely on God instead of relying on our own strength.
1 Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Do you want to receive God's grace?
Be humble.
Get low.
We earnestly hope that our life will be a life that fully reveals Jesus, not ourselves.