Shadows to Substance: Elijah & John the Baptist - DJ Dickerson

This morning we continue in our series

of lessons entitled Shadows to

Substance. Uh as our scripture reading

this morning has already uh alluded to,

we've already noted a few things

already. And if you've already grabbed

the notes in the back, then you already

have a head start on where this lesson's

going. uh as we open our Bibles and we

again step into the Old Testament, as we

have already throughout this series

quickly discovered that God is not

merely recording history. He is

revealing patterns.

He is displaying shadows. He is showing

us glimpses or previews of something

greater to come. And one of those

shadows that is another one that I would

say stands tall on the pages of

scripture and that is of the prophet

Elijah. And as we were just reading from

Matthew chapter 17, we see that this

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

Elijah that we're talking about from the

Old Testament is a type and shadow of

John the Baptist. And we're going to

look at a few things regarding Elijah

and how we see that and what Jesus even

speaks of in Matthew 17. Now, we know

some things about the prophet Elijah and

some things that might come to our minds

right off. He's a man of fire. We we

think of him in that way. Uh he

certainly was courageous and he

certainly had conviction. I believe we'd

all agree with those words because

something about Elijah and and until I

was studying about Elijah again, I guess

I had forgotten some things. And we tend

to do that, right? I always I always say

that my head's like a bucket full of

holes. I have to keep filling it up.

That's kind of how it works, right?

Especially as we get older. And Elijah's

life though, Al just just is really

interesting as he just burst onto the

biblical scene. You ever y'all ever

think about that? Uh he he confronts

wicked kings. He's calling down fire

from heaven. He multiplies food. He

raises the dead and ultimately ascends

without tasting death.

But we examine this morning really one

of the clearest patterns in scripture

and that is Elijah with that of John the

Baptist. And as we think about Elijah

who serves as the shadow and John the

Baptist who is the final prophet before

Jesus as a substance of that shadow this

morning.

Matthew 11:14 says, "And if you are

Matthew 11:14

willing to receive it, he is Elijah who

is to come." Throughout the passage, and

sometimes we we we do this, we we'll

read we'll read our chapters sometimes

and we we kind of gloss over a few

things. I want us to notice this what

Jesus said himself.

But a as as we think about this Elijah

that is actually John that he's speaking

of. This is not reincarnation. This is

fulfillment.

This is not the same man but they have

the same mission.

Not the same identity but the same

pattern is what we're seeing. Because as

you think back, God used Elijah to call

Israel back from apostasy, didn't he?

God used John to call Israel back in

preparation for the Messiah.

Both men were voices of repentance. Both

confronted wicked rulers. Both prepared

the people for divine intervention.

And both pointed away from themselves

towards

something greater, God's greater work.

So, both Elijah, the prophet of fire, we

might say, and John, the prophet of

repentance, two great men who revealed

God's consistent message

to his people. And you could kind of

summarize it, I guess, a little bit. And

their message was basically prepare

yourselves.

The Lord is coming.

And that's true in both instances.

So as as I mentioned a moment ago how

Elijah just burst into the scene. Okay.

Uh something I I guess I have forgotten

over over time. But Elijah he entered

history as a prophet of fire. And the

first verse of first kings chapter 17 it

1 Kings 17 · chapter mention

says and Elijah the Tishbite of the

inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab.

Boom. Here's Elijah. All right. Here he

is. As the Lord God of Israel lives,

before whom I stand, there shall not be

doom or rain these years except at my

word.

Really, we don't have an introduction to

Elijah. Um,

Elijah appears suddenly because God

sends him when needed most, right? We

don't really have a whole lot of

background. We don't have a whole lot of

explanation, but scripture just simply

says Elijah the Tishbite, inhabitants of

Gilead, said to Ahab.

Now, if you look at the history here,

Israel was drowning in idolatry.

Ahab and Jezebel, we know those names,

don't we? They had led the nation into

bail worship. God's prophets were were

being murdered. Uh truth had been

trampled. Wickedness uh ruled Israel's

throne.

So God sends Elijah suddenly, boldly,

fearlessly to declare, "There will be no

due. There shall be there shall not be

due nor rain these years except at my

word."

And what's he who does he attribute that

to? As the Lord God of Israel lives

before whom I stand. That's who he

attributes.

And God raised Elijah as as a judgment

against apostasy and as a call back to

covenant faithfulness. Now, we certainly

know from the scriptures that when a

people when people forgets God,

he sends a voice to remind them.

Think about Elijah's mission.

His mission was to confront sin and call

for repentance.

You might remember one of the things we

we certainly when we say the word

Elijah, one of that stands out to us is

the challenge that he made to the bell

worshippers there on Mount Carmel. First

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

Kings chapter 18. And I want you to

notice verse 21. This kind of gives us

this insight here that that Elijah is is

I mean courageously facing off here uh

in this. And he says Elijah, it says

Elijah came to all the people and said,

"How long will you falter between two

opinions? If the Lord is God, follow

him. But if bail, follow him." But the

people answer him not a word.

So Elijah, he represents truth against

error, courage against compromise, light

against darkness, repentance against

rebellion. That's what Elijah's doing.

And he stands alone. And just think

about this scene that you get in first

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

kings chapter 18 is that he is standing

there alone on Carmel and he is

confronting 450

prophets of Bale and what you see is he

he prays a very simple prayer doesn't he

hear me oh Lord hear me that this people

may know that you are the Lord God and

that you have turned their hearts back

to [snorts] you again.

First Kings 18 and verse 37. And

remember that you have that scene of of

of of the bell worshippers who were

challenged right by the lighting of the

altar. And and remember they were cut.

They were getting to the point where

their god was not listening to them and

they went to the point of self

mutilation. They were cutting

themselves.

And and here you have

Elijah who simply says a prayer to his

God.

Hear me, oh Lord.

And God answers with fire.

And Elijah tells Israel, "Choose your

God and choose him." Now,

it's an amazing scene. If you of course

I'm just kind of giving a quick rundown

through First Kings chapter 18, but it's

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

quite impressive of what he's doing.

A messenger from God.

His mission, right? His mission was to

confront sin and call for repentance.

And we see that through through his his

service as a prophet as a messenger from

God. Let's talk about Elijah's character

as well. some things that are pretty

interesting about him. Uh how he's

described, he he's a wilderness prophet.

He's a bold preacher. He's a defender of

truth.

And some might consider when you when

you read about Elijah that he was a man

of the wilderness. We might call him

kind of simplistic in in a sense. Uh can

you have any fear of of any king for

that matter? uh a man unwilling to

soften God's message.

Uh his wardrobe was rough. Uh some of

the descriptions that you find his diet

was simple. His life was, you know,

again, but a message that he took shook

a nation.

And he became a prototype, if you will,

of the kind of prophet God uses when the

world grows cold.

And that is why God chooses Elijah. I

want y'all to see this. Why he chooses

Elijah as a shadow of the prophet who

will prepare the way for Christ. Again,

I'm kind of summarizing real quickly

about the life of Elijah.

But when you notice what Jesus is saying

in Matthew 11, also in Matthew chapter

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

17 about Elijah,

he was saying in Matthew 11 about

Elijah, but he is referencing John. He's

talking about John the Baptist, who is

the substance of Elijah's shadow.

How do we know this? Well, some of it's

pretty plainly pointed, right? But even

as you go back for just a moment,

I'm going to give you Malachi 4 and

verse 5.

And Malachi 4 and verse 5, make sure to

prove all things according to God's

word, not DJs. But Malachi chapter 4,

Malachi 4 · chapter mention

Malachi being the last book of the Old

Testament,

you [clears throat] get we see several

instructions that that we even find. We

have prophecy that's that's being

mentioned here. But Malachi 4 and verse

5 says,

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the

prophet

before the coming of the great and

dreadful day of the Lord." Look at verse

six. And he will turn the hearts of the

fathers to the children of children and

the heart into the and the hearts of the

children of their fathers lest they come

and strike the earth with a curse.

Hundreds of years have passed. Malachi

finishes the Old Testament with a

promise. And then you have Israel who's

waiting hundreds of years for that

promise to unfold. And then as you go to

the New Testament, you find that uh an

angel appears to an old priest uh named

Zachcharias and says of his unborn son

in Luke 1 and verse 17.

Look what he says about him. He will

also go before him in the spirit and

power of who?

Elijah

to do what?

to turn the hearts of the fathers to the

children and the disobedient to the

wisdom of the judge to make ready a

people prepared for the Lord.

Well, that sounds quite familiar,

doesn't it? That sounds like a prophecy

that we were just reading from Malachi 4

and verse 5 and 6.

You even back up into chapter 3 and

verse one

of Malachi that speak of speaks of a

coming messenger.

Behold, I send my measure, and he will

prepare the way before me. And the Lord

whom you seek will suddenly come to his

temple, even the messenger of the

covenant in whom you delight. Behold, he

is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Who

is he talking about in Malachi 4:4

Malachi 4:4

or 3 and verse one? Jesus. Uh Jesus,

he's talking about the one preparing the

way for Jesus, and that is John the

Baptist.

all right there in prophecy in Malachi.

So John the Baptist is fulfilling

Elijah's role as the final prophet

calling Israel to repentance.

There's a lot of similarities that we

find obviously with that of of Elijah

and John.

John, I would say his appearance mirrors

Elijah. I mean, you know, some of the

things I described real quickly and a

lot of times we think about John, we we

consider his his attire, if you will. Uh

John himself was clothed in camel's hair

with a leather belt around his waist and

his food was locust and wild honey. From

Matthew 3 and:4,

notice how Elijah is described in 2

Kings 1 and verse 8.

He was a hairy man wearing a leather

belt around his waist and he said, "It

is Elijah the Tishbite."

Kind of similar, right?

But I I I believe John is deliberately

patterned after Elijah because what I

get from this when I study about Elijah

and John is it's really a visual message

to me.

a visual message that was going to

Israel that God is keeping his promise,

the Elijah type prophet has come

that not only does their appearance and

how they're described as we see in those

in those verses of 2 Kings 1 as well as

Matthew chapter 3, but we also see

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

something else and that is the very

message

that John had also mirrors Elijah.

I mentioned earlier that Elijah called

Israel to choose between Bell and God.

We saw that in First Kings, didn't we?

Chapter 18. And John calls Israel to sh

to choose between sin and righteousness.

And one of the things we see right off

in Matthew chapter 3

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

and in in talking about John the Baptist

in those days, it says he came preaching

in the wilderness of Judea and saying,

here's his message. Repent, for the

kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this

is he who was spoken of by the prophet

Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying

in the wilderness, prepare the way of

the Lord, make his paths straight." See,

that was his message.

And when you look at both of them,

Elijah and John, both prophets were

preaching urgency, repentance, returning

to God, preparing for divine

intervention, all of that.

Both prophets were confronting sin

without hesitation

and they both refused to compromise with

religious hypocrisy.

Remember it's John who stood before the

Pharisees and Sadducees and declared you

brood of vipers

who warned you to flee from the wrath to

come?

Elijah rebuked Ahab.

Who did John rebuke who was in a very

high position? Y'all remember Herod.

Elijah confronted idolatry.

John confronted immorality.

Elijah restored Israel to truth. And

John prepared Israel for the truth

incarnate. That's what he was doing.

And as you look at how Jesus uses those

statements

saying of this Elijah,

well, John's ministry is what we'd even

say a bridge

between shadow and substance

because Elijah's mission was to bring

Israel back to that very covenant of

faithfulness.

John's mission is to prepare them for

the Messiah.

John made it very clear when he was out

preaching.

What did he say in John chapter 1 and

John 1 · chapter mention

verses 20- 23. Look at that. John 1 20-

23.

He confessed and did not deny but

confessed, I am not the Christ. And they

asked him what then are you Elijah? He

said I am not. Are you the prophet? And

he answered no. Then they said to him,

"Who are you that we may give an answer

to those who sent us? What do you say

about yourself?" He said,"I am the voice

of one crying in the wilderness, make

straight the p the way of the Lord as

the prophet Isaiah said." See, he's he's

reaching back again to the prophecy of

old. And this one, of course, is

mentioned already was Isaiah as well.

See, John is really we might consider

the last Old Testament prophet. Yet, he

stands at the dawn of the New Testament,

the very hinge between the age of

shadows and the age of fulfillment.

That's where John is at.

He baptizes for repentance and he

prepares hearts for Jesus arrival, the

coming Messiah.

Jesus made a a note about John himself.

Another note that we find in Matthew 11

and verse 11.

He said, "Assuredly I say to you, among

those born of women, there has not risen

one greater than John the Baptist,

but he who is least in the kingdom of

heaven is greater than he."

You know, you you know when Jesus makes

this kind of statement, you say why?

Because John has the greatest task of

any prophet. You ever think about that?

To point the world, the world directly

to the coming Messiah.

As he even said in John 1 and verse 29,

John saw Jesus that next day coming

toward him and said, "Behold the lamb of

God who takes away the sin of the

world."

These two characters of the Bible are

absolutely impressive

and why they are used and why we see

them as a shadow and substance here in

this series. Because as you look the

parallels between Elijah and John, I I

would I would I would submit to you that

the major shadows that we see in the in

their very fulfillment is I'll kind of

give you a list here

that again both appear suddenly in times

of spiritual darkness. Remember Elijah,

he entered during Ahab's wickedness and

John entered during corrupt Judaism.

Both are wilderness prophets. They are

untouched by religious institutions.

They're untamed by society's

expectations.

They are confronting kings. As I

mentioned earlier, as Elijah, he

confronted Ahab and and John confronted

that of Herod. And and what did he do?

They they both called the rulers to

repentance. And both suffered for it,

didn't they?

Both called God's people back to

righteousness.

Elijah said, told them, "Choose the

Lord." And John says, "Repent and

prepare."

Both will stand alone in their

generation as their solitary voices were

crying out in a sea of compromise.

And I would even submit to you that both

sparked national revival.

Elijah was turning Israel back at

Cormal. You see a massive, we might say

a massive movement of the sorts. And

what John was doing was turning Israel

back at the Jordan

because both were doing exactly what

they were called to do and that was

preparing the way for divine revelation.

Elijah prepares Israel for Elisha.

Remember Elisha? That's another one

that's a very uh well-known prophet to

us from the Old Testament. and and even

uh preparing for the restoration of

prophetic authority for that matter and

and John prepares Israel for Christ who

is the ultimate revelation of God.

So when you look at these two in

scriptures and looking at the beauty of

how they come onto the scene and what

they do, Jesus makes it very clear

himself declaring about Elijah and John

the Baptist that John is the fulfillment

type or the fulfillment of the Elijah

type. That's what we see. If you go back

to Matthew 11 that we were reading from

earlier,

you'll see that again at verse 14. Let's

look at verses 11-15. Let's get all that

passage there together in Matthew 11.

Look what Jesus says of John.

[clears throat] He said, "Assuredly I

say to you, among those born of women,

there has not risen one greater than

John the Baptist, but he who is least in

the kingdom of heaven is greater than

he. And from the days of John the

Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven

suffers violence, and the violent take

it by force. For all the prophets in the

law prophesied until John. And if you

are willing to receive it, he is Elijah

who is to come. He who has ears to hear,

let him hear.

And as you go through and notice the

work that was being done and even as

from our scripture reading this morning

in Matthew chapter 17, look at it again

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

when Jesus answered and said to him,

"Indeed Elijah is coming first and will

restore all things." But I say to you

that Elijah has come already.

And they did not know him but did to him

whatever they wish. Likewise, the son of

man is also about to suffer at their

hands.

See, this was after uh in Matthew 17.

Remember that's after the

transfiguration.

[clears throat]

And as I mentioned earlier, John John is

not Elijah reincarnated. He is

fulfilling Elijah's prophetic role, his

mission and spirit as God promised.

Elijah restoring Israel before judgment.

John restoring Israel before the

Messiah. preparing the way for the Lord.

Elijah calling Israel out of idolatry.

John calling Israel a hypocrisy.

All of these things

and John is the last voice before Jesus

speaks.

Elijah was a voice to an apostate

nation.

And here we have John who is preparing

the way of the Lord.

And what does that lead us to?

Jesus who is word in the flesh. That's

what John made abundantly clear.

So when we ask the question, what do

these shadows teach us today from Elijah

and John the Baptist?

[clears throat] What do we take from

this?

Well, before judgment, Elijah's day, God

sent a prophet.

Before the Messiah's arrival,

God sent a prophet.

And before the end, God calls us through

his word, his word that came in flesh

that dwelt among us,

Jesus Christ himself.

The point that I would even make is God

calling his people back before judgment.

God always warns before he judges. You

ever notice that? Every single time.

And that warning is still being called

forth to this day.

I would submit as well that true

preachers must speak with courage.

No compromise.

Elijah stood alone. John stood alone.

Think about Jesus.

In every age, it is true that God's

message is costly. That's why Jesus made

it abundantly clear

about counting the cost.

Putting one's hand to the plow,

not looking back.

It's costly. Disciplehip's costly

because faithfulness requires courage

and that's what we see in both the life

of Elijah and John the Baptist

and obviously in Jesus as well.

Something else I believe we take from

this is repentance prepares the way for

revival.

Elijah demanded repentance. John

demanded what? Repentance.

Which what is repentance? change of

heart, a change of mind which leads to a

change of direction, a change of life.

When Jesus began his ministry, what was

he saying in Mark 1:15? It was about

Mark 1:15

repentance.

Change

not this worldly sorrow that leads to

death, but even as Paul said to the

Corinthian brethren, it's a godly sorrow

that leads to true repentance.

Because no heart

sees God without repentance. No church

experiences renewal without repentance.

No soul enters the kingdom without

repentance.

And what they show us is Elijah and

John. They show us the cost of

disciplehip.

Remember Elijah, he was hunted by

Jezebel. Remember, he had a he had a

down spot in his life, didn't he? He was

he was just like the rest of us, okay?

He had been through a lot.

And you remember him sitting on that

Jupiter tree and he wanted to die.

But God told him to get up and go,

right?

And God promised him that there was more

to do. And there were those he had not

even he didn't even know about that were

standing firm and were holding forth the

truth.

Well, John was imprisoned, we remember,

and he stood against Herod

and he told him the truth

and he was ultimately executed, wasn't

he? His head was on a platter.

Jesus himself was crucified.

You see, walking with God

requires sacrifice.

Serving God brings opposition.

But one thing else we see from this is

that

eternity makes every sacrifice

worthwhile.

I believe they show us that.

So friends, as we conclude the lesson,

as as I have been providing um each each

uh service uh in this shadows to

substance series is you've uh noticed

that there's another chart back there

with Elijah who again is the shadow and

John the Baptist who is the fulfillment

of that shadow and of course it leads us

to the very substance that is in Christ.

What we find about these two prophets

that had one message,

prepare for the Lord.

Elijah being that shadow and John being

the fulfillment, both pointed beyond

themselves. Elijah pointed toward a time

of restoration. John pointed toward a

Messiah. And what did Jesus do? You

notice what he did? Jesus fulfilled

everything that both prepared.

the true substance.

Elijah came to call Israel back. John

came to call Israel forward. And Jesus

came to call the world home.

Elijah said, "Return to the Lord." John

said, "Prepare the way of the Lord." And

Jesus says, "Come unto me all ye that

are weary and heavy laden, and I will

give you rest."

Matthew 11.

[clears throat] You see, the Bible shows

that both Elijah and John were chosen by

God to deliver his message to his

people. And the very essence of their

proclamation, their preaching was

direct. It was unmistakable.

And each one fulfilled a critical role

in the generation in which they lived.

Their

missions

were instrumental in preparing hearts

and guiding God's people toward his

purposes.

To end with this, friends, I would tell

you John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

If you've ever read this, it's it's

another place that we see all this

coming together again that that when you

begin even in verse 30,

Jesus goes through in this this passage,

he he lists several witnesses that

verify his identity. Look at verse 30. I

can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I

judge, and my judgment is righteous

because I do not seek my own will, but

the will of the father who sent me. And

and he explains that if he alone were

making these claims, people would have

no reason to accept him to accept him.

Right? But but he imately points to

multiple sources that confirm who he is.

Look at this. Read with me. Verse 36-39.

Skip on down to that. He said, "But I

have greater witness than John's. For

the works which the Father has given me

to finish, the very works that I do bear

witness of me, that the Father has sent

me, and the Father himself who sent me

has testified of me. You have neither

heard his voice at any time, nor seen

his form, but you do not have his word

abiding in you, because whom he sent

him, you do not believe. You search the

scriptures, for in them you think you

have eternal life, and these are they

which testify of me. Y'all see what he

did there? Verse 36, he says one of the

sources that he has that that confirms

who he is, his works. That was that's

verse 36. Verse 37 and 38, what's he say

there? Well, the father's testimony is

the other source that he has. And then

verse 39, the scriptures themselves,

they testify and they confirm who he is.

Read on down verse 45-47. Now do not

think that I shall accuse you to the

father. There is one who accuses Moses

in whom you trust. For if you believe

Moses, you would believe me, for he

wrote about me. But if you do not

believe his writings, how will you

believe my words? So he goes on and he

says, "Hey, there's another source here

and that is Moses."

And you know what Moses writings did?

They anticipated the coming of Jesus

himself.

But

I skipped some verses, didn't I?

Before mentioning these, who does Jesus

refer to? In verse 33 down through verse

35, he refers to John the Baptist as a

significant witness. Look at it. You

have sent to John and he has borne

witness to the truth. Yet I do not

receive testimony from man. But I say

these things

that you may be saved.

He was the burning and shining lamp. And

you are willing for a time to rejoice in

his light.

[clears throat] Y'all see what he did?

In scripture, light such as a lamp is

often symbolic of understanding or

revelation. And John served as a bright

light announcing the nearness of the

long awaited Messiah. But when the true

light finally came into the world,

humanity did not respond as it should

have.

John 1 says in verse four down through

verse 9, in him, talking about Jesus, in

him was life and the life was the light

of men and the light shines in the

darkness and the darkness did not

comprehend it. There was a man sent from

God whose name was John.

This man came for a witness to bear

witness of the light that all through

him might believe. He was not that light

but was sent to bear witness of that

light. That was the true light which

gives light to every man coming into the

world.

John's role was never to be the light

but to point others to the light. Jesus

Christ, the ultimate substance of all of

it. Friends, the shadow has meaning only

because the substance has arrived.

The message of Elijah still stands. The

message of John still stands. And you

know what else still stands? The message

of Jesus Christ still stands. So what I

give you in the close this this morning

is really the same message that been

preached from Elijah to John the

Baptist, Jesus himself.

Repent. Turn your heart back to God.

Prepare and submit to the will of

Christ. Come receive salvation through

obedience to the gospel. Those are the

very words that you see in all of their

lives. Repent, prepare, and come.

God's plan of salvation. Jesus himself

go into all the world, preach the

gospel. He that believeth and is

baptized shall be saved. He that

believeth not shall be condemned. Mark

Mark 16:15–16

16:15-16. Also reiterated in Matthew 28

when he said, being baptizing in the

name of the father and the son of the

holy spirit. Friends, that's exactly

what we see him doing on the day of

Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 in our Bible

Acts 2 · chapter mention

class this morning. That they men and

brother, what shall we do? And what did

Peter say? Repent and be baptized

everyone in the name of Jesus Christ for

remission of sins and you shall receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And the Lord added to the church about

3,000 souls, it says that were baptized

for the remission of their sins

because they repented. They prepared

their hearts. They came to be baptized,

immersed, buried with him and baptism to

arise and walk in newness of life. as

Romans 6:3 and4 says, "And you can do

Romans 6:3

that this morning as well."

Whether you are one who has drifted away

as a disciple of Christ, you can come

back, repent, prepare, and come.

Elijah shows God restores the weary.

John showed God remembers the faithful.

And Jesus shows God saves completely.

And friends, as the song we're about to

sing, that way of the cross, it leads

home.

If you're subject to invitation call,

whatever your spiritual need is, won't

you come as we stand as we sing the song

that's been selected for