John Ch1v19-42 - Life - What's It All About?

where we started a new series just last week. If you missed it, you can follow along on the website.

All our talks are recorded there. And to help us in our studies on the table, there's lots to

collect this morning. If you didn't get one last week, the Gospel According to John is just a

little outline of what the Gospel is all about. It gives you the big, big picture and it'll help

you as you go along in the studies to return to week by week. We're going to read this morning

from verse 19 to verse 36. John chapter 1 verse 19.

John 1:19

Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites

to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, I am not the Messiah.

They asked him, then who are you? Are you Elijah? No. Are you the prophet? No. Finally, they said,

who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?

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. Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him.

Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, and nor the prophet?

Well, I baptize with water, John replied. But among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who

comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. This all happened at Bethany,

on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him and said,

look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This is the one I meant when I said, a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.

I myself did not know him.

But the reason I came baptizing with water

was that he might be revealed

to Israel.

Then John gave this testimony.

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove

and remain on him.

And I myself did not know him.

But the one who sent me to baptize with water

told me.

The man on whom you see the Spirit come down

and remain

is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

I have seen and I testify

that this is God's chosen one.

The next day,

John was there again with two of his disciples.

When he saw Jesus passing by,

he said,

look,

the Lamb of God.

Well, we'll leave the reading there

and we'll pray

and ask for God's help.

Father, may we see Jesus clearly

through your word today.

and may it cause us

to rejoice in you,

to humbly submit to you

and gladly follow you.

Please give us understanding

and application to our hearts

and change us for good.

Amen.

Well, finish this sentence for me.

Life is all about

what?

Life is all about

doing the best I can,

finding happiness,

being successful.

Well, think about what your answer is

because ultimately,

life, let's face it,

is all about

me.

We do have

a Ronaldo

inside of us.

You see,

we are naturally

self-centered people

who spend our days

thinking about

me,

what I want

and where I'd like to be

and what I want to do.

We are obsessed

with

self.

Every waking moment

and every thought

has a little bit of me

inside of it.

But there is another way

to think about life

and we're going to see that

in our study here now

from John.

You'll notice

if you just use

the big headings

or the big titles

that there are

three days.

So verses 19

to 28

is one day

and then we read

in verse 29

the next day

and then in verse 35

we read

the next day

which

are three days

which are going

to be the

three

things

we're going to

look about

look at

today

together.

So first,

the first day

we're going to learn

that it's not

about

me.

It's not about

me.

Social media

was abuzz.

Word had been

travelling fast

and it had reached

all the way

to the religious elite

back in Jerusalem.

Look at verse 19.

The Jewish leaders

in Jerusalem

sent priests

and Levites

to ask

who he

was.

You see,

John had been

attracting

quite a lot

of attention

and the rumour

that was going

around was

John

was the Messiah.

God's promised

king who had

come to restore

and renew

all things.

And all of this,

verse 28,

was happening

at a place

called Bethany

which was about

30 kilometres

east

of Jerusalem

on the other

side of the

Jordan River

where John

was baptising.

So the religious

leaders sent

out their

experts,

their lawyers,

their best

people to

check out

what was going

on in Bethany

down at the

river.

All the crowds

had been

gathering there.

So,

Mr.

Baptiser,

who are you?

Verse 20,

Well,

John did not

fail to

confess,

but confessed

freely,

I am not

the Messiah.

Rather than

say who he is,

he answers by

saying who he

is not.

In other

words,

it's not about

me.

Verse 21,

Then who are

you?

Would you

be Elijah?

There was

thought that

Elijah,

the prophet

of old,

would come

back to

life before

the coming

of Messiah.

No,

I'm not

Elijah.

Are you

the prophet?

Not just

any prophet,

but are you

the prophet?

The one

that God

had promised

that was

going to

come?

No,

I'm not

the prophet.

Seems a

little bit

like a game

of guess who,

doesn't it?

Finally,

they said,

who are

you?

Give us

an answer

to take

back to

those who

sent us.

We have

to tell

our supervisors

something,

so please

will you

say who

you are?

Just tell

us something

about yourself.

Well,

they've really

set it up

for John

now,

haven't they?

Now's his

chance to

get a few

more likes

on Facebook,

an opportunity

to increase

his following

on Instagram.

Let me

tell you

just a

moment

who I

am.

I'm

John

and I'm

a very

important

person.

Maybe we

could organise

an interview

sometime.

No,

John is

not interested

in fame

or prestige

or status.

He's not

looking for

thumbs up

or emoji

clapping hands.

It's not

about me.

Well,

how different

is that

to how

we operate?

We strive

to be

someone.

We desire

greatness.

We all

want a

little bit

of glory.

We want

that little

taste of

being a

celebrity.

But when

John says

who he

is,

he gives

attention

to someone

else.

Look at

verse 22,

the end

of verse

22.

Who do

you say

or what

do you

say about

yourself?

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.

Isaiah

the prophet

of the past

had written

that a

prophet

would come

who would

be an

announcer

making the

way for

Messiah.

And John

is saying

that's who

I am.

I am

preparing the

way not

for me

but for

Jesus.

That's why

he was

baptizing

people in

the Jordan.

Not a

baptism like

what we do

now but a

baptism of a

sign that

they were

ready to

meet the

Messiah,

God's

rescuing

king.

No,

says John,

I am not

looking for

people to

follow me.

I am not

trying to

build a

name for

myself.

It's not

about me.

I loved

watching the

Olympics this

summer and

the Paralympics

that are on

at the

minute,

especially

the big

races,

the hundred

metres.

One by

one the

athletes are

announced and

as their

name is

heard they

run out of

a tunnel and

into the

stadium and

take their

place at the

starting light.

There's flashing

lights,

bursts of

sparkling flames,

the roar of

the crowd.

Well,

John is not

like the guy

running into

the stadium

who everybody

cheers for.

No,

John is like

the voice of

the announcer.

You don't

need to

remember me.

You don't

need to

know my

name.

I don't

want you

to know

me.

I want

you to

know him.

Verse 27,

he is the

one who

comes after

me,

the straps

of whose

sandals I

am not

worthy to

untie.

He

deserves the

attention and

praise.

I'm not

worthy.

It's not

about me.

You see,

that's so

upside down

and back to

front compared

to how we

live and how

society operates.

We spend

our lives

trying to

make a name

for ourselves.

We wake up

in the morning

and what's

the first thing

we do?

Switch on

our phones

to see if

anybody liked

my Instagram

post.

We go to

the gym

and lift

our weights.

We spend

ages applying

to our

makeup,

plucking

our eyebrows,

doing all

sorts of

things in

the hope

that as

I go out

the door

somebody will

notice me

and somebody

will say

something nice

about me.

Why?

Because it's

all about

me.

We lie

awake at

night

worried.

What do

people think

about me?

We rehearse

yesterday's

conversations

so that I

come out

on top.

And none

of us are

immune from

this me

centred

thinking.

I'll let

you into

a little

secret.

When I

go home

every Sunday

and I

mean every

Sunday

I wonder

to myself

did anybody

like my

sermon?

You see

I crave

praise.

I need

people secretly

deep down.

I want people

to come up

and say

Johnny

you're a

great pastor.

Why?

Because it's

all about

me.

and it

can be

like that

for all

of us

in the

ministries

we're

involved

in.

Whether

it's

the music

the set

up

the tea

or coffee.

But guess

what folks?

It's

not about

me.

What

people say

or don't

say is

not the

issue.

It's

not about

how many

likes we

get.

It's

not about

me.

So if

life is

not about

me

then what's

it all

about?

Well we

go on to

our day

two.

Verse

29.

The next

day

John saw

Jesus coming

towards him

and he

said

look

it's

all about

Jesus.

John's

role is

not to

draw attention

to himself

but to

deflect

from

himself

and draw

attention

to

Jesus.

He's

a walking

talking

living

signpost.

Did you

see that

in verse

31?

He says

I myself

did not

know him

as in

he didn't

know all

that Jesus

would be

but the

reason I

came

baptizing

with water

was that

he might

be revealed

to

Israel.

He doesn't

want people

to know

about him

he wants

everybody

to know

about

Jesus.

Well what

does he

have us

know

about

Jesus?

Well there's

two big

things

that I

think

the text

points to.

First

Jesus

is our

sufficient

or perfect

saviour.

Look at

verse 29

again.

The next

day

John

saw

Jesus

coming

towards

him

and

said

look

the

lamb

of

God

who

takes

away

the

sin

of

the

world.

It's

a strange

phrase

isn't

it

for

somebody

to be

called

a

lamb.

If

we

hear

lamb

we

think

cute

and

cuddly

but

for

those

who

are

listening

lamb

meant

something

entirely

different.

You see

all the

crowds

that were

gathering

and coming

to

John

was

because

have a

look at

chapter 2

verse 13

chapter 2

verse 13

it was

almost

time

for the

Jewish

Passover

so they

were all

coming

into that

area

they were

all heading

to Jerusalem

because

Passover

was about

to take

place.

This

was the

big

annual

event

in the

year

the

big

pilgrimage

that all

families

and everybody

travelled up

to Jerusalem

to remember

Passover.

Passover

celebrated

the

exodus

of God's

people

from

slavery

to

Pharaoh

in

Egypt

and

central

to

these

celebrations

you guessed

right

was a

lamb

a lamb

that would

die

God

had said

to the

people

when they

were back

in Egypt

I will

pass

through

Egypt

and I

will bring

my

judgment

and to

ensure

that God's

people would

not be

judged

they were

commanded

to take

a lamb

then they

were to

kill it

and take

some of

the blood

of the

lamb

and paint

it on

the door

frames

of their

houses

up the

sides

and on

the top

and then

God

said

this

the

blood

will be

a sign

for you

on the

houses

where you

are

and when

I see

the blood

I will

pass

over you

and no

destructive

plague will

touch you

when I

strike

Egypt

well the

message was

clear wasn't

it to

everybody

that they

had to

take a

lamb

and if

the lamb

didn't

die

they would

die

of course

the big

Passover

celebration

was a

picture of

a much

greater

judgment

to come

on the

whole world

because all

sin must be

judged

including

mine and

yours

death

is the

penalty

because we

are enslaved

to sin

we are under

a harsher

and more

brutal

master

Satan

we are

slaves to

ourselves

always putting

me first

listening to

the voice

that says

you can

be like

God

so when

John sees

Jesus

he says

look

look

the lamb

who takes

away the

sin of

the world

well everybody

would know

what he's

talking about

Jesus

the Messiah

he's the

one who's

going to

take the

judgment

for our

sins

he's going

to die

in your

place

and that's

what happened

on the

cross

the judgment

of God

fell on

Jesus

so that the

people could

be set

free

that we

can be

set free

from our

selfish

selves

and he

would open

up a new

way

a new

exodus

giving us

a fresh

start

forgiveness

of all

of our

sin

freedom

from all

of our

guilt

and shame

look

look at

Jesus

it's not

about me

the other

big thing

that he

wants us

to notice

about

Jesus

is that

he is

God's

chosen

servant

John

tells us

what he

saw

when Jesus

had been

baptized

go to

verse 32

John

is referring

here to

the baptism

of Jesus

John

gave this

testimony

he said

I saw

the spirit

come down

from heaven

as a

dove

and remain

on him

what does

he mean

what's

this

dove

coming

down

on

Jesus

what did

it mean

well God

had revealed

it to him

look at the

middle of

verse 33

the man

on whom

you see

the spirit

come down

and remain

is the one

who will

baptize

with the

Holy Spirit

I have

seen

says

John

and I

testify

that this

is God's

chosen

one

you see

once again

these are

not

empty

words

God

had

promised

that his

chosen

servant

would come

and the

sign that

God's

servant

had come

would be

the spirit

of God

coming down

and resting

upon him

we're told

something about

what this

chosen one

would be

like

go back

with me

please

to Isaiah

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

chapter 42

Isaiah

42

here is

the promise

of God's

chosen

servant

and

Jesus

is the

one who

fulfills

this

promise

Isaiah

Isaiah 42:1

42

verse

1

God

says

here is

my

servant

whom

I

uphold

my

chosen

one

in

whom

I

delight

and

I

will

put

my

spirit

on

him

and

he

will

bring

justice

to

the

nations

you

see

Jesus

is

saying

I

am

God's

spirit

filled

chosen

servant

who's

come

to

renew

and

restore

our

broken

and

disordered

lives

he's

going to

put

everything

right

again

and look

how he's

going to

come

verse 2

he will

not

shout

or cry

out

or raise

his voice

in the

streets

he won't

be harsh

with you

he's not

going to

shout

you down

verse 3

a bruised

reed

he will

not

break

a smoldering

wick

he will

not

snuff

out

he's

not

going

to

crush

you

he's

gentle

and

kind

towards

you

he

sees

your

weakness

he sees

your

brokenness

and he

comes

with the

hope

that we

all

desperately

need

look at

the end

of verse

4

in his

teaching

all that

Jesus

has to

say

the

islands

that is

the

nations

will

put

their

hope

don't

look at

me

says

John

listen

to

God's

chosen

servant

it's

all

about

him

you

see

we

spend

so

much

time

don't

we

thinking

about

me

we

promote

ourselves

with

pictures

in the

hope

that we're

going to

gain

more

friends

we boast

of our

successes

we don't

seem to

put up

our

failures

on

Facebook

but

just

the

good

things

that

we

achieve

in the

hope

that

we'll

gain

more

followers

we

look

to

ourselves

to

be

fulfilled

we

listen

to

that

inner

voice

to

gain

happiness

but

no

it's

not

about

me

it's

all

about

Jesus

and

we

need

to

repent

and

stop

making

me

the

centre

of

our

lives

instead

we are

to

look

to

Jesus

the

lamb

who

takes

away

our

sin

we

are

to

listen

to

God's

chosen

servant

who

is

gentle

and

tender

so

if

life

is

all

about

Jesus

what

is

our

response

how

are

we

going

to

live

life

now

well

the

encouragement

day

three

let's

go back

to

John's

gospel

is

we need

to make

a choice

about

following

look at

verse 35

John

John 1:35

chapter 1

verse 35

the next

day

John

was there

again

with two

of his

disciples

when he

saw

Jesus

passing

by

he said

look

look at

him

it's

the

lamb

of

God

you

see

John

prepares

the way

for

Jesus

and

then

he

gets

out

of

the

way

he

doesn't

want

to be

a

stumbling

block

verse 37

when the

two

disciples

that is

the

disciples

of

John

the

Baptist

heard

him

say

this

well

they

stopped

being

disciples

of

John

the

Baptist

and

they

followed

Jesus

so

what

will it

mean

for us

to

follow

well

three

things

very

simply

by way

of

application

what

will

it

mean

to

follow

Jesus

first

it

will

mean

a

lifetime

of

learning

look

at

verse

38

turning

around

Jesus

saw

them

following

and

said

what

do

you

want

what

are

you

following

after

me

for

and

they

said

Rabbi

which

means

teacher

where

are

you

staying

come

he

said

and

you

will

see

you

see

this

is

not

an

invitation

to

come

to

Jesus

house

and

see

what

his

new

kitchen

is

like

or

what

his

new

patio

is

like

no

it's

a

call

verse

39

to

come

and

see

come

and

see

who

Jesus

is

they

go

to

where

he

stays

so

that

they

can

learn

about

him

and

from

him

verse

39

so

they

went

and

saw

where

he

was

staying

and

they

spent

that

day

with

him

it

was

about

four

in

the

afternoon

you

see

life

is

not

about

people

knowing

all

about

us

it's

about

us

and

a

commitment

to

learning

more

about

Jesus

and

that

requires

a

change

of

heart

on

our

part

a

change

of

heart

that

removes

self

from

the

centre

and

puts

Jesus

at

the

centre

where

we

humbly

sit

at

his

feet

and

listen

to

his

words

his

truth

and

through

him

we

find

life

in

all

its

fullness

so

following

Jesus

will

mean

a

life

of

learning

second

it

will

mean

a

life

filled

with

purpose

I'm

sure

you

may

be

asking

yourself

if

you're

younger

what

I'm

going

to

do

what's

my

career

going

to

be

well

whatever

we

do

this

is

what

we

do

verse

41

one

of

those

who

were

following

Jesus

was

Andrew

and

we're

told

verse

41

the

first

thing

Andrew

did

was

to

find

his

brother

Simon

and

tell

him

we

found

the

Messiah

that is

the

Christ

and

he

brought

his

brother

to

Jesus

that's

that's

our

purpose

that's

simple

isn't it

for us

as

believers

that's

our

goal

as we

go to

school

or as

we go

to

work

or as

we're

at

home

we are

to

bring

people

to

Jesus

now

granted

we can't

take

Jesus

physically

or

take

people

to

see

Jesus

physically

but

we

do

bring

people

to

God's

word

where

we

do

meet

Jesus

our

job

is

not

to

change

or

convert

people

only

God

can

do

that

we

simply

show

the

greatness

and

glory

of

who

Jesus

is

and

cause

them

to

fix

their

gaze

on

him

and

to

listen

to

what

he

has

to

say

we

bring

people

to

Jesus

we

can

invite

them

to

church

we

can

invite

our

friends

to