The Legacy of John the Baptist, Part 3

Take your Bible and turn with me to John chapter 1, and we will continue to look at the legacy of John the Baptist. John's legacy lasted, has lasted, for over 2,000 years. And the legacy that he leaves behind is the life that he lived before the people that he ministered to.

You can't leave behind that which you don't live before, and so he is leaving behind a legacy that is summed up in three words. Word number one is presentation, word number two is preparation, and word number three is proclamation. And we spent the last two weeks looking at word number one for John Cain to present the preeminence of the light.

We showed you how he did that and why he did that. That's in verses 6, 7, and 8, as well as verse number 15 of John chapter 1. John chapter 5, verse number 35, tells us that John came to testify to the truth, and that he was a lamp that was burning bright. He was a lamp that was shining bright, and there was something about John that was on fire for the Lord, that was able to illuminate all those around about him.

Because if you're going to leave a legacy, then you do it because you present the preeminence of the light in your life. We are the lights of the world, we are the salt of the earth, and we are to present to others the beauty and splendor of the light of Christ. And John said, I'm not the light, I just come to testify about the light.

That's what I do. And six different times in John chapter 1, it talks about the fact that he came to be a witness. He came to testify.

He came to make sure that people knew who the Messiah was. You see, if you want to leave a lasting legacy, it's all centered around the Christ. It's all centered around the Messiah.

If you want it to be an eternal legacy, a lasting legacy, it must be focused on the Christ and not on yourself. And so John was prepared to do that. And so he came to present the preeminence of the light.

That was the last two weeks. Today we will see how he came to prepare the pathway of the Lord. And then we'll see how he came to proclaim the person of the Lamb.

If you've got your Bible, verse number 19, let me set it in your heart and mind this morning down to verse number 34. It's more important, then, that we read the word of God than that I explain the word of God. Right? My explanation is of far secondary importance as compared to just the reading of the text.

So in verse number 19, 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? He said, I am not.

Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. Then they said to him, who are you? So 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 or 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.

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he, on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who is mightier than I, higher in rank than I, for he existed before me. I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.

John testified saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and he remained upon him. I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, he upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.

These verses sum up for us the legacy of John the Baptist. Not only did he present the preeminence of the light, but he was the one who prepared the pathway for the Lord. So think about the context.

The Bible says in John chapter 2, verse number 13, that the Passover was near. I'm not sure you understand the implications of that. Jerusalem has a population of around 350,000 people during the time of Christ.

But during Passover, it would swell somewhere between two and a half to five million people. Why? Because there had to be a sacrifice. And one lamb could be sacrificed for a minimum of 10 people, a maximum of 20.

Now you have to think that if you're coming to Passover and you live far away, it's a long journey. It's not that you can get in your car and drive there in a day or two. No, you are walking from a long way away to be at Passover.

And so you're going to leave early to make your journey. You're not going to get there at the last minute. You're going to get there to prepare everything for Passover.

And that's going to last you seven days. Well, after Passover is the feast of first fruits, and then shortly after that comes Pentecost. And if you've traveled a long way, you're not going to necessarily go back and come back again.

Because you don't have the time to do all that. That's just too much work. Too much traveling.

They're doing this on foot. And so people are coming and they are staying in Jerusalem for long periods of time. And so as they're there, they are wondering, what are we going to do? And someone comes along and says, well, you know, let me tell you something.

I know that the mall isn't open today, but you can go down to the Jordan. Because there's a guy down there in camel skin tied around with a leather belt who's telling people to get right with God. And you need to go down and see what that's all about.

And so they did. All kinds of people. Matthew's account tells us that there were tax collectors. There were soldiers. There were the common people. Luke tells us there were Pharisees, or excuse me, Matthew tells us there were Pharisees and Sadducees.

We also know from this text that there are Levites and priests. Mark tells us that all in Jerusalem and all from the country of Judea were making their way down to the Jordan where John was baptizing. That doesn't mean every single person, but it talks about a majority of people who are making their way down to the Jordan River to see what was happening with this man who was proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was near.

And he was baptizing down in the Jordan River. Now if you're going to go down there, it's 1,300 feet below sea level. So you're going to travel down from Jerusalem to Bethany beyond the Jordan, which is about 30 miles.

It's going to take you two days to get down there. And they say, look, if you're going to go down there and you're going to get baptized, make sure that you realize you take a change of clothes. Because once you get down there and get baptized, you're going to be pretty dirty.

Now I have baptized in this location in Jordan. And this is a place that where the water is like chocolate milk. It's pretty nasty.

But we had shower facilities. So when we were all done, we could shower. There were no shower facilities for the people in those days.

So they'd have to take a change of clothes to journey back up to Jerusalem once again. This was not an easy journey. But scores of people were going down.

By the thousands they were going down there. And so they're going to send a delegation down to the Jordan. That is the Pharisees are, it says in verse 26, that the Pharisees sent a delegation, a group of Levites and priests, sent them down to the Jordan to see who this guy is.

What is happening down in the Jordan? Today, everybody would be there with cell phones, videotaping all that was taking place, taking snapshots with John baptizing, posting it on their social media, so everybody could see what was happening. And if John was alive and that was happening, he would say, he would nix that.

He'd have a sign, no cell phones. No video taking place here. Because John wasn't that kind of guy. He didn't want any recognition.

He wouldn't let people take selfies with him. He wouldn't do that. Because John was just a voice.

That's all he was. I've got the decrease. He must increase.

No videos of the baptisms. No pictures on social media. We're not doing this here.

It's not about that. See, we don't understand that because that's what we're all about. See, we don't get that.

But John, no, he was different. Why? Because he was a protester. He protested the religiosity of the day.

He protested the hypocrisy of the day. He protested the falsity of each and every day of the religious establishment. And so he sent his delegation down to the Jordan.

To figure out what's going on. Who this guy is. Now I've told you before, and I do believe this, they knew John the Baptist.

They knew John. They grew up together. They were Levites and priests.

His mother was from a line of the priesthood. His father was a priest. And so they would grow up together in the streets of Jerusalem.

They'd play whatever games they played in those days together. They'd run around together. They knew John.

So when they come down to the Jordan River, the question is not, who are you, as if they don't know. The question is, who in the world do you think you are? Do you think you're the Christ? You think you're the Messiah? Do you think you're Elijah? Do you think that you're the prophet? The prophet, that's from Deuteronomy 18, where Moses said that there will come a prophet who is greater than him and you should listen to him. That's the prophet of Deuteronomy 18.

A prophecy about the coming Messiah. Are you Elijah? Because they all knew about the coming of Elijah. They knew in Malachi chapter 3, verse number 1, that there would be a forerunner to the Messiah.

They knew in Malachi chapter 4 that Elijah was going to come before the great and terrible day of the Lord. They knew that. And they also knew that, I mean, that's why at Passover they had this empty chair for Elijah.

They send the young one out to go see if Elijah's there, because if Elijah's there, that means the great and terrible day of the Lord is there. They do that at every Passover. So they know about Elijah.

Now John did come in the spirit and power of Elijah, but he wasn't Elijah. So are you the Christ? No, I'm not the Messiah. Are you Elijah? Do you think you're Elijah? I'm not Elijah.

Well, are you the prophet then? Is that who you think you are? No. I'm not the prophet. I'm not that one.

But see, John's account of the situation is a little different than Matthew's account situation. When you read John's account, John is describing John the Baptist as somebody who's pretty amiable, pretty kind, pretty nice. But when you read Matthew's account, it's a little different.

It says this, Matthew chapter 3, verse number 7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he says to them, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now, please remember that Luke's account tells us that the people were living in a state of expectation. What were they expecting? Well, here's this guy down by the Jordan River saying that the king is coming.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. You need to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so people are thinking, the kingdom of heaven's coming? No, that must mean the Messiah is coming.

And he is the expected one. Psalm 118 and in Psalm 40, and they lived in the state of expectation of the coming one. So Luke tells us that they were all in the state of expectation.

There had not been a prophet in Israel in 400 years. 400 years. And now all of a sudden, scores of people are going down to the Jordan River to hear this prophet talk about the king and his coming kingdom.

So now they're in the state of expectation thinking, well, if the king is coming, he must be be right around the corner. So let's go down and get prepared for the arrival of the Messiah. Yeah.

So now come these Pharisees and Sadducees. They're coming down. They've already sent a group of Levites and priests down there.

Here come the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious elites, the ritualistic people, the ones who Christ condemned over and over again because what they did they thought would be highly esteemed before men, but that just was an abomination to God. Because they would use their tradition to trump truth. And they would elevate their tradition over the truth of God.

That's why Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we're discussing on Wednesday nights, you have heard that it was said by the rabbis of old. This is what the tradition tells you. But I say unto you, this is the truth of the law of the gospel.

This is the truth that I wanted to convey to you so that you know the truth and you can set aside your traditions. You need to know the truth. So the Pharisees and the Sadducees come down.

And it says this. He said to them, you brood of vipers, you pack of snakes, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? This is how Matthew presents it. Right? They want to say, who are you? Who do you think you are? He says, you pack of snakes.

Today, they would say, well, you know, you shouldn't talk to people that way, John. You know, you could be sued for that. People would want to take you to court because you called them names, you know, and today people are so sensitive anyway, and they'd be taking them to court over all kinds of things.

But John didn't care about that stuff. John wanted to call out the religiosity. He wanted to call out their hypocrisy.

He wanted to call out the falsity of the religion and all that the tradition stood for. And that's why he was a protester. See, he was a priest.

Then they're coming down saying, John, what are you wearing camel skin for? You should be in priest clothes. You should be up in the temple with us. What are you doing down here? Do you think you're Elijah? Do you think you're the Christ? Do you think you're the prophet? Who in the world do you think you are? Wearing the clothes you're wearing, saying the things you're saying, doing what you're doing.

And so John says, you're a pack of snakes. He says, therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance. In other words, demonstrate the fact that you're truly repentant.

You want to come down and be baptized? Show you're truly repentant. He says, and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. For I say to you that from these stones, that could be referring to Gentiles, because stones were helpless and hopeless, and that's how they referred to the Gentiles anyway.

He says, from the helpless and hopeless, God is able to raise up children to Abraham. You think you're a child of Abraham. Why? Because you're circumcised.

Why? Because you were born a Jew. You think you're going to go to heaven because of your ethnicity. That's not the case, John says.

He says, the ax is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. If you are not willing to come and repent of your sins and bear fruit in keeping with repentance, you're going to be burned up.

You're going to hell. You're not going to heaven. That's preaching.

That's how John the Baptist preached. You don't hear much of that today. And that's unfortunate.

That's why we have so many cotton candy Christians in the pew. They can't stand strong for anything because they haven't been taught anything. And here's John the Baptist truly preaching the truth because he's got to pave the pathway for the Lord.

He's got to make sure they understand the right way to the Lord because they've been taught the wrong way all their lives. And so they say, who are you? He goes, I'm a voice. I'm just a voice crying in the wilderness.

We told you before, it's not just a location, the wilderness. It's the condition of man's heart. I'm a voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord.

Again, taken in two ways. One is because he needs to prepare the way to the Lord. Because people don't know how to get to the Lord.

They think they do. They think it's all about rituals. They think it's all about ceremonies.

They think it's all about the symbols. They think about it's all the things that they do on the outside or that they don't do. But see, we know that doesn't work.

Just look at the rich young ruler. He comes to Christ. He says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? You see, when you have a works-based system, you never have assurance of eternal life.

You never have any iron clad clarity about what it means to be on your way to heaven. You don't have that. So here's the rich ruler who believes that he is a traditionalist, who is keeping the traditions of Judaism, but he knows there's something missing in his life.

So he goes to somebody who will tell him or affirm that what he's doing is good enough, but Christ doesn't do that. Christ confronts him on his idolatry. And he goes away sad because he realizes that there's nothing he can control to get him into heaven.

See, when you have a works-based system, it's all about you. When you have Christianity, it's all about the Christ. In his work, and what he does in the life of the unregenerated person.

And so John says, I'm here to clear out all the paraphernalia along the pathway to the Lord, so people have a clear path. They know where to go. There is one name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved.

He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes into the Father but through the Christ. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

So here is John the Baptist preparing the way, the pathway to the Lord, so people will have a clear understanding of how to get to the Messiah. You see, that's a legacy that lasts. That's a legacy you need to leave behind.

Do the people in your family, do the people closer to you know that the only pathway to heaven is through Jesus Christ? Do they know that the only pathway to glory is through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord? You see, our legacy lasts because not only do we present the preeminence of the light, but we prepare the pathway to the Lord, so people know what it means to truly be born again, to truly be saved from their sin. We erase the confusion from their minds. We show them exactly what it means to be born again.

John says, I'm a voice. I'm a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. At the same time, he's going to help people understand how it is they are to prepare their hearts, how to repent of their sins, and that's why in Matthew's account, he tells them what it means to repent and what repentance looks like so you can bring forth fruit that bears the fact that you truly have been repentant.

This is what John does. He wants them to understand true repentance and what it looks like so there's no confusion in their minds. See? That's the legacy.

And he says, as he quotes from Isaiah chapter 40, he tells them, God's word is my authority. I'm going to share the word of God. That's what John does.

That was his motivation. I'm just going to share what God has taught me, what God's word has said to me, and how God has spoken to me, that I might show you what God says. You see, the only lasting word that you will ever invest in people are not your opinions and not what you think, because nobody cares about your opinion or what you think.

It's the word of God that lasts. It's the truth of the word of God. Give people the truth of the word of God.

That's what John the Baptist did. I am preparing the way of the Lord. I am declaring to you what God has shown me that you might know the truth about how to get to God.

Because you see, they had been so confused. They thought that it was all about tradition, a works-based system, that you do this or you don't do that, and you'll gain a standing with God. And that's why Christ condemned the religious establishment over and over and over again.

Because they were leading people the wrong way. And people who are a part of a false religion and lead people the wrong way need to be confronted and condemned based on what they are doing. Why? Because they're leading people to hell, not to heaven.

And Satan uses them in all kinds of ways to disguise the truth. There's a pathway. The road is narrow, Matthew 7 tells us.

Very narrow. The gate is very small. Very small.

And of the smallness of the pathway and the smallness of the gate, of the few that find it, Luke tells us, even fewer ever get in. Few people are really ever truly saved. That's important to understand that.

The road is narrow, the gate is small, and few there be that find it. And then Luke tells us, strive to enter. Because the few that find it, even fewer will ever enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is so important to understand this. And John is just trying to take care of all the clutter that people have been taught for years and tell them how to get right with God. So he did.

He prepared the pathway to the Lord. As a parent, you prepare the pathway to the Lord for your children. Show them what's right, what's wrong, what the Bible says.

You don't give them your opinion, you don't give them what you think, you tell them the truth. To those of your unsaved friends, there is so much confusion in Christianity today about what it means to truly be born again, what it means to truly repent of your sin, what it means to give your life to Christ, what it means to be a follower of Christ, what it means to be a true child of the living King. What does that mean? Can you explain that to people? Can you prepare the way to the Lord for people? That's the lasting legacy that matters.

Nothing else really does. Because it's eternal treasures. People's eternal lives are at stake.

Their destiny with God or without God is at stake. You want to explain that to them? This is John's passion. Who are you? I'm just a voice. Just a voice. You know, I'm not even worthy to untie the sandals of the ones coming after me.

Number three, not only did he present the preeminence of the light, and not only did he prepare the pathway to the Lord, but he was the one who proclaimed the person of the Lamb.

He proclaimed the person of the Lamb. Notice the text says this. Oh, John says, by the way, John answered him saying, I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know.

Note that, and most commentators don't, Jesus is in the crowd. There's one among you that you do not know. Now, Jesus has already been baptized by John.

Jesus has already been in the Judean wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. Now he's back. He's among the thousands that are there around the Jordan River, and John wants them to know there's one among you that you do not know.

But he is here. He is here. It is he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.

And then the next day, the next day, verse 29, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now he's going to proclaim. He's going to proclaim the person of the Lamb.

He sees Jesus. And now he's going to point to the Messiah. He's going to identify the one they did not know that was in the crowd as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin, not the sins, plural, but singular, the sin of the world.

Why? Because there's something that separates you from your God. From the day you were born, conceived in sin did your mother conceive you. You were born in sin.

You were born separated from God. And there is coming one who deals with that essence of sin, that that concept of sin, that one thing that keeps you from being reconciled to God. There is one who is coming.

He is the Lamb of God. He's going to take away that one thing that's keeping you from having a relationship with a true and living God. Now they know about the sacrificial system because they're all involved in it.

It's Passover season. They know about what the Lamb's coming in and being offered and sacrifices for. But they also know that the blood of bulls and goats can never take away the sin.

It can only cover the sin of man. But they lived in anticipation and expectation of one who would cleanse them of all of their sin. That whole sacrificial system was set up by God to increase the anticipation and expectation of the people of God, knowing that there would be one who would come and remove them of their sin.

That's the promise of the new covenant. Remember what it says in Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 25. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you will be clean.

I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you will be careful to observe my ordinances. That's a new covenant promise.

And that's what they were living in expectation for. That's what they were anticipating. And here comes John and says, look, here's the lamb of God.

They know about the sacrificial system. The temple is built on Mount Moriah. They know about Genesis chapter 22 and the great substitute that the Messiah would bring.

That Abraham called that place Yahweh, Yireh. God will provide. What will God provide? He will provide a substitute so you can have your sins taken away.

That's why the temple is on Mount Moriah. That's why it's there. So people will always be reminded of the great substitutionary sacrifice of the one who would come and take away their sin.

So incredibly important. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, says a songwriter. First Peter 1:18 and 19.

It's the precious blood as of a lamb that cleanses us from all of our sin. It's Jesus Christ alone. And John is saying, you are going through all these rituals.

You're doing all these things, but I want to point to the one who's going to take away your sin. It's the lamb of God. He came to take away the sin of the world.

And then he says this, this is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me. He's going to describe the person of the lamb as one who existed before him. And John is older than Jesus physically.

Because Jesus was born six months after John. But he says, he emphasizes the eternality of the son. He emphasizes the pre-existence of the son.

The same thing that John has already said in John 1, verse number one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Speaking of the pre-existence of God, the self-existence of the word, as well as the coexistence of the word with God. And so therefore, John the Baptist is testifying to that which John has already spoken about by virtue of his testimony.

That the one coming after me, he existed before me. So even though I was born before him, he existed in eternity past. Speaking of the eternality of the, of the son of God.

Now this is interesting. This is what it says. He says, I did not recognize him.

Twice it says that. Once in verse number 31, I did not recognize him. Once in verse number 33, I did not recognize him.

How did John not recognize him? Weren't they cousins? Yes, they were cousins. You know, Drew's family is here from, from Indiana. And, and all the cousins that haven't seen each other for over a year are, are greeting one another in, in the parking lot because they're cousins.

They, they, they know each other, right? And even though they might not see each other for a while, they by virtue of family know one another. Well, here is, here is John the Baptist, the son of Elizabeth. And Elizabeth and Mary are, are part of the same family.

They're cousins. They grew up together. They played together.

Just like the priests and Levites. They knew John. John the Baptist knew Jesus.

So what do you mean he didn't recognize him? Why does he say it twice? Didn't recognize him. Didn't recognize him. No, he knew him as Jesus, but he did not recognize him as Messiah.

He did not recognize him as Lord. He did not recognize him as God in the flesh. See, he only recognized him as cousin Jesus that he grew up with and played with.

But he did not recognize him. He didn't come to a full comprehension, a full recognition of the identity of the Messiah himself. How do we know that? Read on.

It says, I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him. I did not recognize him, but he, God, who sent me to baptize in water, said to me, he upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

So John is saying, look, I didn't recognize him in terms of his full identity as the Messiah of Israel until God said to me, when you see the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove. The Spirit of God is not a dove. The Spirit of God is a person.

He's not a dove. So take the dove off the back of your windshield. He is not a dove.

He descended like a dove. The person of the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Jesus at his baptism. And that's when the Lord said, behold, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him. And God told John while he was in the wilderness, he said, look, when you see the Spirit of God descended upon this one, this is the Messiah. And that Spirit will remain upon him.

Remember in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God came upon different individuals to perform different tasks. That's why David after his sin said, do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Why did he say that? Because the Spirit of God came upon him to perform his kingly duties, right? In a special and unique way.

But the mystery of the Old Testament revealed in the New Testament is that Christ in you, the hope of glory. And so the Spirit of God comes within you and envelops you. This is very important.

Why? Because there's one who is coming. I baptize in water. He's going to baptize you with the Spirit.

Now, this is very, very important because you need to understand the baptism of the Spirit. It's very confusing in a lot of Christian circles today. It need not be.

It's very simply explained. There are seven occasions and only seven in the New Testament that speak about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Six of them all say the same thing.

There's one that doesn't. That's 1 Corinthians 12:13. We are all baptized by one Spirit in the body of Christ.

The one who does the baptizing is Christ. He baptizes you with His Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is God's method by which He puts you into the body of Christ and seals you unto the day of redemption.

That is the baptism of the Spirit. And oh, by the way, just in case you don't know this, everybody in the room is either going to be baptized by the Spirit, by Jesus, or you will be baptized by fire, by Jesus. So everybody in the room is going to receive a baptism from Jesus.

How do we know that? Matthew chapter 3. Let me read it to you. It's getting hot in here, isn't it? Whoa, man, it's getting hot in here.

Anyway, Matthew chapter 3. Listen to what John says. Verse 11, As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Whoa. His wooden fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear the threshing floor, and he will gather his wheat into the barn.

Those are believers. But he will burn up the chaff, that's the unbeliever, with unquenchable fire. So listen, everybody in the world is going to be baptized by Jesus.

You either be baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ, that is salvation, or you'll be baptized by the Lord with fire, in unquenchable fire, and you will burn in hell forever. Those are your only two options. Only two.

There's nothing in between. That's it. And John makes it very clear.

John says, I came to baptize in water. Why? Because the water symbolically, this is why the Pharisees were so upset with John. What are you doing? What authority do you have to baptize people? You're not the Christ.

You're not Elijah. You're not the prophet. So John, tell us you're just a protester in a priestly line who's a prophet, who thinks that he has authority to baptize people in water.

Who gave you that authority? Who says that you have this authority to do this? Why would they say that? Because Jews were never baptized. They just weren't. Only Gentiles were baptized.

And that's when they wanted to convert to Judaism. So if I'm a Gentile and I want to convert to Judaism, number one, I'm going to go through the art of circumcision, and number two, I will be baptized. Listen, and no Gentile proselyte was ever baptized by anyone.

They baptized themselves. They went into a mikvah, which is a cleansing bath, and they would go in after having been circumcised. They would go down into the mikvah.

They would go down into the water. Why? Because they were symbolizing their cleansing from their idolatrous life, worshiping other gods, that they would serve the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But nobody baptized them.

They did that themselves, see? But here is John baptizing Jews. And they're like, what authority do you have, John, to do this? Who do you think you are? Especially as smelly as you are, and camel skin. And then getting it wet, on top of that.

The stench would be horrendous. But thousands were coming, thousands, because he was proclaiming the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. People were coming down in droves to hear this man, this wild protester in the wilderness, proclaiming the gospel about the coming Messiah.

John says, I baptize you with water. But there's one coming. You see, John's baptism was symbolic.

There's only one who baptizes with water. That's me. And there's only one who baptizes you with the Spirit of God.

And that's the Messiah himself. Jesus is the one who does that. No one else does.

And when you're regenerated, and you're born again, the whole part and parcel to regeneration is that you are baptized by the Lord Jesus Christ, or through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ. You are immersed in his Spirit, and you are born again. That's the baptism of the Spirit of God.

Then John says, in verse 34, I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. Wow, this is the Son of God. He's already, listen, he's already testified to the light.

He's already testified to the Lamb. He's already testified to the liberator. He takes away your sin.

Now he testifies to the Lord. He is the Son of God. The phrase used 10 times in John's gospel.

It's a theme of the gospel, John 20:31. These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he's the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. And John says, the one coming after me, who existed before me, he's the light of the world.

He's the Lamb of God. He's the liberator of man, the one who releases us from our sins, as according to Revelation 1, verse number 5. He loves us and has liberated us or released us from our sins.

And he is the Lord. This is the Son of God. This is John's legacy.

He presented the preeminence of the light. He prepared the pathway to the Lord. And he proclaimed the person of the Lamb, the Son of God, the liberator of man, the light of the world.

This is his legacy that he has left. And you know what? We preach that same gospel, that same legacy over and over again. This legacy that's lasted for 2,000 years.

Continues today because it was a God-centered legacy. What legacy will you leave once you leave this planet? Will it be similar to that? I would trust that it is. And if you're here today and you've never given your life to Christ, my friends, there's only one who can take away your sin.

Only one. It's not by works of righteousness which you have done. It's by the washing of regeneration.

It's by the renewing of the spirit of God that one is born again. You cannot save yourself. You cannot earn your way to heaven.

All the rituals, all the ceremonies, all the symbols, all the things that you think you can do to get you there will never be enough. The rich young ruler testified to that. What must I do? I need eternal life.

And Christ said, sell all that you have and follow me. You have to stop being an idolater. Do you want to do that? Because he loved himself too much.

Today I just want to let you know that if you're here and you've never given your life to Christ, you need to come to Christ today. Today is a day of salvation, not tomorrow. Today is the day.

Roger is right down here to my right. He would be glad to introduce you to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the legacy of John the Baptist. Thank you for his testimony, his life.

What a man. What a man. You said he was the greatest of all men, ever born of a woman up to that time.

Greater than David, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Malachi. The list goes on and on and on. He was the greatest.

And Father, he left a legacy behind for all of us to follow. Our prayer is that that would be us. We would be just like John the Baptist.

We'd be bold like John the Baptist, courageous like John the Baptist, committed like John the Baptist. That we would present you as preeminent. That we'd shine forth the light of the glorious gospel of Christ so others can see you and who you are.

Oh Lord, if there's someone here today who does not know you, may today be the day of their salvation. May they not leave not knowing the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Jesus' name, amen.