455 – John the Baptist – The Forerunner of Christ

BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE

COURSE: BIBLE SURVEY IV LESSON # 55

JOHN THE BAPTIST THE FORERUNNER OF CHRIST

INTRODUCTION:

1. Our Lord said of John the Baptist, `of man that is born of woman not a greater had risen.' (Mat. 11:11

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2. Yet he was seen by the religious leaders of his day as a demon possessed man. (Mat. 11:18

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3. He was seen by the king as a rabble rouser and was put to death for declaring God's Law. (Mat. 14:1-12

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4. Let us learn in this lesson, what we can of this man who in such a short life was so greatly used of God.

I. THE LINEAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

1. Both his father and his mother were Levities. He thus was apparently qualified by birth for the priesthood.

i. His father was a priest of the course of Abia (Luke 1:5

) thus, he served in the temple in the last half of the fourth Hebrew month. (I Chron. 24:1-19

) This would be the last half of July on our calendar.
ii. His mother Elisabeth was also of the tribe of Levi. (Luke 1:5

) She was a barren woman, and the birth of John the Baptist was as miraculous as that of Isaac.

2. Instead of the fine garments of the priest, John the Baptist would be dressed in camel hair and leather, and would dine on locusts and wild honey.

II. THE PURPOSE OF JOHN’S BIRTH AND EXISTENCE

1. God brought him into the world in a spectacular fashion and under miraculous circumstances, because He had a very special purpose for him.
2. This purpose is set before us in Luke 1:13-17

. The purpose of His life was to herald Jesus the Lamb of God. (Jn. 1:29

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3. It should be observed that His death and the expanding public ministry of Jesus Christ are perfectly coordinated. (Mat. 4:12-17

, Mat. 14:10-21

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III. THE PREACHING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

1. He was a man sent from God to bear witness of Jesus, the true light. (Jn. 1:6-9

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2. He never tried to draw attention to himself, but focused all attention upon Christ. (Luke 3:15-17

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3. He constantly preached against sin and taught men that turning from sin was essential to being right with God. (Luke 3:7-9

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4. He refused to baptize men who came thinking that the mere religious act of baptism brought remission of sins. (Mat. 3:1-12

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IV. HIS EVALUATION OF HIS OWN LIFE

1. You can tell much of how little a man thinks of God by how much he thinks of himself.
2. We commonly think more highly of ourselves than we should, usually in these two areas:

3. John the Baptist thought of Himself much differently than this. Note His self-appraisal:

i. I am not worthy to bear Jesus’ shoes. (Mat. 3:11

, Mark 1:7

, Luke 3:16

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ii. He felt unworthy to baptize Jesus. (Mat. 3:13-14

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iii. He knew that He must decrease as Jesus increased (Jn. 3:25-31

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4. John the Baptist’s public life lasted only a few months, yet no man with a human father had more impact on the world than He.
5. He laid the ground work for The Lord’s Church, which is the only gospel agent until Jesus returns.

Berean Baptist Church