The Relationship of John the Baptist To Christ

The Relationship of John the Baptist To Christ

Key Verse: Acts 18:25



          I.      God Has a Plan and a Timetable
      A.      The character of God never changes (Ps. 102:27; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8).
      B.      However, He acts variably at different times toward different people to accomplish His plan and purpose.
      C.      We do the same as parents in relationship to our children. We do not treat a sixteen-year-old as we do a two-year-old, but in spite of the discriminating treatment we give, it does not mean we have changed in our character.
      D.      There is a fallacy in the oft-repeated statement, “God did it in the past; He will do it today.” Of the fact that He can do today what He did in the past there is no doubt, but He may not choose to do the same for us as He did for the wandering Israelite's in the desert. How many of us would be satisfied with shoes that would last us for forty years and a steady diet of manna instead of the variety of foods we now enjoy?

          II.      God in His Sovereignty Chose the Jews as a Special People to Whom He Offered Salvation First.
      A.      Although Peter distinguished himself as an apostle to the circumcision (Gal. 2:7), yet he was sent by God to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles of Caesarea Maritime (Acts 10:1–33).
      B.      The first thing he proclaimed to these Gentiles is that “Of a truth … God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). This is in spite of God’s original plan for the Jews. Jesus came into the world to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21), but also to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) without any designation of race, language, color or social or educational standing. No one will ever be able to excuse himself by saying, “I am not saved because God excluded me.” “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). All that you need to be saved is a recognition and repentance of your sins and its consequence upon your life, and then an exercise of faith that Jesus will save you. He will then give you rest which no one else can ever give you.
      C.      In spite of the fact that the Word of Christ came to the Jews first, “He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36).

          III.      What Was the Baptism Which John Preached?
      A.      What is stressed is not the practice of baptism per se, but the preaching in connection with John’s baptism.
      B.      The message was “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). This kingdom of heaven is the coming of Christ to dwell in the hearts of men (Luke 17:21). John the Baptist “did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). Repentance was also the message of Jesus: “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). With John there was no command to “believe the Gospel.” Faith was the additional indispensable ingredient of Jesus’ message. John’s was the baptism of repentance which meant that man was sorry for his sin. That is the first step toward salvation, but the second step is faith in and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (Rom. 5:1). Paul stressed that John’s baptism was only a baptism of repentance and that John in addition was saying to the people that they "should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus" (Acts 19:4).

          IV.      Why Then Was Jesus Baptized by John?
      A.      Jesus’ baptism by John was not for the purpose of showing that He, Jesus, needed to repent of any sin, for He was sinless (Heb. 4:15).
      B.      Jesus revealed to John why He wanted to be baptized by him “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). The word for righteousness is dikaiosúnē which refers to the inherent right of Jesus to be baptized because He was sinless, and not that His baptism was an act of repentance. Baptism is an identification with God and His purposes. In 1 Corinthians 10:1, 2 we find that the Jews who were led into the desert “were baptized unto Moses” which means they identified themselves with the person and purposes of Moses. So it was with the Lord Jesus and His public baptism by John. It was for the purpose of publicly declaring that His person and purposes were identical to those of the Father God and not that He had to repent as we do. Indeed, heaven responded with the cry, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).


Spiros Zodhiates, Sermon Starters: Volumes 1-4 (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992).