Week 10 - John the Baptist

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1 Monday Scripture Reading: Exo. 17:1-7; Num. 20:8, 11; 1 Cor. 10:4; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet 3:18 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:15-16) IT IS THROUGH REPENTANCE THAT WE ENJOY GRACE AND MERCY Moses was used by God to guide His people to the promised land of Canaan. As they camped there in the wilderness and found no water, the people contended with Moses. Therefore, God commanded Moses to strike the rock so that water would flow out from it and quench the people s thirst (Exo. 17:1-7). Moses did as commanded and the people drank the water. On another occasion, the children of Israel contended with Moses once again, yet this time the Lord commanded him only to speak to the rock (Num. 20:8, 11). However, Moses had become angry with the people as he lifted up his hand and struck the rock a second time. For this reason, the Lord did not allow him to enter into the promised land of Canaan. Although Moses had repented before the Lord and begged Him to be allowed to go in, the Lord did not allow it, for his attitude incurred implications that went against God s eternal plan. God planned man s redemption, which was then carried out by His Son on the cross at a time predetermined by Him. According to this plan, Christ was to be struck only once on the cross to redeem humanity and dispense His eternal life to all those who believe into Him (1 Pet. 3:18). The New Testament reveals to us that the Rock that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Therefore, based on these facts, the rock that flowed with water, quenching the thirst of the Israelites, should never have been struck a second time. Today, our relationship with God is according to His grace. God Himself became a man in His Son Jesus which means Jehovah our salvation. He lived as an ordinary man for thirty-three and a half years without sin, experiencing the hardships and limitations of human life. It is because of Him that we enjoy grace and mercy when we repent; He offered Himself up to carry out God s will and was struck on the cross for our sake. Now, living in this age, whenever we repent, God sympathizes with our weaknesses and comes to save us (Heb. 4:15). He is Jehovah, our salvation. Hallelujah! Repenting and enjoying God s grace and mercy. Your What did God do in order to help man in his weaknesses? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 1

2 Tuesday Scripture Reading: Matt. 2:16; Luke 2:4-7, 41, 51; Heb. 2:10, [Jesus] though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Heb. 5:8-9) JESUS A GENUINE MAN Yesterday, we saw that God Himself became a man in the person of Jesus, thus bringing salvation to humanity. Grace has reached us through the Lord Jesus (John 1:17), and now we are able to fellowship with God and enjoy His mercy. The birth of Jesus was prepared and carried out according to God s plan and sovereignty. The Lord Jesus was conceived in Mary through the Holy Spirit. Although He was God Himself in the flesh, Jesus experienced human life in its adversities. His life began in the humblest of conditions; moments after His birth, Jesus was placed in a manager for there was no vacancy in the inns (Luke 2:4-7). Once Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, some wise men from the East saw His star and came to Jerusalem, seeking to worship Him. King Herod became troubled and asked about the precise time the star had appeared to them. He also asked them to relay the boy s whereabouts as soon as they found the boy, so that he too could go and worship Him. However, after being divinely warned and prevented in a dream from returning to Herod, they went back to their land. After realizing he had been deceived by the wise men, the king s anger was stirred up, resulting in a command to kill every boy up to the age of two (Matt. 2:16). At that juncture, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, telling him to take the boy and his mother and flee to Egypt (vv ). Due to the conditions at the time, the trip down to Egypt must not have been easy. The Lord spent part of His youth in Egypt. After coming back to the land of Israel, Jesus and His family settled in a village called Nazareth, a poor and harsh place to live. This was part of the learning process God wanted His Son to go through (Heb. 5:8). There, Jesus grew up and experienced many aspects of human living such as joy, sadness, suffering, etc. Even as a young man, He worked with His father as a carpenter. In this despised place, He learned to submit to Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:51). They helped Him cultivate an interest for the things of God, and would annually go on a journey to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover Feast (v. 41). This should inspire parents today to do the same, being models for their children. These events display God s love toward us, being willing to share man s sufferings and to have a normal and genuine human living. Since He has experienced human nature and has been perfected through the things He suffered, Jesus is able to sympathize with us (Heb. 2:10, 17-18). Praise the Lord! He is merciful to us! Your How was Jesus enabled to sympathize with us? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 2

3 Wednesday Scripture Reading: Matt. 4:12-17; John 2:25; Rom. 8:6; 12:2; 1 John 1:9 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15) THE LORD SYMPATHIZES WITH US Today, we have Jesus; He is Jehovah, our salvation. He lived among us for thirty three and a half years and He experienced human nature its weaknesses, joy, and sadness. He knows everything about man (John 2:25). Therefore, when we repent and confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us (1 John 1:9). Because He became like us, He sympathizes with us and comes to our aid (Heb. 2:17-18). In order to carry out His commission of saving men from their sins, the Lord was perfected during the first thirty years of His life. Upon reaching the age of thirty, Jesus Christ began His ministry. After being baptized, He returned to Galilee and lived in Capernaum. From that time, He began preaching and saying: Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand (Matt. 4:12-17). Repenting is to change your way of thinking. God has prepared His kingdom for us; yet if our mind is still set on sin, we will not be able to enter into the kingdom. Our mind must be set on the spirit, so that it may always be renewed (Rom. 8:6; 12:2). Hence, God desires us to repent for the kingdom of the heavens is near. After repenting and confessing our sins, the next step is to be baptized in water, for it typifies the end of the old man. When someone is baptized, his old man is buried as he emerges together with Christ in resurrection. Changing our way of thinking. Your What is necessary for us to enter into the kingdom of the heavens? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 3

4 Thursday Scripture Reading: Matt. 3:3, 7-8, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16) THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND FIRE John the Baptist was chosen by God as a forerunner of Jesus, the King of the kingdom of the heavens. Before the Lord began His ministry, John appeared in those days preaching in the desert of Judea that all should repent, for the kingdom of the heavens was at hand. His arrival had been prophesied by Isaiah as he announced the the voice of one crying in the wilderness, one who preached that the way of the Lord should be prepared and His paths made straight (Matt. 3:3). John was clear about the commission he had received from God and knew that he was not the Christ. The Lord Jesus came to bring in the kingdom, but the way ahead was filled with valleys and stones that had to be removed. In other words, the way to salvation had to be cleared from hindrances and barriers. Hence, John the Baptist was sent forth to prepare the way of the Lord. As a good forerunner, he should exalt the valleys, lower the hills, and make straight the crooked places (Isa. 40:4-5). From his mother s womb, John already knew what his commission was. Being the son of a priest, John the Baptist was entitled to be part of the priestly service. According to the precepts of the law, a priest was to wear the priestly garments, eat foods that were designated for them, and fulfill his duties in the temple in Jerusalem. John the Baptist, however, chose to begin his ministry in the desert. His conduct was quite peculiar; he was clothed in camel s hair an animal considered unclean by the Jews wore a leather belt, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. He truly did not behave as a traditional priest. All Jerusalem, Judea, and surrounding areas went out to meet John the Baptist and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins (Matt. 3:6). Baptism represents the burying of the old way of living. Those who sought out John to be baptized wanted to have a change of mind, a change of living. When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John the Baptist, however, he said to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance (vv. 7-8). The baptism in water represented a visible confirmation of a true repentance. It was as if John the Baptist were announcing to all: I desire that you change your minds, deny your soul-life, and repent. In verses 11 and 12, he added, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. John the Baptist announced that the Lord Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. In the past, we were given an interpretation that the Lord would baptize with the Holy Spirit or with fire, depending on the individual situation of each one. In other words, we interpreted that the Holy Spirit was for those who believed and that the fire was a condemnation for the ones who did not believe in Christ. If this were correct, however, the text should say with the Holy Spirit or fire. We need to understand that despite the relationship between baptism and repentance, which indicates a change of mind, we still need both the Holy Spirit and the fire in order to have the reality of God s life and enter into His kingdom. Spirit and fire. Your What are the fruits of repentance? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 4

5 Friday Scripture Reading: Matt. 13:22; 1 Pet. 1:9; 4:12-13 That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:7) BEING PURIFIED BY THE FIRE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Yesterday, we saw that the Lord came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Let us now take a look at the importance of the action of fire in our Christian experience. Peter s first epistle shows us what the presence of fire produces in our Christian life; it is for the salvation of our soul: In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7). Verse 9 presents the result of this process: receiving the end your faith the salvation of your souls. These verses compare the difficulty of dealing with our soul-life to that of removing impurities from gold. Just as gold is purified through fire, only the fire of the Holy Spirit can eradicate the impurities in our soul, thus saving it. To illustrate this better, I will use the experience of a certain brother. As he fell gravely ill some time ago, he had fellowship with the Lord; enlightened by the divine light, he realized that he had to confess failures so he could truly follow the Lord. He saw that even as a Christian, he still had things of the old man within him. After confessing his mistakes before the Lord, his health was restored. His illness recurred over two times, and he repented even more thoroughly from his living. This shows us that even as we go through situations that are difficult and of great suffering and confess our shortcomings before the Lord, there are still impurities in us, in our soul, which are not easily eliminated. In the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13, part of the seeds fell among thorns which represent the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches which choke the word of God sown in the heart, and make it unfruitful (v. 22). Through experience, today we understand that not only must we uproot the thorns, but we also need to burn them so they will not grow again. This means that as we deny our soul-life in these things, we must allow the purifying fire of the Spirit to burn the impurities we have within. Physical sufferings caused by illnesses, accidents, and other things, frighten us and cause us to repent for a variety of things such as sins and mistakes committed in the past. Nevertheless, they do not necessarily change our person or conduct. We know that many people go through this kind of suffering, yet remain the same. On the other hand, the inner burning by the fire of the Spirit causes us to repent of what we are and produces a transformation in our person; this is the salvation of the soul (1 Pet. 4:12-13). This is the reason behind our insistence in the matter of denying ourselves to follow the Lord, allowing the fire of the Holy Spirit to purify us from our impurities. Purified by fire! Your How can you allow the fire of the Spirit to burn the impurities in your being? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 5

6 Saturday Scripture Reading: Gen. 10:9; Matt. 9:14; 14:3-12; John 3:22-25 But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life' (John 6:68) ACKNOWLEDGING THE LORD AND FOLLOWING HIM After being baptized by John the Baptist, the heavens opened up to the Lord Jesus as He emerged from the water. At that moment, the Spirit of God come down upon Him as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:16-17). After being anointed according to God s predetermination, the Lord Jesus was ready to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Despite knowing his commission and who the Lord was, John the Baptist did not ask to be baptized by Him. He knew that the baptism he preached was but a first step, leading men to repentance and changing their way of thinking. However, John himself did not take this next step that he preached: receiving the Lord s baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire to deal with his soul-life. As soon as he baptized the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist should have also been baptized by Him, thus relinquishing his group of disciples to follow the Lord (John 3:22-25). This was perhaps a price he was not willing to pay. Surrendering his disciples would require John to renounce the self and the glory of man; in other words, he would have to deny his soul-life a great deal. Hence, we see that John the Baptist was not willing to deny himself or lose his soul-life. In the Old Testament, we find Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord, who became mighty on the earth. Nimrod was seeking his own fame, making a great name for himself instead of glorifying the Lord s name. He went forth and built a city named Babel, where they began building a tower whose top was intended to reach the heavens (Gen. 10:9; 11:4). Now, John the Baptist preached of One who would come after him, that is, the Lord Jesus. This One was greater than him, and He would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Therefore, John the Baptist should have given up everything he acquired in his ministry and followed the Lord, by being baptized by Him. As a result of not denying himself, John the Baptist was arrested. Instead of repenting while he was in prison, John decided to send out two of his disciples as his messengers to the Lord and inquire of Him whether He was truly the coming One or if they should wait for another. The Lord answered John s disciples, saying, Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me (Luke 7:22-23). John the Baptist ended up being beheaded and his head delivered on a platter to the woman who requested his death (Matt. 14: 3-12). For someone who had such a positive begin-ning, even as Jesus forerunner, John s history had a tragic ending, which presents us with a great warning: we must give up our own achievements in order to follow the Lord. It is better to lose our soul-life than to lose our head. Your What hindered John the Baptist from following the Lord Jesus? REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 6

7 Powered by TCPDF ( Sunday Scripture Reading: Num. 14:24; John 7:38-39 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23) THE DANGERS OF THE SOUL-LIFE Through the story of John the Baptist, the Lord wants to teach us how terrible our soul-life is. The most important item in John s story is to see that he needed to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, that is, to be brought to the Spirit. However, he did not yield nor renounce his position and followers. Hence, John remained in himself, controlled by his soul-life, which resulted in God allowing him to be beheaded. If you refuse to deny your soul-life and plan to use it in opposition to the Lord, you must learn from the story of John the Baptist: for this reason, he lost his life and the Lord did not go to save him. This is the lesson we learn from John the Baptist: the soul-life is terrible. When a man is controlled by his soul, he does not take heed to God s words that he needs to receive the Holy Spirit and fire. If our soul-life is still present, it will be a hindrance in God s work, just as occurred with John the Baptist. Not only did he refuse to follow the Lord, he also kept his disciples, remaining unrepentant in prison, even to the extent of asking the Lord Jesus whether He was the Christ. The leading brothers in the churches who received this word in the past, should help others to live the life God determined for us: having a change of mind, receiving the Spirit, and denying ourselves. The Lord is the One who gives us the Spirit, a different Spirit, another Spirit, like that of Joshua and Caleb (cf. Num. 14:24; John 7:38-39). We need to set our minds on this Spirit and allow Him to continually work in us, burning the impurities in our soul. Let us learn from this sobering lesson. Allowing the Spirit to burn the impurities in the soul. Your How do we deny our soul-life? Additional Reading Enrich your reading of the Daily Food by simultaneously reading the books suggested below: The Heavenly Vision chap. 2 Dong Yu Lan. Like God in Life and Nature chap. 2 Dong Yu Lan. REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS HAS DRAWN NEAR - God with Us 7