God’s Masterpiece: Who Are You? (Part IV)

Sermon Title: God’s Masterpiece: Who Are You?

Good News Statement: God created us, but do we know who we are

Preached: Sunday, September 24, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): John 1:19-28– Today’s Scripture reading comes from the Gospel of John, who begins his collection of writings by informing the reader of a person by the name of John the Baptist. We read in John chapter one verses nineteen thru twenty-eight the testimony of John the Baptist, who notifies us of who he is and who he is not.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹ This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ”

as the prophet Isaiah said.

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.” ²⁸ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

I begin our message by returning to a story that I shared with you all a few weeks ago when we reflected on the case of Jonah and were challenged to consider and ponder the “God given purposes” in our life. Instead of thinking about purpose when you hear this story, I invite you to think about this question: “Who are you?”

When Billy Graham was 92 years old, he was struggling with Parkinson’s disease. In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, “We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.” So, he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said: I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

When I shared this story with you all, I stated that we are like Einstein: we know who we are but we don’t always know where we are going. But the more I think about this story and what I said, the more I have to ask myself, “Do I know who I am?” It seems like every day I am learning more about myself: I am learning more about who I am, what interests me, what frustrates me, how I motivate myself, how many times a day I talk down to myself, my positives and negatives, my strengths and my weaknesses. Every day I learn something new about myself that I didn’t know the day before. How about you, do you know who you are?

Most of the time when people are asked this question they go straight to certain “titles” that describe them. They say, “I am a grandparent, a parent, a sibling, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a wife, a husband, a teacher, a farmer, an employee, an employer, a buyer, a seller, a retiree, a student, a faithful disciple, and the list could go on and on. These are all good answers; but they describe and suggest what you do and not so much of who you are. So who are you?

Today, we explore this question by looking at how John the Baptist from the opening Chapter of John’s Gospel does and does not identify himself. While exploring this text, we are going to focus on three main points that helps us, guides, prepare us, to effectively point others to Jesus for salvation: 1) To effectively point others to Jesus, we need to be clear on who we are not (John 1:19-21), 2) To effectively point others to Jesus, we need to be clear on who we are (John 1:22-28), and 3) When we’re clear on who we are in God’s Kingdom, we can effectively point others to Christ. As we walk through our text today, I encourage you to really think about who you are. To conclude this message I will show you this week’s craft—a hand drawn image of a person whose face is divided in two—as a means to help you think about who you are. God created us, so now is the time to figure out who God has created us to be.

Body:

As we begin, I have to ask you, “Did any of you find time to rest last week?” You took a few seconds or minutes to breathe, to do something for yourself, to separate yourself from your busy routine, to pray more, or maybe you did nothing at all during your time of rest? Last week, we looked at the words of Hebrews Chapter 4 as we observed a handmade pillow with a calm nature scene on the front of it—there was a log cabin and green meadows with a vibrant blue stream of water flowing through the meadows. The words of Hebrews reminds us that rest was created by God and is a free gift given to us, that when we don’t rest our faith dwindles, our hearts harden, and we no longer are doing what God and Jesus both did for themselves, and that we must believe that we can rest—that you are allowed to rest.

I shared last week that rest has been scientifically proven to be beneficial and healthy: it reduces stress and anxiety; it lowers blood pressure, boosts energy levels, decreases the risk of getting sick, and increases our focus and clarity. Additionally, rest has been Biblically proven to be beneficial and healthy for the soul: increasing one’s faith, being more committed to God’s commands, practicing the ways of Christ, being better equipped to share the good news, and have a more clear spiritual vision of God’s plan in our life. If God took time to rest on the seventh day after doing his work and if Jesus took time to rest while sharing the good news, then we must believe in taking time to rest for ourselves.

I remind you to find time, make time, reserve the time, and protect the time for resting. God did, so why won’t you? Jesus did, so why won’t you? The next time you see a pillow, use it as a reminder that you need to take a moment to rest. Without rest we can’t effectively do what God has called us to do. Not only do we need rest to effectively do what God needs us to do, but we also need rest to really think about who we are.

[i]Our text shows us that John the Baptist was a man who was clear on who he was not and who he was. He was also clear on who Jesus is. So he was able to point others clearly to Jesus as the only Savior whom they desperately needed. To appreciate this section, you have to use some holy imagination to put yourself in John’s sandals. God has called you to preach, even though you haven’t had any formal training. To be honest, you’re a bit different in how you dress and in what you eat. Rather than the common linen tunic, you wear a camel’s hair garment with a leather belt and your diet consists of locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4). You don’t quite blend in with the mainstream of your culture! You don’t go to the capital to launch your ministry, but are out in the wilderness. Your message isn’t exactly user-friendly or sensitive. Your opening line is “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7).

But surprisingly, thousands are flocking out to the wilderness to hear you preach. You’re baptizing many who repent for the forgiveness of their sins. And then, one day a delegation of nicely-dressed fellows from the religious order in Jerusalem arrives to check you out. They take you aside and ask, “Who are you?” It could be a bit threatening if you weren’t sure of your calling and your message! But John was clear on who he was not and on who he was. And because of that, he effectively led others to Jesus.

In John 1:6-8, we saw three aspects of John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus: (1) he was not the Light; (2) he was sent to bear witness to the Light; (3) his aim was that all might believe through him to receive the light. Now, in John 1:19-28, John testifies that he is not the Light; in John 1:29-34, he bears witness to the Light; and, in John 1:35-51, we see John’s witness bear fruit as several of his disciples believe in Jesus and begin to follow Him.[ii] In this message, we strive to fulfill the following call to action by observing three points: We need to be clear on who we are in God’s kingdom so that we can effectively point others to Jesus for salvation.

First: To effectively point others to Jesus, we need to be clear on who we are not (1:19-21). John 1:19-21 notes, “This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’”[iii] From this text, we learn very quickly that John is not the Messiah, nor is he Elijah, nor is he a prophet.

JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS CLEAR THAT HE WAS NOT THE MESSIAH (1:19-20). Messianic expectations were running high in Israel as people longed for deliverance from Roman rule: that sought a warrior to free them from the bonds of Roman authority.  So when the religious leaders in Jerusalem heard about John’s popularity, they decided that they had better check him out. That wanted to see if he was a threat; the warrior who has come to disrupt the way of life. He was a puzzling man to them. He was of priestly descent and he could have been a part of their crowd—living comfortably in one of the cities, dressing in conventional robes, and functioning as a part of the religious establishment. But instead he was living out in the wilderness in a very unconventional way. His message wasn’t friendly toward the establishment. He seemed a bit odd! Apparently the religious delegation asked John if he was the Messiah. John confessed to the religious leaders, “I am not the Messiah” (John 1:20). John knows who he is not and the Messiah is greater than he?

THEN JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS CLEAR THAT HE WAS NOT ELIJAH (1:21). The delegation tried a different method. They asked, “What then? Are you Elijah?” (John 1:21). It was a good guess. John looked like the description of Elijah in his rugged wilderness lifestyle, in his dressing, and in his fiery message of judgment. 2 Kings 1:8 asserts, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist…It is Elijah the Tishbite.” The Prophet Malachi, writing 400 years before this event in the Gospel of John, notes that before the great and terrible day of the Lord, God would send Elijah the prophet to restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:5). This was taken to mean that before the Messiah came, Elijah would come. But again, John knows who he is not: although he is wearing a leather belt around his waist and is hairy and is feeding off the land, John the Baptist knows that he is not Elijah—the prophet who will restore the hearts of the fathers.

This denial seems to contradict what Jesus later stated, that John was the Elijah of Malachi 4 (Matthew. 11:14; 17:11). Also, the angel who predicted John’s birth to his father Zechariah, cited the same prophecy and said that John would go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). So why does John deny that he is Elijah?

There could be several answers. First, John probably knew that some Jews were expecting the literal Elijah, who did not die but was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot and whirlwind, to return in a spectacular way from heaven. John denied that he was this literal Elijah. But Jesus was not speaking of the literal Elijah, but of John coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. Also, John had a humble opinion of himself. John was not interested in building a following after himself as a latter-day Elijah, but rather in pointing others to Jesus as the Christ. So John denied his identity as being Elijah.

FINALLY, JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS CLEAR THAT HE WAS NOT THE PROPHET (1:21). The delegation tries a third possibility: “Are you the Prophet?” (John 1:21). John’s answers are growing increasingly short: “No.” He wants to cut off all this misleading speculation about himself. The religious leaders were referring to the prophet that Moses had predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” But John doesn’t want to go there, so he just gives the terse reply, “No.” At this point the delegation has nothing positive to put in their report to the leaders back in Jerusalem, so they repeat their question: “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” (John 1:22). This leads to John’s plain statement of who he is.

Second: To effectively point others to Jesus, we need to be clear on who we are (1:22-28). John was clear on whom he was and on what his role was in God’s economy. His interchange with these leaders brings out three positive ways that John viewed himself: a voice in the wilderness, baptizes with water, and a lowly slave of Jesus.

FIRST, JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW HIMSELF AS A VOICE OF ONE CRYING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS (1:23). John 1:23 states, “He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” John the Baptist is citing Isaiah 40:3. Notice in this verse, that John doesn’t say he is the great voice, the mighty voice, or even the powerful voice. Rather, he is just a voice, calling attention to the coming of the Lord. The imagery was that before a king would visit a town, a messenger would go before him to announce his coming. The townspeople would hurry out to clear away the obstacles and fill in the washed out parts of the road to smooth the way for the king’s coming. John was acting much like Paul Revere when Paul rode through the town shouting “The British are coming, the British are coming.” John is shouting “The Lord is coming, the Lord is coming. Prepare for the Lord.” The messenger didn’t call attention to himself, but to the coming king. And John here makes it clear that the coming King is none other than the Lord. John the Baptist, like many of us, is the voice of the one informing others about Jesus Christ.

SECOND, FURTHERMORE, JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW HIMSELF AS ONE WHO BAPTIZES THE REPENTANT IN WATER (1:24-26). Some Pharisees in the delegation were still not satisfied with John’s answer. So they ask, “They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” (John 1:25). At this point, John could have gone into a lengthy discussion of himself and his role as the baptizer. But again, his reply with regard to himself is as brief as possible and then he directs things to Christ, “John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know…” (John 1:26).

His baptism seemed to have two facets: First, it was a baptism of repentance in which those being baptized confessed their sins and prepared themselves for the coming kingdom of God (Matt. 3:2, 6; Luke 3:3). Second, his baptism anticipated the coming Messianic baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17). It was a sign to point people to the coming of the Messiah (John 1:31). John waits until the next day to draw the contrast between his baptizing in water and Jesus’ baptizing in the Holy Spirit (1:29, 31-33). John understands that his baptism is no match for the baptism performed by the Lord through the presence of the Holy Spirit. John knows that he is not greater than the One who the religious leaders do not know.[iv] The third way that John saw himself lines up with the first two.

THIRD, JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW HIMSELF AS A LOWLY SLAVE OF JESUS (1:27). After telling the religious leaders that they did not know the One standing among them (John 1:26), John continues to describe Him: “’The one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal” (John 1:27). Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (A.D. 250) taught, “All manner of service that a slave must render to his master, the pupil must render to his teacher—except that of taking off his shoe.” The world will always give us opportunities to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought, but those who are growing in godliness see themselves as unworthy slaves (Luke 17:10), unworthy to untie the master’s sandal. So John saw himself as a lowly slave and Jesus as such a worthy Master that John wasn’t even worthy to untie His sandal strap. To point people to Christ, we need to join John in esteeming ourselves less and exalting Christ more. People don’t need to be impressed with us, but with Jesus! We need to tell people, “I’m just an unworthy slave. Jesus is the only worthy Master. Follow Him!” John knows that he is a slave to Jesus Christ, doing what Christ needs him to do. This leads us to our last point.

Third: When we’re clear on who we are in God’s kingdom, we can effectively point others to Christ. Stepping away from John the Baptist, we see our call and purpose and mission to effectively call others to Christ in the words of Paul’s epistle to the people of Ephesus. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-16, “[Jesus] himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers ^to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”

Jesus has appointed us to fulfill specific titles. Some are apostles while others are prophets. Some are evangelists while others are pastors. And some are teachers while others are students. We all have a role to play in the kingdom of God here on earth. That’s what we are called to do, that’s what we are equipped to do. But in those titles, we are voices speaking the truth of love, we are slaves to the body of Christ—the church and the people—and we are instruments of God’s grace promoting and growing the body of Christ in all that we do. Who you are is who God is equipping you to be so that you can effectively lead others to Christ.

But I have to ask, “Who are you?” Do you define yourself by the tasks you do and the titles you have acquired over time, or do you define yourself in the words of Christ, by the teachings of Christ, by the works of Christ, by the love, grace, and salvation of Christ? Are you the one who is calling out in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord? Are you willing to say to someone that you are a servant of the Lord? Who are you? If we don’t know who we are than how effectively can we lead others to Christ?

Conclusion:

Einstein knew who he was but he didn’t know where he was going. Unlike Einstein, we may know where we are going, but we may not know who we are. I invite you to examine this week’s art work: a self-portrait of the artist. In this portrait, you will see that it is divided in half: on one side the artist drew half of her face in black and white; on the other side, the artist has vibrantly depicted things and sayings that represent who she is—there is a bottle of Sprite which has spilled out an imitation of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” art supplies bursting out of a zippered headband, a flower resting behind a rainbow, a butterfly basking in the warmth of the sun, a hot-air-balloon floating in the background, a tractor and barn and corn outline the artists face as a figure fishes from her nose , and sayings such as “Love and Peace” and “Be Happy” add words to this artists description of herself.

From this piece of art, the artist is depicting who she is. If you were given the task to draw something like this what would you incorporate? How would you define yourself? John the Baptist is giving us the invitation to really think about who we are—to dig deep below the surface, to set aside titles and labels, and to focus on those traits and characteristics, and talents and gifts, and lessons from God.

John rejects titles of Messiah, Elijah, and prophet and instead focuses on who God has created him to be: a proclaimer of Christ, a doer of Christ’s works, and servant of the love of Christ. God needs you to find out who you are so that you can effectively—spiritually and faithfully—lead others to Christ. But are you willing to allow yourself to see yourself in the eyes of God? Are you willing to look in the mirror and see a creation of God’s work? Are you willing to allow your true self—what makes you you—to grow God’s kingdom here on earth? Who are you? Who are you not? If you don’t know ask Jesus: he will tell you.

This week take a few minutes and ask yourself, “Who am I?” You might be surprised on how God answers that question.

Let it be so…

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, we thank you for creating us. We thank you for making us and molding us and shaping us into your disciples. We pray that you help us to learn more about whom we are and how we fit into your plans. Guide us to know who we are so that we can effectively lead others toward you. In your holy name we pray, Amen.

           

Benediction:

This week, I encourage you to answer this question, “Who Are You?” Take note of what you find out. May the Lord bless you this week with His heart of love and His guiding light as you come to know yourself—the person who God has created—a little bit more. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go out into the world knowing that you are part of God’s masterpiece. And all of God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

 

[i] Several decades ago, “All in the Family” poked fun at the red-neck, blue-collar, bigots of America through the lead bigot, Archie Bunker. On one show, Archie told his wife Edith that he wanted to be on the bowling team so bad that he could taste it! He described the bowling shirts that the Cannonballers wore: All yellow silk, with bright red piping on the collar and sleeves. And on the back, there’s a picture of a cannon firing a bowling ball at the set of pins. He said, “When you got something like that on your back, Edith, you know you’re somebody! “That show was satirizing that a man could gain a sense of identity and importance from being a part of a bowling team and wearing a gaudy shirt. But that anecdote raises the questions, “Who are you? What is the source of your identity? How should your sense of who you are before God as a Christian shape how you live and what you do?”

[ii] (C. H. Dodd, cited by James Boice, The Gospel of John [Zondervan], one-volume ed., pp. 49, 94; also noted by Kostenberger, p. 53).

[iii] In this section, the apostle John sets up the tension that will mount between the religious crowd versus Christ and His true followers. In 1:19, he first mentions “the Jews.” John will use this term about 70 times. Sometimes he uses it in a neutral sense; sometimes in a good sense; but, more often he uses it to refer to the Jewish people and especially the religious leaders from Jerusalem who are hostile toward Jesus. Because of John’s frequent use of this term, some have accused him of being anti-Semitic. But we need to keep in mind that John himself was a Jew (as was Jesus). John was not attacking Jewish people or what was right and good in Judaism. Rather, as D. A. Carson points out (The Gospel According to John [Apollos/Eerdmans], p. 142), he was trying “to controvert those who have so failed to appreciate their own heritage that they have failed to see its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.”

John’s baptism was unique. It was common for Gentile proselytes to Judaism to be baptized. And some Jewish communities practiced self-baptism for cleansing. But John was doing the baptizing and he was doing it on Jewish people, even calling on the Jewish religious leaders to repent and be baptized (Matthew 3:7-12). This surely would have been offensive to the racially and religiously proud Jews.