Jesus' Testimony About John The Baptist

(Matthew 11:7-15) The only testimony that matters in the end is the one the all-knowing God gives about our life. Discover how your life can make an even greater impact than the man Jesus called the greatest. What will your testimony be? (09119250516) 

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All new and returning donors will receive FREE access to two of Scott's audiobooks (read by him). You may make a one-time gift or set up a fully customizable recurring donation.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music
John the Baptist is one of the great characters of the Bible.
His purpose was simple, to prepare the way for the coming of the
Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said of John that he
was the greatest of those born of women.

(00:22):
This greatness was not in himself, not his personality, not talent,
but his greatness was in his task, introducing people to Jesus.
Join Scott Pauley now as he leads us in a study of this great man.

(00:44):
My favorite type of book to read is a biography.
I have hundreds of them. I'm always in the middle of one of
them, at least at a time. And for many, many years, biographies
have been one of the means that just keeps my heart warm.
I find instruction. I find inspiration in them.
I would recommend that you read a good biography.

(01:06):
And that's perhaps a subject for another day, but I say all
of that to tell you that as we are studying the life of John
the Baptist, we're literally studying one of God's great biographies.
This is a story that the Holy Spirit has written for us, which
means there's so much truth to be learned from it.

(01:26):
Now, there are many things I want to point out to you about
the life of John the Baptist, this man that Jesus said was
the greatest man born of woman. But I want to go to the end of
the story and then work our way back, if I may.
In Matthew chapter number 11, we are coming near the end of
John the Baptist's life. You know, death clarifies everything.

(01:47):
And really the way a man ends tells you so much about the way
he lived. Someone once said that no man is prepared to live until
he's first prepared to die. It was Charles Spurgeon that said
the way to make the most of your life is to meditate on your death.
Well, when you come to Matthew chapter 11, We are literally
nearing the end of John the Baptist's journey.

(02:07):
We're coming near the end of his life. He's about to stand
before Almighty God. He's gonna leave this world and step into
eternity. And as you get to this season of his life, there's a certain
testimony that is given about him that I think is most profound.
It is the testimony of Jesus about John.

(02:29):
Now, let that sink in for just a moment.
This is not what John said about himself.
It's not what John's disciples said about him.
It is literally the testimony of Jesus Christ about John.
When I think of John the Baptist, I always think of his testimony
about Jesus. You find that in John chapter 1 when he said,
I am not the Christ. I am just the voice of one crying in the

(02:53):
wilderness. He is before me and he is greater than me.
That's John's testimony about Jesus. But let's turn it around.
What about Jesus' testimony about John?
You see, in the end, the one testimony that truly matters
is the testimony of Christ about your life.

(03:14):
When you stand before God someday, it's not going to be what you
have to say or what somebody else has to say about you.
The only thing that's going to matter on that day is, what does
the Lord know about you? What is written down in His record
book? Well, let's let the Lord Jesus speak about John the Baptist
for just a moment. In Matthew chapter 11, and this is a chapter
we'll come back to later in our study, let's break into it in

(03:36):
verse 7. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes
concerning John, what went ye out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went she out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?
Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

(03:57):
But what went she out for to see? A prophet?
Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
Let me pause just a moment and point out to you that three times
Jesus asked this question, what went she out to see?
Now may I remind you that John's ministry was that he was to be
a voice of one crying in the wilderness.

(04:21):
The last time I checked, you don't look at a voice, you listen
to a voice. I think there's a beautiful secret given to us
here, not just about John, but about our lives, about the way
God wants to use us. You see there were multitudes who wanted
to go out and out of curiosity observe this man who wore strange
clothing and ate strange things and spoke differently than their

(04:44):
religious leaders. Jesus is saying to them, you went out for entertainment.
You went out of curiosity. You wanted to see something.
Isn't that true in our world today? Everybody wants to see
something. Show me something different. Entertain me.
Keep me interested. What went she out to see?
You see, John was never to be seen, he was to be heard.

(05:07):
Our lives are not to be lived to be seen of men.
Our ministries are not to be given to be applauded by others.
Rather, we have a message. We have the truth of Jesus Christ
to share. We're not to be seen, we are to be heard.
And why are we to be heard? Because the only good thing about any
of us is not us. The only good thing about any of us is the

(05:29):
message we have to share. Jesus goes on in verse 10 and says,
For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger
before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there
hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.

(05:51):
Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the
kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
And if ye will receive it, This is Elias, or Elijah, which was

(06:14):
for to come. And then Jesus uses this statement that he uses so
much in his preaching. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Let me just pause right now in our study and say, Lord, help
me hear what you want me to hear today. May I pray for you right
now that are listening. May the Spirit of the Living God open

(06:36):
your spiritual ears and give you spiritual understanding.
Because there are some profound things said here in Jesus' testimony
about John the Baptist. The first thing that Jesus says about him
is, there's never been a man born of woman any greater than
John the Baptist. Now over the next few Bible studies together,
We're going to discover some of the characteristics that contributed

(06:59):
to that. What are the things that marked the life of this
great man? You know, you can't be John the Baptist.
I can't be John the Baptist. It's very dangerous to try to
be someone that you're not. God didn't make you that person.
And yet there are things about men, like John the Baptist, that
we can follow after, that we can say, Lord, let that be true

(07:20):
in my life. And when you study a great character of the Bible,
you're looking for those things that you can apply to your own
life. That's why Jesus says, he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. Think of this, what kind of man would God choose
to prepare the way for his own son.
I mean, the Heavenly Father chose a man.

(07:42):
He could have chosen any man, any one of the Old Testament
prophets. John falls in that era of the Old Testament prophets,
and yet this is the man that God chose.
This is the man that God prepared And this is the man that God
used to prepare the way for Messiah.
And so we ought to look carefully at his life and say, Lord, I want

(08:03):
these things to be true of my life.
Why did God use John so mightily?
I don't know that we can answer all of those questions because
some things are hidden in the divine providence of an all-wise
God. But there are certain things about his life, no doubt, that
we can pray, Lord, let this be true of my life.
I want the testimony of Jesus about my life at the end to be,

(08:27):
this man fulfilled his purpose. This man did what he was created
and called to do. Don't you want that for your own life?
But there's another thought, and I leave you with this one
today. Jesus not only said that John the Baptist was the greatest
born of woman, but he goes on to say that the least in the
kingdom of heaven will be greater than John.

(08:48):
How is that possible? I would remind you that John the Baptist,
though we read about him in the New Testament, he finds his place
in history under the Old Testament covenant, which meant that you
and I, who have become partakers of Christ, who have the Spirit
of the living God living inside of us today, actually have more

(09:10):
divine resources at our disposal than John the Baptist had.
In other words, you have a power available to you that they did
not have in every moment of the Old Testament.
Friend, are you living in that power today? Not in the power
of John the Baptist. Are you living in the power of Jesus
Christ, the indwelling Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit?

(09:35):
If you are, then in the end you can stand before the Lord and
hear him say, well done, thou good and faithful servant.
I don't know about you, but I want to live today so that when
I come to the end, Jesus' testimony about my life is one that he
finished his course and he finished it well.
John the Baptist was the herald, the messenger who introduced

(09:57):
the world to the centerpiece of all of human history.
Just as John was sent to bear witness of the light of Christ,
it is the privilege and responsibility of God's children today to do
the same. May we point people to our all-sufficient Savior.
To learn how to share your faith, visit our website, etj.bible,

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and click on the Witness tab in the menu.
You'll find podcasts, videos, and articles that will equip
you as you point others to Christ. As always, we are grateful that
you have joined us today, and we look forward to our next time
together on Enjoying the Journey.