Bible Character - John the Baptist

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
My recording started. There we go, getting my different different
passages pulled up. Okay, I think it'd be good for
me to open with prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you
for your word and Holy Spirit. I invite you, I

(00:25):
ask you to teach and to reveal and to bless
Lord the people who come on to this recording. And
I thank you for the opportunity to give attention to
your word in Jesus' name, Praise God. Hey, code Name,

(00:46):
Hey bad Dog? Thank you both for being here. Hey,
can I get a mic check? Code name? Do I
sound okay? I sound clear? Well? Hopefully code name? Do
I sound clear? Okay? Let me yeah, let me see

(01:12):
if I can take Bad Dog a speaker. I don't
know if you've got somebody you have to pay attention
to where you are? Hey, bad Dog, can you give
me a sound check? Do I sound okay? Trying to work?

(01:34):
Thank you? Code Name? Thank you kindly? Okay? Great? So
thank you to everyone for joining and listening. We started
with prayer. Let's dive in on down. So I'm gonna
start up chapter one. In the days of Herod, King
of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias of the

(01:55):
division of Abaja, and he had a wife from the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Ale. They were
both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in
all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they
had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were
both advanced in years. Now. It happened while he was

(02:16):
performing his priestly service before God in the order of
his division. According to the custom of the priestly office,
he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of
the Lord and burn incense. So as you can imagine
from the language, this was a big deal, and the

(02:37):
whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at
the hour of the incense offering, and an angel of
the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of
the altar of incense. Zecharias was troubled when he saw,
and fear gripped him, but the angel said, do not
be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been and your

(03:01):
wife Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you will
give him the name. You will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will
be great in the sight of the Lord. And he
will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be
filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.

(03:21):
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel
back to the Lord their God. Notice not everybody even, Okay,
moving on verse seventeen, it is he who will go
before him. That's a reference to Jesus in the spirit
and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the

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fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the
attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord. Oh, the story of his

(04:10):
upbringing is pretty interesting. I think I'm going to do
all right. Maybe I'll just read it. Why not, right,
Bible reading is good for us, okay, Verse twenty loops
not twenty verse eighteen. Zechariah said to the Angel, how

(04:38):
will I know this? For I am an old man
and my wife has advanced in years. So that was
obviously doubt there, right, unbelief, choosing not to embrace the moment,
the expecting of the Lord. This was not like, give

(05:00):
me a confirmation that you're actually from the Lord, or
that this I'm not being tricked and deceived in my
own weakness This was not uh confusion, like I don't understand.
This was I don't want to put myself out there
to believe something that my logic and intellect and my

(05:24):
social circle's logic and intellect. I don't know how to
wrap around what what you're telling me. So unbelief is
different than other types of things, and unbelief literally brings
to a halt the opportunity for the miraculous and what

(05:46):
God wants to do. So his response was a big deal.
It was a huge pro potential problem. It was, of
course disrespectful to the Lord, of course, disrespectful to the
Angel the messenger, and it was also threatening God's plan
to not even happen. So verse nineteen, the Angel answered

(06:09):
and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in
the presence of God, and I've been sent to speak
to you and to bring you this good news. And behold,
you shall be silent, and I'm able to speak until
the day when these things take place, because you did
not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their
proper time. So this was very responsible of the angel

(06:31):
to not let him continue on that vein right, the
parts of his body need to be working, and all
this stuff needs to be going forward because God works
through people. The verse twenty one, the people were waiting
for Zecharias and were wondering at his delay in the temple,

(06:53):
so they were expecting religion, they weren't expecting of the Lord.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak
to them, and they realized he had seen a vision
in the temple, and he kept making signs to them
and remained mute. When the days of his priestly service
were ended, he went back home. Interesting, doesn't sound like

(07:16):
they were super excited. They wanted him to do what
he was there to do, and then they were done.
Verse twenty four. After these days, Elizabeth, his wife, became pregnant,
and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
this is the way the Lord has dealt with me
in the days, when he looked upon me, looked with

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favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.
And there's so many directions I could go with so
much of this I'm just going to keep reading now.
In this sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from
God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a
version virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph,

(08:00):
of the descendants of David, and the virgin's name was Mary,
and coming in, he said to her, Greetings, favored one,
the Lord is with you. But she was very perplexed
at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation
this was if you take out that italicized whereas the

(08:20):
literal is greetings, favored one, the Lord with you. That
probably did feel a little perplexing in the moment. Right
the Angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God. And behold, you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and

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will be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give him the throne of his
father David, and he will reign over the House of
Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Mary
said to the angel, how can this be? Since I
am a virgin. So this is not unbelief, This is wondering.

(09:10):
This is not a rejection or a rebuff. This is
an entreaty of a sort. The Angel answered and said
to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the most hie will overshadow you. And
for that reason the Holy child shall be called the
Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has

(09:35):
also conceived a son in her old age. And she
who was once she who was called Baron, is now
in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.
And Mary said, behold, the bond slave of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.
And the angel departed from her. What a humble reply, Amen, Okay,

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keeping on going now. At this time Mary arose and
went in a hurry to the hill country to a
city of Judea, and entered the house of Zechariath and
greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped
in her room. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy spirit.

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And she cried out with a loud voice and said,
blessed are you among women, And blessed is the fruit
of your womb. And how has it happened to me
that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the baby leaped in my womb for joy, and blessed

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is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment
of that of what had been spoken to her by
the Lord. So the Holy Spirit is the one who
gave this to Elizabeth to say, because of course, there
was no way that Elizabeth would have known Mary had

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just arrived. She hadn't even had a chance to tell
these things to Elizabeth. So let's read this again. Blessed
are you among women? And blessed is the fruit of
your womb. And how has it happened to me that
the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold,
when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the
baby leaked in my womb for joy. And blessed is

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she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of
what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Amen,
and Mary said, my soul exalts the Lord, and my
spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior, for he has
had regard for the humble state of his bond slave.
For behold, from this time on, all generations will call

(11:50):
me count me blessed. For behold, from this time on,
all generations will count me blessed, for the Mighty One
has done great things for me. And holy is his name.
And a mercy is upon generation after generation toward those
who fear him. He has done mighty deeds with his arm.
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts

(12:12):
of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled
the hungry with good things and sent away the rich
empty handed. He has given help to Israel, his servant,
and in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to
our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever. And Mary

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stayed with her about three months, and then returned to
her home. Wow, Praise God, what a blessing. Verse fifty seven.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth,
and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and
her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed his great

(12:58):
mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her. And
it happened that on the eighth day they came to
circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias,
after his father. But his mother answered and said, no, indeed,
but he shall be called John. And they said to her.
There was no one among your relatives who was called

(13:19):
by that name so opinionated swoop. People can be something else.
And even you know she's like older and the whole thing.
People just God bless them. And they made signs to
his father as to what he wanted him called boy,

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and he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows,
his name is John. And they were all astonished. I
wonder if it ever dawns on people in the grip
of this stuff, just how absurd they will seem later
moving on. And at once his mouth was opened and

(14:08):
his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise
of God. Fear came on all those living around them,
and all these matters were being talked about in all
the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept
them in mind, saying, what then will this child turn
out to be? For the hand of the Lord was
certainly with him, and his father Zecharias was filled with

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the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, blessed be the Lord
God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished
redemption for his people, and has raised up a horn
of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets
from salvation from our enemies and from the hand of

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all who hate us, to show mercy toward our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he
swore to Abraham, our Father, to grant us that we,
being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve
him without fear, and holiness and righteousness before him all
our days. And you, child will be called the Prophet

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of the Most High, for you will go on before
the Lord to prepare his ways and to give to
his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of
their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God,
with which the sunrise from on high will visit us
to shine upon those who sit in darkness, and the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way

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of peace. It's so interesting because Mary's expression of praise
was really centered on a lot on herself and her

(16:00):
own experience, her role in what was happening, praising God
for what he was doing for her, and a little
bit of the larger picture. But John's is mostly focused
on the larger picture multi generational work of God. Interesting

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the difference there. Okay, Let's go to verse eighty. And
the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit,
and he lived in the deserts until the day of
his public appearance to Israel. That must have been an
interesting child to raise, No two ways about that. Okay,
So let's go to some other gospels. Let's go to

(16:52):
Gospel of Matthew. Let's see, let's go to Gospel Mark. Um. Yeah, maybe, ah,
maybe a little bit later in Luke. Okay, this is

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from Gospel of Matthew, chapter three. Now, in those days,
John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. For
this is the one referenced by Isaiah the Prophet when
he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

(17:35):
make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Now,
John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a
leather belt around his waist, and his food was locust
and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him,
and all Judaea and all the districts around the Jordan,

(17:58):
and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan
River as they confess their sins. The gospel is so raw,
isn't it Like the crapola of the Alphabet Mafia talking
about the message being love and acceptance is so false.

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Here's the message, repent, here's the practice. Confess your sins
and get baptized. Jordan River is a type of salvation
in the Gospel, in the in the scripture, it's an illustration,
a living parable. Okay. And the people went out to

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him the whole thing. There's so much to be said, okay.
Verse seven. But when he saw many, many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them,
you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from
the wrath, to come right. Wow. Therefore bear fruit in

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keeping with repentance. And do not suppose that you can
say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. For
I say to you that from these stones God is
able to raise up children to Abraham. Oh this is
so good. You know. I remember talking with a young
lady who felt that she really wanted to get married.

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And I believe that this what I shared with her,
applies to really any role in life that pertains the
promises of God that we don't need to look at
and see, how likely does it seem to be that
there is such a type of a person as I

(20:00):
have need of or have a desire to collaborate work
together with in whatever it is that pertains to the
Kingdom of God. God swore by himself to give children
to Abraham, so there was no other type of person

(20:26):
that was more crucial to God's work. Well, okay, Jesus,
but hopefully you get what I'm saying. We do not
need to be going walking by sight ever, including in
regards to people that say a type of person, a

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type of role that we're believing God for that he
would fill it in our lives according to his word.
We can try trust him because when it came to
children for Abraham, which was a much bigger deal that
for the overall picture than some particular roll or other

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in any one of our lives, he said he could
raise up children for Abraham from stones. We need to
take the limits off, amen, take God at his word,
get excited about what's going on with the Lord. Okay,
keeping on going here. Verse ten. The axe is already

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laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. That must have been an intense confrontation.
As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance.
But he who is coming after me is mightier than I,
and I am not fit to remove his sandals. They

(22:00):
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly
clear his threshing floor. And he will gather his wheat
into the barn, but he will burn up the chap
with unquenchable fire. All of these prophetic things that John
the Baptist is saying, like I guess by this time

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at least two thousand years ago, are so important to
understand that they are still true, still going to be fulfilled.
This is even more relevant in our time. It's even
more imminent in our time than these Pharisees and Sadducees,

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you know, wabbling, parading whatever on their way out to
Dean to join the masses in their quote unquote fat
or trend or however they viewed it. They were so
disrespectful towards the people they thought they were better than.
And yeah, wow, that must have been an intense confrontation

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right there at the river Jordan. Okay, verse thirteen. Then
Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John
to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him, saying,
I have need to be baptized by you, and do
you come to me. But Jesus, answering, said to him,
permit at this time, for in this way it is

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fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. It's a big
deal to get baptized. When our Lord and Savior got baptized.
That that was saying a lot, ladies and gentlemen, amen. Okay,
moving on. Then he permitted him, meaning John the baptist

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permitted Jesus. He cooperated. After being baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were open,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a
dove lighting on him, and behold a voice out of
the heavens said, this is my beloved son, in whom

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I am well pleased. Glory to God. There's so much
that could be said about that, I'm just going to
go to another another rendition. I think I could say
this is the Gospel of Mark, and I'm starting with
chapter one, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

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the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah
the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying
in the wilderness. Make ready the way of the Lord,
make his pastory. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

(24:55):
and all the country of Judea was going out to him,
and all the people Jerusalem, and they were being baptized
by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Wow,
looked a little different than baptism at my church, I admit.
John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather

(25:18):
belt around his waist, and his diet was locust and
wild honey. And he was preaching and saying, after me,
one is coming who is mightier than I, and I
am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong
of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he
will baptize you with a holy spirit Verse nine. In

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those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized by John and the Jordan. Immediately coming up out
of the water, he saw the heavens opening, and the
spirit like a dove descending upon him, and a voice
came out of the heavens. You are my beloved son.
In you, I am well pleased. I won't read this part,

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but the Gospel of Mark goes into how after this
the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,
and he was tempted of the devil Satan, and the
enemy immediately challenged what God had said to Jesus, his
son through that opening in the heavens, and Jesus had

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to stand on the word same as we do, okay Luke.
Chapter three. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberia Caesar, when Pontius Pilot was the governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
was tetrarch of the regions of Uteria and Traconitis, and

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Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene. In the high priesthood, of
Annas and Caiaphas. The word of God came to John,
the son of Zacharias in the wilderness, Praise God. That's
interesting that John the Baptist waited for the word of
the Lord and didn't just figure baptizing people would be

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a good thing to do. He didn't just take up preaching.
He waited for the word of the Lord to come. Okay,
verse three. And he came into all the district around
the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins, as it is written in the Book of
the Words of Isaiah the Prophet. Again, let's notice it's

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not the forgiveness of sins, because God is loving and accepting,
quote unquote, it is forgiveness of sins by repentance of
us who have done the voice of one crying in
the wilderness. Make ready the way of the Lord, make
his pass straight. Every ravine will be filled, and every

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mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will
become straight, the rough road smooth, and all flesh will
see the salvation of God. So he began saying to
the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him.
Remember we found in the other gospel that this was
the Pharisees and the Sadducees he was confronting because many

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of them left their usual routine and came out, you
Brew to vipers who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come. Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
That's such a key statement in the whole Bible. Let's
see that is Luke three, verse eight. Therefore bear fruits

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in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say
to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. For I
say to you that from these stones God is able
to raise up children to Abraham. Can you imagine how
much they must have used that particular brag or whatever

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cope or whatever you want to say, for someone who
spent his life out in the desert from childhood to
know that that's what they said. Verse nine. Indeed, the
axe is already laid at the root of the trees,
so every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire. And the crowds
were questioning him, saying, then what shall we do? And

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he would answer them and say to them, the man
who has two tunics is to share with him who
has none, And he who has food is to do likewise.
And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and
they said to him, teach her, what shall we do?
And he said to them, collect no more than what

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you have been ordered to. Some soldiers were questioning him, saying,
and what about us, what shall we do? And he
said to them, do not take money from anyone by force,
or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages. Wow,

(30:12):
that says a lot about the culture right verse fifteen. Now,
while the people were in a state of expectation, and
all were wondering in their hearts about John as to
whether he was the Christ. John answered and said to
them all, as for me, I baptize you with water.
But one is coming who is mightier than I, and

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I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fork is in his hand to thoroughly clear
his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn.
But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
So with many other exhortations. He preached the Gospel to

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the people. That's the gospel right there. According to the Bible.
It's not the only place the Gospel is described. It's
not the only thing that the Bible has to say
about the Gospel. But let's notice how starkly different this
is from non Christian people's version of Christianity when they,

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especially liberals and leftists, when they want to control, manipulate,
coerce Christians, people who are less knowledgeable about the Bible,
into the behavior's actions and statements that they want from them. Okay,

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verse nineteen. But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by
him John the Baptist, because of Herodius his brother's wife,
and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,
Herod also added this to them all John up in prison.

(32:02):
Yeah wow, So we're gonna pick up the story there shortly.
I just want to read a couple more verses now.
When all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized,
and while he was praying, the heaven was opened, and
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like
a dove, and a voice came out of heaven. You

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are my beloved son, and you I am well pleased.
Praise God. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ministry. Okay, let's keep going. So, yeah,
we'll look at Mark six and Luke seven, and let's

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see think Matthew fourteen. Actually, before I get into this part,
I want to read something that Jesus said about John
the Baptist. Let's do Matthew eleven and then Matthew seventeen. Okay,

(33:37):
this is yeah, this is Matthew eleven. So John the
Baptist is presently in prison because of this corrupt government
official herod and obviously, well you can see what he

(34:00):
says Matthew chapter eleven. When Jesus had finished giving instructions
to his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach
and preach in their cities. Okay, Now, when John, while imprisoned,
heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by
his disciples and said to him, are you the expected one?

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Or shall we look for someone else? So, when he
was out and his ministry was flourishing, and there's all
this energy and activity in his life of what was
going on, his faith was strong. He was walking the

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revelation he had from God of who Jesus is, but
imprisoned for however long day after day. You can see
the effect that it had to where now he's wondering,
was that right? Is it him? So many questions that

(35:08):
are associated with that one fundamental question that he actually sent.
And Jesus, if you'll or as we read this, you'll see,
Jesus totally got him. He totally got what was going on.
He totally understood. He said the exact right thing because
he knew that what would minister to him is of

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course the word of God. So I don't have the
references for you, but Jesus is referencing other verses in
the Bible from the Old Testament. In his answer to John.
Jesus answered and said to them, go and report to John.

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Want you hear and see? Isn't that powerful? And then
he said, the blind receives side, and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf here the dead are
raised up, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.
And blessed is he who does not take offense at me.

(36:15):
That is so beautiful. He is going through a list
of what are the works of the Christ I e.
The anointed one. In his anointing, he's reminding him of
the fruit to examine, to tell him what the tree is.
I think that's so great, and I love the little

(36:38):
reminder at the end. Blessed is he who does not
take offense at me. And Jesus really speaks up for John,
his cousin. After the messengers have left here, he says,
as it says. As these men were going away, Jesus
began to speak to the crowds about John. What did

(36:59):
you go out into the wilderness to see a read
shaken by the wind? But what did you go out
to see a man dressed in soft clothing? Those who
wear soft clothing are in king's palaces. But what did
you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you,
and one who is more than a prophet. This is

(37:23):
the one about whom it is written. Behold, I send
my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way
before you. Jesus is so good at getting people to think,
and he's so kind and gracious in his rebukes. Frankly, okay, truly,
I say to you, among those born of women, there

(37:45):
has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet
the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven
is greater than he. Okay, so that has to you
with it's through Jesus that we can be born again.

(38:08):
If you don't know about that Gospel of John chapter three,
definitely read it. So those are the people who are
part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus didn't go preach
the gospel to those who had died in the Lord
without being born again until after he had finished his atonement,

(38:31):
his death, his burial, his resurrection from the dead. He
did not He did not come on to earth and
bring his blood up to heaven and do the different
things that he did after his resurrection until he had
first after he was raised up. The I don't remember

(38:54):
the references in Romans. I just read it recently. Anyway,
talks about how we were raised. He was raised, when
we were justified, when our sin was paid for. Jesus
was raised from the dead, and he said it would
be three days and three nights in the belly of
the earth, and that's exactly what it was. And when

(39:17):
Jesus was raised up, he went to I think it's
called Abraham's Bosom, and he preached the Gospel to all
the saints, all the people who died in the Lord
who were there, so they could now trust in him
for the things that he made available through his finished work,

(39:40):
and they could be born again, just like us born again.
It might you might not like the term. That's the
term the Bible chooses, and it means to be in
the first, in the second or last atom, which is Jesus,
rather than remaining in the identification of the first atom,
which pertains to the biology of our bodies, because we

(40:02):
are biologically descended, those of us who have a human
father from Adam. Hopefully that's not too meandery. Hopefully that's
logical and comes together for you. I want to I
just want to explain a little bit about why Jesus
would say among those born of women, there hasn't arisen
anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who

(40:25):
is leased and the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
When you become a new creation in Christ, Jesus, you're
a different type. You're a new creation. Jesus is the
firstborn among many brethren. He is the type. And again

(40:45):
I don't I don't know how clear I'm being, but
you're different inside. You're a new creation in Christ when
you get born again, and that means that you're not
only human, you're one spirit with the Lord. So that's

(41:06):
why Jesus would say, among those born of women, there
hasn't a resen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet
the one who is leased in the Kingdom of Heaven
is greater than he. Hopefully that can make sense for you. Okay,
moving on from the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent take it

(41:29):
by force for all the prophets in the law prophesiede
until John. And if you're willing to accept it, John
himself is Elijah who was to come, he who has
ears to hear, let him hear. Wow, how wonderful. I'm
not going to continue reading here in Matthew Levin, even

(41:51):
though it's so so good, just for time's sake, I
want to keep it moving and respect your schedules and
everything all of us have said. On much going on.
So let me take a look at taking a look

(42:21):
at the death of John the Baptist, and I'm going
to keep going with that. Uh. Mark chapter six. Oh nope,

(42:45):
Mark six, that's after he was executed. Uh, here we go. Oh,
this is a rehearsal. Another one I missed that. Luke
seven also talks about John asking about g being the Christ.
So let's go through this quickly as well. The disciples

(43:06):
of John reported to him about all these things. So
many two of his disciples. John sent them to the Lord, saying,
are you the expected one? Or do we look for
someone else? When the men came to him, they said,
John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
are you the expected one? Or do we look for
someone else? At that very time, he Jesus cured many

(43:32):
people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits. And he
gave sight to many who were blind. And he answered
and said to them, go and report to John what
you have seen and heard. The blind received sight, the
lame walk, the lovers are cleansed, and the deaf. Here
the dead are raised up, the poor have the Gospel
preached to them. Blessed is he who does not take

(43:54):
offense at me. When the messengers of John had left,
he began to speak to the crowds about John. What
did you go out into the wilderness to see a
reed shaken by the wind. But what did you go
out to see a man dressed in soft clothing? Those
who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found

(44:17):
in royal palaces. But what did you go out to
see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, in one
who is more than a prophet. This is the one
about whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger
ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.
What it must have been like for Jesus, seeing the

(44:38):
prophecies concerning him being fulfilled, and knowing his responsibility to
become sin, become the curse on the cross? For us
go to hell, suffer our tortures and torments, and hold
out for the Holy Spirit to raise him on the
third day. Wow, so much, so much, okay? Verse twenty eight.

(45:07):
I say to you, among those born of women, there
is no one greater than John. Yet he who is
leased in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.
When all the people and tax collectors heard this, they
acknowledged God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
But the pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves,

(45:31):
not having been baptized by John. So apparently when he
called them a brute of vipers, as we heard, they
did not descend to the waters. Verse thirty one. To
what then, shall I compare the men of this generation?
And what are they like? They are like children who
sit in a marketplace and call to one another, And

(45:52):
they say, we played the flute for you, and you
did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did
not weep. For John the Baptist has come, eating no
bread and drinking no wine. And you say he has
a demon. The son of Man is come eating and drinking.
You say, behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a
friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is vindicated

(46:15):
by all her children. That is so powerful. How many
of us have encountered an Internet Christian who wants to
tell us he has a demon about somebody or she?
And how many of us have encountered someone who is
impossible to please? You? Try and find them in a

(46:37):
genuine instructor of the Lord. They will accept. Okay, let
me keep it moving. Okay, here we go, h Matthew.
Chapter fourteen, So this is talking about the execution of
John the Baptist by this corrupt government official, Herod, who

(47:01):
wanted to basically marry his brother's wife. He's like jealous
of his brother his sister in law, jealous over his
sister in law, wanted her for himself. Fourteen. At that time,
Herod the Tetrarch heard the news about Jesus and said
to his servant, this is John the Baptist. He has

(47:21):
risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers
are at work in him. Guilty conscience anyone, for when
Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him
in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.
For John had been saying to him, it is not
lawful for you to have her. Although Herod wanted to

(47:43):
put him to death, he feared the crowd because they
regarded John as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came,
the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod
so much that he promised with an oath to give
her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother,

(48:03):
she said, give me here on a platter the head
of John the Baptist. Although he was grieved, the king
commanded it to be given because of his oaths and
because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John
beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on
a platter and given to the girl, and she brought
it to her mother. His disciples came and took away

(48:25):
the body and buried it. And they went and reported
to Jesus. That must have been quite a moment for
the Lord. Huh. Let me go back to that in
a second. M let's look at Mark chapter six. I
will start reading with verse fourteen. And King Herod heard

(48:49):
of it, for his name had become well known, meaning Jesus.
And people were saying, John the Baptist has risen from
the dead, and that is why these miraculous his powers
are at work at work in him. But others were
saying he is Elijah, and others were saying he is
a prophet, like one of the prophets of old. But

(49:10):
when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, John, whom
I beheaded, has risen, guilty, guilty, guilty, okay, verse seventeen.
For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and
bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of
his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John

(49:31):
had been saying to Herod, it is not lawful for
you to have your brother's wife. Herodius had a grudge
against him and wanted to put him to death and
couldn't do so. For Harod was afraid of John, knowing
he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept
him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed,

(49:53):
but he used to enjoy listening to him. A strategic
day came, boy, that day, A strategic day came when
Herod on his birthday, gave a banquet for his lords
and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. And
can you imagine what if some of them were jew

(50:15):
Jewish leaders. It's such a I don't want to say this.
It's such a vulnerability, it's such a moment of vulnerability.
These where it says strategic day came. Absolutely that's the truth.

(50:37):
And I'm seeing how this was a moment of vulnerability
for this man in a position of power, to have
these other people who also had power and influence around him,
and the social expectations. There's so much to that same thing.

(51:01):
If some of these leading men of Galilee were Jewish
leaders social expectations. Head of John the Baptist has brought
out the messenger of the Lord. Just so much going on,
so much. I mean, I'm not trying to say all

(51:23):
parties are an opportunity for the enemy. And I'm not
trying to say that all parties with people of power
or influence or money are opportunities for the enemy. But
I think I would like to say that often in
these settings there's vulnerability to evil, is what I mean. Okay, okay,

(51:49):
let me get back to the actual Bible here strategic.
When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she
pleased Herod and his dinner guests. When the king said
to the girl, ask me for whatever you want, and
I will give it to you, And he swore to her,
whatever you ask of me, I will give it to
you up to half of my kingdom. Wow. I wonder

(52:11):
if she flashed some skin there. And she went out
and said to her mother, what shall I ask for?
And she said the head of John the Baptist. Immediately
she came in a hurry to the king and said,
I want you to give me at once the head
of John Baptist on a platter, and although the king
was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because

(52:31):
of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately,
the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring
back his head, and he went and had him beheaded
in the prison, and brought his hat on a platter
and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave
it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this,
they came and took away his body and laid it

(52:53):
in a tomb. And Mark six and in Matthew fourteen
it shows that Jesus was given the news, and when
he was given the news about his cousin in the
way that this wicked ruler killed him, he went away

(53:20):
to a private place with his disciples, and they left
and they went to rest, and people followed, but they
got their time to rest and well, Matthew fourteen says

(53:41):
by himself. Mark six talks about how the disciples also
went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. Okay,
so after this happened, these crowds came and wanted Jesus
as a and he invested time with them out of compassion,

(54:06):
he invested time and healed their sick And I think
that it's a real picture of how Jesus was aware
that the things that he was doing were building the

(54:27):
Kingdom of God, and the things that John did pertain
to this life. But Jesus, the things he was doing
pertained to undoing and destroying the works of the evil one,
the works of the devil, and that he was ushering in,

(54:52):
as I mentioned, new creation in Christ, Jesus whole new
type of person, and he was ushering in those new
creations in Christ in him to come forth on the
other side of his finished work, on the other side
of his victory. He was going to be multiplied in people,

(55:15):
right Christian, little Christ, and they were going to be
doing his works, in greater works than these would they
also be doing. And I see how when Jesus went
away for his recharge, I want to say more than reset,

(55:37):
I don't want to use the word reset, recharge for
his renewal and encounter experience with the Lord, whatever his
prayer time and seeking and receiving from his Father with
the Holy Spirit, whatever that looked like for him. When

(55:57):
he came back, he wasn't looking for anything as a
futile or temporary or shortsighted as vengeance upon his cousin's murder. Right,
Herod's wandering around, running about, guilty, guilty, guilty, and you know,

(56:19):
jumping at the name of Jesus as if it's John
the Baptist's shadow or ghost or something. Right, But that's
not where Jesus is at. That's the torment of the
man who's lived his life in a wicked way. Jesus
is taking vengeance on the true enemy, and he is

(56:45):
doing that by undoing and destroying his works as he's
healing the sick and doing these things with the crowd
who came. And in fact, I believe it was after
that that he multiplied the food, blessed the food, and
it was multiplied from the five lobes and two fish,

(57:13):
that there was twelve baskets left over. Right, that was
a manifestation of his meditation from Matthew chapter six, when
he was talking about looking at the birds, that they
don't sow or reap or gather into barnes, but our
heavenly Father feeds them. That Jesus received food and distributed

(57:37):
food that he didn't sew for reap for gathering to
barnes for in the physical realm, Jesus was. I don't
want to say next level implying that he hadn't been
walking in the spirit before. He always walked completely in
obedience and the fullness of what God had for him.

(57:58):
But I do want to point out that this act
of violence, murder against his family member, loved one, co labor,
fellow warrior, and the things of the Lord, this did
not drag him down or out of the spirit into

(58:24):
the realm of the flesh, into doing things after the flesh.
He took his time, he went away, He got his
time to be refreshed, renewed, recharge, refuel however you whatever
term works well for you. He came out again in

(58:46):
the power of the Holy Spirit, undoing and destroying the
works of the evil one, receiving from a miraculous provision
blessings abundance from his heavenly Father. He was not stopped
or slowed down by what the enemy did because of

(59:07):
taking his time of prayer or, like I said, whatever
that that looked like for him, worship, praise, rejoicing, whatever
that looked like for him. Okay, I'm gonna keep going
I thought there was one more thing. Uh did I

(59:32):
already do? Matthew seventeen. Let me just have a quick look,
so sorry, Matthew seventeen, verse thirteen. Yes, okay, So Jesus
was asking him, asking his disciples. Oh no, he was
with them on the Mount of Transfiguration. That's what it is. Okay,

(59:55):
So Matthew seventeen. There are uh, Jesus, Peter, James, and
John are on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the heavenly
vision has disappeared, and this is verse nine. And they
were coming down from the mountain. Jesus commanded them, saying,
tell the vision to no one until the Son of
Man has risen from the dead. And his disciples asked him,

(01:00:18):
why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
And he answered and said, Elijah is coming and will
restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah
already came, and they did not recognize him, but did
to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of
Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples,

(01:00:43):
meaning Peter, James, and John specifically understood that he had
spoken to them about John the Baptist. You know, there's
another verse that I am interested in seeing if I

(01:01:04):
can find really quickly, because he John the Baptist told
the truth about how he was not the Christ, and
I want to see if I can find the reference.
I should have thought of that, and I didn't prepare

(01:01:27):
that verse in advance. I just didn't think of it
to look it up before I end this. I'm going
to see if I can find the there's so many
electrifying conversations that have happened around Jesus. I was just

(01:01:49):
looking scanning a list of scriptures that came up, and
I was like, whoa, these are some doozies. Okay, let
me let me rock it quickly. Ask Roc what verse
and I'll check it for you guys to make sure
that's right. In which Bible verse did John the Baptist

(01:02:11):
faithfully testified that he was not the Christ? Question mark?
All right, let's see John chapter one. You know, I
was even thinking it would be the gospel of John. Okay,
let us open zababo and see if that is where

(01:02:35):
it actually is. Okay, yes, okay, very good. So John
chapter one, let's start with verse nineteen. This is the
testimony of John when the Jews sent to him priests

(01:02:56):
and levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you?
And he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I
am not the Christ. That is so beautiful. It's one
of the most powerful moments in the Kingdom of God,
and in certainly in John the Baptist's personal life and ministry. Okay,

(01:03:17):
verse twenty one. They asked him, what then are you Elijah?
And he said, I am not. Are you the Prophet?
And he answered no. Then they said to him, who
are you? So that we may give an answer to
those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?
It will be a fun day to see the media

(01:03:39):
encounter someone like this. That will be a fun day, okay.
Verse twenty three. He said, I am the voice. I
am a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make
straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said.
And they did not like that answer. That well, now

(01:04:03):
they had been said from the Pharisees. They asked him
and said to him, why then are you baptizing if
you're not the Christ, nor Elijah nor the Prophet. John
answered them saying, I baptize in water. But among you
stands one whom you do not know. It is he
who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I
am not worthy to untie. So then after that, oh,

(01:04:28):
I'm just gonna keep reading a little bit. It's really good.
Hm uh. These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing. The next day, he saw Jesus
coming to him and said, behold the lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world. Isn't that beautiful?

(01:04:51):
He affirmed that he wasn't the Christ, and then shortly after,
I think it looks like it's saying. The next day
he got his own personal encounter with Jesus the Christ.
Come out. Think by this time he's come out in

(01:05:11):
the power of the Holy Spirit. No, this is right
before he goes into the wilderness. That's right. Yeah, how amazing.
What a moment. Okay, verse thirty. This is he on
behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man
who was a higher rank than I, for he existed
before me. I did not recognize him, but so that

(01:05:33):
he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.
John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as
a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him.
I did not recognize him, But he who sent me
to baptized in waters, said to me, he upon whom
you see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, this

(01:05:56):
is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I
myself have seen and have testified that this is the
Son of God. Glory, Hallelujah. The next day, John was
standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at
Jesus as he walked and said, behold the lamb of God.

(01:06:18):
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them,
what do you seek. They said to him, Rabbi, which
translated means teacher, where you stay? He said to them,
come and you will see. So they came and saw
where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day,
for it was about the tenth hour. Of the two

(01:06:41):
who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon,
Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and
said to him, we have found the Messiah, which translated
means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at
him and said, you are a sign and son of John.
You shall be called Cephis, which is translated Peter. It's

(01:07:06):
so beautiful that John is the one who brought Peter,
of course indirectly, but by speaking the word of the Lord.
Behold the Lamb of God. It testified to Simon, Peter's brother, Simon.
Peter brother goes get Simon. Peter tells them we found

(01:07:28):
the Messiah. To such a beautiful story. The way the
Lord works through people, and how that spark, that fire,
that light of faith can spread and brings so much good.

(01:07:51):
So praise the Lord. Thank you so much for listening.
I hope this one didn't drag on too long for you.
I really appreciate your being here, and I'll be back
with more next week. Thank you again. MHM.