John is dead

“YET EVERYTHING JOHN SAID ABOUT THIS MAN WAS TRUE!

John 10:40-42 "And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. -41- Many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true." -42- Many believed in Him there."

The Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem had taken offence at Jesus’s claim to be The Messiah and with His implication that He was God. They were so mad with Jesus that they decided to arrest Him. His disciples had no doubt that He was going to be stoned to death. (Jn 11v8) We are told Jesus just left His enemies and they were unable to seize Him. That is no surprise as Jesus explained that He was safe from arrest until the special time that The Father (God) had pre-set.

It must have been so frustrating for the authorities. They must have been convinced they had Jesus in their grasp - but they had no power over Him. I can imagine the scene afterwards “I thought you had Him -” “No surely you had Him!”

It is encouraging to know that our lives are also under the same protection. If we are walking in The Will of God nothing and no one can harm us unless it is part of God’s will. "And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision,

"Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; -10- for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." -11- And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. "Acts 18:9-11

Of course protection is not there if we go our own way. (1 Kings 13v21,22)

Following Jesus Christ does not guarantee us freedom from difficulties, problems or suffering:- despite the promise given to Paul (above) there was a riot - but he was not harmed as prophesied.

Later in Paul's life he prophesied to some ship's officers that they must not put out to sea. However they ignored it and nearly lost their lives. (see Acts 27) They did lose their ship and cargo.

As believers we can disobey God and lose the reward we should have had. Thank God, He is gracious and saves despite so much foolishness!

JOHN IS DEAD

Jesus left Jerusalem and travelled the 20 miles to the Perean Border. Once over the border He could not be extradited or touched by the Jewish Hierarchy. However this area was not safe. Herod Antipas ruled there; though he was not the most wicked of the Herods, he did arrest John the Baptist and cut off his head at Herod's lofty fortress of Machaerus which stood thirty-eight hundred feet above the Dead Sea.

Jesus returns to the place where John The Baptist started his ministry. It is clear that Jesus honoured John and held him in high esteem. On hearing about the death of John, Jesus withdrew to the countryside for a time.

Coming to the scene of John's preaching must have held deep memories for the disciples. John had been immensely popular and made many disciples, some of whom had followed Jesus. John never made any bones about the fact that he was pointing to the coming Messiah. John knew he was to give place to Jesus. Perhaps he suspected that he would give his life for God, but I doubt if he envisaged imprisonment in the high fortress.

It must have been terrible for the outdoor loving John. In his imprisonment he began to doubt if he had been right about Jesus and Jesus had to reassure him. (Luke 7v22)

Not every one who listened to John accepted Jesus. John and Jesus were world's apart in life- styles. It was not an easy step for John's disciples, who seemingly had a rigid regime of withdrawal, prayer and fasting, to accept Jesus who associated openly with sinners.

When Jesus came into John's old territory there must have been a number of demoralized followers of John still trying to come to terms with his tragic death. “John is dead, his ministry is still remembered but fading - had it been worth it at all?”

It is possible to follow God, sincerely and wholeheartedly only to see our hopes dashed. It would be easy to be discouraged and we maybe tempted to give up

NO FRUIT

Some years ago, a plant enthusiast showed me a rare plant - I don't remember what it was called, only that it was a very rare exotic flower. This plant was nearly extinct in the world. The plant was beginning to come into bloom. There were very few collectors in the world who had ever seen this flower and you can imagine the excitement that the event was generating among flower experts.
However there was a problem. With this particular plant, it would flower briefly then die. The choice was simple but very hard. Either let the plant flower, enjoy the brief glory and then have nothing. Or stop it flowering, have a plant that looked much like any other plant and wait to propagate new plants and wait a whole 10 years before the next flower would appear.
For John the Baptist, he wouldn't live to see his work bear fruit. He died alone; the result of a sexually lustful promise made by a wicked king.

Did he fail?

The Lord will always encourage us if we ask Him. However that encouragement is not always what we expect. John's encouragement was a personal message from Jesus - not the physical freedom he must have longed for. We may be discouraged and see nothing happening, or at least where we think it should be happening. However if we are sowing God’s Word, it is going to take time before it bears fruit. How quickly the seed takes depends on a number of factors - many of which we just do not understand! We may never see the fruit of our lives. The important thing is to do what The Lord wants us to be doing.

Of course this raises a valid question - How do I know I am doing right if there is no apparent fruit? Short or even medium term success is no guarantee that we are following God’s Will. We must be obedient to The Lord by trusting Him. His Will for us will always be in harmony with what The Bible reveals- God is not a liar and never will contradict Himself.

If someone claims he or she is following God but is not committed in fellowship, you can know that they are not being led of The Lord.

If someone says that The Lord led them to lie - you can know they are not being led of The Lord.

If someone tells you that The Lord led them into adultery or fornication (all other sexual relationships outside of marriage), you can be certain they are not being led of The Lord. Our first duty is to be faithful to God’s Word.

If we are not obedient to what The Lord God says in The Bible, what ever else we do will not amount to much and will not please God.

John was faithful to The scriptures and was also found faithful to his call. He didn't see the full fruit of his labours and died without that knowledge - but he does know now! John sowed and sowed and sowed - and that seed was cared for by God.
We must make it a priority that we are fully in God’s Will as revealed by The Scriptures. Then we follow the leading of God and we will reap: "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. "Gal 6:9

When Jesus crossed The River Jordan He had an extraordinary reception. We must note that the folks there had listened to John and had been affected by his words. They were honest - “John performed no sign!” The man who Jesus likened to Elijah never performed any known miracle - yet the people listened and responded in some manner. We can contrast their reaction with that of many today where there seems a number of people who follow God for entertainment.

It is not good for church to be boring or irrelevant, however if we go just to be entertained or “feel good” there is something very wrong with our faith. We fellowship because we are commanded to.

We also fellowship because we know that our loving God knows better than we, that if we are not committed to a good church/fellowship where the Word of God is faithfully taught, we will lose our walk for God and likely to set ourselves up as a standard rather than God.

Reaching people for The Lord may involve many different methods, but let us never forget that unless the heart is hungry for God, any response is likely to be short-term. CS Lewis said he much preferred people to come to God through spiritual hunger rather than just because of “The Love of God.” He was not denigrating The Love of God - but rather stating a timely lesson that without spiritual hunger;

‘The Love of God’ is likely to be poorly appreciated. If my spiritual hunger has faded, I may need to go to The Great Physician Jesus for a check-up.

THE DEAD MAN SPEAKS:

What remarkable words “Everything John said about This Man was true!” If John was around how he would have rejoiced at hearing that testimony! John was not a failure he was a tremendous success - he accomplished what God wanted for him. How many of us can so walk and serve God like John The Baptist. People read us and hear us and maybe get a confused message - not so John- “Everything John said about This Man was true!”

I have meet a number of people who have spoken for God. Sometimes it is really good - but other times they most definitely claim for God their own desires.

One woman was going to live with a married man. She was adamant that she had prayed about it and it was God’s will. "Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar. "Prov 30:6

John was utterly faithful - he spoke only what he knew to be true. He understood and used the scriptures and didn't adjust his message to be popular. Truth was primary - and without truth our worship is not acceptable to God. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. "John 4:24

LATE FRUIT

John was about to give his greatest service to God - the sowing of his life in death for The God he had loved. It was fitting that he died before the death of Jesus, for John was called to be the forerunner - and even in his death he was.“Many believed in Him there.” How it must have cheered the heart of Jesus to see the response of these sincere seekers. There was something real and deep with them. Jesus was sowing the ground that John had prepared. It is true John did harbour doubts for a while, but in fact it was not until after he had finished his work.

Some may feel that the manner of his death negated its worth - but that is not so.

From the political viewpoint, Herod had imprisoned John because he felt insulted. Herod had been seduced by an erotic dance by a young girl. He offered her anything - probably expecting some request of a sensual nature. But her request was for John was beheaded.

That wonderful man of God was murdered because of a erotic dance - it doesn't fit does it!

But from God's point of view, a life taken while in God's service is a very special thing no matter what the circumstances: "Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones. "Psa 116:15
Many of the revivals around the world today are built on the lives of men and women who have sown their lives for service of The Lord. They also rejoice in the reaping. Whether sowing or reaping there is joy. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. -37- "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps. '"John 4:36-37

Do not give up! Do not let discouragement stop you from your work for God. One day you will be so glad that you kept going when it was so tough. God sees, God will reward.
"Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. -36- For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. "Heb 10:35-36
Don't lose heart, Make a commitment now to God; "I will trust Him, though at times I may not see my efforts achieving much at present:- I will keep faith"
Pastor Kevin
Please feel free to use the above material, I would appreciate an email if you find it helpful.