The final weekend of the summer is upon us.  I don't know where the time has gone these summer months.  It seems that Marlys and I have crowded a lot of things into our schedule...have enjoyed some quality time with all of our grand-kids and with our kids as well.  We have enjoyed fresh cut flowers from the garden...and now the produce from the garden of our neighbor.  I had the rich opportunity of spending dozens of hours in the study of the Book of Isaiah preparing a new course for the Village Schools.  Once again I fell in love all over again with that wonderful book.  And we have prayed for many of you who have undertaken short term missions trips this past summer.  In addition, I have kept up on my reading of what is happening in the Middle East.  That continues to be a fascinating part of the world for me.  And God is opening some doors for me to teach about the Middle East to other churches and other groups.  Pray that these opportunities might be occasions to draw people deeper into the Scriptures. 

This week we want to continue our study in that exciting first chapter of the Gospel of John.  For the past several weeks our focus has been upon those strategic verses that form the introduction to the Gospel.  And you remember how, in my opinion, those verses are perhaps the most critically important verses in the entire Bible.  For the next couple of sessions, I would like to turn our attention to the testimony of John the Baptist, found in verses 19-34.  (You might remember that we were first introduced to John in verses 6-8 earlier). 

John has now left his Essenic community and is preaching and baptizing repentant Jews along the shores of the Jordan River.  [Note: on our last tour to Israel, we had crossed the Jordan River and were traveling down the eastern side of the Jordan in the country of Jordan.  We came within a mile or so of where John was baptizing and where, probably the events of this chapter occurred].  The area was in close proximity to Jerusalem (less than a day's walk) and many of the Jewish leaders came because of what they had been hearing about the message John was preaching.  They were inquisitive about who John really was...some thinking that he might be the Messiah, the Christ.  "Who are you?" (verse 19) was their question.  You see, John's life was a puzzle.  He was born of a priestly family.  (You remember that his father, Zacharias, was a priest who was informed of the birth of John while doing his service within the temple - Luke 1:5).  However, John did not conform to the accepted practices of a priest.  He was different!  The priests and Levites who came to John were religious...John was different!  I am reminded that God does not call us to be religious...but to be different!  We are not to conform to the world, the Apostle Paul told the Romans (Romans 12:1-2), but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  In other words, we are to be counter-cultural.  And John was certainly that!  What a sight!  A descendant of a priest clothed, not in the garments of religion, but the garments of a desert wanderer.  Yet, there was something about his message that was both dynamic and alarming...dynamic to those who took it to heart...alarming to those whose religious experience was threatened by it. 

Notice also, in verse 20, how emphatic John was that he was not the Messiah, the Christ.  We will notice throughout the remainder of this chapter how John points not to himself, but to someone else...the Lamb of God.  John claimed a subordinate position to Jesus.  Again, notice the contrast here between John and the religious leaders.  John was debasing himself when speaking of the Messiah.  He used such phrases as "I am not worthy to untie the thongs of His sandals" (verse 27); "I am only the voice of one calling in the wilderness" (verse 23).  In John 3:30, John the Baptist proclaims that "He (speaking of Jesus) must increase, while he (speaking of himself) must decrease."  What a contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees who tended to promote themselves.  They were wise in their own eyes.  They almost believed that they were infallible in their understanding of God.  Here is the point: John was not pretending to be someone that he was not...he knew his role; however, the Pharisees pretended to be something that they were not...we call it hypocrisy.  Unfortunately today there are so many who pretend...but they can never fool God for, while man may look on the outward appearance, God looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).  Friends, we cannot cover up our lives in view of God.  David and Bathsheba tried to do it...but God exposed their sins.  Ananias and Sapphira tried to do it...but they both paid a high price for their pretensions.  King Ahab tried to cover up who he was as he went into battle...but God guided the arrow from an unknown bowman and Ahab died.  Someday, all hypocrisy will be exposed.  It cannot remain hidden for long.

In closing, let me draw you back to verse 23.  Here John quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah (40:3).  I think the point John wants to make is this: He was not proclaiming himself to draw attention to himself.  No, John was pointing to someone else.  He did not seek the limelight.  He did not seek the adorations of the crowd.  He was pointing people to Jesus.  Friends, that is exactly what God wants us to do.  We are to point people to Jesus Christ.  When I teach...I want others to see Jesus, to hear Jesus.  When I preach from time to time...I want others to see Jesus, to hear Jesus.  When I am in conversations with colleagues and friends...I want them to see Jesus, to hear Jesus.  To use the words of John, "May He increase while I decrease." 

Friends, I would encourage you to spend some time this week in this portion.  Listen carefully to the heart of John.  Then examine your own heart to see if you are more like John or more like those religious leaders who came to find out who he was. 

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: If you are beginning to encounter some hard bumps, be glad.  At least you are out of the rut.  (Construction Digest)