Transcription

Chris
So, Kyle. Yes, our listeners have heard me say that John the Baptist wasn’t Baptist in his denomination. Okay. But did you also know that he wasn’t even Christian either? Wow. Really? Because the word Christian came, uh, in Antioch later on in the days of Paul, after Jesus entire ministry. So John the Baptist was called John the Baptist because he was the very first person to ever baptize another person, because up until that point, baptism was a self cleaning ritual.

Kyle
Interesting. So today we’re going to talk about who.

Chris
Well, it’s really John the Baptist talking about Jesus.

Kyle
Okay. Awesome. So this is Chris, I’m Kyle and we’re the Bible guys. Guys. All right. So one of the things about Chris that I know about him, and if you’ve been a listener for a minute, you know about him as well, that he is huge movie buff. And some of you guys, some of our, some of our viewers actually are huge movie buffs as well. They love movies. And so we’re going to do a movie quote race today. Okay. So it’s going to be I’m going to read off some famous movie quotes. And these are just right off the internet, some of the most famous movie quotes of all time.

Chris
And the race comes.

Kyle
In, the race comes in in which wherever you’re at, whether you’re driving in the car, just be safe, or you’re at the gym or you’re sitting at home, or you’re watching this on the TV or on the couch, I want you to see if you could be Chris, and then whether that’s on Facebook or on their YouTube video or whatever, go and let us know if you.

Chris
Yeah, I think people people should just as you’re listening to this, just say it out loud.

Kyle
Yeah, yeah. Say it. Yeah. So they’re going to say it out loud. And I just want to know if they beat you at any point or if they’re like, I beat Chris at a three of those. I want to hear about it. I want him to post on the YouTube comments or whatever. Okay. So and these will be pretty pretty easy. Okay.

Chris
And I have no idea.

Kyle
What. No idea okay okay. First one here we go. Yes. Here’s looking at you, kid.

Chris
Here’s looking at you, kid. Oh, that was Humphrey Bogart and Casablanca. Casablanca?

Kyle
Yes. That’s correct. Casablanca, 1942. So that’s pretty quick. Okay, uh, here we go. May the force be with you.

Chris
Uh, new Hope, 1978 77. Okay.

Kyle
Yep. Star Wars? Yep. Okay, here we go. Uh, you talking to me?

Chris
Uh, that’s taxi with, uh, Robert De Niro.

Kyle
Taxi driver. But we’ll give you a point for that one.

Chris
Yes, a point.

Kyle
All right, here we go. This one could be a little bit trickier because I personally have not seen this movie, but maybe you have. What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate. Ooh.

Chris
What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate. Gee whiz. Uh, what we got here is a failure. You know, I think I’ve heard this quote before, but I don’t know, I don’t know. Give it to.

Kyle
Me. Right. Uh, it’s cool hand Luke.

Chris
I’ve never seen the movie.

Kyle
No. Okay. I’ve heard that quote before. Okay, okay. Interesting.

Chris
I’ve never seen the movie.

Kyle
All right, uh, here we go. Love means never having to say you’re sorry.

Chris
Ooh, that’s a good quote. Love means never. I’ve heard this quote definitely a ton of times. Okay. I don’t know where it comes from.

Kyle
Okay. It’s from Love Story from 1970.

Chris
I’ve never seen that movie, I apologize.

Kyle
We’re going back.

Chris
We’re going back. Well, to give you credit, you’re trying to stump me. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I’ve never seen. Yes.

Kyle
And I want to see I want people in the back home, not to mention home.

Chris
That’s not a very popular movie love story, is it? Yeah.

Kyle
It’s at least top 1000. I don’t know, it’s outside of my generation. Okay, here we go. Yeah. There’s no place like home. Oh, yeah.

Chris
1939 Dorothy. Wizard of Oz. Okay, good.

Kyle
Good deal. I was just getting you. Giving you an easy one. Okay, here we go. This should be another easy one, but somebody at home may be able to beat you to it. Okay, ready? Show me the money.

Chris
Uh, Jerry.

Kyle
Maguire. No, that was quick. That was very quick. All right. Um. Oh, man. Okay, here is here’s another one. It’s oldie but a goodie. After all. Tomorrow is another day.

Chris
After all, tomorrow is another day.

Kyle
Mhm.

Chris
Gee whiz. Is it Annie?

Kyle
Nope. It’s gone with the wind.

Chris
Oh yeah. I’ve only seen that once. Okay. Yeah. I was glad when it was over.

Kyle
Yeah that.

Chris
Was terrible. Okay.

Kyle
All right. Here we go. This one. This one I believe it’s a classic. Yeah. It is. All right. Here we go. You’re going to need a bigger boat, Joss. Boom! That was quick. I knew that one. I knew, right. Okay. Um, I actually have one of the most iconic ones of all time. You’re going to get it. But I still. Just for the speed of it. Okay, speed. Here we go. I’ll be.

Chris
Back. Uh, Terminator.

Kyle
There you go. Boom, I like it. Um, here we go. I got to find another good one here. Um, there’s actually a lot of when I’m going through this. Ready? Here we go. Yeah, I see dead people.

Chris
Uh, 6/10.

Kyle
Boom, I love it. Okay. Um. Ooh, here’s a here’s a here’s an old one, but it’s it’s classic. It’s alive, it’s alive.

Chris
Uh, that’s the Frankenstein monster.

Kyle
Boom. Yep. Frankenstein. Yep. Houston, we have a problem.

Chris
Apollo 13.

Kyle
Dang. You’re good man. Okay. Last one. All right, last one. I feel like you’re probably smoking these people. Um, but who knows? There may be people who have beaten you. Okay, here we go. You had me at. Hello, Jerry Maguire. Man, you must have paid attention to that one. Okay. Um. All right, that’s it. I’m trying to think here. I’m trying to see if there’s anything else that may.

Chris
Let’s end with one that that you think will stump me. Okay, okay, let’s do that. Here we go. Because I sort of got a lot of those. Yeah. You did.

Kyle
You did very well. All right. Um, okay. Well, I’m trying to find one that doesn’t have a swear word just for that. I actually almost started reading. You can always go beep. I almost I almost just started reading when I was like, oh, okay, here we go. I’m just trying to find something. Okay. Uh, there’s a lot on here, dude, that. I have not seen these movies, but I don’t want to just. Okay, here we go. This may be a tough one. Okay. Yep. Open the pod bay doors, please. Hell. Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal.

Chris
Please.

Kyle
Hell, yeah! Hal!

Chris
Hal, open the pod. What is it?

Kyle
The pod bay doors, please. Hal.

Chris
Uh, I feel like there’s a lot I know. There’s pod bay doors. Uh, is it Star Trek?

Kyle
No, it’s a 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Chris
I’ve never seen that movie.

Kyle
It’s in the top 100 quotes, apparently. Okay, I’ll give you just. Just to get your confidence back up. Okay, here we go. Um. Last one. Okay? Okay. Yeah. I know you’re liking this one. Actually, this one could be a, uh. No, it’s too old. Too old.

Chris
We’re approaching our time.

Kyle
So approaching our time. Okay, okay. And I’m just trying to find trying to find something that seems easy. Okay. Um, a martini, shaken, not stirred.

Chris
Oh, that’s any James Bond whatsoever.

Kyle
Goldfinger. Yep. Goldfinger. Nice. All right. That was good. That was good. So I would say, obviously you you clearly know your, um, movie lines. That was solid. And so, buddy. Yeah. So I want to see if anybody, if you actually beat Chris to any of those or have any feedback or comments on the Gone With the wind quotes or whatever. Feel free to talk to trash if you want to on YouTube or whatever. But today, as Chris mentioned earlier, we’re going to be reading, um, about John the Baptist and how he’s talking about Jesus starting in chapter three. Um, verse 22, it says, Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. At this time, John the Baptist was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and people kept coming to him for baptism. And it says as a note that this was before John was thrown into prison. A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people, and everyone is going to him instead of coming to us. John replied, no one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him. It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. Kyle
He has come from above and is greater than any one else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things. But he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them. Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true, for he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the spirit without limit. The father loves his son and has put everything into his hands, and anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the son will never experience eternal life but remain under God’s angry judgment. And then we’re going to fast forward for a quick second into Luke three, which is similar where it says John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. So Herod put John in prison prison, adding this sin to his many others. Yeah, there’s a lot there.

Chris
And the reason why we were reading both, let’s go and swap back. The reason why we were reading both of those accounts is because when you harmonize the Gospels, those two accounts refer to the same timeline and the same events. So Luke did it in two verses, right? Yeah. And, uh, but Luke, uh, the good thing about Luke is, uh, again, he’s very, very detailed and he’s sort of giving the, uh, the details behind what is going to end up being John the Baptist’s demise. Yeah. Right. So so John the Baptist, uh, actually, uh, was eventually killed because he was challenging, uh, uh, the king. Yeah. Right. For marrying his brother’s daughter. His his niece, uh, Herodias. And Herodias was the one that actually came up with the plan eventually to, uh, to kill John the Baptist. So, um, what’s interesting, because John was not interested in safety. He was not interested. In fact, we find out John the Baptist was not interested in himself at all. Right? Yeah, he was cleanliness, you mean, right? He was. He was a wild man. Lived in the wilderness. He didn’t own anything. He was one of the most selfless people that ever lived. In fact, Jesus himself said, of all the men who has ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.

Kyle
That’s a claim, man. That is a claim.

Chris
And so, uh, and so John, again, he’s going to call sin sin. It doesn’t matter who it is. And he accuses the person who has the power to put him in prison and to put him to death. And so, again, uh, those two are the same time frames. Uh, but let’s go back to, uh, John. Uh, actually, uh, he’s baptizing. And then all of a sudden, what ends up happening is there are some really loyal followers of John who come to him and say, hey, remember that guy that you said was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? Sin of the world? He’s right over there on the other side of the Jordan River. And all the people that used to be baptized by you are now going to them, and they’re getting baptized by him. And then, of course, John, you know, he gives the most famous quote of all for him. I must become less and less. Jesus must become greater. Yeah. He uses another illustration and says, uh, hey, I’m not the Messiah, I’m just the messenger. Then he goes and says another thing and says, I’m not the groom, I’m just the bride. I’m just the best man.

Kyle
He’s like breaking down all the metaphors. He’s like, how can I paint this picture for you?

Chris
Yeah, but you know what? There’s a sermon in there about, um, about competition. Um, you know, growing up, I was a part of a denomination who actually was very, uh, territorial. I know you’ve been a part of churches in the past. Very. Who were very, um, not open handed. No. Right. And so, uh, we we don’t think of the church down the street as competition. We’re on the same team because God calls us the church, right. So what makes a church a church? A church is actually considered a church if they believe that the way to heaven is believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died, was buried, and rose again, and that salvation is through him and Him alone. Now they could disagree on different ways to do communion and even baptism and all these different kinds of things, you know, and what to wear. And yeah, and the purpose of the weekend services and everything else. You can disagree, but put us together all in one room. And what’s the one thing we have in common? Yeah, we all believe that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God. That makes the church big C yeah. So the church down the street who believes in God and believes in Christ is not our competition. No. Right. Yeah.

Kyle
And we just talked about that actually, uh, one of the things we do at heritage, we have a class. It’s a one on one class. It talks about, uh, salvation, it talks about baptism, it talks about the purpose of the church and vision. And I talked about that. I said that that we are on the same team. We don’t see churches down the road as, like you said, the competition. Um, and at the end of the day, we need more churches with more people willing to reach more people for Jesus.

Kyle
And another day, when you look at John. Um, you know, he he was not only, you know, all the things we talked about here. He was he had a following of his own. He was related to Jesus, like closely. You know, I’m saying he had so many reasons to let a little bit of pride get in the way. And we see in this moment, like, he could have been a little jealous, right? Those were once his followers. Now all of a sudden they’re following his cousin. Right. And you could imagine there must have been some difficulty there. It wouldn’t be easy for any one of us to be in that position. And yet, John, the entire time keeps that humble spirit. And I think it’s a reminder for us, those of us who are in ministry, you and I as pastors, but also anybody who’s listening to this, who’s in ministry to remember, like John’s attitude there, that it’s not about us, that it’s about Jesus first and foremost. Because so often you start to get a big head about you. Or maybe you’re like, well, I led my neighbor and then this, and now they’re going, why aren’t they doing like and all that stuff? And it’s like, you know, at the end of the day, we just want to point people to Jesus and we can’t control really the results and what people do after that.

Chris
Yeah. So I’ve worked at a few churches and and unfortunately I see some of the churches, in fact, most of the churches that I worked at, uh, ended poorly with poor leadership things like my first church, uh, that I worked at, uh, Fairview Baptist Church in Georgia. Uh, the pastor had, like, a moral failure. It was horrible. And then the next church that I worked at in Georgia was a larger, nondenominational church. That guy embezzled, like, a bunch of money. Jeez. It was horrible. Right. And then I worked at a church in the area, and there was some complications there with leadership as well. But see, here’s the way, here’s the way that you and I need to train. And by the way, that’s the same as you. I only mention that because you worked at another church in the area that we that heritage is at. Right. And so you have that experience as well. Um, and the only way to, to get your mind off of competition is to stop looking at current leaders, because all of us are imperfect. Yes. Right. All of us. I’m imperfect. I’ve got my issues. Right. Same here. And so and so. The thing is, you sort of take your eye off the leader and say, and I won’t use the churches in the area, like I’ll just use like the church in Georgia, for instance, like I want nothing but that church. I want nothing more than that church to grow and be successful. Right? Yes. In spite of that guy. Yeah, right. And he’s still there. Yeah. Right. And he was he was. He definitely needs to not be there as the lead pastor for sure. Okay. In Georgia. Uh, but but wouldn’t it be great if, if, if thousands of people came to know Christ in spite of that dude? Chris
Yeah. Not because of him. Right. And so all you got to do is think about, like, say, hey, man, I want nothing more in the churches that you worked at in the area. It’s like, we want nothing more than those churches to grow and thrive. Not because or, but but in spite of any current leadership. Because Jesus is the head of that church. Yeah, because we all have one pastor, don’t we? We all have one high priest. Yep. And it’s Jesus Christ. Well, dude.

Kyle
If you keep your eyes on people and leaders, you’re going to be. And anybody listen to this. If you keep your eyes on people, you’re going to be discouraged. You keep your eyes on Jesus, obviously person, but fully man, fully God. You keep your eyes on him and it changes everything. Yeah. Because I I’ve heard from so many people who. And you and I could be total case subjects for people leaving church, finding a side hustle. We could have easily. But instead, we haven’t lost the vision and the mission that God has placed us on. And we’ve kept our focus on Jesus. But also, I want to point out something else I think is really cool. Um, I think in this verse when it talks about John the Baptist, right, and what he’s doing and how he keeps on with his mission. Think about when you think back on 2000 years ago. Most people, you see Jesus and he’s got his group of followers and then followers. Outside of that, everyone’s kind of going along with Jesus. I think John the Baptist is one of the only people that kind of has his own minute. It’s it’s still a Jesus ministry, but it’s kind of his own thing, which I think is also kind of cool because think about how everybody’s just like, oh, I’m following Jesus. Now I’m going to go follow him. John the Baptist. Like, all right, I’m already following him. Who else can I make an impact on? Right. And I think it’s a reminder for me when I read that, that, like God has given each person, each one of us specific gifts and talents and that sort of thing to be able to reach more people for Jesus. And if we all just did it the disciples way, you know, um, we may be missing out on other giftings God’s given us like John had, right? Kyle
He was kind of like that sin preach. He’s kind of out there. And Jesus was like, I’m in support of that. Yeah. So like, for example, even at heritage, we got people that can sing much better than you and I. Right? And I’m very thankful we have certain people that have gifts in this, or they have the gift of mercy, or they have the gift of generosity. They have those types of gifts. And I’m so thankful that they’re utilizing their gifts in that way, because if not, we’d all just be kind of carbon copies in the same. We’d be very similar to one another. Instead, we see John, who’s actually, like, thinking outside, like he still believes in Jesus. That’s his foundation. But at the same time, he’s doing ministry differently, which is really cool.

Chris
Uh, just so happens that three weeks ago I preached this very passage, uh, on John the Baptist because we talked about pride. And John the Baptist had reason to be proud in all he ever did throughout his entire life is try to lower himself and say, I must become less and less and less, and Jesus is the one that needs to be elevated. So that’s why I preached on it. But. But I don’t know. Do you remember? I don’t know if you were in the auditorium or busy teaching 101, but do you remember the story behind the the history of what a best man is?

Kyle
No.

Chris
Okay, so check this out. So again, John the Baptist says, uh, you know, hey, I’m not the I’m not the Messiah. I’m just a messenger. Right? And so so he elevates Jesus, puts himself down, and then he says, uh, a bridegroom is the one who gets the attention and the. And the best man is just glad to be here. Right. And he’s and he’s witnessing and he’s and he’s helping. Well, here’s what’s interesting is that, you know, the history of bridesmaids and groomsmen were actually, uh, that whole system was actually developed through tradition through back when, um, when, when an occupied territories where it was illegal to get married or whether it was risky to get married. So it ended up happening was a bunch of men would dress up exactly like the groom, and then a bunch of women would dress up exactly like the bride, so that if authorities burst in and try to either kidnap the bride or kill the groom, that there’d be so much chaos that nobody would know which one was the bride groom. And did you also know this? Is that in my day, and it’s not so popular now, but in my day there was a thing. Are you familiar with, like a cumberbund? Yeah. I’ve heard. Yeah, yeah. So cumberbund is a thing that goes across your stomach. Yeah. That. We had no idea. Why was that a part of the tuxedo tradition? Yeah, it actually is. That’s where they held the weapons are. So they they held their weapons. Dude, that’s cool. In the cumberbund. And so here we, you know, here I grew up in the 80s going to prom, you know, with a cumberbund. Right. Not even knowing.

Kyle
You could have had a weapon.

Chris
In there. That. Right. Right, right. But not even knowing that was the tradition. Yeah, right. It’s wild. And so, you know, the tradition carries down now. And so think about this. Uh, they lived in a military occupied zone. And so when John the Baptist says he’s the bridegroom, or in other words, the groom, right. Because it was the bride and the bridegroom in the Bible, and he’s often referring to the bride and the groom. And so he says, he’s the groom, and I’m the best man. Uh, you and I receive that as like, oh, the best man, isn’t that cute? Like, what’s his responsibility to stand there and say, I have the rings, right? That’s that’s that’s what the best man has turned into. But when John the Baptist quoted that a lot more weight, it is actually like, guess who was going to give his life for the groom more than anybody else, the best man of all the people there who was dressed like the groom, it was the best man who was going to give his life first.

Kyle
And then he said, happy to be there. It makes a difference when you say happy to be there. It sounds like here I am happy to be there because we think of best man the way we live, right? But when you look at it now, he’s like, no, you’re the best man. It’s a sacrifice and you’re happy to be there. Yes.

Chris
What he was, what he was saying in that moment. And all the listeners in the first century understood in a military occupied territory, as he was saying, I am happy to give my life in service to the groom. That’s what he was saying, which is amazing, right? Yeah. Wow. And so there’s a whole sermon in there too. Wow. And, and, uh, and so I love how John, uh, you know, he actually, uh, uh, over and over just gives the definition of the Messiah. Now, the purpose of the book of John is actually to prove to the Jewish people that God is the Messiah. So, you know, Luke, Luke writes as a physician, he’s very detailed, he’s very accurate. And Luke’s purpose of writing the gospel, as you can see, is a little bit different. It’s, you know, this entire straight to the point, this entire, um, uh, thing that we read in the book of John Luke actually summarizes it in two sentences. Right? And it gives more of an intent, right, about, about the details of, of Herod Antipas. Um, but anyway, the point is this is that John’s purpose was entirely different. His purpose was writing to the Jewish people and trying to let them know that Jesus is the Son of God. And so that’s one of the reasons why he includes the details of the conversation of John the Baptist saying, no, he’s the Messiah, and I’m not.

Kyle
Well, then yesterday, talking about, um, uh, Nicodemus, it’s very much like an apologetics, right, in a lot of ways apologetic for why Jesus is who he says he was. Right. That’s really good.

Chris
Yeah. And, uh, and I also love the fact that, um, John the Baptist was, uh, baptizing in just, you know, regular water. Yeah. Because you know what it says? It says they were in this region or in that area because there was a lot of water in that area. Right? Yeah. There was. Oh, right there. At this time, John the Baptist was baptizing in, uh, aenon near Salim because there was plenty of water. Water? Yep. So think about this. A lot of times people are so confused about what baptism is. And depending on your denomination and depending on your experience, you know, you think like, you know, you have to get baptized and and water that’s mystical or magical or blessed or, you know, it has to be some sort of a, a special sort of water that has to be treated or prayed over or given, you know, powers or, you know, whatever it is. I’m, I’m sort of poking fun a little bit. Yeah. But, um, but every single time in the Bible that we see anybody getting baptized, uh, it was in a. Regular body of water, right?

Kyle
Just whatever’s available right there.

Chris
Yeah, right. So it says they were in this region for one reason, because there was a bunch of rivers and lakes and maybe even ponds. Right. So there’s nothing mystical or magical about the waters. It is actually not that part of it that’s actually required for baptism. You know, it’s not it’s not that’s not the feature. That’s not the important part of it. The important part is the word picture of actually, you know, of saying, like, I ascribe to this belief, I am following Jesus. I, I believe in the teachings of John, which were all about Jesus. I’m getting baptized by Jesus because I believe in Jesus. And it is a word picture of, in this case, a foreshadowing of Jesus getting buried, put under the water and then raised in the likeness of his resurrection. That’s good. Yeah. Cool.

Kyle
All right. We probably should wrap up. That’s been really good, though.

Chris
I think so too. Yeah. So, uh, it’s at that time right now. So we will see you next time on The Bible Guys.