Sermon for Sunday March 9th, 2008

THE SAME, ONLY DIFFERENT by Bruce Ball

Matthew 3:1-3:6


MATTHEW 3:1-3a

‘In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the Desert of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah.’

Beginning in VERSE 4-6

‘John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

’People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.’


There are identical twins, who look just like each other and there are maternal twins, who do not look like each other. Not everything that is the same looks the same. Today, we are going to be talking about two people who were related by blood. They had similarities and they had differences. They looked very different from one another, but they had the same heart.

I am talking about John the Baptist and Jesus, our Christ. They had much in common, too. They were both very much at home in the wilderness; they were both used to trials in their lives; and they both had an extraordinary relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Both men preached the same basic message; both preached it outdoors; and both gave their disciples, or followers, a prayer. Both men told of a just God who would eventually give an accounting to each person.

And the most astounding think they shared was that each was born through an uncommon act of God, and both died from provoking an uncommon rage among the people who simply didn’t want to hear a message about change.

John said his sole purpose in life was to point the way to his younger cousin, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said that among all men who were born of women, none were higher than His older cousin, John.

Let’s start by talking about the older cousin.


1. HIS NAME WAS “JOHN.”

“John” means “gift of God.” This gift, however, didn’t come with the pretty ribbons and bows and fancy gift-wrapping. This gift came in a plain brown wrapper.

Think of John’s appearance. He wore a camelhair skin, and I am sure it smelled just like it was still on the camel. They didn’t have dry cleaners back then.
An immediate difference was that, as John wore a coat of camel hair, Jesus wore a robe that was so nice; the soldiers gambled for it at the cross.

John’s diet consisted partially of wild honey. How many bee stings did he had to endure to get enough honey to eat? He was probably stung so many times he had become used to it, and viewed the bees as nothing more than bothersome flies.

And how about those locusts? Some scholars believe the locusts he ate were actual grasshopper-like insects, and then there are other scholars who believe that the locusts being referred to were the wild locusts that grew on the locust trees. They were a type of seed that had a sweet coating on it, and is almost pure protein. At either rate, it would not have been the tastiest meal, would it?

John’s habitat was the wilderness, and this is noteworthy. Scripture almost always uses the wilderness as a symbol for a break from the phoniness of the world. It paints a picture of the wilderness as away from the corruption of mankind. And, it shows the wilderness a place that is not always easy to be in.

Jerusalem described itself as the city of salvation. But was it? Jerusalem killed the prophets and crucified our Messiah. By living in the wilderness John contradicted everything the city represented.

And of course there was John’s manner. He had relatively few tools in his toolbox. When he saw that the truth of God had to be upheld and the sin of the powerful rebuked, he reached into his toolbox and came up with its one and only tool: confrontation. It wasn’t long before he confronted Herodias, the wife of Herod the ruler.

John looked her in the eye and said, “First you married Phillip, your uncle. And then, you ‘fooled around’ with the man who is currently your husband. Then you allowed your daughter, Salome, to dance like a stripper in order to inflame a crowd of half-drunk military officers. You, Mrs. Herod, are adulterous and wicked, having no shame about you.”

And showing her evil side, she said, “I’ll have your head for that.”

If nothing else, John was focused on his mission, to tell people of the coming Messiah. His loincloth did not have pockets, so he kept his one and only sermon tucked neatly away in his head. It was a very simple sermon. He would tell people that the coming Judgment was nearly at hand, and it was being brought about by the appearance of Christ.

Who was John talking to? He was talking to everyone in society. What were they like back then? They were exactly like people are today. And they hid behind the same things we hide behind today.

They claimed they were the chosen people because they were the descendants of Abraham, and that was good enough for them. Today, we claim to be Christians because we go to church, and that is good enough for us. In reality, it doesn’t matter who your granddaddy was, it only matters where your heart is. Granddaddy may have been a good Christian, but the only thing that will get you into Heaven is if you are a good Christian, too.

Back then; they thought if you were a good person who always did good deeds, you could get to Heaven. Today, we think that if we are good people, we have it made in the shade. The truth is, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and every time we do our good deeds we are intending them to be good enough to get us to Heaven, and they aren’t – by themselves.

The people of ancient Israel put themselves above others and they just knew this was the way to go to Heaven. Remember the man who stood in the temple courtyard and prayed aloud so everyone would hear him? He said, “Thank you God, that I am not like this man …” as he pointed to a truly repentant tax collector. He knew he was better than the other. But which one was allowed into Heaven? It wasn’t the one who prayed the loudest.

John knew what it was that got people to Heaven. It was their heart. It had to be remolded by God to be something He desired, not kept in the same shape we have always wanted it in. He knew that to do this, you first would have to humble that heart so you could invite Jesus in to take control of it. John knew that anything less than this simply would not be acceptable to God.

Those people, who heard John and became uncomfortable with what he had to say, did the same thing we do to Christians today when they tell us the same thing. We view them as “fanatics”, as people who are religious nuts, and people who are to be ridiculed instead of honored. John baptized people as a sign they had accepted the will of Christ in their lives. People denied the need for that. And we are still doing that today.

Some thought John was deranged. His enemies said he was downright crazy. But the same people who said John was crazy are the same people who said Jesus was an alcoholic. Was John crazy, or was he driven? And if he were driven, whom was he driven by?

Mary had an older cousin by the name of Elizabeth. When the angel told Mary she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit, he told her that Elizabeth, who was much older, was in her sixth month of pregnancy, too.

In LUKE 1:39-41

‘At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.’

I think it is plain to see that John was driven, and he was driven by the Holy Spirit to do exactly what he did; proclaim the coming of Jesus.

One thing I would like to point out is something found in,

LUKE 1:45

‘Blessed is she who believed that what the Lord has told her will come about.’

Mary believed the angel. She didn’t demand proof like so many of us would have done. She didn’t try to get out of it, as many of us would have done. She simply accepted the message of God and obeyed, as all of us should be doing.

Now, let’s talk about …


2. THE FAMILY RESEMBLANCE

In spite of the many similarities between John and Jesus, they are not identical by a long shot. John came to bear witness to the Light. Jesus was the Light. John reminded the people of God’s promise. Jesus came as the fulfillment to that promise.

John offered baptism by water as an outward sign of an inward change. Jesus administered a baptism of fire, as the Holy Spirit filled the hearts of believers. In short, John could only point to the kingdom of God. Jesus was the kingdom of God. John prepared people for the coming kingdom, and Jesus gathered those who were prepared into the kingdom.

Notice that John thundered and railed against the people’s sin and told them of the coming Judgment. He had his listeners worried about the way they lived their lives. Jesus agreed with John’s warnings, but Jesus also promised good times would await those who paid attention to the warnings and corrected their lives by focusing them on the Lord. So the difference is that John offered sternness to get their attention, and Jesus offered grace and mercy to protect their souls.

We need to hear what John said. But we also need to hear what Jesus said. He told of a party that will be for those who have been weary and worn; overwhelmed and overrun. This party would be for all those who chose Jesus and stepped out of the worldly way of life. At this party, they would find rest and restoration; healing, hope, and help.

Both John and Jesus spoke against those who were so self-absorbed that they became defiant against the kingdom of God, and even did things to hinder other people from accepting Jesus, too. I think Jesus spoke so harshly to them that His words had the ability to peel varnish off wood.

So, both men had similar, yet unique ways in which they spoke about the same kingdom. And the younger cousin, Jesus, also offered the blessing of eternal life in Heaven as a reward for believing in Him.

Let’s talk a little bit more about …


3. THIS MAN NAMED JESUS

Jesus was called the Good Shepherd. To understand the fullness of this term, we must first understand what the word “shepherd” means. A shepherd is one who leads a flock who cannot lead themselves. He cares for their every need and loves them more than they are aware.

While John set the stage by telling people where they were; Jesus was the One who told people where they could be.

Just as John lambasted those with hardened hearts and those who were cruel to others, Jesus offered vindication for those who would believe. He offered those who were persecuted an eternity of victory, and He offered the persecutors an eternity of everlasting sorrow.

But Jesus always left a way out – in case someone wished to have a change of heart. And He didn’t care if you knew the difference between a hymnbook and a history book; as long as you need and love Him.

In EPHESIANS, Paul says the Lord’s grace will be upon all those who love Him with an undying love. What does that mean? It means a love that will have no end, and a love that nothing can overcome. When a believer loves Jesus with all of their heart, all of their mind, and all of their soul, they will get God’s wonderful grace and everlasting peace.

Jesus was a man. He was John the Baptist’s younger cousin by six months. Jesus was a preacher, just as His cousin John was. But Jesus was much, much more. He was also God. And as God, He offered so much more than we can even realize today.

There is a group called “Atheists for Jesus” who claim to admire Jesus because He was such a good prophet. Here is what I do not understand: By their very nature, atheists do not believe in a God. So, how can they believe that Jesus was a prophet of God if they do not believe in God? Can you see how Satan has convoluted man’s mind to the point that, without Christ, we don’t know what to believe?

The absolute truth is Jesus was, is, and forever shall be God. He was sent to bring us back into fellowship with the Father because we could not get there without His help.

If we just needed instruction, God would have sent a teacher. If we just needed the right tools to get back to God, He would have sent us a toolmaker. But we needed a Savior; so God sent us His only Son, so that He could lead us safely back to God.

The only One who could have ever done that for us is the Lord. Jesus is Lord. And because He is Lord, there will be a day when everything in existence bows down in submission to Him, even those who deny Him today.

So this man named Jesus is everything we need. He is our literal all in all. We need nothing that He cannot give, but we need everything that He will give. But without a personal relationship with Him, we cannot have anything from Him.

We have been talking about the differences and similarities between John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus. There is another difference that carries Jesus far beyond what John was. It is a dimension that is reflected in the word he used at prayer: “Abba, Father.” Now the New Testament is written in Greek, even though Jesus customarily spoke Aramaic.

In other words what our Lord said day-by-day has been translated into another language. Then why wasn’t the Aramaic word, Abba, translated into Greek? The word was left untranslated because Jesus had used it in a very special way, and to translate it would only act to confuse its true and deep meaning.

Abba was the word used by a youth to speak of a father whom they had a close bond with; a father whose love was never questioned; and a father with which the youth had a loving relationship.

So, when the early Christians came to use that word in their prayers, they were not just repeating something they had heard Jesus say; they were drawn to use it for one reason – as followers of Jesus, they had that same kind of relationship with Him as Jesus had with the Father; a loving and personal relationship.

In ROMANS, Paul says that Christians cannot help crying “Abba, Father” any more than a person in pain can help screaming for help. And I think most Christians today are missing this altogether. We acknowledge Jesus almost from a distance, as if we are afraid to have such a close and intimate relationship with Him as the early Christians did.

A devout Christian lawyer by the name of William Stringfellow explained it this way: “Prayer is being so alone with God that He is your only witness to your life.”

The day will come when each of us is so alone with God that there will be nothing else in existence. That day will be the Judgment Day. And in the torment and agony of that day, we will all come to know that God is our only witness to our very existence.

And because it will finally dawn on us then that He is our only hope, we will instinctively call out, “Abba, Father!” But for some of us it will be just too late. We will have procrastinated a little too long. And we will have lost, as there will be no reversals on that day. That will be the day we become totally aware of the truth, and the day that we begin to live the choices we have made in life.

“Abba, Father!”

And to some, He will say, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

For, on that day, the decisions we chose in life will become our final answer for eternity.

We all need to be shaken up by words from the man in the wilderness. But as much as we might look at John, we will only see Him pointing away from himself and pointing towards Jesus, the Light of this world.

Most people view Christians as a group of elite people who are far better than they are. They see themselves as not being good enough to be a Christian. And this drives them into hopelessness and away from God, the very Person they need the most.

Some think they just aren’t good enough, and that someday they might be good enough to be a Christian. It is like the old saying; ‘If you wait until you can afford to have children, you never will have them.’

If you wait until you are good enough to be a Christian, you never will be a Christian, because it isn’t how good you are – it is how much you desire Jesus. As I have said before, there is only one difference between being a Christian and not being a Christian.

Both have sinful thoughts and actions, but the Christian will be sorrowful for those thoughts and actions and will go to God and ask Him to forgive them. And God will forgive, whereas a non-Christian will never feel sorry for his sins and never ask God for forgiveness.

So, as you look at where you are, in relation to where you should be, with Christ, know that He takes you just as you are, and does not demand that you become good enough first. If you were good enough, you wouldn’t need Jesus in the first place.

In 1830, a man by the name of George Wilson was sentenced to hanging for killing a government employee during a train robbery. For some reason, President Andrew Jackson gave the man a full pardon. But the man refused to accept it.

That had never happened before and nobody knew how to handle it. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court to establish a precedent. Chief Justice Marshall declared that a pardon is an offer to hold somebody not accountable for any crimes they may have committed. But if that person refuses to receive the pardon so, in effect, no pardon was given. So, Mr. Wilson was quickly hanged.

Jesus is offering you a full pardon for every thing you have ever done that is against God. He is telling you that if you will but trust Him as your Savior, all those crimes will be erased and you will suffer no punishment.

Sadly, too many people make the same choice Mr. Wilson did, and they end up suffering the judgment of their crimes. What are you going to do with your pardon? Are you going to accept it or are you going to reject it? Have you weighed the consequences of each choice?