“Oh, no! That preaching is not for us. It is good enough for them, but we do not need to go. We are the seed of Abraham. We belong to Moses, and we are not such bad men. What do you mean by conversion? We do not need to be born again. What do we need to be born again for? We pay our debts. We are good men.”
See? That same old spirit. Eighteen hundred years have rolled away, and you find human nature the same. John knew them pretty well.
“I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
You need not flatter yourselves that you are better than the other people. God can make children right out of these stones, and make them the seed of Abraham.
“And now, also, the ax is laid unto the root of the tree; every tree, therefore, which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
“And the people asked him, saying: ‘What shall we do, then?’”
See! They had an inquiry meeting, right there on the banks of the Jordan.
“He answereth, and saith unto them: ‘He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.’
“Then came, also, publicans to be baptized, and said unto him: ‘Master, what shall we do?’
“And he said unto them: ‘Exact no more than that which is appointed you.’
“And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying: ‘And what shall we do?’ And he said unto them: ‘Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.’”
Now, that was his preaching up to the time that Christ came. As I said before, it was: “Repent! Repent! Reform! Reform!” And you may tell these men they ought to do better; but if you do not tell them how, you can not save them. Now, we find here, in this fifteenth verse, that they were looking for something more:
“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not, John answered, saying unto them all: ‘I, indeed, baptize you with water; but One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
“‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.’
“And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.”
Now, what a chance there was for John to have let self come in! When people were wondering in their hearts if he was not the true Messiah--if he was not Christ--he might have been tempted to come out and say he was more than himself--that he was Christ. But there was this commendable trait about John: He never preached up self.
He was preparing the nation to receive the Lord of Glory. He had come merely to introduce Him. He was nothing. Just as a man comes and introduces a friend to you, he barely introduces him and steps aside. He does not put himself forward.
So John introduces the Son of God, and then begins to fade away, and soon is gone. He had not come to introduce himself, but to preach Christ.
And let me say, right here, that this is the very height of preaching. When they begin to wonder who he is, he just comes right out and says: “I am not Jesus. I am only just one sent to introduce Him. I have come for that purpose. I have not come to preach up myself, but Him that is mighty to save.”
And then we find that while his star was just at its height, while he was just about at the zenith of his glory, while people were flocking in from the towns and villages to hear him, the chief rulers of Jerusalem send down a deputation to inquire what this religion meant. They appointed some influential men to find him out, and they said to him: “We have been sent by the chief priest of Jerusalem to find out who you are. Are you Christ?” And John answered: “No.” “Well, who are you? Are you this man or that man?” “No.” “Are you this prophet or that prophet?” “No.” “Well, who are you?”
Did he say: “I am Jesus”? No. “Merely Mr. Nobody--merely a voice crying in the wilderness.”
What a message that was to send back to Jerusalem! He was not trying to put himself forward. He was all the time trying to get out of self. In the nineteenth verse and first chapter of John we read:
“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: ‘Who art thou?’
“And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed: ‘I am not the Christ.’
“And they asked him: ‘What, then? Art thou Elias?’ And he saith: ‘I am not.’ ‘Art thou the prophet?’ And he answered: ‘No.’
“Then said they unto him: ‘Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?’
“He said: ‘I am the voice of One crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet, Esaias.’
“And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.