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Character Study John the Baptist and Recognizing Authority

Setting: United States Army Chapel Service Length of Delivery: 40 minutes for each lesson

Name of Student: Nicholas Guidry Student ID: L22904165 Class: NBST 521 Instructors Name: Dr. Daniel Steffen Date Submitted: 02/04/2012

Nicholas Guidry NBST 521-B05 16 FEB 12

Character Study: John the Baptist: Lessons in Spiritual Authority Lesson One: Preparing the Stage Audience: United States Army Chapel Service

Introduction: God choose John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Christ. John would establish a ministry throughout the region that would both call for repentance, and announce the coming of the Lord. John was a Wildman who lived in the wilderness, however God used him. John was a mighty minister for God, however he understood spiritual authority and that the Christ that would come was greater. We will examine the notion of spiritual authority in reference to the life and ministry of John through the narrative of the scriptures in order to better understand the ministerial forerunner of Christ. Outline:
A. A SPIRITED BABY 1. Johns early life. a. Born of Priestly order (Luke 1:5)

b. c. d. e. f.

A Relative of Christ (Luke 1:36) Raised in a strict allegiance to the Law (Luke 1:6, cf. Numbers 6:1-21) Miraculous birth (Luke 1:26) Filled with the Holy Spirit even in the Womb (cf. Numbers 6:1-21) Lived in the wilderness (Luke 1:8)

B. ILLUSTRATION: Johns early life could be described best by explaining in it

terms of a NBA draft pick. John was born, prepared, and trained in the tradition of the Aaronic Priesthood from an early age. He attended the best preparatory academy, with the best coaches, and with the best training regime. He was prepared for greatness.
C. TRANSITION: We would assume that practical training and preparation would

promote John into become the greatest priest of all time. However, this would

become only the fuel which would begin a fire that would scorch the region and burn the path for which Jesus would arrive on.
B. THE GREAT PROPHET

1. John the Preacher a. Preacher of the Coming of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3-5) b. Preacher of the Forgiveness of Sin (Luke 3:10-14) c. Preacher of Old Testament Hope (Luke 3:4-6) d. Preacher of Contriteness (Isaiah 57:14-17) e. Preacher of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:15-17, Acts 10:37-38, Acts 13:23-24)
2. ILLUSTRATION: John was a Preacher of the word of God! He focused on

preacher the true heart of God. He did not focus on sacrifice but on what is within our hearts. The intent of our heart matters to God and we want to be holy as he is holy. (1 Peter 1:15).
3. TRANSITION: We talked about roles of John in preparation of the coming of

the Lord. Now we will examine some of the Old Testament prophecy in reference to John the Baptist.
C. A LASTING IMPACT

1. Who is the Christ a. Jesus was of a higher position then John (Luke 3:16) b. Removing Sandals (Luke 3:16, Schneider 1977:88; Mekilta Exodus 21:2) c. Recognition of Jesus as Judge (Job 20:26; Proverbs 20:26; Isaiah 34:810; 41:15-16; 64:6; Jeremiah 15:7)
2. ILLUSTRATION: Like John we must understand the authority of Christ and

understand who He is, and what His will is.

3.

TRANSITION: John had a debt understanding of the nature of God, and the authority of Christ. We should also understand the authority found in Christ and his Word.

CONCLUSION: John the Baptists humility gives the believer a proper perspective on the relationship of humanity to God. Human beings are not Jesus' advisers or equals; they are greatly honored to know him and serve him. John does not draw attention to himself; instead he points to the superior greatness of the one to come. To direct others to Jesus is the call of God's servant.

Nicholas Guidry NBST 521-B05 16 FEB 12

Character Study: John the Baptist: Lessons in Spiritual Authority Lesson One: The Basics of Spiritual Authority Audience: College Small Group

Introduction: This lesson will expound on Johns recognition of the person of Jesus, the authority, and how this recognition propel John to greatness. John the Baptists humility gives the believer a proper perspective on the relationship of humanity to God. Human beings are not Jesus' advisers or equals; they are greatly honored to know him and serve him. John does not draw attention to himself; instead he points to the superior greatness of the one to come, and because of this he becomes great. If you humble yourself you will be exalted. (1 Peter 5:6) Outline:
A. SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: RECOGNITION

1. John Recognized the Authority of Christ a. John immediately recognized the Christ (John 1:29-36) b. Introduction of Christ (John 1:29-36) c. John Yielded to the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-34)
2. ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever had a problem recognizing those in authority?

What characteristics are there for those in authority? How did you respond to this recognition?
3. TRANSITION: We have looked at Johns recognition and now we must

consider

how John reacted to this recognition of Christ.

B. SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: SUBMISSION

1. How did John display a Spirit of Submission to Christ? a. Saw himself as unworthy (Matthew 3:11; John 1:27) b. Declaration that Christ was before him (John 1:15,30)

c. Cautious to Baptize Christ (Matthew 3:14) d. Declared Christ as the Son of God (John 1:34) 2. TRANSITION: Jesus being the Son of God knew Johns penchant for submissive

heart. Jesus would go on to praise John for this.

C. JESUS ON JOHN THE BAPTIST 1. Jesus speaks of John a. Jesus affirmed the greatness of John for his humility (Matthew 5:19) b. Jesus defended John the Baptist (Luke 7:24-28) 2. ILLUSTRATION: It seemed that Father God was trying to teach you and I to

recognize and submit to authority. Authority is a part of the divine and our ability to submit to authority corresponds to follow Christ. (Ephesians 5:21-33 and 1 Peter 3:17). Submission is a attribute of the believer.
3. TRANSITION: Like Peter part of our sanctification process as believers is our

ability to receive correction from the Lord and learn from it. Next we will be looking at Peters background information that help shape portrait of Peters character. Conclusion: Jesus was frank in His appreciation of John. If praise may be measured by the worth of the one by whose lips it is spoken, then no man ever received such praise as he who was called by Jesus a shining light (John 5:35), more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9), and of whom He said, "Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 11:11). Jesus paid high tribute to the Divine character and worth of John's recognition of spiritual authority.

Nicholas Guidry NBST 521-B05 16 FEB 12

Character Study: John the Baptist: Lessons in Spiritual Authority Lesson One: Spiritual Authority Beyond the Basics Audience: College Small Group

Introduction: In this lesson we will take a small glimpse at John the Baptists message and compare and contrast it with the message of his Master, Christ. This will help us to understand that those who are submitted to authority will often prepare the way by aligning vision. Outline:
A. JOHN THE BAPTIST ON REPENTENCE 1. Johns Message a. The Call to Repentence (Matthew 3:1-2) b. The Kingdom of Heaven c. Religious Elites (Matt 4:18) 2. ILLUSTRATION: Jesus was the coming Messiah and King, and John the Baptist was the

one crying in the wilderness and through his message of repentance, he worked to prepare the way of the Lord. We often fail to appreciate how important the preparing work of the Lord is. Any great work of God begins with great preparation.
3. TRANSISTIONS: As John is preaching in the wilderness we our quickly introduced to

the apparent likenesses between John and Christ of. B. JOHN THE BAPTIST ON REPENTENCE 4. Jesus Message d. The Call to Repentence (Matthew 4:14 and Mark 1:14-15) e. Jesus instruct His disciples to preach repentence (Luke 24:46-47) f. The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 11:11)

5. ILLUSTRATION: Mens hearts were like a wilderness, wherein there is no way; but as

loyal subjects throw up roads for the approach of beloved princes, so were men to welcome the Lord, with their hearts made right and ready to receive him. (Spurgeon)
6. TRANSISTIONS: As Jesus preaches we see him traveling down the road prepared by

John and provided saving grace for us all. When we submit to authority we make a way for God to do extraordinary things through them. Conclusion: Its not that Jesus contradicted John. Rather, Jesus effected within people what John could only hold out for them. Because the ministry of Jesus gathered up the ministry of John, nothing about John was lost. At the same time, the ministry of Jesus contained so much more than Johns -- as John himself gladly admitted. In other words, the ministry of Jesus was the ministry of John plus all that was unique to our Lord.

Bibliography Bowen, C. R.. "John the Baptist." The Journal of Religion 9, no. 2 (1929): 304-310. Bowen, Clayton Raymond. "John the Baptist in the New Testament." The American Journal of Theology 16, no. 1 (1912): 90-106. Hughes, John H.. "John the Baptist: The forerunner of God Himself." Novum Testamentum 14, no. 3 (1972): 191-218. Meier, John. "John the Baptist in Matthew's Gospel." Journal of Biblical Literature 99, no. 3 (1980): 383-405. Meier, John H.. "John the Baptist in Josephus: Philology and Exegesis." Journal of Biblical Literature 111, no. 2 (1992): 225-237. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. "John the Baptist and Jesus: History and Hypotheses." New Testament Studies 36 (1990): 359-374.