Overview:
To help launch Jesus’ ministry, God deliberately did not send a religious professional wearing sleek clothing and speaking smooth words. No, God sent John the Baptizer—who dressed in camel’s skin and ate locusts—to be the forerunner of the Son of God. Discover God’s genius in choosing John and feel the urgency of John’s ancient call that still speaks today.
Message Summary:
In this message, Chuck Swindoll introduces John the Baptist, the rugged forerunner to the Messiah, whose life and ministry are recorded in Matthew 3. Swindoll characterizes John as a “strange preacher” by modern standards—a man who would likely never be hired by a contemporary church due to his wild appearance, harsh diet of locusts and honey, and confrontational style. Trained in the isolation of the Judean wilderness, John was indifferent to public opinion, possessing a singular focus on his divine calling to “prepare the way for the Lord” [18–19].
Swindoll explores the “strong proclamation” John brought to Israel: a baptism of repentance. Breaking down the Greek meaning of the word, Swindoll explains that repentance is not merely an emotion but a “change of mind” that leads to a change in direction. John’s message stripped away the veneer of religious hypocrisy, specifically targeting the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees. When they arrived to watch him baptize, John refused to be intimidated, calling them a “brood of snakes” and warning them that their ancestry—being children of Abraham—would not save them from God’s judgment [25–27].
The sermon concludes with a piercing application regarding personal guilt. Swindoll cites a story from Karl Menninger’s book, Whatever Became of Sin?, about a man on a Chicago street corner pointing at passersby and shouting, “Guilty!” The message challenges listeners to stop hiding behind religious heritage or moral behavior and to acknowledge their guilt before God, noting that “you really are not ready to live until you’re ready to die” [29, 35–36].
Message Key Facts:
- The Uniqueness of Preachers: Swindoll observes that God does not “cookie cut” His messengers. He notes that great preachers often had “strange” idiosyncrasies, such as Martin Luther, who preached best when angry, or Charles Spurgeon, who enjoyed cigars yet forbade theater attendance [9–10].
- John’s Background: Known as “John Ben Zachariah” (son of Zachariah), he was a “meteorite flashing through the night sky”—arriving suddenly and departing violently via beheading. He was born to elderly parents who raised him as a Nazarite, forbidding him from cutting his hair or drinking strong drink [13–17].
- The Judean Wilderness: John’s seminary was the barren, scorching rock of the wilderness near the Dead Sea. Swindoll suggests this harsh environment trained him to dismiss human opinion and fear only God.
- The Meaning of Repentance: Swindoll defines the Greek word metanoeo (repent) as a combination of meta (around/after) and noose (mind). It literally means “to change the mind,” resulting in a turnaround of life direction.
- “Brood of Vipers”: When John called the Pharisees “snakes,” he was using imagery from his wilderness life. Just as snakes and scorpions would flee from brush fires in the desert, John saw the religious elites fleeing the coming wrath without true heart change.
- The Danger of Heritage: John attacked the Jewish reliance on lineage (“We are descendants of Abraham”). Swindoll applies this to modern listeners, warning that having godly grandparents or a religious background is useless for salvation if one does not personally repent.
- “Guilty!”: Swindoll illustrates the universality of sin using a story of a man in Chicago who would point at strangers and shout “Guilty!”—causing an eerie reaction because, deep down, everyone knows they are guilty of something [35–36].
Message References:
- Matthew 3:1–10: The primary text introducing John the Baptist, his appearance, his message of repentance, and his confrontation with the religious leaders.
- Isaiah 40:3–5: The Old Testament prophecy written 700 years prior, identifying John as the “voice shouting in the wilderness” to prepare the way for the Lord [19–20].
- John 8:36–44: A later encounter where Jesus, like John, confronts the Pharisees. When they claim Abraham as their father, Jesus corrects them, stating, “You are the children of your father the devil,” because they sought to kill the Truth [30–32].
- John 3:30: (Quoted) John the Baptist’s motto regarding Jesus: “He must increase, I must decrease”.
