John’s Boldness

(Matthew 3:1-10)

Introduction:“Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a saw log, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagonload of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I’ve got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die. All this I ask for Christ’s sake. Amen.”

Every day, the old Nazarene preacher ‘Uncle’ Bud Robinson prayed this way. Many were amused by it, but for him it provided strength for each new day, the strength he needed to be the incredible example that changed so many people’s lives. (Southern Nazarene University -

We have been studying the life and ministry of John the Baptist, and it seems that he had that same type of determination and boldness that ‘Uncle’ Bud Robinson prayed for each day.

I. We Realize John’s Boldness When We Consider His Voicevs. 1-3

A. His Voice Was Expected

1. John Was Anticipated By The Prophetsthis is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias

(Mark 1:1-3) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; {2} As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. {3} The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Isaiah 40:1-9

(Malachi 3:1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Now, all of a sudden, John the Baptist walks onto the pages of Scripture. If we had Matthew’s gospel only, we would ask, “Where did he come from, and what is his background?”- because Matthew gives us none of that, and the reason is obvious. The prophet Malachi had said that the messenger would come ahead to prepare the way for the coming of the King—“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me …” (Malachi 3:1).

(J. Vernon McGee)

2. John Was Aware Of His PositionJohn 1:19-23

B. His Voice Was Expressive

1. He Was A Declarer Of The Word (A Channel For The Word)John 1:1-7

As the voice of one crying in the wilderness. John owned it himself (John 1:23); I am the voice, and that is all, God is the Speaker, who makes known his mind by John, as a man does by his voice. Some observe that, as Samson’s mother must drink no strong drink, yet he was designed to be a strong man; so John Baptist’s father was struck dumb, and yet he was designed to be the voice of one crying. When the crier’s voice is begotten of a dumb father, it shows the excellency of the power to be of God, and not of man. (Matthew Henry)

voice – [Greek 5456. phone], fo-nay'; through the idea of disclosure; a tone (articulate, bestial or artificial); by implication an address (for any purpose), saying or language: --noise, sound.

2. He Was A Declarer Of The Way

(Matthew 3:3) For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

II. We Realize John’s Boldness When We Consider The Vipersvs. 7-10

John used such violence in addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees doubtless to startle them from their self-complacency. How hopelessly they were blinded by their sense of security as the children of Abraham, and by their confidence in the merits of the law, is attested by the fact that these parties resisted the teachings of both John and Jesus to the very end.

With what vigor and fearlessness the Baptist pressed his demand for righteousness is shown by his stern reproof of the sin of Herod and Herodias, which led to his imprisonment and finally to his death.

(Russell Benjamin Miller in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

A. His Message Concerning The Vipers Was Revelation

In calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a “generation of vipers” John was revealing something of...

1. John Was Revealing Something Of Israel’s PastMatthew 23:29-38

generation – [Greek 1081. gennema] offspring; by analogy produce (literally or figuratively): --fruit.

These Pharisees and Sadducees were the offspring of their murderous fathers.

2. John Was Revealing Something Of Israel’s Poison

viper – [Greek 2191. echidna] of uncertain origin; an adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figuratively).

B. His Message Concerning The Vipers Was Repentance

1. He Said That Their Discernment Needed To ChangeMatthew 3:2

repent – [Greek 3340. metanoeo], met-an-o-eh'-o; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally to feel regret).

2. He Said That Their Deeds Needed To ChangeMatthew 3:8

“fruits meet for repentance”suitable to reveal that they realized guilt for sin

C. His Message Concerning The Vipers Was Rebuke

1. He Denied Their ClaimOf FatherhoodMatthew 3:9

(John 8:38-39) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. {39} They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

2. He Declared The Condemnation Of FalsehoodMatthew 3:10

Conclusion:

(Matthew 11:7-10) And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? {8} But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. {9} But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. {10} For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

By the way, John was not the reed shaken with the wind; he was a wind shaking the reeds! In our day, the pulpit has become very weak because it is in subjection to somebody sitting out there in the pew who doesn’t like the preacher. Or the message is tailored to suit a certain group in the church. Too often the pulpit is a reed that is shaken in the wind. Thank God for John the Baptist, a wind shaking the reeds!

McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2000, c1981.