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John the Baptist for Our Time
Luke 1:67-80
Andy Nagahara
1. John the Baptist who came ahead of Jesus (67-77)
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us–
72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
2. You are John the Baptist for our time (78-80)
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us–
72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
Summary
John the Baptist was a prophet who began his ministry before Jesus, and prophesied about a savior, preparing the hearts of his listeners so that they would be ready to receive the words of Jesus. In this way, we are John the Baptist for our time. Our role is not to convince others to believe in Jesus, but to share the love and grace we have been given so that we can prepare their hearts for Jesus.
For Discussion
1. How did John the Baptist prepare people ahead of their
encounter with Jesus?
2. Why are we John the Baptist for our time?