John & Jesus: Similar but Different.
Same Family
Spiritual Conception
Set Apart
“Nutter “ locusts & honey /“Nutter” glutton & drunkard
Blunt Northerner
Water Baptism/ Spirit Baptism
Repent!
In
1830, a man by the name of George Wilson was sentenced to hanging for
killing a government employee during a train robbery. For some
reason, President Andrew Jackson gave the man a full pardon. But the
man refused to accept it.
That had never happened before and nobody knew how to handle it. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court to establish a precedent. Chief Justice Marshall declared that a pardon is an offer to hold somebody not accountable for any crimes they may have committed. But if that person refuses to receive the pardon so, in effect, no pardon was given. So, Mr. Wilson was quickly hanged.
Jesus is offering you a full pardon for every thing you have ever done that is against God. He is telling you that if you will but trust Him as your Saviour, all those crimes will be erased and you will suffer no punishment.
Sadly, too many people make the same choice Mr. Wilson did, and they end up suffering the judgement of their crimes. What are you going to do with your pardon? Are you going to accept it or are you going to reject it? Have you weighed the consequences of each choice?
That had never happened before and nobody knew how to handle it. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court to establish a precedent. Chief Justice Marshall declared that a pardon is an offer to hold somebody not accountable for any crimes they may have committed. But if that person refuses to receive the pardon so, in effect, no pardon was given. So, Mr. Wilson was quickly hanged.
Jesus is offering you a full pardon for every thing you have ever done that is against God. He is telling you that if you will but trust Him as your Saviour, all those crimes will be erased and you will suffer no punishment.
Sadly, too many people make the same choice Mr. Wilson did, and they end up suffering the judgement of their crimes. What are you going to do with your pardon? Are you going to accept it or are you going to reject it? Have you weighed the consequences of each choice?
John
was Preaching “Repent or Die”/ Jesus said “Repent and Live –
here's how”
With
John it was all about response./ Jesus lay down his life first –
for us.
Judgement/ Pardon
With
John – if you feel you are unworthy you can't receive what God wants to give
With Jesus you can accept God's
pardon just because you know there is no
other way to life.
That's
a bit “theological” isn't it? What about real life, now? What
difference does it make?
There
are two ways to punctuate John's message (Interestingly it is often
presented differently in the Gospel from how it is in Isaiah whom
John is quoting).
“The
voice of one crying in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord”
Do
you think that we, as Christians, are outside of our society –
keeping ourselves pure and aloof from the sins that pervade it so
that we can call people out in repentance before the Lord comes in
judgement?
“The
voice of one crying: In the desert make straight the way of the Lord”
Or
do you think that we are completely engaged with our society, in the
dry and dusty places of sin and strife like everyone else, and
seeking to change it so that the Lord can return?
In
a way John the Baptist operated in the first way – calling people
out into the desert communities like the Essenes. He was sceptical of
those who just popped out for a Baptism.
But
Jesus is more like the latter. He is the incarnate God. He comes down
to earth from heaven. He ate with sinners. He liked sinners. He
changed sinners. He recruited sinners. He trusted sinners.
Both
of these are true.
It's
not either or. Its both and.
Which
bit of the desert are you in?
How
are you going to cry out this week?
Can you make a straight path for the Lord into your bit of the desert?
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