Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: We choose to believe that God is working redemption when nothing in the world assures us that he is. Why would you believe in the midst of what brings you tears and shame that God is still working? Because of the Lamb of God, who not only takes away the sin of the world, but embraces the people who did not deserve his coming, nor know how to handle it when it happened.

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan continues a lesson from John Chapter 1. John the Baptist is most known for announcing the coming of Jesus. But in this message, Dr. Chapell highlights his final days.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, Make Way for the Lamb.

Bryan Chapell: John the Baptist is acting as our introducer to the Lord Jesus. And you know the words that he is about to say. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is the fulfillment of the ages for the salvation of the people of God. This is how much the King of heaven cares about you, to send his Son as a lamb. Here he is.

Let's read the words. It's John Chapter 1, and as we're reading, I will focus particularly on verses 19 through 34. And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel."

And John bore witness. "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Now, for many of you in the room, that's the old, old story. And we love it, and it is wonderful. It is not the end of the story that you need to hear. What I have read to you is the most familiar portion of the life of John the Baptist as he is declaring the wondrous truth of the Lamb of God. But Paul Harvey, some of you in the room will know who that is, used to always end his news broadcast by saying, "Now you need to hear the rest of the story."

And for that, I'm going to ask that you look in another place in your Bibles, that you look at Matthew Chapter 11 as we look at what now happened to John the Baptist. The one who has had such power and privilege in announcing the Lamb of God. What's the rest of the story?

Matthew Chapter 11 and verse 2. Now when John, and that is John the Baptist, now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to them, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

Did you get it? The very one who has early in the ministry of Jesus said, "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," and by the revelation of God, "I declare to you, this is the Son of God." We're now two years later in the life of John. Where is he? He's in prison. And he sends some of his messengers to ask Jesus a question. "Really? Really? Are you the one? Or are we supposed to look for another?"

The very one who's had such privilege and power in declaring who Christ is has now fallen off a cliff of spiritual confidence and he asks this terrible question. "Are you really the one?" Now, to think of what betrayal that question is, what doubt has revealed, you have to think back through the life of John the Baptist to what you actually know about him. You may remember that his mother was Elizabeth, who is related to Mary.

So what actually happens is that when Mary, the mother of Jesus, goes to tell Elizabeth that she is expecting the child of promise, in ways that we don't quite understand, John the Baptist gets it. He is still in his mother's womb, and what does the Bible say he did? He leaped in his mother's womb for joy because he heard that the Messiah was coming. Now, this is truly what is known as getting the early news report. What it means that he leaped in the womb for joy, we don't know, but we know he knew early.

Now, what it meant for these two young Jewish boys who are now cousins growing up together, we don't exactly know. Did they play hide and seek? Did they play capture the flag? We don't know. But they have this relationship. And John says clearly in that portion of John 1 that we just read, "I didn't know who he was, but God revealed it to me." Do you remember how? He says God said, "The one on whom you see the Spirit of God descending like a dove and remaining on him, that is the Lamb of God who is the Son of God."

Now, this is an amazing privilege. John the Baptist gets a call of God. And later, Jesus actually comes to be baptized by John the Baptist, who is doing this baptism of repentance out in the wilderness. And John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, apparently still not understanding who he fully is. And then something amazing happens. The Spirit of God descends like a dove upon Jesus and remains upon him.

And then there is a voice from heaven from God the Father that says, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." It's one of the greatest expressions of the Trinity in all the Bible, that there you have Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God the Father, all present and recognized at the same moment. And John the Baptist has this great evidence of who Jesus is. He has more than that. You may remember here in Matthew Chapter 11 and verse 2, we're told more.

While John was in prison, he heard about the deeds of Christ. What were the deeds of Christ? Well, we're told that. Verse 4: "Jesus answered them, 'Go and tell John what you see and hear. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.'" John has the early news report. He is the great evidence in his own experience of the Trinitarian witness to the presence of the Christ among them. And then he has knowledge of the miracles that Jesus is performing, including raising people from the dead.

And then he sends a message to Jesus that says, "Are you really the one?" After all the privilege, after all that he's got, how could that possibly be? Because there is a lot of pain in John the Baptist's life. After all, he sends messengers. Why? He can't go. Where is he? He's in prison. In fact, from the biblical record, if you trace the history, you would recognize almost within weeks of that moment that John said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," he then preaching repentance actually speaks to the authority, the king of the Jews, Herod, who's the puppet king under the Roman authorities.

And he says to Herod, "Stop living with your brother's wife." And Herodias, the wife of the brother, gets embarrassed. And so she has John put in prison and for the last two years, he has languished there. You know what was going through his mind. "Jesus, I announced you. I said that you were the Son of God. And yes, I understand that you give sight to the blind and I recognize that you give the ability to walk to the lame, and I recognize you may even raise the dead. But Jesus, remember one of those Old Testament prophecies? It says when you came, you would give freedom to the prisoner.

"And I've been here two years and nothing's happening and my life is getting more threatened every day. If I am faithful to my God and I say what is true, I am about to get a death sentence." And you and I recognize what will happen. He ultimately will have his head severed and presented to that same king on a platter. Jesus, where'd you go? I know it's a simple truth, but it's one we need to hear. Pain makes you forget.

And there's all kinds of pain in the life of John the Baptist where he has had great witness to the power and the privileges and the wonders of the Son of God's presence. But at the same moment, life is still fallen and it's still broken, and it's not going the way that he wants it to go. And so John asks these terrible questions. "Are you really the one?"

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell.

Guest (Male): It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era where 90 percent of Americans identified as Christian.

Guest (Female): These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils.

Guest (Male): At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular, pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye.

In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research, revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

You can request your copy of The Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-4-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223.

Guest (Male): And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: And of course it's worse because John the Baptist is not just questioning Jesus, he is discrediting him by his position. He is in prison because he is questioning the leadership. Now, you know what I expect you to do? Is say, well, that's no discredit. I mean, that's not John's fault, not John the Baptist's fault that he's in prison. It's not John the Baptist's fault that because of a silly king's promise carried away by his own lust, that he makes a promise to a girl to give the head of John the Baptist. It's not John's fault that his ministry ends so abruptly and that he's in prison for so long and discredited before the nation. That's not John's fault. He shouldn't be ashamed.

Well, I hope you'll forgive me. The fact that it's not John's fault, what in the world does that have to do with shame at all? Listen, victims feel shame as much as sinners do. I think you know that. Guilt is about sin. Shame is about disappointment. Life not going the way I expected. Things are not the way they were supposed to be. And you may feel shame over things that you have done wrong. But people who feel shame are those who have been abused and assaulted. Parents who did the absolute best job that they could and whose kids experienced and have done terrible things.

The faithful spouse to a divorce. The job performed well for decades and then let go from a company. And there are people who are not guilty at all who feel deep and abiding shame because victims feel shame as much as sinners. Even though John the Baptist is not guilty for being in prison, you must know that this is not the way he meant the story to end, nor would have wanted it. Surely he would have not just wanted to be the voice in the wilderness. Surely he would have wanted to be the voice in the temple at some point saying, "This is the one." And yet it doesn't happen. It doesn't go the way it's supposed to. What do you do when shame happens and you need the Lamb of God?

One of the more powerful expressions of this is from a man named Jerry Sittser, who wrote a book called A Grace Revealed after a car accident that claimed his wife and his mother and his daughter all at the same time. He wrote these words: "When the time comes to enter the darkness in which we are naked and helpless and alone, in which we see the insufficiency of our greatest strength and the hollowness of our strongest virtues, in which we have nothing of our own to rely on, then we find whether or not we live by faith."

I thought it peculiar the first time I read that, that here was a man who had lost everything through no fault of his own, and he starts talking about nakedness and being alone and not being able to rely on your own strength. These are words of shame. And you say, but you didn't do anything wrong. Why do you feel shame? Because life has not gone as you expected. There's the shame of being alone, of not having said "I loved you" enough when they were here, of not seeing ahead, of not being with them, of the anger at them and even at God for whatever lack of care let it happen. I know I shouldn't feel that way, but I do.

Somewhere in the tragedy of all of our lives is shame that we don't quite know what to do with because we're not guilty of it, but we know we shouldn't be feeling it. A brother in prison. A family not unfolding as it's supposed to. A daughter estranged. A son who is not living out the honorable life that we expected he would, though he demonstrated it so clearly in his youth. Fear of what the hospital is going to say. Anger that the hospital said what I never wanted to hear. And I know I'm not supposed to feel any of those things. What do I do with that?

Sittser comments, "I honestly wish there were another way. I wish I could assure you that the story of your life would unfold as conveniently and happily as the plot of a boring novel. But we have no choice but to let the mystery unfold, which requires faith. We choose to believe that God is working redemption when nothing in the world assures us that he is. Why would you believe in the midst of what brings you tears and shame that God is still working? Because of the Lamb of God, who not only takes away the sin of the world, but embraces the people who did not deserve his coming, nor know how to handle it when it happened."

I want you to hear clearly what I am saying. The antidote to sin is forgiveness. But the antidote to shame is acceptance. And the fact that God would send his Son as the Lamb means that he would look at people who are torn apart not just by their sin but by their shame and say, "I will make a way for you." It's so clearly stated in this Matthew with the 11th Chapter when ultimately recognized John has sent his messengers to ask the awful questions. Jesus ultimately responds and says in verse 11 of Chapter 11 of Matthew: "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

John the Baptist has failed so much of the test, and yet Jesus looks and says, "And there's still no one greater than him." He did what he had to do. He did the hard stuff. He's a great man. But listen, in the kingdom of heaven, even the least of its citizens is going to be greater than John the Baptist. How could that possibly be? Because of the great exchange. Because what we tremble about and are guilty of and are ashamed of has been exchanged for the honor and the righteousness and the goodness of Jesus Christ.

Behold what manner of love that God has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God. That he who knows the worst of our sin and the worst of our shame sent for us the Lamb of God. And when we know that and trust him, we don't just have forgiveness. We have acceptance. Behold what manner of love he has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God. And that is what you are as you believe in the Lamb of God.

My friend, if there is something that is weighing you down and causing you to worry or be anxious, I want to pray for you right now. Father, you know the difficulties I and my friends are experiencing. And you will provide as you know is best for our eternity. May confidence in this grace give us comfort in affliction and prepare us to share with others in need the greatness of your wisdom and your power and your love. We trust you. We love you because you first loved us. And so we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you'd like to hear more from Dr. Chapell, you can find a collection of valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from Pastor Bryan. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.