Having introduced John the Baptist in the previous article, before we talk about his message much more, though, let’s read a couple more verses (along with Mark 1:4-6 from the preceding article).
And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:7-8 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.1.7-8.NIV
Now that we have a little bit more complete picture of what John was teaching, let’s remind ourselves that Christians also have a role (ref. verses 2-3) in preparing hearts and minds for Jesus. So, even though our place in history is a little different from John’s, we can probably learn some lessons from him.
First, how did John make straight paths and prepare the way for Jesus? Let’s wait a little longer to talk about baptism, since upcoming verses mention something else about that; however, baptism was certainly part of John’s ministry. Confession and repentance were also part of John’s message. And, John told people about who the Messiah would be (although Jesus was around, but not yet recognized by many as the Messiah), and what the Messiah would do.
Going back to confession and repentance, these often go together. However, I think that they relate to part of the gospel message of salvation that sometimes gets overlooked. Let’s work backwards a little bit:
- For someone to accept Jesus as their Savior, they need to understand why they need to be saved in the first place.
- And, for someone to understand that they need to be saved from sin, they must understand what sin is.
- In order to define sin, though, there needs to be a standard of right and wrong (rather than a bunch of human opinions or relying on feelings). And, a universal standard of morality requires a Source that transcends humankind. We know that Source to be God, the creator of the universe, but not everyone knows – or acknowledges – that yet.
- Finally, if the consequences of sinning include separation from God, lost people must understand how good God is, and why being separated from Him is so bad (both in eternity, and during our time on this earth).
I’m afraid that some people aren’t interested in Jesus because they don’t realize that they have a problem that must be fixed before they die. While some “hellfire and brimstone” teaching may over-emphasize sin, if someone hasn’t learned that there is a good God who decides what right and wrong is, trying to explain why everyone needs to be saved from the consequences of doing wrong things doesn’t make a lot of sense without some context.
Having worked back to the root cause of the problem, let’s return to confession and repentance. Confession is acknowledging that we have sinned, while repentance is choosing to turn away from future sin. Both of these also affirm respect for God’s authority to determine what right and wrong are, and both confession and repentance (at least, the kind that John the Baptist led people towards) show that we want to do what is right in God’s sight.
I wonder, too, how much this “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” was an act of faith. Although Jesus hadn’t yet died for these people’s sins (i.e., those who were confessing and repenting at the teaching of John the Baptist), they could bank on the fact that He was about to do so, and that His sacrifice would pay for their sins. (Remember, under the Mosaic Law, which was still in force at the time of John’s message, no amount of animal sacrifices could fully pay for anyone’s sins.) I’m not sure if the people in John’s time understood all of this, but some may have started to get the idea.
John also let people know that the Messiah would be greater than him and that Jesus would bring the Holy Spirit. The fact that Jesus is greater than us is still a good reminder for followers of Jesus, today. And, just as both John and Jesus promised, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples after He returned to heaven (after His resurrection). The Holy Spirit not only empowered Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit also dwells in Christians today.
So, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, does your message to a lost and hurting world sound like that of John the Baptist’s? While there’s more to the good news about Jesus than these few verses about John’s message, much of what John taught still applies to telling people about Jesus today. May our lives include not only personal examples of confession, repentance, and baptism, but also truthful teaching about the reality of who God is and how much He wants to save everyone from the penalty of our sins.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 31, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 