John the Baptist

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Mark 6:7-13

“And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. And he charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, ‘Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ And they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”

Mark 6:30-32

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”

Exodus 12:11

“This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it hurriedly.”

Luke 3:7-8

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you, God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.'”

Mark 10:2

“And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?'”

Matthew 11:11

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

Memorable Quotes

“As a guy, I find that really good news because in the West we talk about the most important thing is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Well, that’s true, but as a guy, guys find significance in work and Jesus says to guys, ‘Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.'”

“Each one of us has a long way to go in that process, and so Jesus takes these twelve disciples — these disciples who misunderstand him — and he sends them out two by two.”

“Jesus does not make it a habit to fire his disciples. He knows that we are imperfect, and he knows that the longer we follow him and the closer we follow him, the more perfectly we will represent his character.”

“Jesus sends out the twelve to be a full and faithful representation of the one who sent them, and that is Jesus Christ. And if Jesus came to this earth teaching the good news, healing the sick, and casting out demons, that is what he sends his disciples out then to do and what he sends us out to do today.”

“There will always be mountains in your life; there will always be a reason not to do what God is calling you to do. The better way to do it is to say, ‘Lord, I’m going to be obedient to your commands. These are the mountains in front of me, and you’re just going to have to take care of them as and when I step out in faith.'”

“Nobody is holy or special to God simply through birth. No nation, no ethnic group, no congregation has a prior claim on God over and above the rest of humanity.”

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’ That does not matter to God. Each one of us is to bear fruit worthy of repentance.”

“The first thing they do is proclaim that all should repent. If the Holy Spirit is convicting you of something in your life over this last week, don’t harden your heart but turn away from that thing.”

“Being a follower of Jesus is not a guarantee to popular acclaim or applause or approval. Being a follower of Jesus means you follow Jesus wherever he leads, and if the path of Jesus took him to Calvary, then his disciples likewise must be willing to walk that bloody road.”

“Herod was a house divided. He was afraid of John himself and what he preached, but he was afraid of his guests and what they might say if he didn’t honor his oath.”

“If somebody loves you, how willing they are to speak truth to you shows how much they love you. If I have sin in my life and you come to me and say, ‘Brother, I want to talk about peace,’ you really don’t love me. If you love me, you tell me the truth and are willing to risk your friendship so that I might be saved.”

“John the Baptist spoke Heavenly truth to Earthly power. He was true to his calling as a messenger of God and he left the consequences in God’s hands.”

“In a world that hates truth, in a world that hates the Prince of Peace, in a world that would cancel you for speaking up, be a faithful ambassador and missionary of Jesus in whichever portion of the vineyard he’s called you to serve.”

Other Quotations

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from his poem “Who Am I?”

“Who am I? They often tell me I step from my cell’s confinement calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country house. Who am I? They often tell me I used to speak to my warders freely and friendly and clearly as though it were mine to command. Who am I? They also tell me I bore the days of misfortune equally, smiling proudly like one accustomed to win. Am I then really all that which other men tell of or am I only what I know myself of myself — restless and longing and sick like a bird in a cage struggling for breath as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for a caress, tossing in expectation of great events, powerlessly trembling for friends at infinite distance, weary and empty, at praying, at thinking, at making faint and ready to say farewell to it all? Who am I — this or the other? Am I one person today and tomorrow another, or am I both at once, a hypocrite before others and before myself, a contemptibly weakling? Or is something within me still like a beaten army fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved? Who am I? They mock me these lonely questions of mine; whoever I am, Thou knowest, oh God, I am Thine.”