John, a Great Preacher

Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, etc.

Jesus, in Matt 11:11 says that John the Baptist was the greatest man ever born. What made him so great?

1. He was willing to preach where conditions were difficult. He preached in the wilderness. He didn't have the advantage of a prestigious pulpit. He didn't even have a name of import. When he was born, his dad wrote, "his name is John," and everybody argued. Yet, that is what God chose.

2. His message was straightforward, "Repent!" There was no pussyfooting with this preacher. He laid the axe to the root of the trees and let the chips fall where they may. He was more than just a preacher, he was a prophet.

3. He preached Jesus, not himself. He demanded that he must decrease and that Christ must increase. He was not the hero of his own stories, but Jesus was lifted up.

4. He was humble. He told all of his admirers that he wasn't even worthy to untie Jesus' sandals. He felt unworthy to baptize the Lord.

5. He was simple. This evangelist had no Lear jets, no grand mansions, and no flashy clothes. He subsisted on locusts and honey and dressed in a scant camel hair girdle.

6. He wasn't afraid to call sin what it was. He gave it to the religious crowd and to Herod. He didn't go easy on the soldiers either. In the end, he lost his head for his straightforwardness.

7. He had a voice that carried enough for hundreds, even thousands to hear. Now that's lifting up the voice like a trumpet.

8. He was obedient to the Lord. Vs 15 says "he suffered him," meaning, he did what Jesus told him, even though everything in him went against it.

9. He had a key part in pleasing the Lord. 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

I can think of a few more reasons John was a great preacher: He was a Baptist preacher. He was an honest country boy. He had a relationship with Jesus. (They were cousins).

If Jesus were to sum up our lives and ministries, would He also find such kind words for us as He did for John?