John The Baptist - Humility - Character Hunter Study at Shadowing Enoch.

Boys and girls, humility means seeing yourself as God sees you. Not bragging or boasting about yourself, or your abilities, but understanding that you are a sinner who God loves and sent His Son to die for on the cross. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, He comes into your life and changes it into a beautiful thing! Just like that ugly little caterpillar changes into a beautiful butterfly, God changes us ugly sinners into beautiful children of God! Do we do this to ourselves? No, God does it! So, we don’t brag or be proud; we just thank God for doing His work in us.

There was a man in the Bible who was a very humble man; that means that he did not brag or boast about himself. The man’s name was John. God had chosen him long before he was even born to do a special job for God. Even John’s birth was a miracle!

John could have been proud about these things. He could have said “Look at me! I’m so special!” But he knew that would be a sin, and God is not pleased with sin. John also knew that whatever was special in his life was a gift from God, and God wanted him to be thankful and humble, not proud or boastful.

Let me tell you what John’s special job was. The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Bible said in Is. 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” John’s special job was to prepare the way for the Savior – the One God would send to take away our sins.

When God chooses you to do a special job for Him, He helps you to do it! Boys and girls, did you know, if you are God’s child – that means you have already asked Jesus to take away your sins and come into your heart – then God has a special job for you to do too?! Yes, He does! And, He doesn’t want you to be proud or bragging about it; He wants you to be humble & thankful, and to just say “Yes!” to God, that you will do whatever He wants you to do.

John probably didn’t know when he was your age the whole job that God wanted him to do. God only tells us those things when we are ready. But John knew that God loved him and had a special plan for his life. John said “yes” to God while he was young, and he kept saying “yes” to God all through his life. Have you said “yes” to God? First in letting Him come into your heart, and then in doing what God wants you to do? I hope so!

As John grew into a man, God started to tell John about what He wanted him to do – to prepare the way for God’s promised Savior. So, John did! He knew about the verses in the Old Testament that told about God’s Savior coming to take our sins away. John knew that he needed his sins forgiven by this Savior too! But John didn’t know who the Savior was going to be. He just understood that God would send Him.

Some people thought that John was the Savior! This could have made John very proud. But John always told the people, “No, it is not me! The one who is coming, I am not even worthy enough to untie His shoelaces or carry His sandals! He who is coming is so much greater than I — only He can take your sins away!”

John came to be known as “John the Baptist” because he would teach the people to repent. Repent means to be sorry for, and to turn away from your sins. John would teach them to trust in the Savior who would be coming to take their sins away. Then he would baptize the ones who did this in the Jordan River. Many people were curious about John because of his humble ways. He didn’t dress fancy or eat fancy. He wore an outfit made of rough camel’s hair. He ate locusts and wild honey. He didn’t care about these kind of things; he only cared about doing the job God told him to do.

One day, John’s cousin, Jesus, came out to the wilderness to be baptized. John knew his cousin. He knew that Jesus loved God! He knew that Jesus was very smart about God, smarter than John! But most of all, John knew that Jesus was good. Very very good! John had NEVER seen his cousin Jesus do anything wrong! John had done wrong; he knew he was a sinner, but what sin did Jesus need to repent of?!

When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John said to Jesus, “You should be baptizing me, not me baptizing you!” Jesus said, “Go ahead, baptize me, because this is what God wants.” So John did.

As Jesus came up out of the water, John saw the Holy Spirit come on Jesus in the form of a Dove, and John heard God the Father speak from Heaven saying “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!”

NOW John understood! Jesus was the One! The Only Perfect Son of God! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! The One John had been preparing the way for!!

John could have been so proud! He knew the truth! he knew Jesus! He had grown up with Him! God had chosen John to do this very special thing. Oh how proud John could be of himself!

But John was not proud. He was humble. Why had God chosen him – a sinner – to do this special thing? Jesus was the Special One, not John. John was just happy that God wanted him to prepare the way for Jesus. And John was happy that God had chosen to use him, even though he was a sinner.

John said something that is recorded in the Bible, that we all need to remember. He said this about Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease!” This means that Jesus needs to be bigger and more special in our lives everyday! And we need to be more humble.

Jesus had a job to do too. He had come to die. He had to die on the cross, not for his own sins, but for yours and mine, and even John the Baptist’s. Jesus did not stay dead! he came alive again which means He had the victory over sin.

Have you told Him you were sorry for your sins and asked Him to be your Savior? You can do that today!

Bible texts used for story: Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-17; John 1:29-34