Disciple: John the Baptist

In the cycle of the judges, we saw that the Israelites really struggled to follow God. They wanted to go their own way, rather than God’s way. That kept them stuck in a cycle of sin. But is that how God’s follower’s should live? No way! 

God’s followers are to live as his disciples – going the way He directs, even when they are tempted to follow sin instead. At the crossroad, we should choose to take the path that leads to the cross — it is an opportunity to make the most of, just like we saw through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

So how can we live and act as disciples, the way God’s followers should? That exact question was asked long ago—

Psalm 119:9a | How can a young person stay pure?

In other words, how can we stay on the path God has for us, rather than stumbling into the cycle of sin-death-repentance over and over again? 

It’s not easy. In fact, Jesus says—

Luke 9:23 | “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” 

Following Jesus as a true disciple requires giving up your own way to go God’s way. And that cross that our theme verse says to take up is not always easy to carry. We see a clear example of the disciple, our theme verse describes, in Jesus’ forerunner— John the Baptist. 

Gabriel tells Zechariah that his son John (later known as John the Baptist or John the Baptizer) would have a special purpose— 

Luke 1:17b | He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. 

In fact, John fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 40:3, as the messenger that came before the Messiah–the Promised Savior. 

John didn’t live like other people lived. He didn’t care about worldly possessions, success, or being well liked by others. His lifestyle seems crazy— he hangs out by the river wearing clothes made from camel’s hair and his food is locusts and honey. 

He also didn’t care about what people thought of Him. He had some enemies and later would be murdered for his message, which was about God’s judgment and the eternal fire reserved for those who would not follow the one coming after Him (Jesus). He told everyone who could hear — 

Matthew 3:2 | “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

And to those who claimed to be believers, he said—

Matthew 3:8 | Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

John diligently followed God — he believed in Him and looked forward to the Promised Messiah because he knew God’s promises and lived a life obeying God’s commands so he could proclaim the Savior to others. 

We see through John’s example what a true disciple (follower of God) really looks like. They— 

  • Believe in Jesus as God’s plan for salvation 

  • Know His commands through His Word and a relationship with Him

  • Obey His ways

  • Proclaim Him to others. 

John did this faithfully, even though it cost him worldly comfort, worldly success, worldly friends, and ultimately, his life. While this seems extreme, Jesus asked—

Luke 9:25 | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

John knew that pursuing the Lord was more important than pursuing worldly things. All the money, possessions, success, and fame of this world is meaningless and will always leave us empty. 

Like our theme verse says, John laid down worldly ways and his own desires to follow the Lord— 

Luke 9:23 | Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Are you a follower of Jesus? Have you believed in Him by repenting of your sin and turning to God? Have you grown to know Him and His ways and then proven you are repentant through your obedient living? And like John, do you proclaim salvation faithfully to others, no matter the cost? 

  • Read Luke 9:23. What does a true disciple or follower of God look like? 

    • How does this describe John? 

    • Does this describe you? In what ways or why not? 

  • Does anything about John surprise you? Why did John choose to live this way? 

  • Which of the following distracts you as a disciple? 

    • Money

    • Possessions

    • Success

    • Fame/Popularity

  • What is God asking you to do with that distraction as His disciple? [If you’re not yet sure, ask Him!]

Family DevoFamily Ministry TeamDisciple