Five Revolutionary Words John 1:14-28

McKay Caston | Creekstone Church

INTRODUCTION.
Eddie Johnsonplayed basketball intheNBA from 1981 through 1999a prolific18-year
professional career. In addition to scoring almost 20,000 points, Johnson is best remembered
for hitting the game-winning three-pointer as time expired for a 95-92 Houston Rockets win over
the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals.
Today, the well-respected, 55-year-old,6foot, 8inch Johnson lives in thePhoenixarea where
he is a sports commentator for Foxand is known for his involvement in community service.
Yet in 2006, his good name evaporated when the national sports media reported that Eddie
Johnson had been accused of sexual battery and burglary. His face was all over the news. And
although Eddie Johnson had committed those crimes, it was not the Eddie Johnson who lived in
Phoenix. The perpetrator, who eventually would be found guilty and serve a life sentence, was
another former NBA star with the same namea player nicknamedFast EddieJohnson. It
was a case of mistaken identity. But by the timethe report had undergone a correction in the
press, the innocent Eddie had received thousands of hate calls, emails, texts, and had been
condemned on blogs and online forumsall across the web. All Johnson could say was,I am
notFast Eddie!"
Have you ever been the object of mistaken identity,or been mistaken about the identity of
someone else? It happens to us all of the time. Ithappens when we mistake a spouse, a child,
aparentor friend for Jesus. You know what I mean. When we place upon someone else an
expectation of sinless perfection, or expect sinless perfection of ourselves. Some of us want to
be wanted and need to be needed. We want to be able to fix peoples problems. Some of us are
super ambitious, wanting to be great, be praised, and be recognizedas important, successful,
smart, talented. Whatever. But the good news is that there is only one Jesus. There is only one
Christ. And its not me and its not you. And this really is good news.
Can you see how powerful it would be if we could get our identity issues straight? On one
hand, we would be able to experience Gods grace in such a real, personal way that it would
lead to a life of freedom, humility and confidence. And being recipients of grace, we also would
be able to extend grace to others, allowing grace to flow not only to us, but through us.
That is why we must learn to cry out the five words from our passage that will revolutionize
our lives.Are you ready? Here they are. Five words, and they serve as our BIG IDEA.
BIG IDEA:I am not the Christ. I am not theanointed rescuer of God. I am not the Savior.
We are not the heroes of this story. Noah isnt. Moses isnt. David isnt.Nor are Peter, Paul
orJohn. Only Jesus is. And so our big idea is simple, but powerful and super-practical.I am not
the Christ." In fact, I want to share a number of practical, real-world implications with you...
EXPOSITION.
But first let's look at John 1:14-28, where the five revolutionary words are revealed.
Now, if youwerewith us last Sunday then yourememberthat the apostle John began with a
portrait of Jesus as the eternal God entering into this world to be the light of graceandtruth for
a world ofungrace, deception and sin. John called it the darkness. You alsorememberthat the
author of this gospel, the apostle John, is not the same John that is mentioned in chapter one.
The John in chapter one is Jesuscousin, who was known as John the Baptizer. Now, many
folks today know him as John the Baptist. However, calling him John the Baptist is a bit
confusing for folks new to the church, because Baptist as a denomination, like Presbyterian,

Lutheran and others,wasnt established as a denomination for another 15 centuries. Calling

Johnhe Baptistmakes folks think that maybe Peter was Pentecostal and Paul was
Presbyterian. But Jesuscousin, John, did baptize folks, something that well look at more
closely a bit later. But first, lets pick up in verse 14, which is a natural transition from last weeks
introduction of Jesus as the eternal,incarnate son of God.)
14The Word became fleshand made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,the glory
of the One and Only (or as some translations say,the only begotten),who came from the
Father, full of graceand truth. Now, there is so much we could say about this versean entire
sermon or even series of sermons. Yet for our purposes it is enough to realize that Jesus did not
come into existence at his physical birth, but was the pre-existent God when he entered the
world as a human person. The focus for us ison the testimony of John the Baptizer about this
Jesus.
15John testifiesconcerning (Jesus). He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who
comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.16From the fullnessof his
gracewe have all received one blessing after another. Literally, the Greek reads we have
received grace upon grace. Have you ever been to a cafeteria where the servers just pile it
on?We love that. No skimping! You are going to leave fulland satisfied. That iswhat Jesus
hasdone for usandcontinues to do for ushe heaps grace upon grace. Undeserved favor
upon undeserved favor. It never runs out!
17For the law was given through Moses;grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The point
is not to disparage the law of God or Moses, but to show how Jesus is not a mere lawgiver.
Jesus did not come primarily to show us how to be good little boys and girls. And he didn't come
to condemn those are not. Rather, he came to obey the law of Godin our place and then to be
condemned for those who have failed to obey it. So, Jesus came full oftruth. The truth that we
are sinners and need a savior.Andalong with the truth, he came full of graceby being that sinbearing savior for us.)
18No one has ever seen God,but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has
made him known.19Now this was John'stestimony when the Jewsof Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to ask him who he was.20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not
the Christ.(Evidently, John was a uniquely gifted orator, fully sold out to his mission of
proclaiming the need for repentance in preparation for the coming of the Christ. His using the
term Christ here is significant, because Christ is not a name, but a title. The title Christ
meansanointed or one who has been specially chosen and set apart by God for a unique,
redemptive task. It might help to know that the title Messiah, ormesshiah, is the Hebrew word
for the anointed one, while Christ, or Christos, is the Greek word for theanointed one. So, the
Christ would be the long-awaited Messiah who would be the Rescuer of Gods people. And so
John confesses freely,I am not the Christ.
21[So] they asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"He said, "I am not.(Remember in
the Old Testament there was a prophecy that one like the prophetElijah would be sent by God
at the time of the Christ) "Are you the Prophet?(In Deuteronomy, there is a prophecy that a
true prophet would come and fulfill the role of the ultimate prophet, or spokesperson for God.
Thatwould be Jesus) [So] John answered,No.22Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us
an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about
yourself?Buthimselfwasnt Johns focus, was it.23John replied in the words of Isaiah the
prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert,'Make straight the way for the Lord. John
wasnt the hero, just a herald; not the messiah, only a messenger.

24Now some Pharisees who had been sent25questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if
you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?(These Jewish folks who questioned John
were students of theHebrewBible, the Old Testament. There was expectation of God sending a
Deliverer, like he had sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of the
EgyptianPharaoh. And they were familiar with baptism. For them, baptism was a ceremony of
ritual cleansingthathad been practiced as far back as the formation of the Jewish priesthood.
For example, when a priest was ordained, another priest would pour water over the candidate
as a sign of ceremonial cleansing. And yet the one who performed this ceremonial cleansing
had to himself be a recognized, ordained member of the priesthood. Of course, Johns father,
Zechariah, was a priest, meaning that Johnthe Baptizerwasa priesttoo, and at just over 30
years old, John had recently himself been ordained in the manner that priests had been
ordained for two thousand years.But his baptism was only ceremonial and preparatory,
representing the true cleansing provided through the sacrifice of the one who would be
calledthe lamb of God,Jesus.)
26"I baptize withwater,"John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know.27He is
the one who comes after me,the strings of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.28This all
happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,where John was baptizing. And so with
remarkable conviction and humility, John openly and freely confesses, I am not the
Christ.Saying that gave him a freedom to be who he was without having to be someone he
wasnt. He didnt have to fit into anyone elses mold or meetanyoneelsesfalseexpectations. If
you and I can embrace those five words, I am convinced that our lives really will be
revolutionized.
ILLUSTRATION TO SET UP APPLICATION
If you are a student of history, then you probably have seen the photograph of President John
F. Kennedy in the Oval Office standing with his hands on his desk, facing the window, looking
down,intensely contemplatinghis nextmove in the Cuban Missile Crisis, whichwas a 13-day
confrontation in October of 1962 between the United States and theSoviet Unionover ballistic
missiles that the Soviets had deployed inCuba, just 90 miles off of the US coast. And in October
of62more Soviet ships were on their way to Cuba carrying nuclear warheads. So, President
Kennedy authorized a naval blockade of the Soviet ships. And as the moment of confrontation
drew near, the world waited to see whether Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchevwould turn his ships
back or if he would have them press forwardthrough the blockade, which very possibly, even
likely, wouldlaunch the worlds superpowers into a full-scale nuclearwar. Thankfully,
negotiationsbetween Kennedy and Khrushchev prevailed and World War III was averted.
When I consider the immensity of pressure that Kennedy faced, making decisions that
were in conflict with top military advisors, knowing that he was standing ontheprecipice of
nuclear war, I am thankful that serving as President of the United States is not a role to which I
have been called. I love my job, and it brings me great joy to confess freely,I am not the
President!
It also brings me great joy, relief and freedom to confess, "I am not the Christ!"
Now, I told you that I wanted to share some revolutionary implications of being able to
this. So, I have four things that saying I am not the Christwill mean...
1) We can'tsave ourselves. There is NOTHING we can do to save ourselves from the eternal
condemnation our sinful rebellion against God deserves. Nothing. On the surface this sounds
like terrible news, but I assure you it is glorious news! You see, the Bible does not offer us a set
of instructions about how to saveourselves by being reconciled to God with good behavior.

Although, moralistic religion has misinterpreted the Bible that way.Andmany of us grew up in
that kind of context, which was long on moral expectations,but short on grace. But the gospel is
not a set of instructions about what we must do. The gospel is theproclamation about what
Jesus has already done as our sin-bearer and righteousness provider! This means that our
struggle to be forgiven, accepted and loved. Is. Over! This is huge!
Saying,I am not the Christmeansthis:
2) Our sin does notruin our testimony. It is the reason for our testimony.In Evangelical
Christianity, we say that when we or someone else really blows it that we have "ruined our
testimony. But to say that a moral failure ruins my testimony is to say that my testimony as a
Christian is about my goodness. But that actually is the opposite of a Christian testimony, which
focuses NOT on my goodness, but exclusively on Gods grace to me in Jesus. I am not the
Christ! Jesus is!And so my sin does not ruin my testimony; it is the reason for my testimony!
Now, this is not an excuse for my sin. Just a reality. And believing that God's grace is greater
than my sin actually empowers me to experience genuine, spiritual transformation, because it
sets me free from the powerlessness of religious moralismand unites me to the One who is
able to produce authentic, and even beautiful spiritual fruit in and through me.
Understanding this is especially important for parents. Because if we even imply to our
children that Christianity is essentially about good behavior, then we have destroyed the true
message of the Bible. Christianity does not say the good are in and the bad are out; it says that
the humble are in and the proud are out. Meaning, the self-righteous who refuse to humble
themselves before the cross are the ones who areout. But those who are willing to admit that
they need grace, and grace alonethat their only hope is themercy of God demonstrated at
the crosstheyare the ones who arein.So my sin does not ruin my testimony. It is the reason
for my testimony. Thats number 2.
Saying,I am not the Christalso meansthis:
3) Thereare no great people, only a great Savior. Jesus later will claim that no man eclipsed
John's greatness. And yet, this John saw himself as unworthy even to untie the strings on Jesus'
sandals, which in that culturewas the role of a common servant. John is saying,Imnot even
worthy to be a servant of Jesus." Its like ranking high school football teams. There might bea
clear, dominant number one. But compared to any professional team, there really is no
comparison. Its the same way with humanity and Jesus. So, itbehooves me to believe thatIm
not the Christ. Jesus is.
So, dont turn any human leader, pastor,or a boyfriend, a spouseor a coach or even a
parent or a child into your Jesus. And here is a very practical reasonreason why: there is no
way to love someone whom you expect to be sinless and without struggles. You will continually
be let down and discouraged. But when I recognize that they are not the Christ, then I can love
them, not as a reward for their goodness, but asan expression of grace. So, maybe we should
lower the bar of expectation and see what happens! Maybe we will experience more peace;
maybe they will experience more grace. You see, there are no great people; only a great Savior.
Saying,I am not the Christmeansthis:
4) The expectations of others no longer have to control me. And isnt that the
waythatmany of us live. We dont ask, who am I and what am I called to do? Rather we ask,
who do they expect me to be and what do they expect metodo? For some of us, we are
expected to be the Christ. We are expected to intervene in our extended familys problems and
be the fixer. And when we either try and fail, or refuse to endure the pressure of being

someone's savior, they tell us how disappointed they are in us. So, when we forsake our true
identityand callingin Christ for an identity definedand validated by theexpectationsof others,
we will live in perpetual fear of notdisappointing people.But being the servant of the messianic
expectations of others is not who Jesus has called us to be. SinceJesusis the Christ, I dont
have to be. I wonder if this is how David felt when he took off Saulsarmor inpreparation for his
battle with Goliath. Finally, the extra weight was removed and he was free to use his sling
instead of Sauls sword. The good news is that Jesus came to bear the burdenas Savior for us.
So, know who you are NOT. "Iam not the Christ."
But also,knowwho you ARE.
Walter McMillian was convicted of killing 18-year-old Ronda Morrison at a dry cleaner in
Monroeville, Alabama in 1986. Three witnesses testified against McMillian, while six
witnesses, who like McMillan were black, testified that he was at a church fish-fry at the time of
the crime. Although a case of mistaken identity, McMillian was found guilty and held on death
row for six yearsall the while claiming his complete innocence.
An attorney named Bryan Stevenson decided to take on the case to defend McMillian on
appealand with Stevenson's representation, in 1993, McMillian was exonerated and set free,
but not without emotional scars. One of those scars being early-onset dementia. Stevenson
reported that, "Many of the doctors believed [the dementia] was trauma-induced due to his near
execution."
So even after McMillian was free from prison and fullyexonerated, in his mind he was still
condemned.He was free, but nowlivingin the psych ward of a mental hospital. When his
attorney would visit him, McMillian wouldcontinaullytell his lawyer,Please help! Please, you've
got to get me offofdeath row.He justcouldntbelieve that he had been set free.
Of course, for us, its even worse, isnt it? After all, McMillian was wrongly convicted, but we
are rightly convicted! And in the same way that McMillan struggled to believe that he was free,
many of us who profess to be disciples of Jesus are living the same way. Although the cross
tells me that I have beenfully exonerated, in my mind I am still condemned.
This is why we need to hear the gospel proclaimed to us over and over and over. Because
in our spiritual dementia we forget who we really are in Christ. And so we need to be freshly
reminded and convinced that in Christ we really are fully forgiven, perfectly accepted as
righteous and dearly loved sons and daughters of the Fathernot just tolerated, but treasured.
Because of Jesus, I am not condemned. I have been set free as a recipient
of immeasurable grace.
I am not the Christ. But Jesus is!