Many years ago, I served in a retreat for youth and young adult group.
It was a time to think deeply about identity.
I gave a piece of paper to youth members and asked them to freely answer the question, “Who am I?”
After writing answers we shared what we wrote.
Various answers were shared.
Most of the answers were about their names.
"My parents are so and so" or "So and so is my friend or relative.”
These were their answers.
Some youth members said “I go to so and so school" and some young adult members said, "I am now doing this or that as my job."
There were also answers like, "I like to do this, I'm good at that, and I want to do this.”
Many different answers were shared.
Anyway, I learned that people understand their own identity most when they describe their relation to someone else.
Relationships with family, relationships with friends, or even relationships in the community to which they belong identifies who they are themselves.
Who do you think you are?
How would you answer the question, “Who am I?"
How would you respond to your identity?
Today’s text tells the story of a man who had encountered this question about 2,000 years ago at the Jordan River.
His name was John the Baptist.
Who was John the Baptist?
We all know what it means when we say, "has the same name?”
It's the same name but not the same person.
So, there can be many people with the same name.
I once searched my name on the internet to see how many people shared my name.
I searched in Korean and even typed it in English as "Bae Sun Kim" and found at least twenty other people.
It surprised me when I saw so many other people using the name, “Bae Sun Kim.”
So, I looked at what kind of people they were and found everyone very different.
There was a police officer named Bae Sun Kim, there were public officials, there were also students.
The area also varied from people living in Seoul, living in Busan, and living in Jeju Island.
I lived alone in the United States.
Ages ranged from young children to adults in their 50s.
Even more surprising, there were four women who shared the same name with me.
I thought, even an unpopular name like mine is shared by 20 other people, imagine those with more common names and think about how many people have the same name.
I came to think…to answer the question, Who am I? by saying, “I am Bae Sun Kim” is not an accurate description of my identity.
The same is true of the name “John” in today’s text.
There are several people in the Bible named John.
So, when you read the Bible, it can get confusing if you don't read it carefully.
There are at least five or more, and the most confusing of them is John the Baptist and the Apostle John.
John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah the priest, and his mother was Elizabeth.
John the Baptist had a prophetic role, baptized on the Jordan River, and was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and eventually sentenced to death.
Jesus spoke of John the Baptist by saying that he was better than any man given birth by a woman.
The Apostle John was from Bethsaida in Galilee, his father was Zebedee, his mother was Salome, his brother was James, and he was a fisherman.
Apostle John was first a disciple of John the Baptist and then followed Jesus later.
The apostle John was one of Jesus' 12 disciples who was loved by Jesus, and he also wrote the Gospel of John, which we are reading today, as well as 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and Revelation.
He was devoted to the Gospel and the church, and was even called the pillar of the Early Church.
In addition to these two, John the Baptist and the Apostle John, there are three other Johns mentioned in the Bible.
Therefore, you should not confuse one for the other.
Today, I would like to focus on John the Baptist.
John the Baptist lived a distinct life from a young age.
When he was older, John the Baptist would go out into the wilderness and begin crying out to the people of Judah while eating locusts and wild honey.
Many began to listen to his message and came to the Jordan River as a sign of repentance and were baptized.
As the ministry of John the Baptist became more and more known in Jerusalem, the Jewish people, the religious leaders of the day, sent people to ask questions.
"Who are you?"
John the Baptist answered this question clearly.
He made sure to let them know who he was and the work he was doing.
Let me be a little more specific.
Now, at the question of “Who are you,” John the Baptist made it clear of who he was not.
In other words, when asked, “who are you” John did not answer, "I am so and so.”
Instead, John the Baptist replied, “I am not…”
John the Baptist made it clear that he was not Christ, the Savior promised by God.
Then the people asked, "Then are you Elijah?"
Because the Old Testament records that before the Messiah came Elijah would come and turn the hearts of the people to the Lord.
John told them he was not Elijah.
So, the people asked again, “Then are you the prophet?”
John told them he was not the prophet.
Brothers and sisters, John the Baptist answered this way because he had a clear understanding of his identity.
At the time, John the Baptist was a spiritual leader widely known to people in Jerusalem and Judea.
He knew that people would assume he was the Messiah they were waiting for.
It shows how John the Baptist was very influential in those days.
John the Baptist could have said, "I am the one ..." and people would have believed.
But John the Baptist had a clear identity of himself.
He had a clear idea of his work.
He had a clear understanding of the boundary that he could not cross.
He was convinced that he was not a star in God's work of salvation, but to support.
He made it clear that he was not Christ but came to prepare the way of Christ.
It’s true.
Many people see themselves and fail to identify who they really are.
Sometimes we hear others praise us and mistake ourselves as greater than we really are.
We boast and think we are bigger when we are no better.
We forget and think we have the leading role when we are only supporting.
In the same way, those who are served forget they also need to serve.
We think we are glorious, even though we are nothing before God.
We think that even though our faith is so little, we comfort ourselves in thinking we are great.
Former Secretary of State Alexander Hague made this mistake during former US President Reagan’s presidency.
When President Reagan was shot in 1981, Hague acted as if he was the one who would take over the presidency.
This led to his resign as Secretary of State.
It was because of his mistaken identity.
Brothers and sisters, we need to know who we are.
We need to know who we are and we need to know our limits.
20190818 Sunday Worship Sermon
“Who am I?" (John 1: 19-34)
Many years ago, I served in a retreat for youth and young adult group.
It was a time to think deeply about identity.
I gave a piece of paper to youth members and asked them to freely answer the question, “Who am I?”
After writing answers we shared what we wrote.
Various answers were shared.
Most of the answers were about their names.
"My parents are so and so" or "So and so is my friend or relative.”
These were their answers.
Some youth members said “I go to so and so school" and some young adult members said, "I am now doing this or that as my job."
There were also answers like, "I like to do this, I'm good at that, and I want to do this.”
Many different answers were shared.
Anyway, I learned that people understand their own identity most when they describe their relation to someone else.
Relationships with family, relationships with friends, or even relationships in the community to which they belong identifies who they are themselves.
Who do you think you are?
How would you answer the question, “Who am I?"
How would you respond to your identity?
Today’s text tells the story of a man who had encountered this question about 2,000 years ago at the Jordan River.
His name was John the Baptist.
Who was John the Baptist?
We all know what it means when we say, "has the same name?”
It's the same name but not the same person.
So, there can be many people with the same name.
I once searched my name on the internet to see how many people shared my name.
I searched in Korean and even typed it in English as "Bae Sun Kim" and found at least twenty other people.
It surprised me when I saw so many other people using the name, “Bae Sun Kim.”
So, I looked at what kind of people they were and found everyone very different.
There was a police officer named Bae Sun Kim, there were public officials, there were also students.
The area also varied from people living in Seoul, living in Busan, and living in Jeju Island.
I lived alone in the United States.
Ages ranged from young children to adults in their 50s.
Even more surprising, there were four women who shared the same name with me.
I thought, even an unpopular name like mine is shared by 20 other people, imagine those with more common names and think about how many people have the same name.
I came to think…to answer the question, Who am I? by saying, “I am Bae Sun Kim” is not an accurate description of my identity.
The same is true of the name “John” in today’s text.
There are several people in the Bible named John.
So, when you read the Bible, it can get confusing if you don't read it carefully.
There are at least five or more, and the most confusing of them is John the Baptist and the Apostle John.
John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah the priest, and his mother was Elizabeth.
John the Baptist had a prophetic role, baptized on the Jordan River, and was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and eventually sentenced to death.
Jesus spoke of John the Baptist by saying that he was better than any man given birth by a woman.
The Apostle John was from Bethsaida in Galilee, his father was Zebedee, his mother was Salome, his brother was James, and he was a fisherman.
Apostle John was first a disciple of John the Baptist and then followed Jesus later.
The apostle John was one of Jesus' 12 disciples who was loved by Jesus, and he also wrote the Gospel of John, which we are reading today, as well as 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and Revelation.
He was devoted to the Gospel and the church, and was even called the pillar of the Early Church.
In addition to these two, John the Baptist and the Apostle John, there are three other Johns mentioned in the Bible.
Therefore, you should not confuse one for the other.
Today, I would like to focus on John the Baptist.
John the Baptist lived a distinct life from a young age.
When he was older, John the Baptist would go out into the wilderness and begin crying out to the people of Judah while eating locusts and wild honey.
Many began to listen to his message and came to the Jordan River as a sign of repentance and were baptized.
As the ministry of John the Baptist became more and more known in Jerusalem, the Jewish people, the religious leaders of the day, sent people to ask questions.
"Who are you?"
John the Baptist answered this question clearly.
He made sure to let them know who he was and the work he was doing.
Let me be a little more specific.
Now, at the question of “Who are you,” John the Baptist made it clear of who he was not.
In other words, when asked, “who are you” John did not answer, "I am so and so.”
Instead, John the Baptist replied, “I am not…”
John the Baptist made it clear that he was not Christ, the Savior promised by God.
Then the people asked, "Then are you Elijah?"
Because the Old Testament records that before the Messiah came Elijah would come and turn the hearts of the people to the Lord.
John told them he was not Elijah.
So, the people asked again, “Then are you the prophet?”
John told them he was not the prophet.
Brothers and sisters, John the Baptist answered this way because he had a clear understanding of his identity.
At the time, John the Baptist was a spiritual leader widely known to people in Jerusalem and Judea.
He knew that people would assume he was the Messiah they were waiting for.
It shows how John the Baptist was very influential in those days.
John the Baptist could have said, "I am the one ..." and people would have believed.
But John the Baptist had a clear identity of himself.
He had a clear idea of his work.
He had a clear understanding of the boundary that he could not cross.
He was convinced that he was not a star in God's work of salvation, but to support.
He made it clear that he was not Christ but came to prepare the way of Christ.
It’s true.
Many people see themselves and fail to identify who they really are.
Sometimes we hear others praise us and mistake ourselves as greater than we really are.
We boast and think we are bigger when we are no better.
We forget and think we have the leading role when we are only supporting.
In the same way, those who are served forget they also need to serve.
We think we are glorious, even though we are nothing before God.
We think that even though our faith is so little, we comfort ourselves in thinking we are great.
Former Secretary of State Alexander Hague made this mistake during former US President Reagan’s presidency.
When President Reagan was shot in 1981, Hague acted as if he was the one who would take over the presidency.
This led to his resign as Secretary of State.
It was because of his mistaken identity.
Brothers and sisters, we need to know who we are.
We need to know who we are and we need to know our limits.
Well,