John 10:39-42 — John the Baptist was already dead. Months later, men were still

believing on Jesus because of what he'd said. You can bury a preacher. You cannot

bury a testimony.

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • August 30, 2026.

This expository preaching message continues our verse-by-verse series through the

Gospel of John, tracing Jesus back across the Jordan to the very riverbank where John the Baptist first preached "Behold the Lamb of God." By the time we reach John 10, John the Baptist has been dead for some time — beheaded by Herod. Yet his testimony is still producing believers on that same ground. This verse-by-verse exposition asks what it means that a dead man's preaching is still working.

If you've ever wondered whether your faithfulness matters after you're gone — whether quiet, unspectacular ministry actually accomplishes anything lasting — this expository preaching message walks through John 10:39-42 to show that the answer is yes. Fleeing Jerusalem's stones, Jesus withdraws to the Jordan, where John once baptized. Many resort to Him there. Many believe.

This sermon connects John 10:39-42 to Exodus 12 (the Passover lamb — "a lamb," "the lamb," "your lamb"), Matthew 3 (John's confrontation of the Pharisees and Sadducees), and Joshua 4 (the twelve stones buried in the Jordan, "there unto this day"). It traces how ground prepared by faithful preaching, years earlier, becomes the very place where Christ is received — even after the preacher is gone.

This verse-by-verse teaching through John walks through the text, explaining:

- Why Jesus withdraws to the place of John's baptism rather than a new location

- How John's confrontation of the Pharisees in Matthew 3 connects to Joshua's buried stones

- The doctrine of salvation traced through Exodus 12: a lamb, the lamb, your lamb

- Why John's ministry needed no miracle or spectacle to be effective

- How a dead man's testimony kept "walking" men across the river long after his death

- Why opposition in one place (Jerusalem) often signals a harvest breaking out elsewhere (Jordan)

- What it means for "many" — not a few — to believe on Christ at Jordan

- The application: this room is somebody's Jordan, prepared by someone's faithfulness

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