2. The witness of John the Baptist, 1.6-8, 15, 19-34
“And this is the record of John (the Baptist)…”, 1.19. Now for anything to be considered an official record, it must meet certain criteria. For example, is it factual? Is it relevant? Is it clear? Well, you can be sure that John’s record, or witness of Jesus is all that and more. So far as the people of his day were concerned, and so far as our study is concerned, all the questions asked of John, and the answers that have been recorded for us must be critical, or they would never have been preserved here by God.
Now apparently, the Jews had sent a delegation of priests and Levites out into the region beyond Jordan (v.28) to ask John who he was and what he was up to. You see, John had appeared on the scene as one “preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3.3), and he didn’t have the proper credentials (degrees in theology, as we would say today), to instruct in the word of God as a bonafide teacher of the people. So we have in essence, an interview committee, sent to find out who John was, and on whose authority he spoke.
Now John had been given a very important role in the introduction of Jesus to His earthly ministry. As we read in Luke 1.67-80, his birth had occurred exactly within God’s timing and purposes. But he was not one of the Old Testament prophets, returned as had been supposed by the Jews, nor was he the Christ, of Whom those prophets had prophesied. As Jn. 1.6 clearly states, he was a man, sent from God (Mtt. 3.3), to prepare…”the way of the Lord”. This is what had been prophesied in Isaiah 40.3,4, as well as in Malachi 4.5,6; the Jews were looking for the Christ (v. 20). In fact, John’s claim was not to be the “Word”, but rather, the “voice” of one crying in the wilderness. He was a messenger of the beginning of the dispensation of Grace! And in vss. 31-33 he gives the very clear and important difference between his water baptism, and Jesus’ Spirit baptism; and he clearly knew and believed, that he wasn’t even worthy to untie the Lord’s shoelaces! And the humility he showed, as recorded in v. 30, to make way for the One Who was before him! John was just the messenger...Jesus is the Message! He is the One, as stated in v. 29, sent by God to be the only Lamb Who could literally…”take away the sin of the world!”
Just think of all the sacrifices and all the slain lambs from Adam to Malachi, simply bleeding testimonies of the prophesied eternal Lamb of God! Remember that those Jews, at that time, were not looking for a Lamb, they were looking for a lion; one who would tame Rome, and put down their oppressors forever. Their interest was not in sacrifice, it was in sovereignty! They wanted their Christ on a throne, not knowing that rather, they would offer Him up, the last Sacrifice, on the altar of His cross. Is it really any different with people in the world today? Our society would gladly accept Jesus as a social reformer, or as a teacher of ethics, when what we really need is the Lamb, for sinners slain!
“And John bare record…” as v. 32 states; and he…”saw and bare record that this is the Son of God”, v.34, and his record is of Jesus’…
- pre-existence, v. 15
- His Lordship, v. 23
- His superiority, v. 27
- His sacrifice, v. 29
- His spiritual work, v. 33 and
- His relationship to God, v. 34
And thereby, our relationship to Him…”the children of God…heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”, (Ro. 8.16,17)! Thank-you, Jesus!
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