John 1:19-34: John the Baptist's Testimony

John 1:19-34:

John the Baptist's Testimony

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

June 28, 2009

I. Introduction

A. Please turn to John 1:19.

B. While you are turning....

Christian Herter was running hard for reelection as Governor of Massachusetts, and one day he arrived late at a barbecue. He’d had no breakfast or lunch, and he was famished. As he moved down the serving line, he held out his plate and received one piece of chicken. The governor said to the serving lady, "Excuse me, do you mind if I get another piece of chicken. I'm very hungry." "Sorry, I’m supposed to give one piece to each person," the woman replied. "But I’m starved," he repeated, and again she said: "Only one to a customer."

Herter was normally a modest man, but he decided this was the time to use the weight of his office, and said, "Madam, do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state." "Do you know who I am?" she answered. "I'm the lady in charge of chicken. Move along, mister."[1]

John the Baptist knew who he was and, more importantly, he knew who Jesus was.

II. Exposition

A. Background

1. We have concluded John's prologue (John 1:1-18) and are beginning to study the public ministry of Christ.

2. We are in the section with the earliest testimonies to Jesus Christ (John 1:19-51).

a. John has already baptized Jesus, and Jesus has spent 40 days being tempted in the wilderness.

b. Next week, we will look at Jesus' calling of the earliest disciples (John 1:35-51).

c. This week, we will look at John the Baptist's testimony to two different groups concerning Jesus Christ (John 1:19-34):

1) To the committee from Jerusalem (John 1:19-28).

2) To the crowd (John 1:29-34).

B. Exposition: John the Baptist's testimony (John 1:19-34)

1. To the committee from Jerusalem (John 1:19-28)

a. Question one: "Who are you?" (John 1:19-23).

1) Not the Christ (John 1:19-20)

^1:19This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ" (John 1:19-20).

a) "This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem"

i) John uses the phrase "the Jews" in the sense of "the Jewish leaders" (NET, NLT).

ii) John, a Jew himself, is not anti-Semitic!

b) "To ask him, 'Who are you?' And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ'"

i) The committee does not ask John if he were the Messiah.

ii) However, he knew prophetically what was on their minds.

iii) "Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ" (Luke 3:15).

iv) The Gk. Christos, the Heb. Meshiach, and the Aram. Meshiacha all mean the same thing, "the Anointed one."

v) John freely confessed that he was not the Messiah.

vi) John knew who he was, and he knew who Jesus was.

2) Not Elijah nor the prophet (John 1:21)

²¹ They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No" (John 1:21).

a) "They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not.""

i) The Jews expected Elijah because of Malachi's prophecy:

^4:5 "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. ⁶ "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse" (Mal 4:5-6).

ii) Elijah will be one of the two witnesses that will precede the Day of the LORD (Rev 11:3-12).

iii) Jesus said, "For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come" (Matt 11:13-14).

iv) Just as the Christ comes twice there are two "Elijah's":

(a) A non-literal one as the Messiah's forerunner when He comes to suffer.

(b) The literal one before the Day of the LORD when the Messiah will establish His rule.

b) "'Are you the Prophet?' And he answered, 'No'"

i) "The Prophet" refers to the second Moses predicted, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him." (Deut 18:15).

ii) John's answers get shorter and shorter.

(a) In Aram., he used four words, then two words, then only one.

(b) In Gk., five words, then two words, then only one.

3) A voice crying in the wilderness (John 1:22-23)

²² Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" ²³ He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said" (John 1:22-23).

a) This is a quote from Isa 40:3. Isaiah prophesied:

³A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; ⁵then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isa 40:3-5).

i) Only Isa 40:3 is quoted as referring to John the Baptist (Luke 1:76).

ii) The other two verses refer to the Day of the LORD (see Isa 2:12-15).

iii) Scripture is very precise.

iv) The Essenes also saw this prophecy as the basis for their community in the desert on the shores of the Dead Sea.[2]

b) John's preaching of repentance was preparation for the Messiah.

i) "R. Eliezer said: If Israel repent, they will be redeemed."[3]

ii) R. Levi said:

If Israel kept the Sabbath properly even for one day, the son of David would come.... R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, told Israel: 'Though I have set a definite term for the millennium which will come at the appointed time whether Israel returns to Me in penitence or not, still if they repent even for one day, I will bring it before its appointed time.'[4]

iii) The Gk. word translated "repent" means "to change your mind."

iv) It is not the same thing as faith.

v) However, it clears away the wrong thinking so that you can get into harmony with God.

c) Jesus is the Word; John was a voice; John knew that his place was to prepare for Jesus' coming.

b. Question two: "Why are you baptizing?" (John 1:24-28).

1) The source of the question (John 1:24-25)

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" (John 1:24-25).

a) "Now they had been sent from the Pharisees."

i) "Pharisee" (Heb. P^erûšîm) means "separated ones."

ii) The Pharisees believed in all of the OT, and also the oral traditions.

iii) They believed in the Resurrection and angels.

iv) Josephus said that there were about 6,000 Pharisees at this time.[5]

v) The Pharisees survived the rebellion against Rome and heavily influenced Rabbinical Judaism.

b) "They asked him, and said to him, 'Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?'"

i) The second question is about authority, not identity.

ii) Washings/baptism

(a) The Law prescribes many types of washing.

(b) The mikvah ("ritual bath") is the mark of Jewish communities for archaeologists.

(d) The Essenes at Qumran bathed several times a day.

2) Someone is coming (John 1:26-27).

²⁶John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie" (John 1:26-27).

a) "John answered them saying, 'I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.'"

i) John's baptism was only symbolic, only in water.

ii) John indicated that his successor was in the crowd and the committee did not know Him.

b) "It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

i) John considered himself unworthy to even be a follower of Jesus.

ii) "R. Joshua b. Levi ruled: All manner of service that a slave must render to his master a student must render to his teacher, except that of taking off his shoe."[7]

iii) John the Baptist considered himself unworthy to be even a slave.

iv) John the Baptist is true example of humility.

3) The location of these events (John 1:28)

²⁸These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing (John 1:28).

a) Location is uncertain though not the Bethany where Lazarus lived.

b) The general area was Perea (modern Western Jordan), which Herod Antipas controlled.

2. To the crowd (John 1:29-34)

a. Behold, the Lamb of God (John 1:29)!

²⁹The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

1) This begins a series of days, perhaps as long as a week, through chapter two.[8]

2) "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

a) The Passover lamb (Exod 12:22, 46) since Passover was near and John focuses on several Passovers.

b) The Suffering Servant (Isa 53:6-7), if John is thinking in terms that are more general.

c) Possible pun in Aram. with ðalyā' meaning both "servant" and "lamb."[9]

3) "Who takes away the sin of the world."

a) The extent of the atonement is the entire world.

b) "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

c) This makes the entire world savable, not saved.

b. He existed before me (John 1:30-31).

³⁰"This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' ³¹I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water" (John 1:30-31).

1) "A man is coming after me who ranks before me, for he existed before I was born" (BARCLAY).

2) Jesus was born six months after John (Luke 1:26) and began His ministry later than John, but, because of His preexistence, Jesus was before John the Baptist.

3) Jesus was related to John the Baptist (Luke 1:36), but there is no indication that they had any contact growing up.

c. He was manifested by the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-33).

³² John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit'" (John 1:32-33).

1) The Gk. word translated "I have seen" (theaomai) is a perfect tense verb indicating that the effect of the vision continues.

2) The Gk. verb theaomai means "to have an intent look at someth[ing], to take someth[ing] in with one’s eyes, with implication that one is esp[ecially] impressed."[10]

3) Isaiah predicted that the Holy Spirit would be upon the Messiah.

a) "The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him" (Isa 11:2).

b) "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isa 42:1).

c) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners" (Isa 61:1).

d) The image of the Holy Spirit as a dove goes back to Gen 1:2.

4) Jesus baptizes people with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16).

5) Jesus Christ is anointed with and baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

d. This is the Son of God (John 1:34).

³⁴"I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God" (John 1:34).

1) The Son of God is a central concept for John appearing 29 times in John's Gospel.

2) John has made it plain in his prologue that he considers Jesus Christ to be God in human flesh.

3) Jesus is God, the Son.

III. Applications

A. John the Baptist's Example

1. Like John the Baptist, we need to know who Jesus is. It is not about us; it is about Him.

2. Jesus is the Word; we also are only voices; our job is to prepare for Jesus' coming.

3. Like John the Baptist, we must have an attitude of humility.

B. How we look at Jesus Christ

1. Jesus Christ is the Sacrificial Lamb who makes the entire world savable.

2. Jesus Christ is anointed with and baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

3. Jesus is God, the Son.