The Book of John - 7

Introduction: We have looked at the prologue contained in verses 1-14.

Verses 15-18 give us a summary of John the Baptist’s declaration concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 15, we find the Word of God documents that John faithfully declared the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.”

John understood that this man, the Lord Jesus Christ was the God-man.

His statement, “…He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.” alludes to the fact of the Word’s eternal existence.

When we look at the life of John the Baptist, we discover His earthly family relation to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke chapter 1:36 tells us “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”

This word used here cousin gives the idea of a adjacent relative. Exactly what the relation is, other than being family, we do not know. However it is true nonetheless that this first witness which was to present the Lord Jesus Christ, was also a part of the Lord’s earthly family.

And as you would read that historical record that is given to us, you would come to find out that according to the flesh, John the Baptist was born before the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we will see later that this becomes doubly interesting when we discover that John the Baptist did not give His positive acknowledgement of the Lord until he saw the sign that God gave Him.

Beginning in verse 19, we will see the “record of John…” the Baptist.

As we begin in this section, we will be dealing with the Witnesses.

I. Prologue - The Revelation of the Word 1:1-14

A. The Word vs. 1-5, 9-14

1. The eternality of the Word. vs. 1a

2. The co-existence of the Word. vs. 1b-2

3. The deity of the Word. vs.1c

4. The Creator God: the Word. v3

5. The Word is life and the Light. v4-9

6. The Word was not recognized by the World. v10

7. The Word was rejected by His own. v11

8. The Word is received by some. v12-13

9. The Word was made Flesh. v14

II. The Chosen Witnesses of the Word 1:19-4:54

A. John the Baptist

John the Baptist is actually introduced to us back in verse 6.

We discover first about John in this Gospel that he was sent by God.

John 1:6 states, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”

This is not the penman for the book of John, but is rather referred to in other places as John the Baptist, or you might say John the one who baptizes.

In the book of Matthew and Mark, this particular name is used of him because he baptized upon peoples repentance toward God.

In the book of Luke he is even called in one place simply John Baptist. (Luke 7:20)

Many have joked in times past that the only “denomination” (and I use that term loosely for we are not a denomination) mentioned in the Bible is the Baptists.

But truly what

This passage teaches us the sacred truth, that all witnesses for Him are sent by Him. Those who witness for the Lord have always been sent ones.

And from this truth, we derive that saying often heard, “God always has a man, and God always has a people.”

When you look through the lens of history you find this to be true. It dovetails with the truth that our Lord and Savior will never leave us or forsake us.

We of course, can make the distinction that we are witnesses in this dispensation. In other words, we are to witness to, as we will see in a moment, what has been committed to us.

The truth is for you and I today, that we are sent ones according to the commission given to us in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48-49, John 20:21, and Acts 1:8.

This is such an important truth to understand.

Because we are sent on the authority of Him who holds all authority, we can freely go with the one true Gospel.

Some may think:

Who is it that gives you the right to tell me I must make a decision concerning the Lord Jesus Christ?

Who gives you the right to declare to me that all men are sinners and are separated from God?

Who gives you the right to declare that there is only one way to be saved and that is repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

The answer is…the highest authority; Almighty God.

Without this authority, we do not have the right to declare anything at all, because it is His Gospel and it is His creation.

Verse 7 tells us further that “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.”

In this is the purpose of every witness for the Lord.

We discover that we are here for a purpose.

It is another malady of the Christian to get lost in the mire of this world and forget his highest purpose.

There are many purposes that we may involve ourselves in. And yea, I would say there are many purposes that we involve ourselves in.

All of these purposes are not bad things neccessarily in of themselves. However, our highest purpose, or priority, is to be a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe that we must often come back to this and be reminded of this. And I understand that God in His Word reminds us of this often.

There is no doubt in my mind that our advesary the Devil would have us to soon forget our purpose by which we storm against the very gates of hell.

The Bible says concerning John, that his purpose was to be witness.

Now what was he to be a witness of? Or rather we should say it this way, Who was He to be a witness of?

The truth of the matter is that all men bear influence on other men. We say that all men have some sort of belief system in their heart and mind. All men also, are influencing other men. And so, we could ask the question, what is the thrust of our lives bearing witness of?

And more importantly who are we to be bearing witness of?

The Word of God answers this question as well. John was to bear witness of the Light.

In bearing witness of the Light, he would be preparing the way of the Lord.

In Isaiah chapter 40, as well as quoted by John himself in this chapter, we see the summary of John’s testimony.

In the other Gospel records you will find more specific details concerning John’s preaching.

But in

Isaiah 40:3-5

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill shall be made low: And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

Just as a side note, in our Bibles you will find that John the Baptist is mentioned in Isaiah chapter 40, and interesting enough the Gospel records begin with the 40th book of the Bible as we have it divided in our English Bibles.

Whether there is purpose of not in that I do not know, but it helps me to remember that the Isaiah passage there at the beginning of chapter 40 speaks of John the Baptist, as well as the subsequent chapters dealing with the comfort of the LORD and the coming Chosen Servant… the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 23 of our text, we see that John himself understood this to be speaking about him for he states in response to the questioning of the religious leaders, v23 “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”

John adheres to the Lord’s instructions for Him. God sent Him to bear witness of the Light. And so John, in obedience to the Lord, did what was asked of Him.

You’ll notice the humility and the passion of John’s preaching in this statement.

He saw himself as just a voice for the Lord, and He declared His message by crying with great fervor.

There is a further lesson for us in this understanding that by “preparing the way of the Lord” John was bearing “witness to the Light.”

You see John’s message encompassed more than just pointing out the Savior. As the Bible states, He was to “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

In Luke chapter 3, we find more details concerning the words of His message.

Let’s read it together as we think about this first witness presented to us in the book of John; John the Baptist.

Luke 3:1–18 KJV 1900

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

The lesson for us is this: the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ necessarily begins with bad news.

The bad news: of the state of man, and more specifically the one who is lost and undone… the individual, is neccesary for the context who the Lord Jesus Christ is.

In our commission, we are not just telling people who the Lord Jesus Christ is, although that is the primary part of the Gospel.

We are also telling folks, why the Lord Jesus Christ came, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done.

John foretold of the coming Savior and announced His arrival and what He would do. He prepared the people for His arrival.

You and I, however tell folks of the Savior who has already come and shed His blood for us, was buried and rose again and is alive forevermore seated on His throne of power. We tell them of the Savior who has conquered and destroyed the work of the devil. (I John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”)

We speak to folks of the necessity of His coming.

We speak to folks that all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that Jesus the Christ is their God and Savior.

We speak about repentance toward God and the necessity of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ (faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Acts 20:21).

In this, we too bear “witness to the Light.”

Well what specifically do we find in our text here, concerning John’s testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s begin by reading verse 19-28.

Notice with me first of all:

The Jews sent priests and Levites to question John.

This is intended to lay the connecting foundation of the encounters we will find in the rest of John leading up to the Lord’s rejection and crucifixion.

The “Jews” in question here, no doubt are the religious rulers for they sent two categories of folks to question John. They sent Priests and Levites. Not all Levites were priests. But all priests were Levites..from the tribe of Levi.

And to me when I read this text I get the impression of antagonism, but in fact what we see is a great temptation to honor ones self and to derail the witness and testimony of John.

They sent an ‘royal religious court of folks’ too question whether John were the Christ. We will find from the conversation that ensues, that their hopes were dashed and their indignation arises from John the Baptist following after the authority of God rather than the authorized channels of religion.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 3:5 that John’s fame was great.

Notice what the Bible says concerning him, “Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,”

In the book of Luke, we find in an exchange concerning John the Baptist, and discover that all men regarded John as a prophet. Luke 20:4-6 “The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.”

The Lord Himself speaking about John the Baptist testified to Him being a prophet and said the he was more than prophet. Matthew 11:9 “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.”

And so, what I am trying to declare to you is that John, by his Spirit empowered preaching was gaining great notoriety and so much so, the Jewish religious leaders send to him a delegation to question him as to whether he was the Christ or not.

I am reminded of the slippery temptation of pride that comes to those who proclaim truth in the power of God. For we find these words in I Timothy 3:6 concerning the office of a Pastor, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”

Imagine the great temptation of this faithful witness to take upon Himself the limelight and be lifted up in pride at these folks of notoriety coming to question John.

And there is wonderful lesson here for us concerning this.

John’s response reveals the solution to not being lifted up in this kind of spiritual pride. It is a right recognition of who we are before God.

He understood His position in the plans of God. He understood His mission and his task was to bear witness of the Light.

He understood the calling of God upon His life and even His unworthiness to even undue the latchet of the sandal of the Savior.

He refers to Himself simply as nothing more than a voice, to declare or sound out the coming of the Word.

The lesson concerning you and I is to keep are eyes upon the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

To always remain in conscience awareness of His holy and pure presence, that we understand truly who we are in relation to Him.’

Over and over again in the Scriptures, we see that man’s flesh will quickly turn from the One True Living God and fall into idolatry.

What we find next is very helpful and instructive.

See here in verse 19 the Bible says, John 1:19 “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?”

I just want to leave you with this phrase…and I want you to ponder it and think about it.

We need to answer this soul-searching question… Who are you?

John responded and next week when we come back we will consider his response to this question carefully.