John 1:19-28 | This Is My Testimony

INTRODUCTION:

Jenny Story at Starbucks.

TENSION:

Your life should be different.

Your life should cause questions (Jn 1:19-23);

You should be weird to this world.

The answer is always Jesus (Jn 1:24-28).

You might be the first picture of Jesus people see, make sure you’re not the only one.

POINT 1 (Jn 1:19-23): You’re life should cause questions.

John 1:19 ESV

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

Testimony of John - This is the witness of John the Baptist.

Jews sent priest and Levites - Jews, the leader of the Jews. They must be powerful if they can command the priest and Levites.

Who are you? -Likely a few years before Jesus shows up.

John 1:20 ESV

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

He confessed - He said it.

did not deny, buy confessed - Very emphatic.

I am not the Christ - Christ means the Messiah, They did not ask, but He knew it was the real question.

He is saying the Messiah was coming.

It also means that they were looking forward to Messiah.

John 1:21 ESV

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Elijah - Seems Random. Kinda like when you are playing sharads and you get desperate.

The last thing in the OT was: Elijah will come.

Malachi 4:5–6 “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

They have been waiting for 400 years. Furthermore, he dressed like Elijah, He was preaching like Elijah. Would be like if I dressed up like 1700s and stood by an ax by a cherry tree.

Are you the prophet? - Not “A” Prophet, but the prophet. Deuteronomy 18:15–18“15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”

John 1:22 ESV

22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

We need to give an answer to those who sent us - We still don’t know who sent them. But they want an answer. This indiciates someone important. Lsl

What do you say about yourself? Great questions for us as well. What do you say about yourself? We should say the same thing about us that Jesus says about us.

John 1:23 ESV

23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Isaiah 40:3 ESV

3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

(Maybe more verses here)

POINT 2 (Jn 1:24-28): The Answer is Always Jesus

John 1:24 ESV

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)

Pharisees - the first time. So what do we already know. They are powerful Jewish leaders from Jerusalem who are interestede in knowing who John the Baptist was and the message he was skeaing.

John 1:25 ESV

25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Baptizing - Baptism means to immerse. (Baptist discussion)

Apparently it would have made sense to baptize if they were one of those guys.

Baptism was seen as something that was the first right.

CONCLUSION:

John 1:19–23 ESV

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Testimony - the message.

John the Baptist - Explain him

Jews - jewish leadership. Priests and levites - representatives. I am not the Christ - So clearly that is what they were thinking. haha it would be like me coming out and saying, I am not superman. Well clearly, no one thought that. He only said that becaues that was the quesiton.

But why? They were on the look out for the Messiah. IT was never a problem that Jesus was the Messaiha, as long as he was their type of messiah. Some would have like John the baptist much better, becaues he was against the govement. Firey.

Some people want me to do that. ...

John 1:21 ESV

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

So if you arne’t the Messiah, who are you? Are you Elijah? Now Jews don;t belive in reincarnation so they weren’t asking if he was literally him, rather they were asking are you in coming in th ename of Elijah.

This would make sense though that they asked him. - He dressed like him. He was hanging out in the same place. This would be like me dress up like the rennaounces man standing by cherry tree.

The prophet?

John 1:24–28 ESV

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Pharisees - They were upset that people were leaving Jerusalem to go see this man out in the wilderness screaming and yelling and more and more people kept showing up. They didn’t like that.

Christ - the annointed one.

Bethany beyond the Jordan - gilgal