John Part 4
Notes
Transcript
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And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
Ok, so, this John is the cousin of Jesus.
He is commonly referred to as John the Baptist
Or John the baptizer.
ANd this is to distinguish him from the Apostle John
Who wrote this book.
So, one John is writing about another John, here.
So, who is John the Baptist?
Well, that is was the priests and the Levites wanted to know.
They came out to where John was baptizing people
and asked him “Who are you?”
Why would they ask him this?
I believe the main reason is because they knew the timing was ripe
For the Messiah to come.
And this is because Daniel prophesied the timing.
Now, we won’t dig into the weeds of Daniels prophecy
but the point is, that most Jews were expecting something to happen
in regards to the Messiah
Around the time John was baptizing people.
And we know this from Acts 5
When Gamaliel defends the Apostles
by giving examples of false Messiahs…
But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
So, the wise Pharisee, Gamaliel,
Gives great advice here
and says, look, if they really are followers of the Messiah
We can’t stop them if we try
But if they are fake,
then they will stop themselves
So, either way, we don’t need to be involved.
And in that argument, he mentions two other imposters
To men who claimed to be the Messiah
And one of them did so in the year of the Census
Now, why is that interesting?
Well, we know that Jesus was born during that Census.
That’s why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem.
So, that same year, Someone was pretending to be the Messiah.
Why would they be doing this?
Because, the timing of Daniel’s prophecy was close.
So, John the Baptist is drawing crowds
He is preaching about the kingdom
He is baptizing people
Calling for repentance
It seemed to some that John might be the Messiah
Or He might be an imposter
And that is what they came to find out when they asked John
WHO ARE YOU.
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
And John, knowing what they were asking says…
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
Don’t worry guys
I’m not him.
I’m not the Messiah.
Which is what Christ means.
Messiah or Anointed one.
So, then they ask him more questions…
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Why did they ask if he was Elijah?
Well, they knew that a messenger was coming before the Messiah arrived.
And since John wasn’t the Messiah
They asked if he was the messenger
And that is what they meant here
BEcause most of them believed that Elijah would be that messenger.
And that is because of Mal 4:5-6
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
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.”
So, Elijah is coming before the day of the Lord.
Now, this verse does have a double, and perhaps triple fulfillment.
The term “day of the Lord”
Is referring to the wrath of God
So, Elijah is coming sometime before that.
Now, the Jews thought that when the Messiah came
He would pour out his wrath
and then He would set up his physical kingdom
All in one fell swoop.
They could not imagine that He would come
first as a sufferring servant of Is 53
and then ascend to Heaven
and Come back a second time to pour out his wrath
and establish his kingdom
So, that gap between the servant and the King
The Lamb and the Lion
That gap period was not known to the Jews.
So, they thought that Elijah would come
Then the Messiah would show up
and the Messiah would pour out his wrath
And setup his kingdom all at once
They ignored the part of Daniel’s prophecy
That said the Messiah would be “cut off”
And Isaiah’s prophecy that said he would suffer and die
and then imply that he would be resurrected.
So, it was natural for them to assume that Elijah must show up.
And so, they asked John,
are you Elijah?
And he said no.
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Now, later, Jesus says that John carried the Spirit of Elijah
And so, John did in fact fulfil Malachi’s prophecy
But then, also, later Elijah does appear
With Jesus and Moses on the mount of Transfiguration
And so, that is a double fulfillment
And then we see in revelation
That there will be, not one, but two witnesses
who come before Jesus pours out his wrath
and one of those witnesses is said to have the power to stop the rain
and that sounds very much like Elijah to me
So, there’s possibly a triple fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah coming before the Day of the Lord.
Ok, so, next they ask him, are you the prophet.
The word prophet if preceded by a definite article
So, they were not asking if John was A prophet
They were asking if John was a specific prophet
And, this is most certainly a reference to Moses’ words in…
“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—
Now, this “prophet” could either be referring to the Messiah
Or it could be referring to Moses himself
As I mentioned,
Two witnesses will appear before the day of the Lord
One can stop the rain like Elijah did
And one can turn the water into blood like Moses did.
So, it is possible that they were asking him if he was Moses
But some would argue that THE Prophet is a Messianic title
So, then they would be asking John if he was the Messiah.
Now, they just asked him that, so this question would be redundant
And it is possible they were intentionally redundant
But to me, it is also possible that they were asking if he was either Elijah
Or Moses, since Moses said there would be a prophet “LIKE ME” raised up.
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?”
So, after John says no, I’m not the Christ.
No, I’m not Elijah,
No, I’m the THE prophet,
That ask him again… Well, then who are you?
Because we have to give an answer to those sent us.
And watch what John says…
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.”
Ok, so, John answers them by quoting the prophet Isaiah.
And this is a quotation of Isaiah 40.3
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Now, what is interesting to me is
That we have the benefit of hindsight
And we know who John was preparing the way for
And that was Jesus.
But John says, I’m the one preparing the way for the Lord.
And the word “LORD” here is in all caps
Meaning, in Hebrew, this is the word YHWH
which is commonly pronounced as Yahweh today.
And that is the name of the God of the OT.
So, is John is the voice crying in the wilderness
and Jesus is the one he is preparing the way for
Then the logical conclusion is that Jesus is YHWH.
according to Jn 1.23
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.”
Interestingly, Matt 1.23 says the same thing.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
So, when people ask you where does it say Jesus is God.
You can just remember 1.23
or 1-2-3
and If you pick the 1st Gospel
or the Last Gospel
You will find the right verse to show people
That Jesus is YHWH
The God of the OT.
It is easy as 1. 2. 3.
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.”
(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
So, they said they need to give an answer to the ones who sent them
And here, the Apostle John, tells us who sent them
It was the Pharisees.
And we sorta paint them as the bad guys right from the start
but really, I want you to have an open mind about them
Of all the Jews of the 1st Century
Perhaps none of them were more interested in the truth
as the Pharisees
They studied the law more
They believed in a real resurrection
They tried to be holy
They thought if they were holy enough
and followed the law to a T
they would trigger the arrival of the Messiah
So, they rejected the Greek culture
They tried to be more “Jewish”
More devote.
Now, this caused them to be self-righteous
But at least they were trying to be righteous.
Which is more than you can say about most of their peers.
So, it is the Pharisees who are concerned with John
They want to know
Are you the one
The fact they were asking is somewhat of an indicator
That they were concerned with the coming of the messiah
And, I think that is a silver lining on the otherwise bad depiction
of the Pharisees in the Bible.
They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Ok, so if you aren’t the Messiah
You aren’t Elijah
And you aren’t the Prophet who is to be like Moses
Then, why are you baptizing?
And John starts to answer them
But he doesn’t really finish his answer until the next day.
John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
So, John says, someone else is coming after me
And since he just claimed to be the voice crying in the wilderness
The implication here, is that John is preparing the way for the Lord to come.
And this is confirmed the next day, here in a couple verses.
These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Ok, this is important.
John doesn’t call him the Lion.
He calls him the Lamb.
So, I think John understood Isaiah’s prophecies
We heard him quote 40.3
And here he is proclaiming that Jesus is the Lamb
Which is from Is 53
and That he takes away the sins of the world
Which is also alluded to in Is 53.
So, John, unlike most Jews
Seems to understand the mission of the Messiah.
Perhaps God gave him that insight
and opened his understanding the OT prophecies
Because, the Pharisees just didn’t seem to get it.
But John does.
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
So, he refers back to his answer the day before.
And then he adds more to it.
I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
So, recall, they asked him in verse 24…
Why are you baptizing.
Well this is why.
It was so the Lamb would be revealed
John was preparing the way of the Lord
And the preparation was to baptize.
For some reason, John understood
That my job is to reveal the Messiah to Isreal
And in order to accomplish this
I need to baptize people unto repentance.
And, nothing has changed today.
If you want Jesus to be revealed to you
You need to repent and be baptized
This is the John approved method
for preparing the way for the Messiah to show up.
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Bore witness:
This means he gave his testimony
And it is like in a legal sense
They were questioning him
and he gave his sworn affidavit
And this is his testimony.
He says:
I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove
and it remained on Jesus
Now why is this important information?
Well the next verse tells us why this detail is important.
I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
Ok, So, John was doing his duty of preparing the way for YHWH to arrive
And the work involved baptizing people
And while he was baptizing
he was on the lookout for some sign that would indicate
That the task was completed
That task being, to prepare the way for the Messiah.
And that sign he was watching out for
Was for the Spirit to descend and remain on a man
And when John saw that sign
He would know… this is the Messiah.
And, that is what Messiah means.
Anointed one… which really means one who has the Spirit
In the OT, when the priest anointed someone or something
That is where the Spirit of God descended
The Mercy seat was anointed,
and God descended in a cloud
Solomon’s Temple was anointed
and God descended in a glory cloud
David was anointed by Samuel
And the Bible says, the Spirit came on David
And at the same time, The Spirit left Saul
And an evil spirit entered Saul.
So, anointing was symbolically done with oil
But it represented a real presence of God at that place
And here, John sees the Spirit descend on Jesus.
And this was also foretold by Isaiah
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Jesus, later reads this exact verse
And says… this is fulfilled today.
Implying… I’m the one this verse is about.
So, the book of John relies heavily on the book of Isaiah.
John is pointing out how Jesus met all of the prophecies of this book.
Now, the next statement from John is very profound.
They were probably ok with a claim of Messiah
And Lamb of God was ok
But, verse 34 says…
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
Ok, now, this is huge.
John knew that Jesus was the Lamb from Is 53
And that Jesus was the Messiah from Is 11 and Is 61
And that Jesus LORD or YHWH from Is 40.3
But then he confirms, again, with that legal wording
or “borne witness”, that Jesus is the Son of God.
So, here in chapter one, Just in John’s testimony,
we can see that Jesus is
The Lamb
The Lord
YHWH of the OT
The Messiah
The Son of God
And the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
Calling of the Disciples
Calling of the Disciples
(If Time Permits)
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
