Testimony of John the Baptist
So that you may believe - Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 52:55
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A man sent from God
A man sent from God
We have finished the prologue into the gospel of John, a few quick reminders before we get to our passage tonight.
This can be said about John the Baptist
He was a man sent by God (Jn1:6)
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came to bear witness (Jn1:7-8)
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
He bore witness to the preeminence/preexistence of Christ (Jn1:15)
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
(Transition) so from being sent by God, to be a witness for God (or of God) it now comes to his testimony.
Testimony that he is not the Christ (Jn1:19-23)
Testimony that Christ is before him (Jn1:24-28)
Testimony about Christ being the Lamb of God (Jn1:29-30)
Testimony that he is not the Christ
Testimony that he is not the Christ
So, what did John the Baptist testify regarding Jesus? What lessons can we learn from his testimony? May we start with what he testifies about himself first.
19 This 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.”
21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 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.”
As Simply Christians we need to glean from the word, so let’s glean together
Who came to see John (v.19)?
Who did they ask if he was (v.19, 21)?
Why did they ask him the questions (v.22)?
Who did John say that he was (v.23)?
Interesting fact, in case you wanted to know. John the Baptist is one of six people noted in the gospel that gave witness that Jesus is God.
(Other scriptures referenced in this section Jn1:19, 49, 6:69, 9:35-58, 11:27, 20:28)
John the Baptist (Jn1:29) -part of our passage
Nathanael (Jn1:49)
Jn1:49 “49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.””
Peter (Jn6:69)
Jn6:69 “69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.””
Blind man from birth (Jn9:35-38)
35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
Martha (Jn11:27)
Jn11:27 “27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.””
Thomas (Jn20:28)
Jn20:28 “28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!””
OK, now may I move on? Let’s look at John the baptist testimony about himself.
John’s testimony about himself
He claims (confesses) he is not the Christ (Jn1:19-20; Lk3:15)
Whereas there are some who thought He was
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,
He was not Elijah as foretold by Malachi (Jn1:21; Mal4:5; Mt11:11-15)
5 “But I will send you Elijah the prophet before that great and terrifying day of the Lord’s judging.
Now, John was the figurative Elijah foretold and fulfilled now as testified by Jesus Himself. I could give you just the verse, but it is more impactful when look in context.
11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
He was not the prophet foretold by Moses (Jn1:21; Deu18:15-18; Jn6:14, 7:40)
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 “This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’
17 “The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Many were awaiting, looking for this prophet
Jn6:14 “14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.””
or Jn7:40 “40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.””
The prophet foretold was not John, but it was Jesus, note down Act3:22-26 for yourself and you can see it spelled out more there.
He was the one foretold by Isaiah (Isa40:3)
3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
He was the one sent to prepare the way of the Lord (Lk1:16-17)
16 “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
(Transition) So, John the baptizer had nots to say about himself, with John assisting along the way But what good is this information if we do not turn it from knowledge to wisdom, knowledge put into belief and action.
Lessons from John the Baptists testimony
As followers, disciples of Christ our task is similar to that of the forerunner. - point people to Jesus.
John’s example is powerful one and you too can be a powerful example.
To deflect attention from yourself and point to Christ
John’s testimony: This is the Son of God
John’s testimony: This is the Son of God
John the Baptist continues with his testimony about Jesus and some great facts are revealed.
31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 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.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Gleaning from the scripture
What was purpose of John’s Baptizing in water (v.31)?
So that Jesus might be manifested to Israel!
What did John the Baptizer testify in (v.32)?
That He saw the Spirit descend as a dove and remain on Jesus
According to (v.33) what was the sign to be given of the One who was promised?
The Holy Spirit would come and remain.
What was the result of seeing the Holy Spirit come and remain (v.34)?
This is the Son of God.
John’s Testimony about Christ
I did not know Him (Jn1:31, 33; Mt3:11)
31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
or in v.33 it says Jn1:33 “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.’”
Now they were cousins, So they may have known each other as cousins do. Jesus lived in Nazareth and John the Baptizer lived in the Judean desert.
John the Baptizer did not know Jesus as the Messiah
Even though John came baptizing with water so that the Christ, the Messiah would be revealed to Israel. And was revealed.
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John the Baptizers testimony: I saw the Spirit descending and remaining (v.32-33; Mt3:16-17)
John was anticipating the descending of the Spirit as noted in (vv.32-33)
This happened when Jesus was baptized and even brought the voice of the Father too.
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Lessons from his testimony of Jesus
As John confessed, we too must be willing and must confess Jesus (Mt10:32-33)
32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Not just confess, but confess Him as the Son of God (Jn1:49, 6:68-69, 11:27)
Like Nathaniel (v.49)
49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
Like Peter in (6:68-69) Jn6:68-69 “68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.””
Like Martha Jn11:27 “27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.””
(Transition) So we need to confess Jesus, must confess Him to be the Son of God, and it is more than just words it must be coupled with belief.
Believe Jesus is the Son of God and in belief in Him you may have eternal life (Jn30:31; Act8:37)
Consider
37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
John the Baptizer as recorded by John the beloved testified of Jesus, but you know what, Jesus will later testify of John the Baptizer too. For future consideration
John bore witness of the truth
33 “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
He was burning and shining light
35 “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
And because of that, being a lamp, a light, shining, some were rejoicing. So the question remains are we rejoicing in the Light? Can we rejoice in the testimony of John
He was not the light but testified of the light, as do we today
Proclaimed Jesus to be the lamb of God, the Son of God, just as we do today
If we can do these things then
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
and then
9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,
Remember why you obeyed the gospel, when you obeyed the gospel, the results of you obeying the gospel, and what you are to do with today!
(Prayer) (exit)