23.11.08 John 2:1-11 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 2:1-11
Going Deeper: Study Guide
A Consuming Crisis
Guinness World Records (TM) has made it official: Pittsburgh now holds the record for the most couples, 624 to be exact, to simultaneously renew their wedding vows. The attempt occurred on Feb. 10, 2008, when participants filled the Carnegie Music Hall for The World's Largest Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony, and said "I Do" all over again.
Here is another wedding event of interest (believe it or not):
June 2006 - Carly O'Brien (16), of Gloucester, dreamed of a big wedding dress for her big day. And when she said big, she meant big. A determined young lady, she made sure her dream came true. The resulting wedding gown, which cost £25,000, had 30 layers of tulle, 3,000 Swarovski crystals, and a 60 foot long train. It measured 8 feet wide, weighed 25 stone (350 lbs.), and it took 9 1/2 hours to get her into the dress.
The bride arrived at the church in a glass carriage, pulled by six horses, and had to be lifted out by 3 men and assorted members of the wedding party. Her gown was so wide it became stuck in the church door, so she was tugged into the church. Then 20 guests had to push and pull Carly up the aisle toward her groom, Michael Coffey, 17. This took an hour and a half, possibly the longest bride walk in history. Afterwards, she was so exhausted that her new husband and 14 relatives had to carry her from the chapel.
Nevertheless, she was determined to wear the dress at her reception, though she spent most of the evening sitting down.
Today I invite you to another wedding which permanently shatters any record of Guinness World Records (TM) - which is found in chapter 2 of the Gospel of John - a wedding in Cana in Galilee.
2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw [some] out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it [to him]. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when [the people] have drunk freely, [then he serves] the poorer [wine]; [but] you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of [His] signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
At the beginning of chapter 2 we find Jesus at a wedding. As He was there a ‘CONSUMING CRISIS’ takes place. The narrative gives us several insights which challenge us.
In chapter 2 we are able to see how Jesus reveals His glory through:
The Culminating Crisis (v.1-3)
The Commitment of Purpose (v.4)
The Communication of Glory (v.5-10)
The Compensation of Faith (v.11)
As we enter into today’s text we will find that from this point on we will begin to see that Jesus’ ministry influence is gaining momentum. At Cana Jesus now demonstrates His power and gives us the first sign, which demonstrates His Deity. Once again there is a time reference. This event takes place ‘on the third day’ after the calling of the first group of disciples. So it would be on the third day after Philip and Nathanael were called by Christ in verse 41 of chapter one.
So let us enter in to the festivities as we look at:
1. THE CULMINATING CRISIS (v.1-3)
The context of today’s narrative is a wedding that occurs in a place named Cana. If you remember from last weeks sermon, that I mentioned that Cana was the home town of Nathanael (Jn. 21:2). Cana’s exact location has been lost over the years. Some people say that it could be the town named Khirbet Qana, which lies in ruins now, and is located about 9 miles north of Nazareth. But its exact location is not an important factor, but what takes place in Cana is.
This is the first of eight signs in the Gospel of John which give confirmation of whom Jesus is. There were many other miracles that Jesus performed, but John selects 8 signs, which lend to his purpose that ‘Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name’ (Jn. 20:31). Quite often the gospel of John is referred to as ‘The Book of Signs’ - revealing Jesus’ full identity.
A wedding in the ancient near east was always a major occasion in the life of the local people. This would have been a community celebration and invited guests would come from the surrounding areas. It seems probable that the mother of Jesus - Mary, knew the couple that was being married since the mother of Jesus was already present, being a guest of the celebrations. Jesus and His Disciples were also guests, but it is possible that He was invited because of His mother, as the Greek words give us a sense of this.
A wedding celebration in Biblical times, in its totality, would last as long as one week and in some cases longer. Before we would even get to any wedding festivities, the marriage would be preceded by betrothal. It is a common mistake to equate the betrothal of these times to our modern day engagement. The betrothal was an important and seriousness matter. The couple would be solemnly pledged to one another and complete faithfulness was to be present. Any violation of the betrothal would be treated as adultery and the prescribed penalty was the stoning death of the offender (Dt. 22:23-25). The betrothal was so binding that if one were to break it, divorce proceedings would be necessary (we have a glimpse of this in the account of the virgin birth of Christ - where Joseph was going to quietly seek a legal divorce to dissolve his betrothal to Mary - Matt. 1:19).
At the end of the betrothal period came the marriage. The bridegroom and his friends would make their way to the brides home. Often this was done at night which would allow for an impressive procession, utilizing torches which would light the darkened skies. At the brides home, it was customary to make speeches, and the people would express their well wishes for the couple. Following this the procession, which now would include the bride, would make their way back to the grooms home. The wedding ceremonies and festivities would be held here. And this is were we find ourselves in the opening verses of chapter 2.
During the course of all the festivities the wine runs out and Jesus’ mother informs Jesus that "They have no wine" (v.3). For a celebration of this kind, it was the responsibility of the hosts to provide sufficient food and beverages to their guests. Wine was a part of these provisions and now the wine was all consumed, even before the end of the festivities. This was not good. In fact it would be more than just an embarrassment, it was a social disgrace. The host family and couple would be held accountable for the shortfall and failure to discharge their responsibility of hospitality. Their reputation would be tarnished which haunt them for a long time to come. Why? Because this situation would be taken as an insult to all those present. The guests had given their gifts, and in some sense there were certain expectations involved. In addition the groom could face a possible lawsuit from the brides family as a failure to fulfill his obligations to them.
The reason for not being fully prepared in providing enough wine for the guests is not revealed. But we do know that there was not enough. Maybe this was an oversight, maybe they could not afford to provide, maybe they were too busy.
Isn’t it often like this in our life? We enter into something unprepared. We involve ourselves into too much, which in the end, causes a crisis.
The CULMINATING CRISIS - gives way to:
2. THE COMMITMENT OF PURPOSE (of Jesus’ ministry) - (v. 4).
So the situation was out of the ordinary and was urgent. It is not clear why Mary felt responsible to make this known to Jesus, but she does. This is Jesus’ response to the social crisis - He says to His mother - Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. Jesus’ answer seemed to be harsh since He did not respond with terms of endearment - but Jesus calls His mother ‘woman.’ The word ‘woman’ is not a condescending word, and Jesus does not use it in a condescending manner. It can be equated to our modern day term ‘Ma’am’ which still involves a level of politeness. But its use does set Jesus at a certain distance apart from His mother and her request. This is reinforced by Jesus’ connected words - ‘what does that have to do with us?’ (v.4) - words which were abrupt, but not rude. Jesus is setting out clearly that there is a new relationship between Himself and His mother, especially at the outset of His public ministry.
Jesus was destined not to be known as the Son of Mary, but to fulfill His earthly mission that is to be the ‘Son of Man’ - the link between God and man as we discovered last week in the last verse of chapter one. This reference helps us to keep everything in context. A new relationship is founded. THE COMMITMENT OF PURPOSE is made by Jesus for He is no longer under the authority of His mother - and she understands this. Mary is not surprised by Jesus’ response, and she doesn’t take offense at His statement, but acknowledges that Jesus should act independently of her. She recognized that the son that she had raised… was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah.
Jesus is always in submission to the will of the Father, that He was on a Divine timetable as Jesus states - "My hour has not yet come." Jesus’ response therefore focuses upon the future - that is - upon His end goal of dying on the cross - as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (1:29) - and then being exalted through His resurrection from the dead - and His glorious ascension into heaven. These events had not come yet - nor were even imminent, and therefore Jesus, was not to be under the direction of people (his mother), but under the will of God. Jesus was to manifest His full glory at a later time, but not now. But in response to Mary’s request, He reveals only a part of His glory.
We can learn from Jesus here - that He always clearly had the will of the Father in mind, no matter the circumstances. He never lost focus of His ultimate goal. How often do we lose sight of the calling of our salvation? The phone is ringing off the hook at the office - and there are so many demands from my boss and people. The work is piling up on my desk and I just need more time to do it - so sacrifices must be made. So something must give…or should I say SOMEONE (point upward) must give… Jesus gets pushed aside…
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were saved from our sins: ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.’ Often - more than we would like to admit - our purpose in life is lost in the shuffle of the life - with our careers - personal life - hobbies plowing ‘full steam ahead,’ and so we suddenly are reminded that there is no time left to serve our Saviour - I’ll just come to church on Sunday and that is enough.
Focus upon the Father’s will - is also lost in the recreational pleasures of a city such as Vancouver - it is the Sun Run…I can skip worship this Sunday to run for good cause - God will understand - our ultimate purpose as a believer is left behind.
Good works in Christ in response to our salvation - are left behind on the playing field of life - and our Christian witness is compromised. Life is busy and we lose sight… Life doesn’t do that to us - we do it to ourselves. Jesus never lost sight of His ultimate priority, and He is able to re-focus your attention upon Him if you let Him. Jesus never forces us to do anything.
What area in your life needs the priority of Christ, to be at the center? Jesus said to warn those who were unbelievers - For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Matt. 16:26). A reminder to us, as believers, is that we should not be seeking the things of this world. Our souls have been redeemed by Christ, so let us not neglect a fitting and proper response to such a great salvation.
Perhaps in the midst of your situation you are being reminded by God to get back to basics…get back to the foundation which sets your life in proper order…your spiritual foundations...the realm of your salvation in which you are to operate. Maybe you really need to rethink Jesus’ words to you - But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt. 6:33-34). Jesus never lost sight of His purpose. Have you lost sight of yours?
Jesus’ COMMITMENT TO PURPOSE sets the stage for Him now to perform His first miracle as we unfold:
3. THE COMMUNICATION OF GLORY (v.5-10)
V.5 Jesus’ mother even in the face of Jesus’ mild rebuke, believes that Jesus will respond appropriately to the crisis at hand. We know this because Mary orders her the servants in this way - ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’ As His mother, she knew Jesus very well, and she had confidence and faith in the powers that Jesus had. Mary is used to set the stage for Jesus to act in His own independent authority. Any actions that are to be taken to correct the crisis will be in response to Jesus’ commands.
The whole focus of this passage is upon Jesus’ glory, and not those around Him. Jesus acts in His own accord and in perfect submission to the Father’s will, and not in response to the whims of man. From this point on in Jesus’ first sign, Mary fades from the scene, for Jesus is to take center stage.
V.6 Jesus sees six stone water pots nearby, and calls to the servants that they should fill the jars with water. These water pots were not made of pottery, but of stone. Hand carved stone was necessary since these jars were used for ceremonial washing. Stone was the material to be used because it was more impervious, and therefore would not be subject to contamination. Any guest that came, would use these pots for the traditional ceremonial washing of their hands, before eating (Mk. 7:3). A large quantity of water was necessary to do this. These pots were of quite a large size because they were capable of containing twenty or thirty gallons each. As an average the pots would be able to hold about 150 gallons, which would be up to 750 liters. In comparison this would be about 20 tanks full of gas for a small car. In terms of servings of wine, it would be the equivalent of about 2400 glasses. This would be able to serve a large amount of people for the remainder of the marriage celebrations.
V.7-10 As the account continues, the jars are filled by the servants to the brim. They were completely full, and nothing more could be added into the jars. Jesus then instructs the servants to do this - Draw [some] out now and take it to the headwaiter. This was the person who was literally ‘the ruler of the table.’ Probably this is the superintendent of the dining room in which the banquet was being held. The headwaiter would be the one who would make sure that the room was set up properly. He would also be the one who tasted the food for quality purposes, so it was proper that the servants take the new wine to him to approve of.
When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, he was surprised. He didn’t know where the wine came from, but he did recognize it to be of a high quality. And after tasting the wine he called the bridegroom to make a comment to him. It was common in those times to serve the better wine first. The guests palates would be more attentive to the quality of the wine at this point. It is like us, sitting down to a meal where we are trying something for the first time. Our taste buds are very anticipating and discerning, to see of it is to our liking or not. Or simply we want to try to figure out what ingredients are in the food. So it was with the guests of the wedding. After the good wine was served then a host would serve the poorer stuff (ie - cheap), when the guest’s senses were dulled and less caring of the quality. It would also be possible to say that the guests at this point would have had drunk freely - meaning that they had more than they desired.
Our text does not necessarily say that the guests were drunk, causing the lack of properly functioning senses. The statement serves to contrast the quality of the wine that Jesus made. So it was a surprise to the headwaiter of the banquet, that the best was saved and served last - the bridegroom spared no expense and cut no corners as was a typical practice. This just emphasizes the quality of the wine as a result of the miracle - this was perfect wine. Jesus through this first sign COMMUNICATES in a very tangible way HIS GLORY. Jesus does all things well.
One thing that Christians reading this passage think about is this - Does Jesus approve the consumption of alcohol, in this passage? Jesus after all turns water into wine, knowing full well that some of the guests already had drunk freely. The use of alcohol has continued to be a problem upon our society. It seems that nearly every few weeks we hear of another fatal car crash which is a result of driving under the influence. And even on the home front, some of us have been directly affected by the effects of alcoholism - whether on a personal basis or under the abuse of it by a family member. So what is the Biblical perspective of consuming alcohol?
It is important to note that this passage is a narrative and therefore we cannot come to any foundational principles about the use of alcohol based on this event. We must look to other clearer parts of Scripture. Some Christians force into this passage what they want to believe - that is they claim that what was produced by Christ was merely grape juice. This is incorrect because the Greek word in the text is the word for wine (oinos). There is another word specifically used for grape juice (trux).
In the historic context of this first sign, wine was not the same as what we have today. The wine used in Jesus’ time was normally diluted with water. It has been recorded in extra-Biblical texts that ‘…it is injurious to drink wine by itself…’ The ratio of dilution varied, but the usual mix was 1 part wine to 3 parts water. So the alcohol content was lower than our standards today.
What does the Bible teach about alcohol? The Bible never condemns the use of alcoholic products (Deut. 14:26). In fact it may be considered as one of God’s gifts which is able make the heart glad (Ps. 104:15; Eccl. 9:7). The Bible also gives some examples of its use - one example is in today’s passage - it is used for celebration. It also was used medicinally - Paul instructed Timothy to take some wine for his stomach and frequent illnesses (1 Tim. 5:23). The Bible does however regulate its use. It condemns drunkeness (Eph. 5:18), and cautions against its abuse especially by church leaders (Prov. 23:29-35; 1 Tim. 3:3,8).
So what is the bottom line - should I drink it or not? Well the principles are laid out also in the Bible. There is no text which calls for total societal abstinence, nor is there anything said regarding social drinking. The bottom line is that the Christian must decide for himself guided by conscience and Biblical principles. The use of wine is a Christian liberty. But as with any liberties, we are to be aware of its affect upon other believers. Christian liberty is always to be exercised with love and restraint (1 Cor. 8:9-13). Paul makes it clear in Romans 14:21 - ‘It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or [to do anything] by which your brother stumbles.’ Whatever your decision, we are not to cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble and sin over food (Rom. 14:15). If you decide to use alcohol then you must set an example of self control through moderation and discretion. If you do not desire to use alcohol then you must be careful not to censure other peoples’ words or actions concerning responsible drinking. Above all we must not speak out for or against, alcohol in such a manner which rises above the revelation of Scripture.
The first miracle that Jesus performs achieves its desired ends, as we leave the wedding and discover:
4. THE COMPENSATION OF FAITH (v.11)
The culminating point of today’s passage is brought to light in verse 11. The apostle John as he concludes this account, does not refer to the turning of water into wine as a miracle, but as a sign. The text states - This beginning of [His] signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. John is driving home the point that this was not just a mere miracle - a mere display of power, a spectacular wonder to be seen.
But the emphasis is that this was a sign - yes it is a miracle, but it had deeper spiritual meaning. A sign points to a spiritual truth - it points to God and His provision in Jesus. Jesus used these signs, in order to demonstrate that He was sufficient for all specific needs that we have. Jesus in His signs reveals that He is the Son of God, revealing His own glory, a glory which reminds us of verse 14 - ‘And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.’
Jesus was fully doing the work of God, and revealing what God is like. And by this first sign, Jesus’ - disciples believed in Him. The six disciples that followed Jesus, whom we identified last week - their faith was now firmly fixed when Jesus manifested His glory. They had known quite a bit about Jesus before, as they willingly followed Him. But now their trust in Jesus Christ began to mature. Their FAITH WAS BEING COMPENSATED as they saw Jesus perform the miracle right before their own eyes. The disciples were able to draw from the sign the deeper spiritual significance, beyond the outward manifestation of power. Their eyes were spiritually open, and they realized in a deeper way that there before them was - the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the King of Israel. Jesus substantiated Himself by His first sign - an act of mercy and power and glory.
Today we have seen Jesus perform His first miraculous sign. A sign which transitions us from John the Baptist’s witness in chapter 1, to the witness of Jesus Christ. We find from Jesus’ first miracle that:
Jesus never lost sight of His mission - and might we through God’s grace also keep on course.
and Jesus is able to meet peoples needs and likewise ours too - leading us to true faith and a deeper relationship with Him. Jesus does all things well.
What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Christ Jesus.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
John 1:35-51 Follow Me
16.11.08 John 1:35-51 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 1:35-51
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Follow Me
Our Passage today reads as follows: 35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John [speak] and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He ^ound Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 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." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
We discover that in two days Jesus calls to Himself the first disciples and Apostles. Likewise when we apply this we find that we are also disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus has saved us and calls us to ‘Follow Him.’ And our text will lead us into reflecting at how well we are ‘Following Him.’
Jesus says to us today ‘FOLLOW ME’ - through the calling of :
1. Jesus’ First Disciples (Andrew and Peter - John) v.35-42 - and then
2. Jesus Draws More Disciples (Philip and Nathanael) v.43-51
Through the response of these disciples we are able to learn some important lessons for us as Jesus’ modern day disciples.
First - let us look at the call of Andrew and Peter (John)
1. Lessons from Jesus’ First Disciples v.35-42
V.35-36. As we begin this section, we once again find John the Baptist giving testimony as a witness for the third time. The focus now begins to shift from John the Baptist’s ministry to Jesus’ ministry. During the ministry of the Baptist he developed not only a following of the masses, but he also had his own disciples.
All this was the next day, after John the Baptist pointed out the Lamb of God. So we are in the third day since verse 19. John the Baptist in verse 35 has two of his disciples with him, and as he sees the Messiah as He walked, he willing directs his disciples to Christ. John sees the Messiah and announces ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ This is the third and last time, as far as we know from Scripture that John saw Christ (first at baptism, v.29, and here). Once again John the Baptist demonstrates his humility and faithfulness to his calling - instead building his own empire, he willingly turns his disciples over to Christ.
What would you do if you were in this kind of situation? A situation where you know that you will lose some people - maybe in a project work group - how about even in a ministry? A situation where you have your own friends/people that were of a great help to you? It is natural that if we were in this situation, it would be very probable that we would want to retain our co-workers for ourselves. We would want to make a name for ourselves, we would want to associate our name with what we built. We see this happening all around us. People have named rooms, buildings, streets, after themselves so that they would be remembered. We see this happening in many churches…we belong to the James Smith Memorial Church, this is the Franklin Rogers Library, these pews are donated in loving memory of Rachel Rowstead. If we are to follow the example of John the Baptist then we would remember that, true Christian humility calls for Christ to be exalted and not ourselves.
John the Baptist, announced the coming of the Messiah, he baptized Him, had told people about Jesus, and now once again - for the second time - identifies the Lamb of God. And this is the whole point of the Gospel of John - that Christ be made known - and later in chapter 3:30, John the Baptist states this: "He must become greater; I must become less."
V.37-39. So it is that in the opening verses of our passage we have already discover that there are two of the Baptist’s disciples (v.35, 37). Upon the Baptist’s identification of the Messiah, he humbly and willingly turns them over to Him and they followed Jesus. In the word - followed (v.37) it doesn’t have a fixed sense of definiteness. So it is very possible that the disciples were following Jesus to find out more about Him, since John the Baptist pointed them to Jesus. But, we do know for certain that a formal ‘discipleship’ relationship developed later on in Scripture.
What is a disciple? A disciple is the same as a learner, or follower - since they literally followed or ‘walked in the tracks of the teacher.’ A disciple, in the first century, learned from his teacher by following their teachers words and actions. The teacher was the disciples mentor and model of what was taught. Before Christ ascended to heaven he called all believers to be disciple makers. The Great Commission states that we are to - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;. The emphasis in this verse is ‘to make disciples.’ So throughout the church age - discipleship is a normal pattern for the New Testament believer.
Are you being discipled or discipling someone? If not find someone in this church who is older, more spiritually mature than yourself - and ask that person if they would be able to disciple you. Discipleship has great benefits because you will be able to learn Scripture, and see how it is applied to everyday situations in your life. Your discipler would be able to help you to be more rooted in your faith. Discipleship can take place in small groups or on an individual basis - formally and informally.
In the midst of this transfer, Jesus hears the footsteps of the disciples behind Him, and turns around and sees the two disciples following Him. He asks them, What do you seek? - not ‘Whom do you want?’ - Jesus is seeking the purpose of what they want. And the disciples answer with a question - "Rabbi… , "where are You staying? This exchange indicates that the disciples were preparing to follow Jesus as their Rabbi. The purpose that the disciples had was to find and follow ‘The Rabbi’ - which is the Hebrew word for Teacher - as explained in the parenthesis of the text . It literally refers to - my noble one, or master and the author of this gospel is explaining it to his Greek readers.
Jesus responds by inviting them - Come, and you will see. The disciples then follow Jesus and find out where He is living and spend the day with Him, by His side. The exact time of this first encounter with Christ is given to be ‘about the tenth hour.’ The tenth hour would have been at 4:00 pm, by our way of calculating time. The Jews divided the daylight period of the day into 12 hours. The day for the Jews would start at 6 am. Why was the exact time given? We will look at this in a moment.
V.40. As we move forward we now discover the identity of One of the two disciples. The first one is identified as Andrew. Andrew is Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew is not one of the main leaders of the ‘twelve’ disciples of Christ. Instead Andrew in this gospel is mentioned twice outside this reference. In chapter 6:8 we find that Andrew is the one who brings the boy with ‘five loaves and two fish’ to Jesus. And in 12:22 Andrew with Philip bring a message from the Greeks that they wanted to see Jesus, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So Andrew is not really a key figure in this gospel, but he is portrayed as a helper or aid. He also is one that introduces others to Christ.
In this verse and if we go back to verse 35 - we note that there were two disciples, Andrew was just one of the two disciples that followed Jesus. So who is the second disciple? The text never mentions his name. It is most likely the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. If you have read our introduction of this gospel - on our church info blog - you would know that the Apostle John never mentions his own name in this book.
It is likely to be him because if you look back down at verse 39, an exact time reference is given - ‘about the tenth hour.’ This would indicate that this is eyewitness information. It also indicates that there was some impact to this meeting, so the exact time was remembered. It would imply that the Apostle John who wrote this gospel was so impacted by his first meeting with Jesus that he includes this seemingly insignificant detail. Further support that this second disciple was John, is the fact that John is mentioned in the other gospels as among the first disciples - these being Andrew and Peter, and James and John. We should note that implied in this passage, and substantiated in the other gospels is that John and James became followers of Christ together.
V.41-42 Andrew was so excited about meeting Jesus, that he did not keep this treasured time to himself. The first thing Andrew does is to go and get his brother Simon. When Andrew finds Simon, he tells him that he has found the Messiah - ‘the anointed One.’ In the excitement of his amazing discovery, Andrew not only told his brother, but he brought him to Jesus. It appears from the Greek tense of the phrase - he brought him, that there was some reluctance on Simon’s part to go and see Jesus. When the two came to Jesus, before Simon even said anything - Jesus states ‘You are Simon the son of John.’ And then Jesus renames Simon. Jesus gives him the name - Cephas.
Cephas is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word - meaning ‘rock.’ The formal Greek word for ‘rock’ - as explained by the Apostle John in the parentheses, is Peter - or petros. Peter/petros was not a formal name in Jesus’ time, but it was more likely a nickname - perhaps a modern equivalent would be ‘rocky.’ His name foreshadowed the changes that were going to be made in his impulsive, volatile, and unreliable character. And it pointed to the role that Peter would play in the early church. Let us stop her for a moment and see what lessons can we learn from Andrew? Well we know that he is portrayed as a helper and also he brings others to Christ. As we allow the Lord to use us in building His church, can we learn something from Andrew’s example and apply it here at Cornerstone Community Church? How can you be a helper in some of our current and planned ministries? How can you become the instrument that the Lord would want to utilize - to build His church? Consider being a helper and be the one who takes the initiative to help out. Make yourself available to serve the Lord.
In addition Andrew was a person who introduced others to Christ. I had already mentioned about the Great Commission earlier. Think about ways you can introduce others to Christ this week - and DO IT. Make it your goal to take ownership of the Great Commission. The Great Commission is not the great suggestion - it is a command - meaning we must be active in implementing it. This can be simply done by encouraging others to come to some of our ministries like the new small group Bible studies. You can invite your non- Christian friends, neighbours, co-workers to join us. Perhaps you could simply invite someone to come with you here on Sundays. Go and bring them here yourself - like Andrew did for his brother Simon. Wake up a little bit earlier and go pick your friend up and bring them to church. There are so many things that can be done, so many blessings experienced, if we commit ourselves to being faithful to Christ.
Jesus says "FOLLOW ME’ calling each one of you here today to be His committed disciple. Our reflections come - not only by examining the response and actions of Andrew and Peter - but we also may pattern our response to Christ, by applying the lessons we discover from Philip and Nathanael.
2. Jesus Draws More Disciples v.43-51
V.43-45 As we begin verse 43, we also begin the next day - this would be the fourth day in a series of days, which began in verse 19. The scene changes as we find that Jesus departs for Galilee. Jesus then finds Philip , He gives him this challenge - or order (imperative) - Follow Me. It was no accident that Jesus found Philip, who was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Scripture portrays Philip , as a man of ordinary capability. In this gospel, the apostle is portrayed as one who seemed to be challenged beyond his ability. But it is a comfort to know that Jesus seeks out those who are ordinary people. This encourages us to know that plain old people like us can be used by the Lord to do His work in this church… we don’t all need to be superstars, but we just need to faithfully follow, and use our gifts and abilities for the glory of Christ.
Now we see Philip use his ordinary abilities. We see that in turn Philip finds Nathanael. Philip makes a statement to Nathanael, which reveals his view of who Jesus is. Philip says - We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and [also] the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (v.45). Philip finds in Jesus, what the OT Scriptures witness to - that is the coming Messiah - the coming Christ is now here. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures.
V.46 In reply, Nathanael with scorn and unbelief questions - Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nathanael was from Cana, a close by town of Nazareth. It appears that there was some rivalry between these two Galilean towns. Nathanael was skeptical as to the fact that Jesus, the Christ would come from such a place. Philip in response doesn’t argue with him, he doesn’t enter into some long discussion to prove that Jesus is the Christ. Instead he follows the method that Jesus used with Andrew and Peter in verse 39 - that is he simply states ‘Come and see.’
An application is imbedded in this text for us. It is a reminder that when we witness to others, and when we go out an do evangelism…that we do not need to argue about who Jesus is, but rather we should evangelize with ‘genuine, concerned, loving proclamation and invitation’ (Borchert). This is the way that we deal with the skeptic…by asking him or her to - Come and see. This is a reminder to us that God is sovereign in salvation. The Bible and Christ are not up for debate, they stand upon their own, authority and power. No one has ever been won over to Christ by arguing them into the Kingdom.
Philip’s example should cause you to reflect - How can you invite someone who doesn’t know Jesus, to ‘come and see?’ Invite them to church, one of our Bible studies, or any other event where they can see Christianity in action and to learn about Christ. In Philip’s response to Nathanael - the skeptic, we see godly wisdom in action, as he leads Nathanael to follow Christ.
V.47-49 As Nathanael follows Philip to see Jesus, Jesus says this of Nathanael - Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! In the context of what Jesus says later in verse 51, there seems to be an allusion to Genesis 28 - the account of Jacob and the ladder from heaven. Jacob was known for his deceitfulness, and now Nathanael is being contrasted to Jacob. What Jesus is saying of Nathanael is that he is a true and authentic Israelite. Nathanael was a model for others. Nathanael was a man in whom there is no deceit - there is nothing false about this guy. This statement described that Nathanael, demonstrated no deceit and represented what God desired for His people as His servants - unlike the character traits Jacob demonstrated.
We can pause once again and do some self examination. As a Christian are we afraid to make that known to others? And if we are is it because we do not live up to the righteous standards of the Word in our actions and speech each day? Do we know that we are living a double standard and therefore ashamed of our hypocrisy? Or can we as a Christian stand before the Lord and hear Him rightfully say of you - in whom there is no deceit!
Nathanael was now astonished and curious as to how and why Jesus would make this kind of statement. How did Jesus know him and therefore make this tribute? Nathanael discerned that somehow Jesus knew him. In Greek there are 2 words that can be translated as ‘know.’ The first word in Greek states knowledge as a fact - intellectual knowledge, but the second speaks about knowledge through experience / personal knowledge. And in verse 48 the word know, is the later of the two - which expresses that Nathanael asked Jesus how He had a personal knowledge or experiential knowledge of him. Jesus’ answer was this - Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
It was a custom in this time period that Jewish rabbis would study Scripture, pray, and meditate under a vine, fig tree, or olive tree. It was quite possible that Nathanael was doing the same as Jesus had already complimented him for being a true Israelite.
When Jesus looks at us, what does he find? Does Jesus find in us the character of Nathanael? Does He find someone who is faithful to Him in discipleship, in worship, in evangelism? Does Jesus find you faithful in study of His Word, in leading others to follow Christ? Does He find you as a ‘model’ representative of a true Christian?
In Jesus’ response we see aspects of Christ’s nature of Deity at work, that He is all knowing and all seeing. Jesus Christ super-naturally is able to see Nathanael’s presence and also into his heart. In this encounter, Nathanael comes to the full realization that right before him is the Messiah. Nathanael’s hopes for the coming Messiah have now come to pass. The Rabbi who was present was no other than the ‘the Son of God’ - in the fullness of His Deity, and ‘the King of Israel - in the fulfillment of OT prophecy that Jesus is the Messiah. And with Nathanael’s confession there follows his personal response - submission and obedience to the Christ.
All this is a vivid picture of verse 14 of this chapter of the gospel - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word who was God, now coming in human flesh - in the person of Jesus Christ, is standing right before Nathanael and the other disciples. Nathanael now openly confessed Jesus Christ, as his earlier doubts turned into belief. It was Nathanael’s knowledge of the OT, Philips’s witness, and Christ’s display of supernatural knowledge that God used to draw and convert Nathanael…and now he joyfully followed Christ.
V.50-51 Jesus’ response to Nathanael confession of who Jesus Christ is this - Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Jesus affirms Nathanael’s faith and announces that he will see greater demonstrations of God’s power and revelation.
In verse 51 when Jesus states - Truly, truly, I say to you… if you use the NIV, it is poorly translated. The original Greek is better translated as found in the NASB as - Truly, truly, I say to you… Why is this important? It is important because there is a drawing of the listener and subsequently of the readers attention to what is to follow. In other words what is to be said is so important that it should not be missed. The word truly (NASB) in Greek is a well know word to us - it is the word amen. So literally Jesus says ‘Amen, amen, I say to you…’
"The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated
directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then
into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is
practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word
in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost
identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (amam), or faithful.
Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly", ‘may it be so’ - an expression
of absolute trust and confidence. – HMM from BDB/Thayers"
As Jesus continues speaking, it appears that He is once again making an allusion to Genesis 28:12, where Jacob dreams of the ladder from heaven. Jesus is emphasizing to Nathanael, and includes the other disciples, that they can be absolutely sure that they will, like Jacob, experience supernatural heaven-sent revelation. The disciples will see the heavens opened - because in Christ there is complete, open and direct, communion between God and man (And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us - v.14). In this case supernatural revelation from heaven will confirm who Jesus - the Son of Man - is.
The term ‘the Son of Man,’ was Jesus’ favourite self designation. Jesus referred to Himself by this title over 80 times in the NT. In its general usage, the term identifies Jesus’ relationship to man. As the incarnate Christ - Jesus is the perfect representative of man before God and is the One who reveals divine truth. Later on in the gospel, we will see its specific implications in regards to the scope of God’s plan of salvation. In today’s passage, the term ‘the Son of Man’ replaces the ladder of Jacob’s dream, which indicates that in Jesus there is free access between God and Man. This is what A.T. Roberston wrote about this section:
Christ is himself the bond of fellowship between
heaven and earth, between God and man….
for Jesus is both "the Son of
God" as Nathanael said and "the Son
of Man" as Jesus here calls
himself. ‘God and man meet in Christ. He is the true Jacob's
Ladder. "I am the Way," Jesus will say. He is more than
King of Israel, he is the Son of Man (the race). So quickly
has this Gospel brought out in the witness of the Baptist,
the faith of the first disciples, the claims of Jesus Christ,
the fully developed picture of the Logos who is both God
and man, moving among men and winning them to his
service….He sets forth the dignity
and majesty of His Person.’ - Word Pictures
Overall in our text we see that in the first disciples, they find the Christ. Andrew finds Jesus and then he gets his brother Simon (who is given the name Peter). John, one of the 2 disciples of the Baptist goes and finds his brother James (this is in between the lines of this text but we do know this from the other gospels). Jesus finds Andrew and Peter’s fellow townsman, Philip. And then in turn, Philip goes and finds Nathanael (but on the bigger scale of salvation it was by the will and drawing of the Father - cf. Jn. 6:44 ).
How are we doing at ‘following Jesus’ will, as a church? How are you doing at ‘following Jesus’ as a Christian? Jesus says to His disciples come and follow me. If we really are bringing ourselves before Him, and following Jesus then we will see great and wonderful things that Christ is doing. We will experience the joy of being a Christian, because in faith and faithfulness there is blessing. Amen.
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By Noah Ressler
Change is inevitable in life. We all know this by experience. Sometimes the change we have experienced is pleasant and sometimes – not so pleasant. But the person who has placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross on their behalf, that person is called to follow Christ. And from that moment forward as we follow, it is inevitable that change will take place in our lives, if we are truly following. To follow is to be a disciple, student, learner of all that Christ is and our obeying His lessons and making them a part of our lives brings about radical change that has supernatural consequences because the source is supernatural.
Jesus’ first disciples are just like you and I. They were not celebrities. They were not wealthy. They were not mighty in stature in the community. They were hard working people just like us. These were common men in every respect – just like you and me. They brought nothing to Jesus’ ministry that gave Christ a reason to select them because of some personal character trait or strength. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true.
John the Baptist’ ministry is diminishing and Jesus’ ministry is just beginning. Change is inevitable as Jesus interacts with people and demonstrates His being the Son of God. Once we encounter Christ Jesus and believe and obey the Gospel, change must and will take place for our sanctification and growth into the likeness of Christ. No fruit in the Christian life is evidence that we have not encountered Christ and repented of our sins and obeyed the Gospel. These men were changed from common men who were used by Christ to turn the world upside down for the cause of Christ. We too have been called in our common state to become men and women who propagate the Gospel and impact our community for Christ. That is the mandate of The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
Where are you at in the view of the Scriptures in John 1:35-51? Do you know that Jesus Christ is God, that He by means of His work on the cross has opened the doors of His Kingdom in heaven for access to you that have repented of your sins and confessed Him as Lord and Savior? I urge you to repent, even now and call upon His name for your acquittal before the bar of God’s justice. To those who have done so – are you following Him as a disciple? Are you learning and committing your soul to Him that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient? Make a commitment, even now, to commit to a life of obedient worship of your Creator, Jesus Christ.
EXCURSUS ON THE FIRST DISCIPLES.
Andrew
Andrew means "manly." He was bold, decisive, and deliberate. As our text says, Andrew was the first called by name. He was part of the 1st group although he was not included in some of the important events as Peter, James, and John were with Christ (Mt. 17:1; Mk. 5:37; 14:33). At other times he was featured as part of the inner circle (cf. Mk. 1:29; 13:3). There was no question that he had a particularly close relationship with Christ, b/c he was so often the means by which other people were personally introduced to the Master, as is the case here in our text.
Andrew’s eagerness to follow Christ, combined with his zeal to introduce others to Him, fairly typifies Andrew’s character.
Andrew lived his life in the shadow of his better-known brother. Many of the verses that name him add that he was Peter’s brother, as if that were the fact that made him significant. But in Andrew’s case there is no evidence that he begrudged Peter’s dominance. Almost everything Scripture tells us about Andrew shows that he had the right heart for effective ministry in the background. He did not seek to be the center of attention. He did not seem to resent those who labored in the limelight. He was evidently pleased to do what he could with the gifts and calling God had bestowed on him, and he allowed the others to do likewise.
Of all the disciples in the inner circle, Andrew appears to be the least contentious and most thoughtful. Peter tended to be impetuous, to rush ahead foolishly, and to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was often brash, clumsy, hasty, and impulsive. James and John were nicknamed the Sons of Thunder because of their reckless tendencies. They were evidently the ones who provoked many of the arguments about who was the greatest. But there’s never a hint of that with Andrew. Whenever he speaks, which is rare in Scripture – he always says the right thing, not the wrong thing.
Andrew may be a better model for most church leaders than Peter, because most who enter the ministry will labor in relative obscurity, like Andrew, as opposed to being renowned and prominent, like Peter.
Peter
Here in our text Jesus describes His first face-to-face meeting with Simon Peter… from then on "Rock" was his nickname. If the Lord called Peter "Simon," he was signaling him that he was acting like his old self. If he called him "Rock," He was commending him for acting the way he ought to be acting. Simon, who would become Peter, was impetuous, impulsive, and overeager. He needed to become like a rock, so that is what Jesus named him. From then on, the Lord could gently chide him or commend him just by using one name or the other.
In Luke 5:5, for example, Luke writes, "Simon answered and said unto Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your Word I will let down the net.’" … He is skeptical and reluctant. But as he obeys and his eyes are opened to who Jesus really is, Luke begins to refer to him by his new name. Verse 8 says, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!
In Luke 22:31, foretelling Peter’s betrayal, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat." Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Peter should have been watching and praying with Christ, he fell asleep. Mark writes, "[Jesus] came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The Ssirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mk. 14:37-38). Thus usually when Peter needed rebuke or admonishment, Jesus referred to him as Simon. It must have reached the point where whenever the Lord said "Simon," Peter cringed. He must have been thinking, Please call me Rock! And the Lord might have replied, "I’ll call you Rock when you act like a rock."
After the resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples to return to Galilee, where He planned to appear to them (Mt. 28:7). Impatient Simon apparently got tired of waiting, so he announced that he was going back to fishing (Jn. 21:3). As usual, the other disciples dutifully followed their leader. They got into the boat, fished all night, and caught nothing… But Jesus met them on the shore the following morning, where He had prepared breakfast for them. The main purpose of the breakfast meeting seemed to be the restoration of Peter (who, of course, had sinned egregiously by denying Christ with curses on the night the Lord was betrayed). Three times the Lord addressed him as Simon and asked, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" (Jn. 21:15-17). Three times Peter affirmed his love… That was the last time Jesus ever had to call him Simon. A few weeks later, on Pentecost, Peter and the rest of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. It was Peter, the Rock, who stood up and preached that day.
Peter was exactly like most Christians – both carnal and spiritual. He succumbed to the habits of the flesh sometimes; he functioned in the Spirit other times. He was sinful sometimes, but other times he acted the way a righteous man ought to act. This vacillating man – sometimes Simon, sometimes Peter – was the leader of the Twelve.
Peter’s occupation of fishing and his discipleship can be listed as follows:
a. In John 1:42 the Lord did not say "Follow Me" when Andrew drew him away from his fishing to be brought to the Messiah. It is as if He would test the faithfulness of Peter to see if he would follow Him.
b. In Matt. 4:18 He found Peter fishing again by the Sea of Galilee. The Lord said, "FollowMe", and he would be made a fisher of men. Again, Peter left his fishing, and followed Him.
c. In Luke 5:1-11 Peter had returned to his fishing again. Having caught nothing, and having seen the miraculous catch of fish, he confessed to being a sinful man. So he forsook all and followed Him.
d. In John 13:36 the Lord announced to Peter that he could not follow the Lord there and then. Stating that he would follow the Lord even to unto death, he soon forsook Him and fled, and shortly afterwards denied Him.
e. In John 21:3 after the Lord’s resurrection, Peter decided to go fishing in the Sea of Galilee so familiar to him. Only when John said, "It is the Lord" did Peter know who was standing on the shore. In the final conversation that ensued, the Lord predicted Peter’s ultimate death by crucifixion, adding "Follow thou Me" when Peter asked what would happen to John.
f. In the Acts Peter never returned to fishing again, following the Lord until his decease "as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed Me" (I Pet. 1:14).
Philip
Greek name meaning lover of horses. He must also have had a Jewish name, b/c all 12 apostles were Jewish. But his Jewish name is never given. Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, 1:44. John MacArthur says of Philip in his Twelve Ordinary Men: "Piecing together all that the apostle John records about him, it seems Philip was a classic "process person." He was a facts-and-figures-guy – a by-the-book, practical minded, non-forward thinking type of individual. He was the kind who tends to be a corporate kill-joy, pessimistic, narrowly focused, sometimes missing the big picture, often obsessed with identifying reasons things can’t be done rather than finding ways to do them. He was predisposed to be a pragmatist and a cynic – and sometimes a defeatist – rather than a visionary."
Nathanael
Nathanael means God has given. In the other Gospels he is called Bartholomew, a Hebrew surname meaning "son of Tolmai. So he is Nathanel, son of Tolmai, or Nathanael Bar-Tolmai.
According to John 21:12 Nathanael was from the small town Cana in Galilee, the place Jesus performed His first miracle of changing water into wine (John 2:11). Cana was close to Jesus’ hometown Nazareth. He was a searcher of Scripture and a seeker of Messianic truth, Jn. 1:43-44. We must remember he knew the Scriptures very well and Nazareth was not in Scripture as the place from which Messiah was to come – Bethlehem was, but not Nazareth. His statement, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" shows his prejudice. Nazareth was a rough town. Its culture was largely unrefined and uneducated. Nazareth is not a necessarily picturesque place. Although it has a nice setting on the slopes of the hills of Galilee, it is not a very memorable town, and was even less so in Jesus’ time. The Judeans looked down on all Galileans, but even the Galileans looked down on the Nazarenes. Nathanael, though he came from an even more lowly village, was simply echoing the Galileans’ general contempt for Nazareth.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Audio Sermon File: John 1:35-51
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Follow Me
Our Passage today reads as follows: 35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John [speak] and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He ^ound Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 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." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
We discover that in two days Jesus calls to Himself the first disciples and Apostles. Likewise when we apply this we find that we are also disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus has saved us and calls us to ‘Follow Him.’ And our text will lead us into reflecting at how well we are ‘Following Him.’
Jesus says to us today ‘FOLLOW ME’ - through the calling of :
1. Jesus’ First Disciples (Andrew and Peter - John) v.35-42 - and then
2. Jesus Draws More Disciples (Philip and Nathanael) v.43-51
Through the response of these disciples we are able to learn some important lessons for us as Jesus’ modern day disciples.
First - let us look at the call of Andrew and Peter (John)
1. Lessons from Jesus’ First Disciples v.35-42
V.35-36. As we begin this section, we once again find John the Baptist giving testimony as a witness for the third time. The focus now begins to shift from John the Baptist’s ministry to Jesus’ ministry. During the ministry of the Baptist he developed not only a following of the masses, but he also had his own disciples.
All this was the next day, after John the Baptist pointed out the Lamb of God. So we are in the third day since verse 19. John the Baptist in verse 35 has two of his disciples with him, and as he sees the Messiah as He walked, he willing directs his disciples to Christ. John sees the Messiah and announces ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ This is the third and last time, as far as we know from Scripture that John saw Christ (first at baptism, v.29, and here). Once again John the Baptist demonstrates his humility and faithfulness to his calling - instead building his own empire, he willingly turns his disciples over to Christ.
What would you do if you were in this kind of situation? A situation where you know that you will lose some people - maybe in a project work group - how about even in a ministry? A situation where you have your own friends/people that were of a great help to you? It is natural that if we were in this situation, it would be very probable that we would want to retain our co-workers for ourselves. We would want to make a name for ourselves, we would want to associate our name with what we built. We see this happening all around us. People have named rooms, buildings, streets, after themselves so that they would be remembered. We see this happening in many churches…we belong to the James Smith Memorial Church, this is the Franklin Rogers Library, these pews are donated in loving memory of Rachel Rowstead. If we are to follow the example of John the Baptist then we would remember that, true Christian humility calls for Christ to be exalted and not ourselves.
John the Baptist, announced the coming of the Messiah, he baptized Him, had told people about Jesus, and now once again - for the second time - identifies the Lamb of God. And this is the whole point of the Gospel of John - that Christ be made known - and later in chapter 3:30, John the Baptist states this: "He must become greater; I must become less."
V.37-39. So it is that in the opening verses of our passage we have already discover that there are two of the Baptist’s disciples (v.35, 37). Upon the Baptist’s identification of the Messiah, he humbly and willingly turns them over to Him and they followed Jesus. In the word - followed (v.37) it doesn’t have a fixed sense of definiteness. So it is very possible that the disciples were following Jesus to find out more about Him, since John the Baptist pointed them to Jesus. But, we do know for certain that a formal ‘discipleship’ relationship developed later on in Scripture.
What is a disciple? A disciple is the same as a learner, or follower - since they literally followed or ‘walked in the tracks of the teacher.’ A disciple, in the first century, learned from his teacher by following their teachers words and actions. The teacher was the disciples mentor and model of what was taught. Before Christ ascended to heaven he called all believers to be disciple makers. The Great Commission states that we are to - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;. The emphasis in this verse is ‘to make disciples.’ So throughout the church age - discipleship is a normal pattern for the New Testament believer.
Are you being discipled or discipling someone? If not find someone in this church who is older, more spiritually mature than yourself - and ask that person if they would be able to disciple you. Discipleship has great benefits because you will be able to learn Scripture, and see how it is applied to everyday situations in your life. Your discipler would be able to help you to be more rooted in your faith. Discipleship can take place in small groups or on an individual basis - formally and informally.
In the midst of this transfer, Jesus hears the footsteps of the disciples behind Him, and turns around and sees the two disciples following Him. He asks them, What do you seek? - not ‘Whom do you want?’ - Jesus is seeking the purpose of what they want. And the disciples answer with a question - "Rabbi… , "where are You staying? This exchange indicates that the disciples were preparing to follow Jesus as their Rabbi. The purpose that the disciples had was to find and follow ‘The Rabbi’ - which is the Hebrew word for Teacher - as explained in the parenthesis of the text . It literally refers to - my noble one, or master and the author of this gospel is explaining it to his Greek readers.
Jesus responds by inviting them - Come, and you will see. The disciples then follow Jesus and find out where He is living and spend the day with Him, by His side. The exact time of this first encounter with Christ is given to be ‘about the tenth hour.’ The tenth hour would have been at 4:00 pm, by our way of calculating time. The Jews divided the daylight period of the day into 12 hours. The day for the Jews would start at 6 am. Why was the exact time given? We will look at this in a moment.
V.40. As we move forward we now discover the identity of One of the two disciples. The first one is identified as Andrew. Andrew is Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew is not one of the main leaders of the ‘twelve’ disciples of Christ. Instead Andrew in this gospel is mentioned twice outside this reference. In chapter 6:8 we find that Andrew is the one who brings the boy with ‘five loaves and two fish’ to Jesus. And in 12:22 Andrew with Philip bring a message from the Greeks that they wanted to see Jesus, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So Andrew is not really a key figure in this gospel, but he is portrayed as a helper or aid. He also is one that introduces others to Christ.
In this verse and if we go back to verse 35 - we note that there were two disciples, Andrew was just one of the two disciples that followed Jesus. So who is the second disciple? The text never mentions his name. It is most likely the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. If you have read our introduction of this gospel - on our church info blog - you would know that the Apostle John never mentions his own name in this book.
It is likely to be him because if you look back down at verse 39, an exact time reference is given - ‘about the tenth hour.’ This would indicate that this is eyewitness information. It also indicates that there was some impact to this meeting, so the exact time was remembered. It would imply that the Apostle John who wrote this gospel was so impacted by his first meeting with Jesus that he includes this seemingly insignificant detail. Further support that this second disciple was John, is the fact that John is mentioned in the other gospels as among the first disciples - these being Andrew and Peter, and James and John. We should note that implied in this passage, and substantiated in the other gospels is that John and James became followers of Christ together.
V.41-42 Andrew was so excited about meeting Jesus, that he did not keep this treasured time to himself. The first thing Andrew does is to go and get his brother Simon. When Andrew finds Simon, he tells him that he has found the Messiah - ‘the anointed One.’ In the excitement of his amazing discovery, Andrew not only told his brother, but he brought him to Jesus. It appears from the Greek tense of the phrase - he brought him, that there was some reluctance on Simon’s part to go and see Jesus. When the two came to Jesus, before Simon even said anything - Jesus states ‘You are Simon the son of John.’ And then Jesus renames Simon. Jesus gives him the name - Cephas.
Cephas is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word - meaning ‘rock.’ The formal Greek word for ‘rock’ - as explained by the Apostle John in the parentheses, is Peter - or petros. Peter/petros was not a formal name in Jesus’ time, but it was more likely a nickname - perhaps a modern equivalent would be ‘rocky.’ His name foreshadowed the changes that were going to be made in his impulsive, volatile, and unreliable character. And it pointed to the role that Peter would play in the early church. Let us stop her for a moment and see what lessons can we learn from Andrew? Well we know that he is portrayed as a helper and also he brings others to Christ. As we allow the Lord to use us in building His church, can we learn something from Andrew’s example and apply it here at Cornerstone Community Church? How can you be a helper in some of our current and planned ministries? How can you become the instrument that the Lord would want to utilize - to build His church? Consider being a helper and be the one who takes the initiative to help out. Make yourself available to serve the Lord.
In addition Andrew was a person who introduced others to Christ. I had already mentioned about the Great Commission earlier. Think about ways you can introduce others to Christ this week - and DO IT. Make it your goal to take ownership of the Great Commission. The Great Commission is not the great suggestion - it is a command - meaning we must be active in implementing it. This can be simply done by encouraging others to come to some of our ministries like the new small group Bible studies. You can invite your non- Christian friends, neighbours, co-workers to join us. Perhaps you could simply invite someone to come with you here on Sundays. Go and bring them here yourself - like Andrew did for his brother Simon. Wake up a little bit earlier and go pick your friend up and bring them to church. There are so many things that can be done, so many blessings experienced, if we commit ourselves to being faithful to Christ.
Jesus says "FOLLOW ME’ calling each one of you here today to be His committed disciple. Our reflections come - not only by examining the response and actions of Andrew and Peter - but we also may pattern our response to Christ, by applying the lessons we discover from Philip and Nathanael.
2. Jesus Draws More Disciples v.43-51
V.43-45 As we begin verse 43, we also begin the next day - this would be the fourth day in a series of days, which began in verse 19. The scene changes as we find that Jesus departs for Galilee. Jesus then finds Philip , He gives him this challenge - or order (imperative) - Follow Me. It was no accident that Jesus found Philip, who was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Scripture portrays Philip , as a man of ordinary capability. In this gospel, the apostle is portrayed as one who seemed to be challenged beyond his ability. But it is a comfort to know that Jesus seeks out those who are ordinary people. This encourages us to know that plain old people like us can be used by the Lord to do His work in this church… we don’t all need to be superstars, but we just need to faithfully follow, and use our gifts and abilities for the glory of Christ.
Now we see Philip use his ordinary abilities. We see that in turn Philip finds Nathanael. Philip makes a statement to Nathanael, which reveals his view of who Jesus is. Philip says - We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and [also] the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (v.45). Philip finds in Jesus, what the OT Scriptures witness to - that is the coming Messiah - the coming Christ is now here. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures.
V.46 In reply, Nathanael with scorn and unbelief questions - Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nathanael was from Cana, a close by town of Nazareth. It appears that there was some rivalry between these two Galilean towns. Nathanael was skeptical as to the fact that Jesus, the Christ would come from such a place. Philip in response doesn’t argue with him, he doesn’t enter into some long discussion to prove that Jesus is the Christ. Instead he follows the method that Jesus used with Andrew and Peter in verse 39 - that is he simply states ‘Come and see.’
An application is imbedded in this text for us. It is a reminder that when we witness to others, and when we go out an do evangelism…that we do not need to argue about who Jesus is, but rather we should evangelize with ‘genuine, concerned, loving proclamation and invitation’ (Borchert). This is the way that we deal with the skeptic…by asking him or her to - Come and see. This is a reminder to us that God is sovereign in salvation. The Bible and Christ are not up for debate, they stand upon their own, authority and power. No one has ever been won over to Christ by arguing them into the Kingdom.
Philip’s example should cause you to reflect - How can you invite someone who doesn’t know Jesus, to ‘come and see?’ Invite them to church, one of our Bible studies, or any other event where they can see Christianity in action and to learn about Christ. In Philip’s response to Nathanael - the skeptic, we see godly wisdom in action, as he leads Nathanael to follow Christ.
V.47-49 As Nathanael follows Philip to see Jesus, Jesus says this of Nathanael - Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! In the context of what Jesus says later in verse 51, there seems to be an allusion to Genesis 28 - the account of Jacob and the ladder from heaven. Jacob was known for his deceitfulness, and now Nathanael is being contrasted to Jacob. What Jesus is saying of Nathanael is that he is a true and authentic Israelite. Nathanael was a model for others. Nathanael was a man in whom there is no deceit - there is nothing false about this guy. This statement described that Nathanael, demonstrated no deceit and represented what God desired for His people as His servants - unlike the character traits Jacob demonstrated.
We can pause once again and do some self examination. As a Christian are we afraid to make that known to others? And if we are is it because we do not live up to the righteous standards of the Word in our actions and speech each day? Do we know that we are living a double standard and therefore ashamed of our hypocrisy? Or can we as a Christian stand before the Lord and hear Him rightfully say of you - in whom there is no deceit!
Nathanael was now astonished and curious as to how and why Jesus would make this kind of statement. How did Jesus know him and therefore make this tribute? Nathanael discerned that somehow Jesus knew him. In Greek there are 2 words that can be translated as ‘know.’ The first word in Greek states knowledge as a fact - intellectual knowledge, but the second speaks about knowledge through experience / personal knowledge. And in verse 48 the word know, is the later of the two - which expresses that Nathanael asked Jesus how He had a personal knowledge or experiential knowledge of him. Jesus’ answer was this - Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
It was a custom in this time period that Jewish rabbis would study Scripture, pray, and meditate under a vine, fig tree, or olive tree. It was quite possible that Nathanael was doing the same as Jesus had already complimented him for being a true Israelite.
When Jesus looks at us, what does he find? Does Jesus find in us the character of Nathanael? Does He find someone who is faithful to Him in discipleship, in worship, in evangelism? Does Jesus find you faithful in study of His Word, in leading others to follow Christ? Does He find you as a ‘model’ representative of a true Christian?
In Jesus’ response we see aspects of Christ’s nature of Deity at work, that He is all knowing and all seeing. Jesus Christ super-naturally is able to see Nathanael’s presence and also into his heart. In this encounter, Nathanael comes to the full realization that right before him is the Messiah. Nathanael’s hopes for the coming Messiah have now come to pass. The Rabbi who was present was no other than the ‘the Son of God’ - in the fullness of His Deity, and ‘the King of Israel - in the fulfillment of OT prophecy that Jesus is the Messiah. And with Nathanael’s confession there follows his personal response - submission and obedience to the Christ.
All this is a vivid picture of verse 14 of this chapter of the gospel - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word who was God, now coming in human flesh - in the person of Jesus Christ, is standing right before Nathanael and the other disciples. Nathanael now openly confessed Jesus Christ, as his earlier doubts turned into belief. It was Nathanael’s knowledge of the OT, Philips’s witness, and Christ’s display of supernatural knowledge that God used to draw and convert Nathanael…and now he joyfully followed Christ.
V.50-51 Jesus’ response to Nathanael confession of who Jesus Christ is this - Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Jesus affirms Nathanael’s faith and announces that he will see greater demonstrations of God’s power and revelation.
In verse 51 when Jesus states - Truly, truly, I say to you… if you use the NIV, it is poorly translated. The original Greek is better translated as found in the NASB as - Truly, truly, I say to you… Why is this important? It is important because there is a drawing of the listener and subsequently of the readers attention to what is to follow. In other words what is to be said is so important that it should not be missed. The word truly (NASB) in Greek is a well know word to us - it is the word amen. So literally Jesus says ‘Amen, amen, I say to you…’
"The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated
directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then
into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is
practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word
in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost
identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (amam), or faithful.
Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly", ‘may it be so’ - an expression
of absolute trust and confidence. – HMM from BDB/Thayers"
As Jesus continues speaking, it appears that He is once again making an allusion to Genesis 28:12, where Jacob dreams of the ladder from heaven. Jesus is emphasizing to Nathanael, and includes the other disciples, that they can be absolutely sure that they will, like Jacob, experience supernatural heaven-sent revelation. The disciples will see the heavens opened - because in Christ there is complete, open and direct, communion between God and man (And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us - v.14). In this case supernatural revelation from heaven will confirm who Jesus - the Son of Man - is.
The term ‘the Son of Man,’ was Jesus’ favourite self designation. Jesus referred to Himself by this title over 80 times in the NT. In its general usage, the term identifies Jesus’ relationship to man. As the incarnate Christ - Jesus is the perfect representative of man before God and is the One who reveals divine truth. Later on in the gospel, we will see its specific implications in regards to the scope of God’s plan of salvation. In today’s passage, the term ‘the Son of Man’ replaces the ladder of Jacob’s dream, which indicates that in Jesus there is free access between God and Man. This is what A.T. Roberston wrote about this section:
Christ is himself the bond of fellowship between
heaven and earth, between God and man….
for Jesus is both "the Son of
God" as Nathanael said and "the Son
of Man" as Jesus here calls
himself. ‘God and man meet in Christ. He is the true Jacob's
Ladder. "I am the Way," Jesus will say. He is more than
King of Israel, he is the Son of Man (the race). So quickly
has this Gospel brought out in the witness of the Baptist,
the faith of the first disciples, the claims of Jesus Christ,
the fully developed picture of the Logos who is both God
and man, moving among men and winning them to his
service….He sets forth the dignity
and majesty of His Person.’ - Word Pictures
Overall in our text we see that in the first disciples, they find the Christ. Andrew finds Jesus and then he gets his brother Simon (who is given the name Peter). John, one of the 2 disciples of the Baptist goes and finds his brother James (this is in between the lines of this text but we do know this from the other gospels). Jesus finds Andrew and Peter’s fellow townsman, Philip. And then in turn, Philip goes and finds Nathanael (but on the bigger scale of salvation it was by the will and drawing of the Father - cf. Jn. 6:44 ).
How are we doing at ‘following Jesus’ will, as a church? How are you doing at ‘following Jesus’ as a Christian? Jesus says to His disciples come and follow me. If we really are bringing ourselves before Him, and following Jesus then we will see great and wonderful things that Christ is doing. We will experience the joy of being a Christian, because in faith and faithfulness there is blessing. Amen.
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By Noah Ressler
Change is inevitable in life. We all know this by experience. Sometimes the change we have experienced is pleasant and sometimes – not so pleasant. But the person who has placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross on their behalf, that person is called to follow Christ. And from that moment forward as we follow, it is inevitable that change will take place in our lives, if we are truly following. To follow is to be a disciple, student, learner of all that Christ is and our obeying His lessons and making them a part of our lives brings about radical change that has supernatural consequences because the source is supernatural.
Jesus’ first disciples are just like you and I. They were not celebrities. They were not wealthy. They were not mighty in stature in the community. They were hard working people just like us. These were common men in every respect – just like you and me. They brought nothing to Jesus’ ministry that gave Christ a reason to select them because of some personal character trait or strength. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true.
John the Baptist’ ministry is diminishing and Jesus’ ministry is just beginning. Change is inevitable as Jesus interacts with people and demonstrates His being the Son of God. Once we encounter Christ Jesus and believe and obey the Gospel, change must and will take place for our sanctification and growth into the likeness of Christ. No fruit in the Christian life is evidence that we have not encountered Christ and repented of our sins and obeyed the Gospel. These men were changed from common men who were used by Christ to turn the world upside down for the cause of Christ. We too have been called in our common state to become men and women who propagate the Gospel and impact our community for Christ. That is the mandate of The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
Where are you at in the view of the Scriptures in John 1:35-51? Do you know that Jesus Christ is God, that He by means of His work on the cross has opened the doors of His Kingdom in heaven for access to you that have repented of your sins and confessed Him as Lord and Savior? I urge you to repent, even now and call upon His name for your acquittal before the bar of God’s justice. To those who have done so – are you following Him as a disciple? Are you learning and committing your soul to Him that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient? Make a commitment, even now, to commit to a life of obedient worship of your Creator, Jesus Christ.
EXCURSUS ON THE FIRST DISCIPLES.
Andrew
Andrew means "manly." He was bold, decisive, and deliberate. As our text says, Andrew was the first called by name. He was part of the 1st group although he was not included in some of the important events as Peter, James, and John were with Christ (Mt. 17:1; Mk. 5:37; 14:33). At other times he was featured as part of the inner circle (cf. Mk. 1:29; 13:3). There was no question that he had a particularly close relationship with Christ, b/c he was so often the means by which other people were personally introduced to the Master, as is the case here in our text.
Andrew’s eagerness to follow Christ, combined with his zeal to introduce others to Him, fairly typifies Andrew’s character.
Andrew lived his life in the shadow of his better-known brother. Many of the verses that name him add that he was Peter’s brother, as if that were the fact that made him significant. But in Andrew’s case there is no evidence that he begrudged Peter’s dominance. Almost everything Scripture tells us about Andrew shows that he had the right heart for effective ministry in the background. He did not seek to be the center of attention. He did not seem to resent those who labored in the limelight. He was evidently pleased to do what he could with the gifts and calling God had bestowed on him, and he allowed the others to do likewise.
Of all the disciples in the inner circle, Andrew appears to be the least contentious and most thoughtful. Peter tended to be impetuous, to rush ahead foolishly, and to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was often brash, clumsy, hasty, and impulsive. James and John were nicknamed the Sons of Thunder because of their reckless tendencies. They were evidently the ones who provoked many of the arguments about who was the greatest. But there’s never a hint of that with Andrew. Whenever he speaks, which is rare in Scripture – he always says the right thing, not the wrong thing.
Andrew may be a better model for most church leaders than Peter, because most who enter the ministry will labor in relative obscurity, like Andrew, as opposed to being renowned and prominent, like Peter.
Peter
Here in our text Jesus describes His first face-to-face meeting with Simon Peter… from then on "Rock" was his nickname. If the Lord called Peter "Simon," he was signaling him that he was acting like his old self. If he called him "Rock," He was commending him for acting the way he ought to be acting. Simon, who would become Peter, was impetuous, impulsive, and overeager. He needed to become like a rock, so that is what Jesus named him. From then on, the Lord could gently chide him or commend him just by using one name or the other.
In Luke 5:5, for example, Luke writes, "Simon answered and said unto Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your Word I will let down the net.’" … He is skeptical and reluctant. But as he obeys and his eyes are opened to who Jesus really is, Luke begins to refer to him by his new name. Verse 8 says, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!
In Luke 22:31, foretelling Peter’s betrayal, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat." Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Peter should have been watching and praying with Christ, he fell asleep. Mark writes, "[Jesus] came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The Ssirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mk. 14:37-38). Thus usually when Peter needed rebuke or admonishment, Jesus referred to him as Simon. It must have reached the point where whenever the Lord said "Simon," Peter cringed. He must have been thinking, Please call me Rock! And the Lord might have replied, "I’ll call you Rock when you act like a rock."
After the resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples to return to Galilee, where He planned to appear to them (Mt. 28:7). Impatient Simon apparently got tired of waiting, so he announced that he was going back to fishing (Jn. 21:3). As usual, the other disciples dutifully followed their leader. They got into the boat, fished all night, and caught nothing… But Jesus met them on the shore the following morning, where He had prepared breakfast for them. The main purpose of the breakfast meeting seemed to be the restoration of Peter (who, of course, had sinned egregiously by denying Christ with curses on the night the Lord was betrayed). Three times the Lord addressed him as Simon and asked, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" (Jn. 21:15-17). Three times Peter affirmed his love… That was the last time Jesus ever had to call him Simon. A few weeks later, on Pentecost, Peter and the rest of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. It was Peter, the Rock, who stood up and preached that day.
Peter was exactly like most Christians – both carnal and spiritual. He succumbed to the habits of the flesh sometimes; he functioned in the Spirit other times. He was sinful sometimes, but other times he acted the way a righteous man ought to act. This vacillating man – sometimes Simon, sometimes Peter – was the leader of the Twelve.
Peter’s occupation of fishing and his discipleship can be listed as follows:
a. In John 1:42 the Lord did not say "Follow Me" when Andrew drew him away from his fishing to be brought to the Messiah. It is as if He would test the faithfulness of Peter to see if he would follow Him.
b. In Matt. 4:18 He found Peter fishing again by the Sea of Galilee. The Lord said, "FollowMe", and he would be made a fisher of men. Again, Peter left his fishing, and followed Him.
c. In Luke 5:1-11 Peter had returned to his fishing again. Having caught nothing, and having seen the miraculous catch of fish, he confessed to being a sinful man. So he forsook all and followed Him.
d. In John 13:36 the Lord announced to Peter that he could not follow the Lord there and then. Stating that he would follow the Lord even to unto death, he soon forsook Him and fled, and shortly afterwards denied Him.
e. In John 21:3 after the Lord’s resurrection, Peter decided to go fishing in the Sea of Galilee so familiar to him. Only when John said, "It is the Lord" did Peter know who was standing on the shore. In the final conversation that ensued, the Lord predicted Peter’s ultimate death by crucifixion, adding "Follow thou Me" when Peter asked what would happen to John.
f. In the Acts Peter never returned to fishing again, following the Lord until his decease "as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed Me" (I Pet. 1:14).
Philip
Greek name meaning lover of horses. He must also have had a Jewish name, b/c all 12 apostles were Jewish. But his Jewish name is never given. Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, 1:44. John MacArthur says of Philip in his Twelve Ordinary Men: "Piecing together all that the apostle John records about him, it seems Philip was a classic "process person." He was a facts-and-figures-guy – a by-the-book, practical minded, non-forward thinking type of individual. He was the kind who tends to be a corporate kill-joy, pessimistic, narrowly focused, sometimes missing the big picture, often obsessed with identifying reasons things can’t be done rather than finding ways to do them. He was predisposed to be a pragmatist and a cynic – and sometimes a defeatist – rather than a visionary."
Nathanael
Nathanael means God has given. In the other Gospels he is called Bartholomew, a Hebrew surname meaning "son of Tolmai. So he is Nathanel, son of Tolmai, or Nathanael Bar-Tolmai.
According to John 21:12 Nathanael was from the small town Cana in Galilee, the place Jesus performed His first miracle of changing water into wine (John 2:11). Cana was close to Jesus’ hometown Nazareth. He was a searcher of Scripture and a seeker of Messianic truth, Jn. 1:43-44. We must remember he knew the Scriptures very well and Nazareth was not in Scripture as the place from which Messiah was to come – Bethlehem was, but not Nazareth. His statement, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" shows his prejudice. Nazareth was a rough town. Its culture was largely unrefined and uneducated. Nazareth is not a necessarily picturesque place. Although it has a nice setting on the slopes of the hills of Galilee, it is not a very memorable town, and was even less so in Jesus’ time. The Judeans looked down on all Galileans, but even the Galileans looked down on the Nazarenes. Nathanael, though he came from an even more lowly village, was simply echoing the Galileans’ general contempt for Nazareth.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sunday, November 9, 2008
John 1:29-34 The Lamb of God
09.11.08 John 1:29-34 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 1:29-34
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The Lamb of God
John 1:29-34 states:
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 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.' 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."
Today we will affirm four great truths about Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God as evidenced by four powerful confessions:
1. The Lamb of God SAVES
2. The Lamb of God is SUPERIOR
3. The Lamb of God SANCTIFIES
4. The Lamb of God is SUPREME
Last week we reacquainted ourselves with a humble servant of the Lord - John the Baptist. John the Baptist was under interrogation by the Jews from Jerusalem. Their purpose was to investigate the Baptist. They needed to report back to the religious authorities, with the answer to this question - ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ And in reply John the Baptist - plainly, truthfully - states that he is not, who they think he might have been. Now continuing in the Gospel of John in chapter 1, verse 29, John the Baptist gives us 4 powerful confessions.
Jesus Christ takes our place, and is the only perfect sinless sacrifice which pleases God so that He forgives us of all our sins - Jesus Christ SAVES; Jesus Christ surpasses all of us because He is God Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR; Jesus Christ sets us apart for holiness when He saves us - in other words Jesus Christ SANCTIFIES; Jesus Christ is the only way in which we may be saved because He is the Son of God Jesus Christ is SUPREME.
John the Baptist begins with his first confession which is that :
1. The Lamb of God SAVES (v.29)
As the our passage begins we should note that it begins with the words ‘the next day’, in verse 29. ‘The next day’ appears here, and also in verses 35, 43, and in 2:1. It points the reader to the fact that there a series of days and consecutive events that are chronological. These series of days contain happenings which give testimony and confession of who Jesus is. They serve to develop a positive identification of the coming Saviour to which John the Baptist pointed to. As each day progresses a deeper picture of the Messiah - Jesus Christ, is painted.
For a long time the Jews were awaiting their coming Messiah that had been prophesied about in the Scriptures. When the word spread around about the John the Baptist’s ministry, it gained a lot of attention. So in response to the Baptist’s ministry - in the direct preceding context of verses (v.19-28) - the religious authorities sent out some of their members to figure out who John the Baptist was. They questioned him as to whether he was the Christ - and the Baptist’s reply was no he was not. They questioned him as to whether he was Elijah, or the prophet - and once again received the answers - no. Instead John declares himself to be the ‘voice,’ the one whom God called to point others to the Saviour - and to call them to prepare. And now the Baptist does do that - he points decisively at Jesus - the Christ he prepared others for and exclaims ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ John the Baptist declares ‘Behold’ - or look - drawing attention to Jesus. John then attributes to Jesus the title - ‘the Lamb of God.’ John anticipates something so important to this gospel book. The event that is foreshadowed is the cross upon which Christ dies. Jesus Christ is the Lamb - a special kind of lamb which is able to permanently take away our sin.
With this statement there is a possible link to the Passover celebration, which looms just over the horizon, in chapter 2. The Passover commemorates the time that the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt. The Passover was in remembrance of the tenth plague upon the Egyptians. If you remember this 10th plague was in judgement of the nation for Pharaoh’s obstinance. In the tenth plague, the Lord sent the angel of death to ‘pass over’ the Jewish homes on which the doorposts were sprinkled with blood (Exod 12:23-27). As the angel ‘passed over’ these homes, those who did not have the blood of a lamb upon their doorposts - the result was that the firstborn of men and animal of these homes, were judged by death.
In the Old Testament we have the concept of a ritual taking away of sin through the life of a sacrificial animal. It was a wiping away of sin, a covering over (Heb. -kephar), or getting rid of sin - specifically symbolized by its blood which was required in exchange for the life of the worshipper. This was a symbolic expression of - innocent life given for guilty life. The Passover foreshadowed Christ’s work of glorifying God through His sacrifice - the shedding of His blood upon the cross, and therefore the bearing away of the sins of the people. The shed blood of Christ upon the cross and the subsequent removal of our sins - constitutes the atonement. The atonement is the act where we are made to be ‘at one’ with God once again. Christ’s innocent life was given for our guilty lives.
In both the offering of the sacrificial animal and in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - only those who were genuine in faith and repentance, received its benefit, which was the forgiveness of God. God’s forgiveness , was not based on any animal sacrifice, but on The One - that is Jesus Christ. Because all the sacrifices of the OT pictured and pointed the person to their need of a permanent solution to sin - and that was found in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death in our place. The Old Testament ritual anticipated the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate High Priest, who died on the cross for you and for me. What was presented in the OT, now in the NT what was foreshadowed, has been revealed clearly to us - that Jesus Christ is ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’
It is interesting to note here in verse 29, that the word sin is used, and not the plural ‘sins.’ The point is that the Baptist is not only looking at a number of individual acts of sin, but looks to the broader scope. He foreshadows the cross, and acknowledges that ‘the Lamb of God’s’ sacrifice is sufficient. It is sufficient for taking away the totality of the world’s sin - but that it effectively only reaches all people whom are chosen. Though the forgiveness of sin is offered, only those who receive Christ will it become efficacious - because if we remember back in verses 11 and 12 - it states that Jesus Christ - "came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
The word ‘World’ speaks of the comprehensive nature of Christ’s work on our behalf to satisfy God’s just wrath upon the sinner. Christ’s death and resurrection is adequate for anyone who would come in humble reliance upon the Lord, for salvation from the penalty of their sins.
REPEAT - There is a tendency for believers to live in the light of their sins; and not in the light of the One who has granted us the forgiveness of our sins.
Yes, we do sin, as believers - though being saved by God from our sins - yet we often dwell upon the grief which was associated with our sins. Despite our confession of sin often we cling to the remembrance of them - even though they have been forgiven. Our past sins, though forgiven - plague our memories. And because of this we often live in the past and not in the present and the future. Do you ever feel that you are too sinful to be forgiven? Do you feel that even though you have asked God to be forgiven, there is no assurance of this? Let us look to Scripture to help us with these often very real feelings.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 states: 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." This statement from Jeremiah is the announcement of the New Covenant which tells us the reality of the results of the coming of Jesus Christ, which we as believers are a part of in Christ. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us we are now a new creation in Christ, and all our sins have been forgiven.
1 John 1:9 tells us - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
In this verse, it points us to the fact that God will indeed forgive us if we confess our sins to Him. In order to be assured of God’s forgiveness we need to accept what God has stated in His Word. When we have genuinely sought out God’s forgiveness then - God will remember our sins no more. God will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. For the believer - we need to live in light of the facts of forgiveness and not in light of our emotions which may deceive us.
For those of you who do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour - there is no one who is too sinful to be forgiven - Jesus Christ saves. So it is revealed that - Jesus Christ takes our sins away as the perfect sinless sacrifice on our behalf if we put our complete trust in Him.
John the Baptist ads further weight to his testimony. This time it relates to the proper identification of the Messiah he just pointed to. He states on behalf of the One he pointed to, that:
2. The Lamb of God is SUPERIOR (v.30)
Verse 30 states - 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.' The focus of this verse is solely upon the Lamb of God. This Man is the one who is superior to - and also having priority over the Baptist. The Baptist makes this same declaration back in verse 15, if you look back there in your Bibles. Prior to that point John could not make a positive ID of the Christ. But in v. 15 and now in v. 30 - the Baptist is now able to point out Jesus the Christ, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR as the Baptist uses in his description of Christ - ‘a Man’ - and we see that John balances the reality of who Jesus is. In context to the opening verses of chapter 1 - Jesus Christ is the God-Man. For the Lamb of God - is fully human yet He is also the eternal Word of God. John the Baptist affirms the priority of the incarnate Word. John the Baptist humbly declares without any question that Jesus Christ, though coming after John - has a higher rank than him (ie - pre-eminent) and Jesus Christ existied before the Baptist (ie - Jesus was eternally pre-existent cf. v.1-2).
Not only is it that Jesus Christ SAVES, and that Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR to us, John in verse 31 delivers his 3rd powerful confession of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God - which is that:
3. The Lamb of God SANCTIFIES (v.31-33)
v.31 - At this point of the our passage in verses 31-33, we should note that John had already Baptized Jesus earlier. And up to that point, John the Baptist makes the claim that he did not recognize Jesus. And the knowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah did come through God’s revelation later, which was revealed at the Baptism of the Messiah. Scripture does not mention if John the Baptist and Jesus knew one another personally before this event - but we do know that they were related to one another (Lk. 1:36). It was, however the Baptist’s function to reveal and make known the Messiah to Israel, which only was affirmed at Jesus’ baptism.
v.32 - Through the Baptist’s own personal experience of baptizing Jesus - did God confirm that Jesus was indeed the Lamb of God. At this junction of human history, the Baptist states - I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. The descent of the Spirit was a visible event. The Spirit of God manifested Himself in likeness as a dove as a sign. The dove, to the Jews it seems was associated as a symbol of the Holy Spirit (it is important to note that the Spirit is not a dove). It was only the sign which God used to confirm to the Baptist, who the Messiah was. John the Baptist did recognize Jesus as the Messiah when He came to John to be baptized, but now the permanent and undeniable proof was given by God. The presence of the Spirit of God coming out of heaven served to authenticate Jesus’ earthly ministry. It also represents the seal of Christ’s work in the people He saves.
v.33 - John was in no way portraying himself as the one who could impart the Spirit to his own disciples or anyone else. He did announce that it was the Lamb of God that could do so. John baptized with water - in a call to repentance and preparation for the Messiah, but Jesus Christ baptizes in the Holy Spirit. Baptism with the Holy Spirit was foreshadowed in the OT, in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel reveals God’s future plans of restoration of His people in chapter 36. Ezekiel 36:25-27 states: 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Once again like the passage I quoted earlier from Jeremiah, this too is a reference to the New Covenant. In the Lamb of God the New Covenant is fulfilled. In Jesus Christ we are cleansed - washed clean from our sins through His saving grace imparted to the believer. It is Jesus Christ who baptizes believer’s with the Holy Spirit.
At the beginning of our worship we sang the hymn "WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS" penned by Joseph Scriven, who lived between the years 1819-1886. This was written about the author and the song in the book Amazing Grace (which gives the stories behind the hymns):
A true friend loves and accepts us just as we are, stays close to us in good or in bad, and is always ready to help in time of need. Because the author of this hymn text found just such a friend in his Lord, he decided to spend his entire life showing real friendship to others.
Joseph Scriven had wealth, education, a devoted family, and a pleasant life in his native Ireland. Then unexpected tragedy entered. On the night before Scriven’s scheduled wedding, his fiancée drowned. In his deep sorrow, Joseph realized that he could find the solace and support he needed only in his dearest friend, Jesus. Soon after this tragedy, Scriven dramatically changed his lifestyle. He left Ireland for Port Hope, Canada (which is about an hour east of Toronto), he was determined to devote all of his extra time in being a friend and helper to others. Scriven became known as "the Good Samaritan of Port Hope."
When Scriven’s mother became ill in Ireland, he wrote a comforting letter to her, enclosing the words of his newly written poem with the prayer that these brief lines would remind her of a never-failing heavenly Friend. Sometime later, when Joseph Scriven himself was ill, a friend who came to call on him happened to see a copy of these words scribbled on scratch paper near his bed. The friend read the lines with interest and asked, "Who wrote those beautiful words?" "The Lord and I did it between us," was Scriven’s reply.
Scriven’s song begins with these words - ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!’ Yes, Jesus is our friend He is the Lamb of God who takes away your sins. When you place your complete trust in Him, He will not disappoint you, for He is faithful. When you believe in Jesus Christ, He gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit which does the work of sanctification in you. The song closes with these words - ‘in His arms He’ll take and shield thee—Thou wilt find a solace there.’ (Osbeck, K. W. 1990. Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions. Includes indexes. (Page 19). Kregel Publications: Grand Rapids, Mich. )
In the Lamb of God we find our shelter from our sin.
When we were saved by Christ we are made new - 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us this - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
At the time of our conversion, when we have sincerely repented (turned away from the love of sin) and confessed our sin and our utter need for Christ, as our Saviour from our sins - we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then indwells in the believer - He lives in us permanently, which is our seal of the new life received in Christ. Ephesians 1:13-14 affirms to us this spiritual reality: 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of [God's own] possession, to the praise of His glory.
God gives us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we are truly saved. With the Holy Spirit living in the believer, there will be marks of spiritual growth and maturity - because we are being sanctified - in other words - set apart for holiness - set apart for God’s purposes.
Finally we find our last important confession:
4. The Lamb of God SUPREME (v.34)
John supports his testimony of the Messiah with his fourth confession - ‘that this is the Son of God,’ in verse 34. He once again gives us the reader the positive identification of who the Lamb of God is. John emphatically declares that in Jesus Christ we find the anointed elect One. And I want to lead you to discover this yourself. And how you can do this is to look in your Bibles - to draw this back to the things we have learned from verse 1 and to bring things back ‘full circle’ down to verse 34 and then back to verse 1 - we then have this certainty unfolding in the inspired, inerrant, infallible text :
that in verse 1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v.1); now in verse 14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth; and in verse 17b - grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ; in verse 29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ; connect this with verse 34 - "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God; and now bring it back full circle to verse 1c - the Word was God.
Therefore it is undeniable that the Word became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and Son of God - to die as the sole sacrifice for our sins if we receive this truth and cast ourselves upon His grace and mercy - in repentance of our sins.
Now back to verse 34 - the focus is once again on the identification of ‘The Lamb of God’ - and this time it is on His supremacy. This is the concern of the Baptist because God sent him to be a witness to the Messiah. John was the voice preparing the way for the Messiah’s arrival, and now that the Messiah is here, he states - I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God - John the Baptist identifies and points to Jesus Christ. This is also the concern of the Apostle John, as he recounts the Good News about the Christ.
As the Son, Jesus has a special relationship with the Father. It speaks of an intimate and unique knowledge of the Father - that Jesus Christ alone shares the same nature as the Father. As we will discover later on in the Gospel, Jesus on several occasions, applies to Himself this special relationship of being the Son of God. In so doing Jesus asserted His Deity. Yet what we find here - is that Jesus, as the Son of God, is the chosen One that would be in fulfillment of God’s plan of Salvation….Jesus has been chosen as the suffering servant, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! In none other is there salvation, for - there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
In our passage today we have come to understand four important confessions of who Jesus Christ is:
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God - and as the sacrificial lamb, Jesus removes the sin of the world. The removal of our sin is found through the atoning sacrifice of Christ upon the cross - which places the believer - ‘at one’ with God.
Jesus Christ is able to take away your sin and that of the world because He is the One who has a higher rank than John and existed before John. Jesus Christ is superior to us in all respects - He is superior to any existing claims of world religions - for He solely is the Eternal God.
Jesus Christ is the only One who grants salvation from our sins and is the giver of eternal life because He is the only One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. At the moment that we are saved by Jesus Christ - He sanctifies us - setting us apart for holiness - through His Spirit whom lives in the born again believer.
Jesus Christ is truly the unique One from the Father as He is the Son of God. As it states in Col. 2:9 - ‘For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.’
We have spiritual victory in our life because of the source of our victory over sin is in Christ alone - the Lamb of God. Christ SAVES us from the penalty of our sins, Christ is SUPERIOR in every regard, Christ SANCTIFIES us, and Christ is SUPREME - all powerful because HE IS God.
Have you come to the Lamb of God for the forgiveness of your sin? Have you turned your life over to the Lamb of God as your Lord and Saviour?
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Audio Sermon File: John 1:29-34
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The Lamb of God
John 1:29-34 states:
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 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.' 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."
Today we will affirm four great truths about Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God as evidenced by four powerful confessions:
1. The Lamb of God SAVES
2. The Lamb of God is SUPERIOR
3. The Lamb of God SANCTIFIES
4. The Lamb of God is SUPREME
Last week we reacquainted ourselves with a humble servant of the Lord - John the Baptist. John the Baptist was under interrogation by the Jews from Jerusalem. Their purpose was to investigate the Baptist. They needed to report back to the religious authorities, with the answer to this question - ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ And in reply John the Baptist - plainly, truthfully - states that he is not, who they think he might have been. Now continuing in the Gospel of John in chapter 1, verse 29, John the Baptist gives us 4 powerful confessions.
Jesus Christ takes our place, and is the only perfect sinless sacrifice which pleases God so that He forgives us of all our sins - Jesus Christ SAVES; Jesus Christ surpasses all of us because He is God Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR; Jesus Christ sets us apart for holiness when He saves us - in other words Jesus Christ SANCTIFIES; Jesus Christ is the only way in which we may be saved because He is the Son of God Jesus Christ is SUPREME.
John the Baptist begins with his first confession which is that :
1. The Lamb of God SAVES (v.29)
As the our passage begins we should note that it begins with the words ‘the next day’, in verse 29. ‘The next day’ appears here, and also in verses 35, 43, and in 2:1. It points the reader to the fact that there a series of days and consecutive events that are chronological. These series of days contain happenings which give testimony and confession of who Jesus is. They serve to develop a positive identification of the coming Saviour to which John the Baptist pointed to. As each day progresses a deeper picture of the Messiah - Jesus Christ, is painted.
For a long time the Jews were awaiting their coming Messiah that had been prophesied about in the Scriptures. When the word spread around about the John the Baptist’s ministry, it gained a lot of attention. So in response to the Baptist’s ministry - in the direct preceding context of verses (v.19-28) - the religious authorities sent out some of their members to figure out who John the Baptist was. They questioned him as to whether he was the Christ - and the Baptist’s reply was no he was not. They questioned him as to whether he was Elijah, or the prophet - and once again received the answers - no. Instead John declares himself to be the ‘voice,’ the one whom God called to point others to the Saviour - and to call them to prepare. And now the Baptist does do that - he points decisively at Jesus - the Christ he prepared others for and exclaims ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ John the Baptist declares ‘Behold’ - or look - drawing attention to Jesus. John then attributes to Jesus the title - ‘the Lamb of God.’ John anticipates something so important to this gospel book. The event that is foreshadowed is the cross upon which Christ dies. Jesus Christ is the Lamb - a special kind of lamb which is able to permanently take away our sin.
With this statement there is a possible link to the Passover celebration, which looms just over the horizon, in chapter 2. The Passover commemorates the time that the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt. The Passover was in remembrance of the tenth plague upon the Egyptians. If you remember this 10th plague was in judgement of the nation for Pharaoh’s obstinance. In the tenth plague, the Lord sent the angel of death to ‘pass over’ the Jewish homes on which the doorposts were sprinkled with blood (Exod 12:23-27). As the angel ‘passed over’ these homes, those who did not have the blood of a lamb upon their doorposts - the result was that the firstborn of men and animal of these homes, were judged by death.
In the Old Testament we have the concept of a ritual taking away of sin through the life of a sacrificial animal. It was a wiping away of sin, a covering over (Heb. -kephar), or getting rid of sin - specifically symbolized by its blood which was required in exchange for the life of the worshipper. This was a symbolic expression of - innocent life given for guilty life. The Passover foreshadowed Christ’s work of glorifying God through His sacrifice - the shedding of His blood upon the cross, and therefore the bearing away of the sins of the people. The shed blood of Christ upon the cross and the subsequent removal of our sins - constitutes the atonement. The atonement is the act where we are made to be ‘at one’ with God once again. Christ’s innocent life was given for our guilty lives.
In both the offering of the sacrificial animal and in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - only those who were genuine in faith and repentance, received its benefit, which was the forgiveness of God. God’s forgiveness , was not based on any animal sacrifice, but on The One - that is Jesus Christ. Because all the sacrifices of the OT pictured and pointed the person to their need of a permanent solution to sin - and that was found in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death in our place. The Old Testament ritual anticipated the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate High Priest, who died on the cross for you and for me. What was presented in the OT, now in the NT what was foreshadowed, has been revealed clearly to us - that Jesus Christ is ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’
It is interesting to note here in verse 29, that the word sin is used, and not the plural ‘sins.’ The point is that the Baptist is not only looking at a number of individual acts of sin, but looks to the broader scope. He foreshadows the cross, and acknowledges that ‘the Lamb of God’s’ sacrifice is sufficient. It is sufficient for taking away the totality of the world’s sin - but that it effectively only reaches all people whom are chosen. Though the forgiveness of sin is offered, only those who receive Christ will it become efficacious - because if we remember back in verses 11 and 12 - it states that Jesus Christ - "came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
The word ‘World’ speaks of the comprehensive nature of Christ’s work on our behalf to satisfy God’s just wrath upon the sinner. Christ’s death and resurrection is adequate for anyone who would come in humble reliance upon the Lord, for salvation from the penalty of their sins.
REPEAT - There is a tendency for believers to live in the light of their sins; and not in the light of the One who has granted us the forgiveness of our sins.
Yes, we do sin, as believers - though being saved by God from our sins - yet we often dwell upon the grief which was associated with our sins. Despite our confession of sin often we cling to the remembrance of them - even though they have been forgiven. Our past sins, though forgiven - plague our memories. And because of this we often live in the past and not in the present and the future. Do you ever feel that you are too sinful to be forgiven? Do you feel that even though you have asked God to be forgiven, there is no assurance of this? Let us look to Scripture to help us with these often very real feelings.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 states: 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." This statement from Jeremiah is the announcement of the New Covenant which tells us the reality of the results of the coming of Jesus Christ, which we as believers are a part of in Christ. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us we are now a new creation in Christ, and all our sins have been forgiven.
1 John 1:9 tells us - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
In this verse, it points us to the fact that God will indeed forgive us if we confess our sins to Him. In order to be assured of God’s forgiveness we need to accept what God has stated in His Word. When we have genuinely sought out God’s forgiveness then - God will remember our sins no more. God will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. For the believer - we need to live in light of the facts of forgiveness and not in light of our emotions which may deceive us.
For those of you who do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour - there is no one who is too sinful to be forgiven - Jesus Christ saves. So it is revealed that - Jesus Christ takes our sins away as the perfect sinless sacrifice on our behalf if we put our complete trust in Him.
John the Baptist ads further weight to his testimony. This time it relates to the proper identification of the Messiah he just pointed to. He states on behalf of the One he pointed to, that:
2. The Lamb of God is SUPERIOR (v.30)
Verse 30 states - 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.' The focus of this verse is solely upon the Lamb of God. This Man is the one who is superior to - and also having priority over the Baptist. The Baptist makes this same declaration back in verse 15, if you look back there in your Bibles. Prior to that point John could not make a positive ID of the Christ. But in v. 15 and now in v. 30 - the Baptist is now able to point out Jesus the Christ, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR as the Baptist uses in his description of Christ - ‘a Man’ - and we see that John balances the reality of who Jesus is. In context to the opening verses of chapter 1 - Jesus Christ is the God-Man. For the Lamb of God - is fully human yet He is also the eternal Word of God. John the Baptist affirms the priority of the incarnate Word. John the Baptist humbly declares without any question that Jesus Christ, though coming after John - has a higher rank than him (ie - pre-eminent) and Jesus Christ existied before the Baptist (ie - Jesus was eternally pre-existent cf. v.1-2).
Not only is it that Jesus Christ SAVES, and that Jesus Christ is SUPERIOR to us, John in verse 31 delivers his 3rd powerful confession of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God - which is that:
3. The Lamb of God SANCTIFIES (v.31-33)
v.31 - At this point of the our passage in verses 31-33, we should note that John had already Baptized Jesus earlier. And up to that point, John the Baptist makes the claim that he did not recognize Jesus. And the knowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah did come through God’s revelation later, which was revealed at the Baptism of the Messiah. Scripture does not mention if John the Baptist and Jesus knew one another personally before this event - but we do know that they were related to one another (Lk. 1:36). It was, however the Baptist’s function to reveal and make known the Messiah to Israel, which only was affirmed at Jesus’ baptism.
v.32 - Through the Baptist’s own personal experience of baptizing Jesus - did God confirm that Jesus was indeed the Lamb of God. At this junction of human history, the Baptist states - I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. The descent of the Spirit was a visible event. The Spirit of God manifested Himself in likeness as a dove as a sign. The dove, to the Jews it seems was associated as a symbol of the Holy Spirit (it is important to note that the Spirit is not a dove). It was only the sign which God used to confirm to the Baptist, who the Messiah was. John the Baptist did recognize Jesus as the Messiah when He came to John to be baptized, but now the permanent and undeniable proof was given by God. The presence of the Spirit of God coming out of heaven served to authenticate Jesus’ earthly ministry. It also represents the seal of Christ’s work in the people He saves.
v.33 - John was in no way portraying himself as the one who could impart the Spirit to his own disciples or anyone else. He did announce that it was the Lamb of God that could do so. John baptized with water - in a call to repentance and preparation for the Messiah, but Jesus Christ baptizes in the Holy Spirit. Baptism with the Holy Spirit was foreshadowed in the OT, in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel reveals God’s future plans of restoration of His people in chapter 36. Ezekiel 36:25-27 states: 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Once again like the passage I quoted earlier from Jeremiah, this too is a reference to the New Covenant. In the Lamb of God the New Covenant is fulfilled. In Jesus Christ we are cleansed - washed clean from our sins through His saving grace imparted to the believer. It is Jesus Christ who baptizes believer’s with the Holy Spirit.
At the beginning of our worship we sang the hymn "WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS" penned by Joseph Scriven, who lived between the years 1819-1886. This was written about the author and the song in the book Amazing Grace (which gives the stories behind the hymns):
A true friend loves and accepts us just as we are, stays close to us in good or in bad, and is always ready to help in time of need. Because the author of this hymn text found just such a friend in his Lord, he decided to spend his entire life showing real friendship to others.
Joseph Scriven had wealth, education, a devoted family, and a pleasant life in his native Ireland. Then unexpected tragedy entered. On the night before Scriven’s scheduled wedding, his fiancée drowned. In his deep sorrow, Joseph realized that he could find the solace and support he needed only in his dearest friend, Jesus. Soon after this tragedy, Scriven dramatically changed his lifestyle. He left Ireland for Port Hope, Canada (which is about an hour east of Toronto), he was determined to devote all of his extra time in being a friend and helper to others. Scriven became known as "the Good Samaritan of Port Hope."
When Scriven’s mother became ill in Ireland, he wrote a comforting letter to her, enclosing the words of his newly written poem with the prayer that these brief lines would remind her of a never-failing heavenly Friend. Sometime later, when Joseph Scriven himself was ill, a friend who came to call on him happened to see a copy of these words scribbled on scratch paper near his bed. The friend read the lines with interest and asked, "Who wrote those beautiful words?" "The Lord and I did it between us," was Scriven’s reply.
Scriven’s song begins with these words - ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!’ Yes, Jesus is our friend He is the Lamb of God who takes away your sins. When you place your complete trust in Him, He will not disappoint you, for He is faithful. When you believe in Jesus Christ, He gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit which does the work of sanctification in you. The song closes with these words - ‘in His arms He’ll take and shield thee—Thou wilt find a solace there.’ (Osbeck, K. W. 1990. Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions. Includes indexes. (Page 19). Kregel Publications: Grand Rapids, Mich. )
In the Lamb of God we find our shelter from our sin.
When we were saved by Christ we are made new - 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us this - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
At the time of our conversion, when we have sincerely repented (turned away from the love of sin) and confessed our sin and our utter need for Christ, as our Saviour from our sins - we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then indwells in the believer - He lives in us permanently, which is our seal of the new life received in Christ. Ephesians 1:13-14 affirms to us this spiritual reality: 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of [God's own] possession, to the praise of His glory.
God gives us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we are truly saved. With the Holy Spirit living in the believer, there will be marks of spiritual growth and maturity - because we are being sanctified - in other words - set apart for holiness - set apart for God’s purposes.
Finally we find our last important confession:
4. The Lamb of God SUPREME (v.34)
John supports his testimony of the Messiah with his fourth confession - ‘that this is the Son of God,’ in verse 34. He once again gives us the reader the positive identification of who the Lamb of God is. John emphatically declares that in Jesus Christ we find the anointed elect One. And I want to lead you to discover this yourself. And how you can do this is to look in your Bibles - to draw this back to the things we have learned from verse 1 and to bring things back ‘full circle’ down to verse 34 and then back to verse 1 - we then have this certainty unfolding in the inspired, inerrant, infallible text :
that in verse 1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v.1); now in verse 14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth; and in verse 17b - grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ; in verse 29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ; connect this with verse 34 - "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God; and now bring it back full circle to verse 1c - the Word was God.
Therefore it is undeniable that the Word became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and Son of God - to die as the sole sacrifice for our sins if we receive this truth and cast ourselves upon His grace and mercy - in repentance of our sins.
Now back to verse 34 - the focus is once again on the identification of ‘The Lamb of God’ - and this time it is on His supremacy. This is the concern of the Baptist because God sent him to be a witness to the Messiah. John was the voice preparing the way for the Messiah’s arrival, and now that the Messiah is here, he states - I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God - John the Baptist identifies and points to Jesus Christ. This is also the concern of the Apostle John, as he recounts the Good News about the Christ.
As the Son, Jesus has a special relationship with the Father. It speaks of an intimate and unique knowledge of the Father - that Jesus Christ alone shares the same nature as the Father. As we will discover later on in the Gospel, Jesus on several occasions, applies to Himself this special relationship of being the Son of God. In so doing Jesus asserted His Deity. Yet what we find here - is that Jesus, as the Son of God, is the chosen One that would be in fulfillment of God’s plan of Salvation….Jesus has been chosen as the suffering servant, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! In none other is there salvation, for - there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
In our passage today we have come to understand four important confessions of who Jesus Christ is:
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God - and as the sacrificial lamb, Jesus removes the sin of the world. The removal of our sin is found through the atoning sacrifice of Christ upon the cross - which places the believer - ‘at one’ with God.
Jesus Christ is able to take away your sin and that of the world because He is the One who has a higher rank than John and existed before John. Jesus Christ is superior to us in all respects - He is superior to any existing claims of world religions - for He solely is the Eternal God.
Jesus Christ is the only One who grants salvation from our sins and is the giver of eternal life because He is the only One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. At the moment that we are saved by Jesus Christ - He sanctifies us - setting us apart for holiness - through His Spirit whom lives in the born again believer.
Jesus Christ is truly the unique One from the Father as He is the Son of God. As it states in Col. 2:9 - ‘For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.’
We have spiritual victory in our life because of the source of our victory over sin is in Christ alone - the Lamb of God. Christ SAVES us from the penalty of our sins, Christ is SUPERIOR in every regard, Christ SANCTIFIES us, and Christ is SUPREME - all powerful because HE IS God.
Have you come to the Lamb of God for the forgiveness of your sin? Have you turned your life over to the Lamb of God as your Lord and Saviour?
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
John 1:19-28 Who are You?
02.11.08 John 1:19-28 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 1:19-28
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Who are You?
Today we are going to look at the question posed to John the Baptist - ‘Who are you?’ - and in light of his response, we are going to examine ourselves - as to ‘Who are we?’ By doing so - hopefully - we all will be able to do a reality check as to ‘Who we are’ in light of Jesus Christ.
We can answer the question posed to John the Baptist , which was ‘Who are you?’ by examining the two areas of his investigation by the Jews. These two areas are 1. CRITICAL QUESTIONS and 2. CRUCIAL ANSWERS.
John 1:19-28 reads:
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." 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?" 26 John 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." 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
We find the:
1. Critical Questions in vv.19-22
Last time and over the past weeks we were studying the incarnation, presented in verses 14-18. That Jesus Christ is God with us, veiled in human flesh. The Apostle now substantiates the reality of the incarnation, by calling up witnesses. The first witness is John the Baptist, found beginning in verse 19 of chapter 1. Once again we meet up with this familiar figure - John the Baptist. We had already met him in the prologue in verses 6-8, and verse 15. And these 2 brief introductions to the Baptist set up a framework which had clearly portrayed the Baptist as only a witness to Jesus Christ and that the Baptist is not the Messiah to come.
All four Gospels include John the Baptist in their record, which tells us that he is an important figure in relation to the Messiah, and His message. The Baptist points people to the coming Christ who is able to transform people’s lives from darkness into light and true life. His ministry began in the Jordan Valley when he was about 29 or 30 years old. His bold message was simple - that the people that came to him were in need of spiritual repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The Baptist’s proclamation was a "Call to repentance," preparing and point people to Jesus Christ. John The Baptist confronted people with the message that they, and likewise us today - that we need to take a stand - to make a decision - acceptance or rejection - a response to faith or a response to continued faithlessness in Christ.
By examining John the Baptist’s response to the question ‘Who are you?’, and by examining his attitude and character - we can look at our own life and see if we can follow the Baptist’s example of what a godly servant should be.
Starting in verse 19, the Apostle John simply drops us off - right into the midst of the Baptist’s ministry. The Apostle skips over the details of the Lord’s birth, and the details the Baptist’s birth, and even the details about Jesus’ baptism by John. And he launches the reader in to the heart of the Baptist’s ministry. The Baptist’s ministry drew a lot of attention and was attracting large crowds. Because of this, the local authorities decided to send a team to investigate him. This investigative unit was sent by the - Jews that came from Jerusalem (v.19). The word - Jews - used here and in the Gospels almost always, draw the attention of the reader to the fact that these are opponents. On a collective scale, the - Jews - were opponents to Jesus, and subsequently to the Christian community.
The team of investigators were comprised of priests and Levites. The priests that were present, represented the theological authority. And the Levites were the ones that concerned themselves with the practical functions of the temple. These were the representatives of the religious establishment. John’s ministry didn’t seem to fit into any of the normal patterns of religious organization and practice. Because John had a successful ministry, this aroused the priests and Levites interest and suspicions. So they sought to find out why. The CRITICAL QUESTION they sought an answer to was - Who are You?
The Jewish investigators advance 5 questions in a trial like manner. And as a result John acts like a defendant in the courtroom - after all he was, as we examined earlier in our sermon series "The Witness To The Light." The heart of their 5 questions focused on - Who are You? - they desired to get something out of John. They sought an answer to whether John the Baptist was any one of the end-times figures that the Jews awaited.
CRITCAL QUESTION #1
The priests and Levites ….ask him, "Who are you? (v.19).
They directly and bluntly ask this question of John the Baptist - because they ultimately want to know if he was the coming Christ. Out rightly, John denies this - and answers ‘I am not the Christ’ (v.20). And this was the answer that John gave faithfully as other people had also asked him this question (Lk.3:15-17). The title ‘Christ’ is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ - which means ‘Anointed One.’ This title pointed to the prophesied deliverer, that the Jews had awaited. They mistakenly expected this coming ‘Christ,’ to bring about political reform, renewal, and freedom to Israel - who were dominated under Roman rule. John denies that he is the Christ.
CRITCAL QUESTION #2
They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" (v.21)
In the OT record from Malachi 4:5, it states:
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."
This is the very last prophecy, and the very last verses of the OT, which began a period of silence of over 400 years. During this period there was no prophecy or revelation from God. The silence ends with the coming of John the Baptist and his ministry. The Jews believed, based on Malachi, that Elijah would come before the Messiah’s appearing. Since John denied that he was the Christ, the Jews questioned him as to whether he was the one who would precede the Messiah. John denies that he is Elijah.
CRITICAL QUESTION #3
"Are you the Prophet?" they ask him (v.21).
The Jews further pursue John, and try to link him with "the Prophet." The reference to "The Prophet" probably comes from Deut. 18:15, which states:
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brother. You
must listen to him." This unnamed prophet was someone like Moses who would function as God’s voice. The Jews believed this Prophet would be the Christ. John denies that he is the Prophet.
All the answers the investigative team asked, came back with NO’s. John said - I am not the Christ; are you Elijah - "I am not;" are you the Prophet - "NO."
Short and blunt were John’s replies - NO - NO - NO. John makes it clear through his answers that he is subordinate to the One that he pointed people to.
CRITCAL QUESTION # 4
And in exasperation - Then they said to him, "Who are you…’ (v.22).
They continued and added - "so that we may give an answer to those who sent us?
CRITICAL QUESTION # 5
What do you say about yourself?"
These people were sent by men to seek and destroy the threat to the religion of their day, and in contrast John was the sent one from God (v.6) - in order to start the ground war against religion - in favour of true life where the Messiah would bring the repentant into a right relationship with God. The Jews were making themselves to be religious bigshots, but John the Baptist made himself to be very little. And this is where we turn the focus upon ourselves.
How often do we find ourselves in a position where we could gain some credit for something we are not. In the work place do we ever take undo credit for the work of others on the project team? Or think about situations where you find yourself in, where you can easily take advantage of someone that you represent. How do you respond in those circumstances. In those times can we be reminded by the truthfulness of John the Baptist? He never claimed anything for himself that was not to found to be true of himself. He never sought glory for himself which was not due to him.
The great evangelist and preacher D.L.Moody recounted this of a friend of his - he said that his friend could tell when a Christian was growing. This is how he could tell that a Christian was growing - In proportion to his growth in grace, a growing Christian, would elevate his Master, talk less of what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own estimation, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun.
John the Baptist was a humble man. He never placed himself above the Lord. Even though he had a big part to play in presenting and pointing people to Jesus Christ - the Baptist never sought to take advantage of that relationship and connection. Are you quick to boost your own image by stating that you know someone famous or someone who is popular? Or saying ‘I know so and so’ who knows ______ - you fill in the blank. I know that I do that sometimes…and that stems from pride - not humility. This is when we need to ask ourselves - ‘Who are You?’
Let us be what we are - and find our being in Christ and not in man. We as believers, seem to get an ego boost from the people we know, and not from the One we know. This is what hinders many of us from pointing people to Christ. We tend to want to associate with people more than with Jesus Christ. Since He is not a popular figure in our world, we do not want to become unpopular amongst our close circle of people.
John’s replies are short and to the point. He never tries to squeeze in some credit for himself, but he focuses on the Lord and His Word. John focuses himself on God’s glory and not on his own.
The Jews now asked specifically for a self identification from John. This leads us to the 2nd area of the investigation:
2. Crucial Answers (vv.23-28)
John the Baptist, through God’s Word, links himself as the forerunner to the Messiah, in verse 23. John quotes and applies Isaiah 40:3 to himself. "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord.'"
John was sent from God to prepare the way for the Messiah. In John’s humility he never referred to being the person that was the key to the coming Messiah - but he refers to himself as ‘the voice.’ In doing so John places the exclusive emphasis and attention on Christ. John was the one to ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’ (v.23). This imagery comes from the days where there were no paved roads. What they had were just tracks that ran across the land and fields. If the path was to be traveled by a king, then the road was to be built or smoothed out for the royalty. The traveled route had to be smooth, so the ride would be comfortable. The route had to be cleared of any debris, and hindrances which would cause unnecessary delay. In some cases the monarchs would have their heralds go before them to make causeways, straighten crooked roads and valleys, and level hills. So it is with John the Baptist - as one commentator states:
"John the Baptist called himself the ‘roadbuilder’ for one greater than he who would follow him with a fuller revelation" (Tenney).
In Vancouver the largest highway is the #1 - Trans Canada. It really is not that large of a highway. Before I was married…when I visited Carmen here in Vancouver I would say that the highways here are really just ‘wide and fast streets.’ By comparison the Trans Canada highway within Toronto, known as the 401, has one of the highest daily rates of vehicle traffic. At the junctions of highways 400 and 401, there are roughly 400,000 vehicles that use that interchange each day. That’s not all - just west of Toronto the 401 is known as North America’s widest highway. There are 18 through lanes - nine in each East/ West direction. Can you imagine that….18 lanes.
John was the one to - Make straight the way of the Lord (v.23). John was a ‘roadbuilder’ - making a straight way for Jesus Christ to be made known. Here lies a challenge for our own lives - are we reluctantly building a pathway for Christ….. or are we building a superhighway for Christ, in making Him known in the lives of others ?
Later on in the Isaiah 40 reference, in verse 5, it states - ‘And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’ The ‘glory’ spoken of came in the person of Jesus Christ - as the Apostle John reflects back to what he just stated in 1:14 of our Gospel - "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Despite the response the interrogators received, we find from their further questioning that they were not ready for spiritual construction in their lives. The investigative team sent out to question John the Baptist were from the Pharisees (v.24). The Pharisees were representative of the religious leadership of the nation of Israel. As such they were keenly interested in any new religious movements or teachers forming in their land. The Romans were in control politically over the nation. Because of this these Jews in high places would be sensitive to any threats to the religious scene which could lead to trouble with the Romans. In the end it would be the - Pharisees - that in part would play a sinister role in the culmination of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Now the investigative team once again question the Baptist - Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? Now they were seeking an answer to what John the Baptist was actively doing. It is now revealed that John was performing water baptisms - and up to this point in the Gospel there had been no mention of it. It is evident from this question that the Jews did not take the Baptist’s reply seriously, that he indeed was the ‘the voice’ sent from God, preparing the way. The Jews are now probing into his authority to baptize.
John’s baptism was a call for people to repent. He called people to have a change in their personal being. A change that was in preparation of meeting Jesus Christ. The symbolism of John’s Baptism likely had it’s roots in OT purification rituals (Lev.15:13). Jews accepting John’s baptism were taking a bold step of faith. These Jews were admitting that they had been living like the Gentiles - pagans devoid of any spiritual life. So these Jews who came to John for baptism, were by their very actions - publicly declaring their need to become the true people of God - genuinely, inwardly. This was an amazing admission, because there existed a strong hatred toward the Gentiles by the Jewish people - Gentiles were unclean - they were blasphemers - God haters.
John’s baptism prepared people for the arrival of the Messiah as a call to repentance.
And these baptisms pointed people to someone who was to be revealed, since it was someone that they ‘do not know’ (v.26), but John did know. The knowing, and not knowing theme, regarding the Messiah comes up again, and through out the Gospel and we re-visit it again and again. Because Jesus Christ came into the world - but as we backtrack to verse 10 - ‘the world did not recognize Him’ and in verse 11 - people ‘did not receive Him.’ This was the tragedy we see in the investigative team, that John was absolutely correct in saying that they ‘do not know’ Christ. And we should also note that upon John’s reply, the team questions him no longer. John pointed them also to the Messiah but they, inquired no more.
The One that John the Baptist did know was Jesus Christ, and because of this his perspective was really different from those who - do not know. John did not seek to ask questions in return, and try to get the upper hand upon the interrogation. Instead John, simply submitted himself to the will of God and proclaimed the coming Messiah. John humbled himself as a unworthy slave. This is John’s response - [It is] He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. John was a model of humility because he felt that he was not even above the status of a slave. Slaves in these times were called upon to do the most menial of tasks. Slaves were called to the task of removing their master’s shoes and to wash his feet. This was the lowest job anyone could have. The Baptist considered himself not even worthy of being a slave to Christ and to perform this task. He could not even count Himself worthy in any manner of untying Jesus’ ‘shoe laces.’ He knew that he was not above the status of a slave as he bowed to the incarnate God. John demonstrated humility.
How humble are we? The following are some statements which make us reflect upon our own level of humility:
When the Other Fellow Acts … Have you noticed:
WHEN the other fellow acts that way, he is ugly; when you do, it’s nerves.
WHEN others are set in their ways, they’re obstinate; when you are, it is firmness.
WHEN your neighbor doesn’t like your friend, he’s prejudiced; when you don’t like his, you are a good judge of human nature.
WHEN he tries to treat someone especially well, he is pretentious, when you try it you are being thoughtful.
WHEN he takes time to do things well, he’s a slowpoke or lazy; when you do, you are deliberate and careful.
WHEN he spends a lot, he is a squanderer; when you do so, you’re generous.
WHEN someone picks out the flaws in things, he’s cranky and critical; when you do, you are creative.
WHEN he is mild-mannered you call him weak; when you are, it is graciousness.
WHEN someone dresses especially well, that person is extravagant; when you do, it is tastefulness.
WHEN he says what he thinks, he’s spiteful; when you do, you are being frank.
WHEN he takes great risks in business, he’s foolish; when you do, you are a wise investor.
In our passage today, John, truly was a humble man. In the rabbinic tradition, a teacher-student relationship was not a paid relationship. So the teacher could ask the student to serve the teacher in any way that he desired - just like a slave - with one exception. The exception was that the teacher could not ask the student to touch his feet in any way. This illustrates the lowliness of this task. This would include taking off his shoes, washing his feet, and anything like that for these tasks were reserved for slaves. And John the Baptist, in his true humility, recognized the significance of Jesus Christ - as he says - [It is] He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie (v.27).
In light of this statement - our minds may be drawn to remembrance of Jesus’ example. Jesus on the night that he was betrayed, just hours being crucified for our sins, did this….
John 13:1-5 - It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Jesus, the Messiah, God with us in human flesh - in a tangible demonstration of humility and love, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples including the one that would betray Him.
In a moving statement of true humility, John the Baptist, places himself below the place of a servant, and therefore again defines his position. He was only the forerunner, the ‘roadbuilder’ pointing all to Jesus Christ, and not to himself.
As we close this section of Scripture, the Apostle John, gives the geographic location of these events (v.28). The Apostle gives us the historical location of today’s text. All the CRITICAL QUESTIONS and CRUCIAL ANSWERS - as John was asked ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ took place - in Bethany. This location is not to be confused with the town of Bethany that was frequented by Jesus - the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha - and located near Jerusalem - which is on the west side of the Jordan river. But instead the Apostle gives us a clue that this area where John the Baptist was performing his baptisms was - beyond the Jordan.’ Indicating that the town of Bethany he writes about is on the east side of the Jordan river.
Israel’s geography is like this: the entire west side of Israel is bound by the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this geographic perspectives would almost always be from a west - looking toward the - east - perspective. In addition Jerusalem was the central focus of Israel, because the temple was located there. So when the text states that ‘John was Baptizing,’ on the other side of the Jordan, it is understood to mean on the east side of the river. In the course of history, this area known as - Bethany - where John was baptizing, has been lost.
John the Baptist was under interrogation by the Jews from Jerusalem. Their purpose was to investigate the Baptist. They needed to report back to the religious authorities, with the answer to this question - ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ And in reply John the Baptist - plainly, truthfully - states that he is not, who they think he might have been. The bottom line was that, he was not the Messiah. John the Baptist was only the one whom God called to point others to the Messiah, and to call them to prepare for the Savior.
From John we find a humble servant of the Lord. And we can learn from him - as we may ask ourselves - ‘Who are we?’ - in light of the One we as believers - are to point others to? ….
‘WHO ARE YOU?’ in light of Jesus Christ?
Audio Sermon File: John 1:19-28
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Who are You?
Today we are going to look at the question posed to John the Baptist - ‘Who are you?’ - and in light of his response, we are going to examine ourselves - as to ‘Who are we?’ By doing so - hopefully - we all will be able to do a reality check as to ‘Who we are’ in light of Jesus Christ.
We can answer the question posed to John the Baptist , which was ‘Who are you?’ by examining the two areas of his investigation by the Jews. These two areas are 1. CRITICAL QUESTIONS and 2. CRUCIAL ANSWERS.
John 1:19-28 reads:
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." 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?" 26 John 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." 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
We find the:
1. Critical Questions in vv.19-22
Last time and over the past weeks we were studying the incarnation, presented in verses 14-18. That Jesus Christ is God with us, veiled in human flesh. The Apostle now substantiates the reality of the incarnation, by calling up witnesses. The first witness is John the Baptist, found beginning in verse 19 of chapter 1. Once again we meet up with this familiar figure - John the Baptist. We had already met him in the prologue in verses 6-8, and verse 15. And these 2 brief introductions to the Baptist set up a framework which had clearly portrayed the Baptist as only a witness to Jesus Christ and that the Baptist is not the Messiah to come.
All four Gospels include John the Baptist in their record, which tells us that he is an important figure in relation to the Messiah, and His message. The Baptist points people to the coming Christ who is able to transform people’s lives from darkness into light and true life. His ministry began in the Jordan Valley when he was about 29 or 30 years old. His bold message was simple - that the people that came to him were in need of spiritual repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The Baptist’s proclamation was a "Call to repentance," preparing and point people to Jesus Christ. John The Baptist confronted people with the message that they, and likewise us today - that we need to take a stand - to make a decision - acceptance or rejection - a response to faith or a response to continued faithlessness in Christ.
By examining John the Baptist’s response to the question ‘Who are you?’, and by examining his attitude and character - we can look at our own life and see if we can follow the Baptist’s example of what a godly servant should be.
Starting in verse 19, the Apostle John simply drops us off - right into the midst of the Baptist’s ministry. The Apostle skips over the details of the Lord’s birth, and the details the Baptist’s birth, and even the details about Jesus’ baptism by John. And he launches the reader in to the heart of the Baptist’s ministry. The Baptist’s ministry drew a lot of attention and was attracting large crowds. Because of this, the local authorities decided to send a team to investigate him. This investigative unit was sent by the - Jews that came from Jerusalem (v.19). The word - Jews - used here and in the Gospels almost always, draw the attention of the reader to the fact that these are opponents. On a collective scale, the - Jews - were opponents to Jesus, and subsequently to the Christian community.
The team of investigators were comprised of priests and Levites. The priests that were present, represented the theological authority. And the Levites were the ones that concerned themselves with the practical functions of the temple. These were the representatives of the religious establishment. John’s ministry didn’t seem to fit into any of the normal patterns of religious organization and practice. Because John had a successful ministry, this aroused the priests and Levites interest and suspicions. So they sought to find out why. The CRITICAL QUESTION they sought an answer to was - Who are You?
The Jewish investigators advance 5 questions in a trial like manner. And as a result John acts like a defendant in the courtroom - after all he was, as we examined earlier in our sermon series "The Witness To The Light." The heart of their 5 questions focused on - Who are You? - they desired to get something out of John. They sought an answer to whether John the Baptist was any one of the end-times figures that the Jews awaited.
CRITCAL QUESTION #1
The priests and Levites ….ask him, "Who are you? (v.19).
They directly and bluntly ask this question of John the Baptist - because they ultimately want to know if he was the coming Christ. Out rightly, John denies this - and answers ‘I am not the Christ’ (v.20). And this was the answer that John gave faithfully as other people had also asked him this question (Lk.3:15-17). The title ‘Christ’ is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ - which means ‘Anointed One.’ This title pointed to the prophesied deliverer, that the Jews had awaited. They mistakenly expected this coming ‘Christ,’ to bring about political reform, renewal, and freedom to Israel - who were dominated under Roman rule. John denies that he is the Christ.
CRITCAL QUESTION #2
They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" (v.21)
In the OT record from Malachi 4:5, it states:
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."
This is the very last prophecy, and the very last verses of the OT, which began a period of silence of over 400 years. During this period there was no prophecy or revelation from God. The silence ends with the coming of John the Baptist and his ministry. The Jews believed, based on Malachi, that Elijah would come before the Messiah’s appearing. Since John denied that he was the Christ, the Jews questioned him as to whether he was the one who would precede the Messiah. John denies that he is Elijah.
CRITICAL QUESTION #3
"Are you the Prophet?" they ask him (v.21).
The Jews further pursue John, and try to link him with "the Prophet." The reference to "The Prophet" probably comes from Deut. 18:15, which states:
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brother. You
must listen to him." This unnamed prophet was someone like Moses who would function as God’s voice. The Jews believed this Prophet would be the Christ. John denies that he is the Prophet.
All the answers the investigative team asked, came back with NO’s. John said - I am not the Christ; are you Elijah - "I am not;" are you the Prophet - "NO."
Short and blunt were John’s replies - NO - NO - NO. John makes it clear through his answers that he is subordinate to the One that he pointed people to.
CRITCAL QUESTION # 4
And in exasperation - Then they said to him, "Who are you…’ (v.22).
They continued and added - "so that we may give an answer to those who sent us?
CRITICAL QUESTION # 5
What do you say about yourself?"
These people were sent by men to seek and destroy the threat to the religion of their day, and in contrast John was the sent one from God (v.6) - in order to start the ground war against religion - in favour of true life where the Messiah would bring the repentant into a right relationship with God. The Jews were making themselves to be religious bigshots, but John the Baptist made himself to be very little. And this is where we turn the focus upon ourselves.
How often do we find ourselves in a position where we could gain some credit for something we are not. In the work place do we ever take undo credit for the work of others on the project team? Or think about situations where you find yourself in, where you can easily take advantage of someone that you represent. How do you respond in those circumstances. In those times can we be reminded by the truthfulness of John the Baptist? He never claimed anything for himself that was not to found to be true of himself. He never sought glory for himself which was not due to him.
The great evangelist and preacher D.L.Moody recounted this of a friend of his - he said that his friend could tell when a Christian was growing. This is how he could tell that a Christian was growing - In proportion to his growth in grace, a growing Christian, would elevate his Master, talk less of what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own estimation, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun.
John the Baptist was a humble man. He never placed himself above the Lord. Even though he had a big part to play in presenting and pointing people to Jesus Christ - the Baptist never sought to take advantage of that relationship and connection. Are you quick to boost your own image by stating that you know someone famous or someone who is popular? Or saying ‘I know so and so’ who knows ______ - you fill in the blank. I know that I do that sometimes…and that stems from pride - not humility. This is when we need to ask ourselves - ‘Who are You?’
Let us be what we are - and find our being in Christ and not in man. We as believers, seem to get an ego boost from the people we know, and not from the One we know. This is what hinders many of us from pointing people to Christ. We tend to want to associate with people more than with Jesus Christ. Since He is not a popular figure in our world, we do not want to become unpopular amongst our close circle of people.
John’s replies are short and to the point. He never tries to squeeze in some credit for himself, but he focuses on the Lord and His Word. John focuses himself on God’s glory and not on his own.
The Jews now asked specifically for a self identification from John. This leads us to the 2nd area of the investigation:
2. Crucial Answers (vv.23-28)
John the Baptist, through God’s Word, links himself as the forerunner to the Messiah, in verse 23. John quotes and applies Isaiah 40:3 to himself. "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord.'"
John was sent from God to prepare the way for the Messiah. In John’s humility he never referred to being the person that was the key to the coming Messiah - but he refers to himself as ‘the voice.’ In doing so John places the exclusive emphasis and attention on Christ. John was the one to ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’ (v.23). This imagery comes from the days where there were no paved roads. What they had were just tracks that ran across the land and fields. If the path was to be traveled by a king, then the road was to be built or smoothed out for the royalty. The traveled route had to be smooth, so the ride would be comfortable. The route had to be cleared of any debris, and hindrances which would cause unnecessary delay. In some cases the monarchs would have their heralds go before them to make causeways, straighten crooked roads and valleys, and level hills. So it is with John the Baptist - as one commentator states:
"John the Baptist called himself the ‘roadbuilder’ for one greater than he who would follow him with a fuller revelation" (Tenney).
In Vancouver the largest highway is the #1 - Trans Canada. It really is not that large of a highway. Before I was married…when I visited Carmen here in Vancouver I would say that the highways here are really just ‘wide and fast streets.’ By comparison the Trans Canada highway within Toronto, known as the 401, has one of the highest daily rates of vehicle traffic. At the junctions of highways 400 and 401, there are roughly 400,000 vehicles that use that interchange each day. That’s not all - just west of Toronto the 401 is known as North America’s widest highway. There are 18 through lanes - nine in each East/ West direction. Can you imagine that….18 lanes.
John was the one to - Make straight the way of the Lord (v.23). John was a ‘roadbuilder’ - making a straight way for Jesus Christ to be made known. Here lies a challenge for our own lives - are we reluctantly building a pathway for Christ….. or are we building a superhighway for Christ, in making Him known in the lives of others ?
Later on in the Isaiah 40 reference, in verse 5, it states - ‘And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’ The ‘glory’ spoken of came in the person of Jesus Christ - as the Apostle John reflects back to what he just stated in 1:14 of our Gospel - "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Despite the response the interrogators received, we find from their further questioning that they were not ready for spiritual construction in their lives. The investigative team sent out to question John the Baptist were from the Pharisees (v.24). The Pharisees were representative of the religious leadership of the nation of Israel. As such they were keenly interested in any new religious movements or teachers forming in their land. The Romans were in control politically over the nation. Because of this these Jews in high places would be sensitive to any threats to the religious scene which could lead to trouble with the Romans. In the end it would be the - Pharisees - that in part would play a sinister role in the culmination of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Now the investigative team once again question the Baptist - Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? Now they were seeking an answer to what John the Baptist was actively doing. It is now revealed that John was performing water baptisms - and up to this point in the Gospel there had been no mention of it. It is evident from this question that the Jews did not take the Baptist’s reply seriously, that he indeed was the ‘the voice’ sent from God, preparing the way. The Jews are now probing into his authority to baptize.
John’s baptism was a call for people to repent. He called people to have a change in their personal being. A change that was in preparation of meeting Jesus Christ. The symbolism of John’s Baptism likely had it’s roots in OT purification rituals (Lev.15:13). Jews accepting John’s baptism were taking a bold step of faith. These Jews were admitting that they had been living like the Gentiles - pagans devoid of any spiritual life. So these Jews who came to John for baptism, were by their very actions - publicly declaring their need to become the true people of God - genuinely, inwardly. This was an amazing admission, because there existed a strong hatred toward the Gentiles by the Jewish people - Gentiles were unclean - they were blasphemers - God haters.
John’s baptism prepared people for the arrival of the Messiah as a call to repentance.
And these baptisms pointed people to someone who was to be revealed, since it was someone that they ‘do not know’ (v.26), but John did know. The knowing, and not knowing theme, regarding the Messiah comes up again, and through out the Gospel and we re-visit it again and again. Because Jesus Christ came into the world - but as we backtrack to verse 10 - ‘the world did not recognize Him’ and in verse 11 - people ‘did not receive Him.’ This was the tragedy we see in the investigative team, that John was absolutely correct in saying that they ‘do not know’ Christ. And we should also note that upon John’s reply, the team questions him no longer. John pointed them also to the Messiah but they, inquired no more.
The One that John the Baptist did know was Jesus Christ, and because of this his perspective was really different from those who - do not know. John did not seek to ask questions in return, and try to get the upper hand upon the interrogation. Instead John, simply submitted himself to the will of God and proclaimed the coming Messiah. John humbled himself as a unworthy slave. This is John’s response - [It is] He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. John was a model of humility because he felt that he was not even above the status of a slave. Slaves in these times were called upon to do the most menial of tasks. Slaves were called to the task of removing their master’s shoes and to wash his feet. This was the lowest job anyone could have. The Baptist considered himself not even worthy of being a slave to Christ and to perform this task. He could not even count Himself worthy in any manner of untying Jesus’ ‘shoe laces.’ He knew that he was not above the status of a slave as he bowed to the incarnate God. John demonstrated humility.
How humble are we? The following are some statements which make us reflect upon our own level of humility:
When the Other Fellow Acts … Have you noticed:
WHEN the other fellow acts that way, he is ugly; when you do, it’s nerves.
WHEN others are set in their ways, they’re obstinate; when you are, it is firmness.
WHEN your neighbor doesn’t like your friend, he’s prejudiced; when you don’t like his, you are a good judge of human nature.
WHEN he tries to treat someone especially well, he is pretentious, when you try it you are being thoughtful.
WHEN he takes time to do things well, he’s a slowpoke or lazy; when you do, you are deliberate and careful.
WHEN he spends a lot, he is a squanderer; when you do so, you’re generous.
WHEN someone picks out the flaws in things, he’s cranky and critical; when you do, you are creative.
WHEN he is mild-mannered you call him weak; when you are, it is graciousness.
WHEN someone dresses especially well, that person is extravagant; when you do, it is tastefulness.
WHEN he says what he thinks, he’s spiteful; when you do, you are being frank.
WHEN he takes great risks in business, he’s foolish; when you do, you are a wise investor.
In our passage today, John, truly was a humble man. In the rabbinic tradition, a teacher-student relationship was not a paid relationship. So the teacher could ask the student to serve the teacher in any way that he desired - just like a slave - with one exception. The exception was that the teacher could not ask the student to touch his feet in any way. This illustrates the lowliness of this task. This would include taking off his shoes, washing his feet, and anything like that for these tasks were reserved for slaves. And John the Baptist, in his true humility, recognized the significance of Jesus Christ - as he says - [It is] He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie (v.27).
In light of this statement - our minds may be drawn to remembrance of Jesus’ example. Jesus on the night that he was betrayed, just hours being crucified for our sins, did this….
John 13:1-5 - It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Jesus, the Messiah, God with us in human flesh - in a tangible demonstration of humility and love, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples including the one that would betray Him.
In a moving statement of true humility, John the Baptist, places himself below the place of a servant, and therefore again defines his position. He was only the forerunner, the ‘roadbuilder’ pointing all to Jesus Christ, and not to himself.
As we close this section of Scripture, the Apostle John, gives the geographic location of these events (v.28). The Apostle gives us the historical location of today’s text. All the CRITICAL QUESTIONS and CRUCIAL ANSWERS - as John was asked ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ took place - in Bethany. This location is not to be confused with the town of Bethany that was frequented by Jesus - the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha - and located near Jerusalem - which is on the west side of the Jordan river. But instead the Apostle gives us a clue that this area where John the Baptist was performing his baptisms was - beyond the Jordan.’ Indicating that the town of Bethany he writes about is on the east side of the Jordan river.
Israel’s geography is like this: the entire west side of Israel is bound by the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this geographic perspectives would almost always be from a west - looking toward the - east - perspective. In addition Jerusalem was the central focus of Israel, because the temple was located there. So when the text states that ‘John was Baptizing,’ on the other side of the Jordan, it is understood to mean on the east side of the river. In the course of history, this area known as - Bethany - where John was baptizing, has been lost.
John the Baptist was under interrogation by the Jews from Jerusalem. Their purpose was to investigate the Baptist. They needed to report back to the religious authorities, with the answer to this question - ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ And in reply John the Baptist - plainly, truthfully - states that he is not, who they think he might have been. The bottom line was that, he was not the Messiah. John the Baptist was only the one whom God called to point others to the Messiah, and to call them to prepare for the Savior.
From John we find a humble servant of the Lord. And we can learn from him - as we may ask ourselves - ‘Who are we?’ - in light of the One we as believers - are to point others to? ….
‘WHO ARE YOU?’ in light of Jesus Christ?
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The Venom Of Spiritual Hypocrisy
By Noah Ressler
John had already called them a "brood of vipers" in Mt. 3:7-10. He has aroused suspicion among the Sanhedrin because of his boldness and presumptuous statements that would call their spirituality into question. You have to understand that religious people have presuppositions upon which they base their religious standing and it is always a system of self righteousness based upon human effort and standards. Additionally, John has trampled upon their reasoning that because they were children of Abraham, they were okay with God. He tells them "from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham" (Mt. 3:9). But note the strong language John the Baptist uses to their face to describe them. "You brood of vipers…" John was aware of the Pharisee’s and Saducee’s insincerity and lack of repentance. They intended to carry their hypocrisy even to the extent of submitting to John’s baptism, out of whatever corrupt motives they may have had. Brood may also be translated "offspring" signifying descendents or children. Jesus Himself used the same epithet (brood of vipers) to describe Pharisees on several occasions (Mt. 12:34; 23:33).
Vipers were small but very poisonous desert snakes, which would have been quite familiar to John the Baptist. They were even more dangerous by the fact that they looked like a dead branch when still and were often picked up unintentionally. This is what happened to Paul while shipwrecked on the isle of Malta. He picked up what he thought was a stick and the natives reaction was one of alarm knowing how deadly the viper was, though Paul miraculously suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-5). Calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers pointed up the danger of their religious hypocrisy – as well as the fact that their wicked work had been passed on to them by the original serpent (Gen. 3:1-13) through their spiritual forefathers, of who they were the brood, or offspring. Like the desert viper, they often appeared harmless, but their brand of godliness (cf. II Tim. 3:5) was venomous and deadly. In His series of woes against the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, "You shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in" (Mt. 23:13). They were responsible for keeping countless Jews out of the kingdom, and therefore from salvation and eternal life.
In Matthew 23:33 Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees "serpents" as well as a "brood of vipers," suggesting even more directly that their spiritual father was Satan – as He specifically charges in John 8:44 (cf. Rev. 12:9; 20:2). These religious hypocrites were Satan’s children doing Satan’s deceitful work.
A brush fire or a farmer’s burning the stalks in his field after harvest would cause vipers and other creatures to flee before the flames in order to escape. It was a common sight in many of the Mediterranean and Arab regions, and one that John the Baptist doubtlessly had seen many times. The implication is that the Pharisees and Sadducees were expecting John’s baptism to be a kind of fire insurance, giving protection from the flames of the wrath to come. True repentance and conversion do protect from God’s wrath and judgment, but superficial and insincere professions or acts of faith tend only to harden a person against genuine belief, giving a false sense of security. John would not be party to such hypocrisy and sham. It was the deceitfulness of their true master, Satan, and not genuine fear of God’s judgment that led them out to hear John and to seek his baptism as a pretentious formality.
So the setting for John 1:19 is not an innocent query of John by the priests and Levites. The stir among the Pharisees and Sadducees must have been something behind closed doors. John’s stinging rebukes startled them as no one had ever stood against them before. They were most likely searching the Scriptures to see who it was that John could be. But they had not the spiritual perception to understand that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ heralding His coming. He was a voice in the wilderness calling all to repent so that the way for Christ would be prepared.
The clear and passionate prophet John the Baptist had, not of his own doing but of consequence of his calling and ministry, attracted the attention of the religious hierarchy of his day. His messages had aroused their suspicion of him because he so boldly rebuked them. He was baptizing Jews and that was unheard of for a Jew – a pagan converting to Judaism, yes! But, a Jew? Organized religion wields power and a threat to it must be met with.
Closer to our own day we have all heard of Martin Luther as he opposed the organized religion of his day – Roman Catholicism and the ensuing battles that took place to try and silence him. The more they tried, the more his writings and messages spread. Under persecution he committed himself to God who was able to deliver him, and He did. Like John the Baptist, Martin Luther did not compromise the Word of God.
In our cultural climate today, it is almost as if it is a popular thing to be untraditional and come up with something new, but the age old message of sin, repentance, and calling out for mercy from God is considered offensive to our generation by the so called preachers in many churches. We must get back to the old landmarks of "prepare the way of the Lord!"
John was a man with a message from God. He humbly completed his calling and purpose for which he was created. He magnified Christ. Additionally, he did not compromise the unpopular message of sin and repentance before the religious crowd. In order to prepare the way for the Lord in a person’s heart, we must preach the Gospel message of sin, judgment, repentance, and faith in the finished work of Christ.
Where are you at in life? Have you ever repented of your sins? Do you see your sin as horrible and despicable? You are being called right this very minute to repent and turn to Christ. Prepare your heart (mind) to receive Christ by repenting of your sin. Do so now as you know not when you will face God as a repentant believer in Christ or a rebellious rejecter of God’s goodness to you and end up cast in the Lake of Fire forever.
O Christian, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look fully in the face of His Word. Turn from the sin that so easily besets you and makes your way miserable and unprofitable. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin (Heb. 12:2-4).
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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