And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”21
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22
So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24
(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26
John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27
even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28
These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!30
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31
I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.33
I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
I have often wondered why folks suggest to a new believer that the first book they should read is the Gospel of John. While written in the most simple Greek, it is
the most theologically dense of all the gospels and offers many difficulties, especially to the novice. However, the book does have some of the most well-known verses and it is very interested in proving that Jesus is God in the flesh and the Savior of the
world.
This small section from the first chapter proves this point as is indicated by the inclusion that defines the subject matter of this part of the narrative. You will
recall that an inclusion is a set of bookends with everything in between, everything ‘included’ proving the point of the bookends. Here we read in v. 19: “…this was John’s testimony”, and it ends in v. 34: “I have seen and I testify…” The section
is about John’s testimony about Jews. You have the same thought at the beginning of the concluding paragraph in v. 32: “John gave this testimony…”
In other words, after the Prologue, the introduction, the gospel begins, as it were, with the calling of the first witness. Think of a legal setting, a courtroom,
where they are after the truth of a matter. “John the Baptist: what can you tell us about Jesus Christ: who is he?” And John takes the witness stand and says “He is the Son of God.” And the question is put: “That is an astonishing claim. Can you back it up
with evidence? How do you know that he is the Son of God?” And John replies: I was there at his baptism! I saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove come down from heaven and remain on him!” Well, how does that prove that he is the Son of God? “I had
previously been told that the man on whom I would see the Holy Spirit come down and remain, he would be the One to baptize with the Holy Spirit, i.e. he would be the Christ.” Are you sure of all of this? “Absolutely,” John continues, “this Jesus is the
one whose way I have been sent to prepare, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, the One who came after me but is before me.”
John was drawing attention and when our text says ‘when the Jews sent priests and Levites…” this is a reference to the religious authorities doing an investigation.
It is of note that John the Baptist causes such a stir. John did not do a single miracle. He didn’t heal anyone or raise someone from the dead. He acted as the prophets of what we call the Old Testament. He proclaimed repentance and the coming of the Messiah
without compromise, or cultural cow-towing.
Folks wondered if Elijah had been raised from the dead and John was he. They wondered if he was THE prophet as the expectations all the way back to Moses was that
the Promised One would be a greater prophet than Moses. The question of “Who are you”, is of course much more than, what is your name. They knew his name. They wanted to know his identity. Who are you…what do you stand for…whose work are you doing and why
are you baptizing? Remember, the washing with water was not a new idea to Judaism. There were many ceremonial washings connected with Jewish identity and worship. But this one was of course different…very different.
Brothers and sisters, as John’s gospel reveals to us the Christ, the question is posed to us too. Who are we? Where do we find our identity? Who or what do we stand
for and why do we do the ‘religious’ things that we do? John’s entire being is wrapped up in and with the Messiah and Savior of the world. Why he lives the way he does, why he is ‘separate’ from the culture, why he is fearless and uncompromising…cannot be
understood apart from his mission to proclaim and live to the glory of God’s anointed One.
You and I, more than likely, will not do miracles as the 12 did. We will not lay hands on the dead and have them come to life, or multiply food for thousands of hungry
people (Again, I said, ‘more than likely), but our lives, no less than the great John’s life, are to be taken up, without compromise to the purposes of our Savior. John knew his purpose (31) and it was to proclaim the Lamb of God, to live unto Him and to call
folks to do the same. Is our purpose all that different?
When we read that John said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, we do not even slow down, we are used to such language, but those who heard
John would have taken notice. They of course were steeped in the sacrificial system; they knew what a sacrificial lamb was and why it was. John is unqualified in proclaiming a man, THE man is God’s Lamb given for the sins of mankind.
Jesus was in the world to deal with sin. He would not have been in the world, He would not have come if it were not for sin. The destruction of sin, death and hell
was His mission, the rescue of those who were doomed, who couldn’t save themselves, was His heart’s mission and like John, nothing could deter Him from the full accomplishment of the Father’s will.
John is clear, his work, his baptism is to point us to Another…One so much greater than John is not worthy of Him. This is to be our life too. Everything we are about,
our being and purpose and all that we do is to point people away from ourselves to Another. Our language, our actions, the very heart and soul of our purpose for living, a testimony to the Lamb of God who has taken away our sin and the sin of the world!
Prayer: Father in heaven, I am filled with wonder and praise for my Savior. Give me the fortitude to stand without compromise in these days of fear and confusion.
Whatever happens in and around me, I humble ask that my life would be a testimony to the love, mercy and hope that is found only in Jesus Christ and that although weak and limited, there would be no question about who I am and Whose I am, through Jesus Christ
my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Behold the Lamb of God