04-20-08 Sermon Review

The Testimony of John the Baptist (John 1:19-36)

We have by God's grace finished our study of John's Prologue, the first eighteen verses of the Gospel according to John, and now by his mercies we'll tackle the next eighteen verses in one sermon! This section that we'll go over today is called the testimony of John the Baptist, as is written in vs. 19 "This is the testimony of John."

But before we go further into the passage, we must realize how adamant the Apostle John is in keeping with his purpose. If you remember from our first study, the Apostle John writes this book so that we may clearly know who Jesus is. This shows why the Apostle's insertion of John the Baptist's testimony is so important. The Apostle has, in the prologue, stated his thesis on the identity of Jesus. He is the Word incarnate, the eternal God come in the flesh. He is the only begotten, the Creator, the Light of the World. But why now bring in the testimony of John? What is the significance? The Law clearly states that "on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed" (Deuteronomy 19:15). By adding the Baptist's testimony to his own, the Apostle is in a sense making his testimony valid. There is no running away from the identity of Christ. Apostle John is making sure that we understand that this is not his own fabrication, but a truth that is confirmed by the standards of God's Law.

So let us then, go into the passage. In these eighteen verses, we'll see how John the Baptist responded to the Pharisees, what his ministry looked like, what his testimony actually was, etc. It can be summed up in to two statements: John's self-assessment and John's Christ-assessment.

John's Self-Assessment - Before the Apostle actually gives us John the Baptist's testimony, he gives us a glimpse of John's character. This is shown in John's response to the priests and levites who came to ask him questions. You see, John was an anomaly. For 400 years, God was silent. After the last prophet Malachi, no one rose up in the spirit of the former prophets. And then came John the Baptist, formerly described as the man sent from God. He was dressed in camel's hair and ate wild honey and locusts. He was an eccentric. He in his own right could've started a massive following. We notice that his influence carried on even long after his death (Acts 19:1-7). Christ even said that "there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 11:11). So John was a great man, and the people were coming to him to ask who he was.

It's amazing though how he replies. When asked who he was, he replies by saying that he is not the Christ. That was not even the question. Why did John answer in this way? John was turning the tables back at them, subtly implying that "Who is the Christ" was the question to ask, not "Who is John?" John was always taking the eyes off of himself and pointing them to Christ. So the priests and Levites continue to question him asking if he was Elijah or the Prophet. These men were thoroughly taught in the Scriptures. Yet, John denies them all. When they finally ask him for his identity, John replies by saying, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the LORD'" (vs. 23). He was once again directing everyone's attention to Christ by identifying himself as a simple, humble servant.

It's interesting to see the reason why the these priests and Levites came to ask John about his identity. They reply to his answer by asking him, "Why then are you baptizing" (vs. 25). They wanted to know by whose authority John was calling men to repentance. Baptism at that time was not for Jews, but for Gentiles who wanted to become Jews. The fact that John called Jews to be baptized was a great rebuke to the Jews who boasted in their priviliged nationality. They didn't come to seek the Christ; they simply wanted to defend their self-righteousness. We see their heart in vs. 22 when they ask the question solely because they wanted an answer. John the Baptist was pointing to Christ the glorious One; yet, men only wanted an answer. Even then, John managed to continue pointing to Christ by not defending his minsitry but by showing the supreriority of the Christ to come.

John's Christ-Assessment - Now we finally get to the text that is actually the testimony of John concerning Jesus. We'll need to work backwards in the text, because the chronology of the event probably occured like this. John testified first which is vs. 32-34, and then came his exhortation vs. 29-33.

The Testimony - The actual testimony that John has of Jesus Christ is: "This (or he) is the Son of God." John was testifying that Jesus is God's Son, the only begotten, the Logos, the Light of the World, the Word made flesh introduced in the prologue. This is in keeping with the Apostle John's purpose ni writing the book; he is emphasizing the identity of Jesus as the Christ, Son of God. The testimony that John the Baptist is notable for two reasons. First, the testimony was in relation to divine inspiration (vs. 33). Second, John speaks in the perfect tense, implying the finality and certainty of his testimony ("have seen" and "have testified" in vs. 34). He is making it absolutely clear that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

The Exhortation - Once John has testified to the identity of Jesus, he exhorts us to take action and "Behold the Lamb of God." Now, if John's tesitmony is that Jesus is the Son of God, it is amazing that in vs. 29 he proclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God" and not "Behold the Son of God." "The Lamb of God" must have rang loud and clear to any Jew listening to John the Baptist; the Lamb was referencing the sacrifice necessary for atonement. Now why does John say this?

I think the answer is that the full glory of Jesus, that is the full goodness of Jesus, is revealed as we recognize that He is the Lamb of God, the sacrifice made for our sins. Jesus was eternally the Son of God, but now as the "Word became flesh," he added to himself a human nature that will never be separated from Him and was necessary to make a proper sacrifice (vs. 14). Through Jesus we realize grace and truth, the full goodness of God as represented in His giving of His Son as a propitiatory sacrifice (vs. 17). The only right application that John the Baptist could think of from his own testimony was to exhort people to look at Jesus and recognize that He is the "Lamb of God." The fact that the Son of God was in the flesh could mean only one thing, He comes to give His life as a ransom for many.

For this reason, Christ is forever exalted and beheld by those who know Him as the Lamb of God. In the heavenly scene of Revelations 5, Christ is regarded as the Lamb and the cry of teh saints is "Worthy is the Lamb." But for those who have not come to realize who Jesus is, He is simply a man. One of the saddest passages in the Bible is in John 19:5. Pilate brings Jesus out before the Jews and says, "Behold the Man." If there ever was a time that men should have recognized that Jesus was the Lamb of God, it was then. Christ was on His way to be sacrificed, and yet the world did not know. Clearly, the God of this age has blinded the eyes of men (2 Corinthians 4).

Conclusion - So in closing, we see that John the Baptist was a man who always pointed the attention to Christ, testified to the identity of Jesus, and exhorted men to behold the beauty of Christ as the Lamb of God. It would do us well to learn from his character, recognize the truth of his testimony, and heed the calling of his exhortation. Stay strong and God bless!