“The Jews”
• The expression is used 71 times in John.
• Most commonly it refers to the Jewish leaders, especially those of Jerusalem and Judea (as here in 1:19), and usually they are cast as those who actively oppose Jesus, fail to understand Him, and who finally seek His death.
• Not all Jewish leaders, however, are presented negatively: Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea fare much better (3:1ff.; 7:50; 19:38-42).
1. WHO JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS NOT
“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was” (v. 19).
a. He was not the CHRIST (v. 20).
“He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Christ.’”
“Christ” = the Lord’s ANOINTED, “MESSIAH”
With us “Christ” has become little more than a personal name for Jesus, but properly it is a title, “the Christ,” which means “the anointed” (as does “the Messiah”). In the OT various people were anointed, but notably priests and kings (for the latter, cf. the phrase, “the Lord’s anointed”). The ceremony was used to set men apart for special functions. When the expectation grew that one day God would sent into the world an exceptionally great Person, a mighty Deliverer, One who would represent Him in a very special sense, this coming great One was thought not of as “an anointed one,” but as “the anointed one,” “the Messiah.” So the title was applied by believers to Jesus, and it remains to remind us of this public and official aspect of His ministry.
b. He was not ELIJAH (v. 21a).
“They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’” “He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’”
“Are you Elijah?”:
• It had been foretold by the prophet Malachi that before “that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes” God would send Elijah the prophet (Mal. 4:5). This was understood to mean that Elijah would precede the Messiah.
• The appearance of John and Elijah was similar. “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist” (2 Kings 1:7-8).
“I am not”:
• John’s denial puzzles many, because Jesus clearly asserted that John was “the Elijah who was to come” (Matt. 11:14; 17:12; Mark 9:13).
• The solution to the difficulty is probably that there was a sense in which John was Elijah and a sense in which he was not. He fulfilled all the preliminary ministry that Malachi had foretold “And he [John] will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). In a very real sense Jesus could say that John was Elijah.
• But the Jews remembered that Elijah had left the earth in a chariot of fire without passing through death (2 Kings 2:11), and they expected that the identical person would reappear. John was not Elijah in this sense, and he had no option but to deny that he was.
c. He was not the PROPHET (v. 21b).
‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’”
“Are you the Prophet?”:
• “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18).
• The Jews distinguished between “the Prophet” and “the Christ” (John 7:40-41).
• “The prophet” was Jesus (Acts 3:22).
2. WHO JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS
a. He was the one who was to get people READY for the Christ (vv. 22-23).
“Finally they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ ‘John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way for the Lord”’” (cf. Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4).
“I am the voice…”
• John’s reply is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3 (cf. Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3).
• The point of the quotation is that it gives no prominence to the preacher whatever. He is no more than a voice. He is a voice, with but one thing to say.
• John’s real function was not to teach ethics, but to point people to Jesus. “Make straight the way for the Lord” is a call to be ready, for the coming of the Messiah is near.
• The imagery is that of preparing a roadway by clearing away the obstacles. This was an important process in ancient times, especially for roads in the wilderness country.
b. He was a man of amazing HUMILITY (vv. 24-27).
“Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ ‘I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’”
“Why then do you baptize?”
• Baptism was not a new practice in Judaism. It was the regular ceremony in the admission of converts from other religions. When such a conversion took place, the males of the family were circumcised and all, of both sexes, were baptized. This was seen as the ceremonial removal of all the pollutions contracted in the Gentile world.
• The novelty in John’s case and the sting in his practice was that he applied to Jews the ceremony that was held to be appropriate in the case of Gentiles coming newly into the faith. All Jews were prepared to accept the view that Gentiles were defiled and needed cleansing. But to put Jews in the same class was horrifying. The Jews were God’s people already.
“Among you stands one you do not know.” The Christ stood among them, though they did not know Him (cf. v. 11).
“The thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie”
• Loosing the sandal was the task of a slave; a disciple could not be expected to perform it. To get the full impact of this we must bear in mind that disciples did do many services for their teachers.
• There is a rabbinic saying (in its present form dating from c. A.D. 250, but probably much older): “Every service which a slave performs for his master shall a disciple do for his teacher except the loosing of his sandal-thong.”
• John selects the very task that the rabbinic saying stresses as too menial for any disciple, and declares himself unworthy to perform it. “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28). If such a great person felt inadequate even to be Christ’s slave, how much more should we lay aside our pride to serve Christ! When we truly understand who Christ is, our pride and self-importance melt away.
• “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). “He must increase, but I must decrease” (KJV).
The Jews wanted to know who John was, but John wanted them to know who Jesus was.
3. WHO JESUS IS
a. Jesus is the LAMB of God (v. 29-31).
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’”
Verses 26 and 32-33 show that John had recognized Jesus as the Christ on an earlier occasion.
“The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”:
• “The lamb” = the SACRIFICIAL lamb or the VICTORIOUS lamb. John was not excepting Jesus to suffer (see Matthew 11:2-19). It may be a case in which John was speaking better than he realized (cf. 11:49-52). Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-42). Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah would be led to the slaughter like a lamb. To pay the penalty for sin, a life had to be given.
• “Of God” = PROVIDED by God or BELONGING to God.
• “Takes away the sin” = ATONEMENT or JUDGMENT.
• “Of the world” = He is sufficient for the need of ALL people.
b. Jesus is the one who baptizes with the HOLY SPIRIT (vv. 32-33).
“Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”
John is not talking about a vision. He actually saw the Holy Spirit come down upon Jesus in a form like that of a dove. The Spirit not only descended but remained on Him. We should probably understand that the Spirit remained with Him permanently.
The early church preached that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38):
• “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him” (Isaiah 11:1-2).
• “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him . . . .” (Isaiah 42:1).
• “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1; cf. Luke 4:18).
“I would not have known him”
• This does not necessarily mean that he did not know Jesus at all. It is quite possible that this is his meaning, for Jesus was brought up in Galilee and John in Judea. They may never have met until now, although they were related.
• But it seems more probable that John means that he did not know Jesus to be the Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit until he saw the sign.
The outpouring of the Spirit came after Jesus had risen from the dead and ascended into heaven (see 20:22; Acts 2). This too anticipates the fulfillment of OT prophecies, which looked forward to the time when God’s people would have the Spirit poured out on them (e.g. Ezek. 36:25-26).
c. Jesus is the SON OF GOD (v. 34).
“‘I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.’”
LIFE LESSON: Like John, we should lay aside our PRIDE to SERVE Christ.
JOURNEY THROUGH JOHN / The First Week
Part 1: The First Witness (John 1:19-34)
1. WHO JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS NOT (vv. 19-23)
a. He was not the _______________ (v. 20).
“Christ” = the Lord’s __________________, “_______________.”
b. He was not ________________ (v. 21a; see Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14).
c. He was not the _______________ (v. 21b; see Deuteronomy 18:18; Acts 3:22).
2. WHO JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS (vv. 22-28)
a. He was the one who was to get people _______________ for the Christ (vv. 22-23; see Isaiah 40:3).
b. He was a man of amazing _______________ (vv. 24-27; see Luke 7:28).
The Jews wanted to know who John was, but John wanted them to know who Jesus was.
3. WHO JESUS IS (vv. 29-34)
a. Jesus is the ________________ of God (vv. 29-31).
• “The lamb” = the _________________ lamb or the _________________ lamb.
• “Of God” = _________________ by God or _________________ to God.
• “Takes away the sin” = __________________ or _________________.
• “Of the world” = He is sufficient for the need of _________ people.
b. Jesus is the one who baptizes with the ____________________ (vv. 32-33).
c. Jesus is the ____________________ (v. 34).
LIFE LESSON: Like John, we should lay aside our ___________ to ___________ Christ.
