Читать книгу Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John - Robert P. Lightner - Страница 6

Portrait 2

John 1:19–51

John the Baptist was in some ways the Billy Graham of his day. When he preached, even in the wilderness of Judea, throngs of people came from everywhere to hear him. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah. In fact, some of those who came thought he was Israel’s Messiah. John wasted no time denying this. From his own testimony he was simply the announcer, the herald, of Jesus the Messiah.

This man John the Baptist was truly “sent from God’ (John 1:6). He witnessed of Christ in his preaching and his claims. The majority of those who came to hear John were very likely Jews. His call for repentance, a change of mind, was primarily directed to Jews (v. 31). These to whom John ministered needed to change their mind about Jesus, themselves, and their need of Him.

It appears that many of the Jews thought since they were members of the nation which God chose as His own in a unique sense, they were already rightly related to God. They had no need of the repentance John was calling for in his preaching. They were wrong about that. Jehovah God requires an individual response of faith regardless of one’s nationality, family, or status in life. This is why John called them all to repentance and faith in Jesus. Faith and repentance are like two sides of the same coin. One cannot have faith without repentance or a change of mind about one’s self and the Savior. But it would be possible to have a genuine change of mind without faith or acceptance of Christ as Savior. It is very likely that many come to realize they need to change their ways and do so, but never do trust Jesus as their Substitute for sin.

John the Baptist’s Witness of Jesus as the Lamb of God, vv. 19–34

John the baptizer set forth a twofold witness of Jesus as the Lamb of God. The first witness was his baptizing of repentant Jews in water. Their identification, which is what baptism means, demonstrated before others their acknowledgment that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah and their Savior. The water was and always is without any saving merit. Rather, being baptized by John meant that they truly had repented, changed their minds about Jesus, and embraced Him as their own personal Savior.

It appears that before John baptized anyone, he needed to respond to the questions thrown at him. Priests and Levites from Jerusalem sent by the Pharisees asked him who he was. John must have known that some among the Jews thought he was the Messiah. He assured them that he was not the Christ, the Messiah, promised in their Old Testament. “Are you Elijah then,” they asked, and he answered, “No, I am not.” “Are you any one of the other great prophets?” they asked. Again he answered, “No, I am not.”

John then told those who were sent to ask Him these questions that he was only like the voice of one crying in the wilderness calling for the nation to make ready for and accept Jesus the Messiah. His questioners appear perplexed at John’s answers. They asked him another question, “Why are you baptizing Jews in the Jordan?” His response to this question gave John occasion to do what God had called him to do—to introduce them to Jesus. Here then we have the beautiful portrait of Jesus as the Lamb of God, His sacrifice for sin.

This Lamb is God’s Lamb. Unlike any of the lambs sacrificed by the Jews before, Jesus “takes away the sin of the world” (v. 29). This is the key verse for this portrait of Jesus. Among the Jews there had to be repeated sacrifices of lambs year after year continually. Why was this necessary? It was because the sacrifice of those lambs merely covered sin for the period between the sacrifices. In striking contrast, the one sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Lamb, on the cross took away the sin. It was a full, final, forever sacrifice, not just for the sin of some but for the sin of the whole world of mankind. However, just as in the old economy’s sacrificial system where the one making the sacrifice needed to believe God—that the sacrifice covered the sin until the next time of sacrifice—so the sacrifice, the substitution Jesus made, must be received by faith in order to be beneficial (v. 12).

The second witness John the Baptist gave of Jesus as the Lamb of God was of Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit. This baptism was still future when John wrote. He contrasted his baptism of Jews who had repented with that of Jesus’ baptism “in the Holy Spirit” (v. 33). Jesus was the all-important One, not John. What John the Baptist did was prepare the way, remind the Jews that their Messiah had come and would identify them with the Holy Spirit, the Third Member of the Godhead.

John tells us in another portrait he paints of Jesus that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit after His return to the Father (John 16:7). The apostle Paul made clear that when the Holy Spirit would come, He would baptize believing sinners into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12–13). So, who then would be the Agent in this Spirit baptism, Jesus or the Spirit Himself? The answer is that both the Spirit and Jesus are Agents in Spirit baptism. Jesus is the Agent because He sent the Holy Spirit. So is the Spirit the Agent because of Paul’s clear statement in 1 Corinthians 12:12. This baptism in the Spirit and by the Spirit began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

This portrait of Jesus as the Lamb of God included Him as the Son of God (John 1:34).

Jesus’ Disciples’ Witness of Jesus as the Lamb of God, vv. 35–51

Andrew and Simon apparently followed after Jesus in response to John the Baptist’s calling Him “the Lamb of God” (vv. 36–37). When Jesus saw them following Him, He asked them what they wanted. Their answer was, “Where are You staying?” Jesus then invited them to come with Him. They stayed until about “the tenth hour” (v. 39) which was 10:00 a.m. Roman time and 4:00 p.m. Jewish time.

Andrew and Simon Peter were brothers and the former introduced the latter to Jesus. What a beautiful picture we have here of how without any formal Biblical training, Andrew introduced his brother Peter to Jesus. As far as we know, Andrew was not a great preacher, not very famous. However, one thing he knew for sure, he had found the long-awaited Messiah. And from that day on in every reference of him in Scripture he is bringing someone to Jesus (John 1:42; 6:8–9; 12:20–22)

Philip and Nathanael also were a part of this portrait of Jesus as the Lamb of God. In the case of Philip, Jesus sought him out. Would he have come to Jesus on his own later? We do not know for sure but very likely he would have come. When Jesus found Philip, He said to him, “Follow Me” (v. 43). This man was from the same city as Andrew and Peter were. That was the city of Bethsaida, north and east of Nazareth in Galilee.

After Philip met Jesus, he wasted no time to introduce Him to his friend Nathanael. We have found the Messiah promised in our Scripture he told Nathanael. He is the One whom Moses wrote about. He was fully convinced that Jesus met all the requirements predicted of the Messiah.

At first Nathanael was not so sure that Philip was right about his claim. The city of Nazareth had a bad reputation in those days. Many questioned whether any good thing could come out of it. Philip knew all about what many thought of Nazareth; but to convince his friend that Jesus was a unique exception to the damaging slogan, he said, “Come and see” (v. 46).

When Jesus, the Lamb of God, saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He commended him for being an Israelite without deceit or guile (v. 47). This shocked Nathanael, and he bravely asked Jesus how He knew him. Remember, as far as we know, Nathanael had not met Jesus before this encounter. Jesus obliged him with His answer. “I saw you one day when you were under a fig tree before Philip ever called you to come and meet me.” That commendation from Jesus and the fact that He had seen Nathanael under the fig tree convinced Nathanael that Jesus was all He claimed to be, very God of very God. Most certainly the Spirit of God had prepared him for this encounter with Jesus. Because he had believed the minimal revelation about Jesus, God would grant him greater and fuller revelation.

Personal Application

You may be asking, So what? Jesus is the Lamb of God whom John portrayed in the passage studied here. How does that relate to me or affect me? First, this portrait should remind us that we all need a sacrifice for our sin that satisfies God. Adam and Eve tried to make themselves acceptable to God by covering themselves with fig leaves. That did not satisfy God. He rejected their efforts and made them a covering from an animal caught in a thicket. And remember, God requires a perfect sacrifice and only He could provide that. Second, if we have accepted God’s Lamb as our Savior, our Sacrifice, we should be sharing Him with others just like Andrew and Philip did.

Study Questions

1. Name some unique things about John the Baptist.

2. Why did the Jews think they did not need John’s message?

3. What exactly was the heart of John’s message?

4. When did the baptism by the Spirit occur?

5. What examples did Andrew and Philip set for us?

6.

7.