Before we start, let's pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us today.
Your Deep Dive
Read John 1:15-28 in your Bible.
As you read, take note of anything that moves you, resonates within you or even surprises you - that's the Holy Spirit guiding you. Write down your thoughts, questions and urgings of the Holy Spirit in a notebook.
Look up any words that you might not have a clear understanding of the meaning. Remember www.Wiktionary.com and www.BibleGateway.com are good (and free!) online resources.
My Deep Dive
Today's focus is John 1:15-28.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[b] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[c]
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[d] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John the Baptist is not only a “witness” but he's an adamant one. And a loud one. And a brave one. And a specific one.
(Question to explore – where does baptism come from? It's distinctly NT – not an OT reference of that word.)
John is adamant in the face of the Jews. He insists that there is Another of whom he speaks – and he himself is not Him. Yet he's adamant that he is the one Isaiah spoke of specifically:
"the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'.” --John 1:23
That's a pretty big claim, actually, to claim to be the fulfillment of a prophecy – the rightful fulfillment of a prophecy.
John is loud. He “testifies” and he “cries out”.
John is brave. He stands up as up as he cries out in the desert. But he also defends his position and role and call out the coming Christ to leaders of the Jews. John "did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, 'I am not the Christ.'” --John 1:20
John is also specific. I did not catch this before today, but John actually names “Jesus Christ”. He names the specific person of Jesus. Later he uses the position only when declaring “I am not the Christ.”
It occurs to me that the Jews who are questioning John are already missing the point of everything – the point of Jesus coming and of what John is saying/witnessing to. Instead of asking John about “the Christ”, they are asking John about himself. I imagine it like this:
Notice also that John's answers about himself are short -
"I am not the Christ.” (v. 20)
“I am not.” and “No.” (v. 21)
Even when he answered the direction question “Who are you?” he did not use his own words but those of Isaiah - “I am the voice of one calling in the desert...” (v. 23).
The times when John has the most to say are when he is talking about Jesus in v.15 and v.26.
Actually, now that I'm looking at the quotation marks in v. 15 and seeing that, they end in v.15. Verse 17 that names “Jesus Christ” is not quoting John the Baptist.* But in reading about John in the other 3 Gospels, he is clearly pointing to someone greater than himself.
He is also preaching about repentance – urging people to repent:
"He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” --Luke 3:3
“...baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” -- Mark 1:4
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea an saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is hear.'” -- Matt. 3:1-2
Back on my question of “where did baptism come from?”. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary says “the idea of ceremonial washing, or cleansing, appears repeatedly in the Mosaic laws of purification.” And John “associated with the act of baptism the imperative necessity for a thorough change in the condition of the soul [emphasis mine], manifested in a remission of sins through repentance.” (Zondervan, p. 163)
Peter said the same thing in 1 Peter:
"and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” --1 Peter 3:21
* A word about me correcting myself. What I'm posting online are my actual hand-written journal entries that I write in my personal Bible Study time early in the mornings. I could edit the content of them as I type them up and make them perfect as I put them online, but this website is not about perfection. And this correction of myself shows the process of me recognizing something that I did not see before. I believe it is the Holy Spirit correcting what I'm seeing in the Word and guiding me along in the proper path. So I left it in.
Prayer
Father God, praise You for sending John to fulfill prophecy and deliver the message of “Repent! Get ready for the One who comes!” Unless a person repents their sin – readies their soul – they won't be able to “have eyes to see and ears to hear” when Christ comes to them.
I can see that progression. It was my own progression – believe there is sin and that I have sinned, be afraid of it/sorry for it and rejoice in the One who takes my sin away FOREVER! I do rejoice in that! I rest in that! I find peace and hope in that!
Praise you, Father, for the Good News that John preached and Jesus delivered! Praise you for the symbol of baptism that we still use today – and old ritual of cleansing not just the body but the soul! Help all of us who have had a baptism of faith to REPENT and REMAIN FAITHFUL! In the name of the One who baptizes us not with water but with the fire of the Holy Spirit, Amen and Amen!
