Book of Signs ... John the Baptist (witness number one) ...

In chapter one and verse 19, John our author transitions from the prologue describing the Messiah and very essence of salvation, to the “proof” or the “evidence” that our writer was witness to.  John begins his witness, not with the birth of Christ, or His lineage, or His early adult life, as it appears John either did not know Him in those things, or was not aware of Him during those periods of this life.  But John, later referred to as “the beloved” began his own account of the divinity of our Savior where he first remembers encountering Him, at the ministry of John the Baptist.

 

Our author John picks up in verse 19 with a conversation between the servants (or spies) of the religious leadership and John the Baptist whose ministry had become famous and whose message now stood in conflict with current church policy.  For the traditions of the church had focused on the removal of sins, in the symbols that were designed to point forward to the Messiah, instead of in the transformation away from sin, that our God had intended.  John the Baptist preached repentance.  He called for a change within his listeners, and a public baptism to reflect this decision to change.  John did not spend his time building sacrificial altars, and slaying sheep, doves, and other sacrifices.  He could not be corrupted by selling the meat that would come from this practice, nor by accepting the financial tithes and offerings of his listeners.  He ate what he found in the wilderness.  His clothing consisted of what could be fashioned in the wilderness.  He did not seek to keep his appearance in the latest styles, or best attire.  Instead his entire ministry was designed around preaching of repentance, and preparing the way of the Lord.

John did not speak against the laws or traditions of Moses.  However, he did not focus on the traditions that had been corrupted by the greed of religious leaders, and instead zoomed in completely on the hearts of Israel.  John did not rail against the Roman oppressors, nor speak the truth of how corrupt their government was, and how difficult it was to serve God under their pagan regime.  John was not a political activist of any kind.  As such the Romans had no interest in him, outside of crowd control.  The priests however could not keep so silent.  The message of John had gained national fame.  The reach of the crazy man in the desert baptizing with water, but whose sermons carried the fire of the Holy Spirit had reached the ears of those who ran the temple systems.  King Herod himself knew the power of the words of John and was reluctant to “deal” with him.  John was cutting in to the temple profit machine, by eliminating the “need” for sacrifice.  If I desire sin no more, I need less lambs to cover my otherwise evil intents.  When I change the focus of my life from slavery to evil, to surrender to God, the transformation reforms what my heart wants, and then what my hands do.  This transformation was what God intended all along, and what his current leadership had all but abandoned.

So the priests sent spies to ask John the Baptist who he was.  Had John claimed to be the Messiah, they might have been able to write him off as just another self-deluded nut case, screaming blasphemy in the desert, but John made no such claim.  Just to be sure, they asked him if he was Isaiah, or Elijah risen from the dead.  Keep in mind, half the leadership of the Sanhedrin did not actually believe in resurrection, so even if he were; and claimed to be a risen prophet, half the men asking the question would have again written him off as an eccentric nut, crying in the wilderness.  But John made no claim to be a risen prophet; instead his responses to their inquiry centered on his mission, and the immediacy of the mission of the Messiah that was to follow his work.  John felt the passion, of his work.  John knew the time was at hand.  This was no far off fairy tale to John.  It was a real, immediate need to see Israel get the word – “NOW” was the time to repent.  In verses 19-28 John’s entire conversation in response to their demands of who he was, was a return to the attention that the Messiah was already here.

In verse 26, John offers perhaps the most biting rebuke of the current priests and leaders of the Jewish faith … “there standeth one among you, whom ye know not.”  Of all the people who should have been the most prepared to recognize and worship the Messiah, were the ones who dedicated their lives to studying the prophecies and words, and intentions of His laws.  If would be like having a baseball statistician who dedicated his life to knowing every player, on every team, in every year since the sport began, fail to recognize Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron.  And even when introduced to perhaps Baseball’s most famous celebrity, and see a demonstration of his skills, still refuse to accept the idea of who he was.  Here were the priests who knew all the requirements of prophecy the Messiah would have to fulfill.  Here were the same folks who only 18 short years ago, spent three days in the temple at Passover, being taught by a 12 year old child, whose truth was so compelling they could not turn away from it.  They had been captivated by this young man, yet for whatever reason had lost sight of Him.  His birth in Bethlehem, his sojourn to Egypt, his raising in Nazareth, all fulfillments of prophecy the priests should have been the first to recognize, yet were completely oblivious to.

But before we become too pious in our own eyes, I wonder if we would do any better in recognizing Christ within in our own church walls.  Would our instinct be to turn around and look through the pews for the best dressed believer in the room?  Would we expect at a minimum good personal hygiene with perfectly trimmed hair, a shaved face, and clean attire?  Would we expect at least a steady employment, a community contributor who works, pays taxes, and keeps the laws of man, and the traditions of our faith whatever they may be?  Or could we see the face of God, in the homeless man who is reluctant to enter our doors?  As for personal possessions, Christ had none more than the clothing on His back.  He was homeless by choice.  His only occupation was the redemption message He came to bring to the world, not the traditional employment we expect of a peer.  He ate what He could find, or what He was offered.  He may have kept Himself as clean as His circumstances allowed, but His circumstances resided in the great outdoors.  And finally His adherence to the traditions His own church leaders had corrupted and lost sight of, did not support their misguided ideas.  Instead He was forever trying to lead them back to the meaning of the law of love, instead of what they traditionally taught.  As such, He did not fit the “mold” of the Messiah they expected.  And as such, He might not fit ours either.  Thus John calls attention to the fact, that they were missing the very Messiah they as a nation had so longed for.

And surprise, in verse 29 … “the next day” John the Baptist sees Jesus and declares … “behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.”  Talk about being right on point.  John whose ministry bore the stamp of the fire of the Holy Spirit declares in one short breath, the true nature of the Messiah of Israel and the world.  He does not say … look everyone, here is the guy who will over throw the yoke of Roman oppression and restore the glory of Israel like back in the days of King David.  This was the most popular conception of the Messiah, and one his closest followers would secretly harbor in their own hearts right up to the time of His death.  That was the conqueror, the priests longed to see.  But that was not the image John referenced to the work of the Messiah.  The “lamb” was ALWAYS the one who was SLAIN for the forgiveness of sin.  The “lamb” never made it out alive in the religion of Israel.  A beast without blemish or spot, innocent of any wrong doing, too young to even have lived a rewarding life, was killed to remind all Israel what sin does to the young, to the innocent, and to the hearts of man when we choose to embrace it.  Lambs die.  They do not conquer Roman oppressors, or restore glory to a nation in decline.  They die.  That is their purpose.  And so in order to redeem us from the sins and evil we have daily chosen to embrace, our Savior would come and pay our punishment.  John hereby declares the mission and the true glory of the Messiah as the “lamb of God.”

It is not supposed to be easy to kill such an innocent trusting creature as a lamb.  Indeed it was designed to rend the heart of the sinner, and bring to him a full realization of the price of evil.  The sacrificial system was supposed to illustrate in physical terms what sin leads to – all sin – there was no distinction between the various sins, all would eventually require sacrifice or blood to make atonement for.  And it was not supposed to make hearts grow callous to the plight of lambs then, any more than forgiveness is an excuse for modern day Christians to commit repeated sins that require the blood of our Savior to forgive today.  Death is the result of sin; death of the perpetrator, often death of the victim.  In this case, it is the death of Christ in our stead that becomes the vehicle to satisfy justice, and prove to the universe once and for all that love is greater than justice.  Be that as it may, for a sinner in Israel, no less than for me each time I stray away from God and into sin today, blood would be paid for my redemption, and on my behalf.

Verses 31 thru 34 appear to show that John had already baptized Jesus by this time.  Jesus had already been to the wilderness for 40 days and nights of famine and fasting and temptation.  Despite the effects that such a prolonged fast would have on the body of our Lord, John is undeterred in his recognition of Christ.  John was not looking for a rock star, or a fashion idol, or a celebrity.  He was looking for God, and he found Him.  John recalls as if it was just yesterday, the account of the baptism of Christ, when John and all the witnesses present at that time saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting over the head of Christ.  It was at that time, that others (Matt 3:17) would recount the very words of God, who said … “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  This was no small day to John, it was the pinnacle height of his ministry.  He would have no better day.  He would see no better evidence that God was truly among us.  And it would stay with him like no other memory.  Undeterred by human appearances, John recognizes Christ and calls Him out to the crowd.

John the Baptist offers a first-hand account of his own beliefs based on what he has seen related to Jesus.  That in fact Jesus is … “the Son of God.”  Those who would dispute the divinity of Christ, must now discount the work of John the Baptist entirely.  For John had no doubts as to the divinity or work the Messiah was to perform.  This was no ordinary teacher, no ordinary prophet, no ordinary religious icon, this was the literal very real, Son of God; the only one God has.  John does not refer to Christ as “a” son of God, but as “the” Son of God.  John was calling distinction to the divinity of Christ, not offering Christ as just another Christian brother in the faith.  Muslims like the idea of Christ being a great prophet, but do not like the idea of God having a literal son.  Yet here is the first evidence, and perhaps most important evidence that Christ was truly divine.  Even ignoring His virgin birth, an angelic choir bursting forth in the night sky singing what I could only imagine was nothing short of phenomenally, His miraculous escape from Herod’s slaughter, and preserved life of anonymity in Nazareth – a great many, including John witnessed the words of God Himself – declaring Jesus to be the Son in whom He was well pleased.  With a physical manifestation of the Spirit of God in the form of a dove who descended on the head of Christ to be the final stamp of divine approval from the throne room of God Himself.  John the Baptist saw this, and declared it publicly to those who were there when He sees Jesus again.

Now for some reason, Andrew and John our author, did not immediately follow Christ that first day.  Perhaps Christ slipped away in the crowds.  Perhaps the disciples could not get their heads around what John the Baptist was saying.  Perhaps Christ wanted them to see that John was not just having an emotional reaction to Jesus, but was in fact sure this was Him.  So Christ came back again the second day, and John again declares in verse 36 … “Behold the lamb of God”.  This time, there was not going to be a delay, this time John our author, and Andrew decided to immediately go and follow Christ.  Notice that John the Baptist made no effort to deter them.  He was not jealous, but instead happy.  This was why John called out to declare the Messiah to the crowd in the first place.  Like the angels who announced His birth because they could remain silent no longer, John the Baptist cries out to the crowd, “Behold”.  The mission of John had reached its zenith, the Messiah was no longer a future tense item.  He was here.  He was real.  His ministry was beginning, and so even at its earliest founding.  John our author, declares that Jesus Christ had the full faith and confidence of John the Baptist as the Messiah, and as the only Son of God.