John 1:29-34. Chosen to Witness

“In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”

This famous statement made by the American preacher, Howard Hendricks could be applied to Christians today and was certainly true two thousand years ago. There had been no prophets for 400 years. It was then that God acted.

Zechariah was a godly priest but he and his wife Elizabeth could not have children. One day he was selected by lot, out of thousands of priests, to be the one who was allowed to enter the Holy Place in the temple in Jerusalem and there burn incense. When undertaking this duty and privilege he had the fright of his life. There, standing on the right side of the altar, was someone else. Zechariah was ‘gripped with fear’ but the angel Gabriel reassured him,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” Luke 1:13

Gabriel went on to say that the boy would be a delight to them and to many other people because,

“. . . he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.” Luke 1:14

He was to be raised as a lifelong Nazirite, abstaining from all alcohol, just as Samson and Samuel, earlier prophets, had been before him. Gabriel continued,

“. . . and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” Luke 1:15

The effect of this filling would be clear, he would have a public ministry, to prepare people for the coming of their Lord, in the spirit and manner of Elijah.

“Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16-17

Zechariah was struck dumb at this news so he couldn’t explain the details of this conversation to his family and friends.

When Elizabeth was five months pregnant the same angel, Gabriel appeared to Mary, Elizabeth’s young cousin, and explained to her that she was also going to have a child, even though she was unmarried and celibate. Mary rushed to see Elizabeth who lived in the high country, and share the news. That must have been some conversation!

The baby in Elizabeth leapt and Elizabeth exclaimed,

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so highly favoured that the mother of my Lord should come to me. . . Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” Luke 1:42-45

Note what it is that makes someone blessed by God, it is to believe what he has said.

In response Mary said, she didn’t sing, what we now call the ‘Magnificat’ which included the words,

“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50

Mary addresses her Lord as ‘my Saviour’ because she knew that she was a sinner just as much as everyone else and that she too needed to be saved. She was therefore not the result of an ‘immaculate conception’ as some churches have taught, she was an ordinary godly person who God had chosen for his purposes. She was special in that she submitted to doing what God wants.

John was born E and eight days later, the ritual of circumcision was performed. Many people were there to celebrate. It was expected that the child would be named after his Father but Elizabeth spoke up for her mute husband and said,

“No! He is to be called John.” Luke 1:60

They then turn to Zechariah and gave him a tablet covered with wax for him to share his thoughts, and to everyone’s amazement he wrote,

“His name is John.” Luke 1:63

At this point Zechariah found he could speak again and note what he immediately does,

“He praises God.” Luke 1:64

Throughout the hill country of Judea, where Zechariah lived, people were talking about these extraordinary happenings and were naturally asking,

“What then is this child going to be?” Luke 1:66

The name John, in Hebrew, means ‘The Lord is gracious.” God was indeed graciously about to step into the history of the world. It is no coincidence that throughout these early accounts the word joy keeps appearing (e.g. Luke 1:14, I:44, 1:58, 6:23, 8:24, 10:17).

There never was anyone quite like John. As he grew and matured, he must learned much about his Lord by studying the Old Testament because, when he started teaching, his message was to bring people back to its basics. He had great understanding of what the Bible emphasises. He became an exemplary witness to the person who was to come after him but who, in every other respect was before him.

John’s commitment

To be an effective witness for Jesus Christ requires that our whole lives are dedicated to serving him. Too often, becoming important can go to people’s heads, even amongst God’s people. But that didn’t happen to John, he knew his place! He had been preaching for about 18 months, reminding people that what God requires is not outward religion but a heartfelt devotion to him. He taught that all people must recognise how far short they have fallen from God’s standards and turn back to him in repentance, asking for his mercy. Repentance literally means a ‘rethink’ of the direction of my life, a ‘re-pensing.’ We still have the English word ‘pensive’ that reflects this meaning.

The sincerity and deep enthusiasm for Jesus makes John very attractive. T.H. Huxley, a well-known agnostic, was with a group of men at a weekend house party. On Sunday morning, while most of them were preparing to go to church, he approached a man known for his Christian character and said,

“Suppose you stay at home and tell my why you are a Christian.”

The man, knowing he couldn't match wits with Huxley, hesitated. But the agnostic said gently,

“I don't want to argue with you. I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you.”

The man did just that, and when he finished, there were tears in Huxley's eyes as he said,

“I would give my right hand if only I could believe that!”

John talked about the person he had come to be a fore-runner for, someone who will baptise his people with the Holy Spirit. He warned his hearers that God’s judgment that will certainly come to those who reject God’s Messiah, saying,

“His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12

‘Who are you, John’?

After John had been preaching for about six weeks a delegation came from the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on a fact-finding mission. They wanted to know what was going on and asked several questions.

The first question was, ‘Who are you?’ They were wondering whether John could be the long promised Messiah who would come to lead God’s people to peace and freedom.

“I am not the Christ,” was his clear reply John 1:20

If he had been ambiguous, doubtless the old Maccabean flags of independence would have been unfurled and war against Rome could have commenced. John uses the word ‘Christ’ which is an adjective derived from the Greek word ‘chrio’ which means ‘to anoint’. This makes the word ‘Christ’ the equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ which also means ‘God’s anointed one’. The wording John uses also emphasises the need for God’s people to be open about their faith.

“He did not fail to confess but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Christ.’” John 1:20

The obvious follow-up question, if John were not the Messiah, was, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He did, after all, wear the uniform of a prophet,

“John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt round his waist . . .” Mark 1:6

In the Old Testament, prophets used to wear a uniform to identify themselves. Elijah identified himself in this way,

“He was a man with a garment of hair, and a leather belt round his waist.” 1 Kings 1:8

The delegation knew the prophecy of Malachi that said,

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day of the LORD comes.” Malachi 4:5

In fifth century BC, false prophets used to dress up using a prophets cloak of camel’s hair, much as Elijah had worn, to give them credibility. Yet a later prophet said that on the ‘day of the LORD’ such false prophets would feel guilty and hide. He exclaimed,

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say ‘I am not a prophet.’” Zechariah 13:4-5

It is likely that John also knew this prophecy and did not want to be misunderstood and be thought of as a false prophet with its possible dire consequences. It is equally possible that John did not recognise the significance of his own ministry. Later Jesus did identify John the Baptist with the promised Elijah. When honouring John, Jesus said,

“Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist . . . he is the Elijah who was to come.” Matthew 11:11-14

There was nothing false about John’s message. Like Elijah, he implored his listeners to acknowledge their innate rebellion against God. Many Jews came to accept John’s warning, they decided to live a new life with God in charge and were publicly baptised to confirm this decision to repent.

The third question was, ‘Are you the prophet?’

This again referred to an Old Testament prophecy. Moses had said,

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers . . .” Deuteronomy 18:15

John was Jewish, he was one of ‘your brothers’, so would qualify on that score, unlike Mohammed, but he answered,

“No.” John 1:21

John was so self effacing – he wanted all the glory to go the Jesus.

The delegation keep pestering him, ‘Who are you then?”

“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’.’” John 1:23

Joh’s response to being tested was to take his answers from the Bible, the Word of God. John answers who he is by what he was doing, his job was to warn people to get ready for God’s Messiah coming into their world, just as Isaiah had done. He is just a voice, he is simply here to communicate to others what God has said. He wanted to point people to Jesus, saying,

“He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:27

The day after this meeting with the Jerusalem delegation, John sees Jesus approaching and explains to those around,

“Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” John 1:29-30

His priorities

Jesus said that there was no other person in the world who was greater that John the Baptist. If ever there had been a man who was tempted to talk about himself, surely this was he. He had been prepared for this role since before his birth. He had had a supernatural birth, been brought up as a Nazirite, had never drunk alcohol, never touched a dead body, was clearly very disciplined, living in the desert and eating locusts, yet his whole emphasis was on Jesus.

“The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens to him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegrooms voice. That joy is mine, and is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”John 3:29-30

Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) was an English-born American political activist and revolutionary. He wrote ‘Common Sense’ (1776) and ‘The American Crisis’ (1776–1783), two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he encouraged the Americans to make a declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. He wrote ‘The Age of Reason’ in which he described the substitutionary death of Christ as ‘an invention’. He claimed his book would replace the reading of the Bible, yet who today has read it? Egotism is not a godly characteristic.

Egotism can all too easily influence church leaders. They can so easily continue in ministry for their own sakes, for another house or another plane or simply for kudos. We have just been watching the film series entitled ‘ Greenleaf’ which is about such a religious dynasty who are primarily in ministry for themselves – how ugly that is.

Such lifestyles are completely removed from those of John the Baptist and of Jesus’ apostles. Paul wrote,

“So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. . . wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

The great conductor, Toscanini, performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony one evening. His performance and that of his orchestra were fantastic. At the end the audience went wild, they clapped and clapped and clapped enthusiastically. Some began to whistle the tune of the symphony and stamped their feet. Toscanini bowed, bowed again and again and still the applause kept coming. So he bowed more and acknowledged the orchestra again and again. Toscanini was almost out of control. When the noise subsided a little he then turned to the orchestra and said,

“Gentlemen, ”

The members of the orchestra leaned forwards to hear the great man,

“Gentlemen, I am nothing, you are nothing - I know you have heard this many times. But Beethoven, he is everything, everything , everything.”

Such is the attitude all Christians need in the relationship bteween the Lord Jesus and ourselves. We should all be able to say,

“I am nothing, you are nothing, Jesus is everything.”

Such is the mark of a true messenger – he is a devoted servant of his Lord.

His message

Just as his lifestyle centred on Jesus, so did his message.

“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.’ . . . Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:9-34

How John loved to talk about and point people to Jesus.

Talking about religion is not the same. In a monastery in Madrid the painting by El Greco showing Peter holding the keys to God’s kingdom stands prominently displayed. For many this is the centrepiece. However one visitor took more notice of a small walnut coloured picture on the opposite wall where a small, very old painting (1525) hang. This shows a lamb and round its head, barely perceptible, was a halo. The lambs feet were tied, the lamb was lying on the beam of a cross. The tile was ‘Agnus Dei’ - ‘The Lamb of God.’ The guard supervising the area could not understand why someone would be more interested in the death of the Lamb than in Peter!

John also wanted people to see that Jesus is the ultimate sacrificial lamb who, takes away the sin of the world. The unfortunate thing is that people can know the theory but not have the experience of that deep and permanent joy that comes from a deep involvement with Jesus. It is a dependance on Jesus that gives us the experience of knowing we are safe, of having God’s Spirit, Christ’s Spirit, in us. It is because we have the Spirit of Jesus that we confidently share the news about Jesus, the lamb of God, just as John the Baptist did.

BVP