Jesus, the Lamb of God: Before we get to Jesus, we must be prepared to see him. This was what the ministry of John the Baptist was all about: to prepare the way for the Lord. John did this through a baptism of repentance and his testimony about Jesus, the Lamb of God. But John’s ministry is still needed. Why? It’s only when we behold Jesus and see him for who he truly is that we can find the life-to-the-full that God created for us to live. Recorded on Jul 9, 2023, on John 1:19-34 by Pastor David Parks.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:07 — 71.2MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
So, last week, we started the new annual theme of Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. As I said last week, normally, we’d have a selection of sermon series under our annual theme from the whole Bible. But this year, we’re doing something a little different. For almost the whole next year, we’ll go slowly, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, through the gospel according to John. And last week, we kicked off this series/theme by working through the prologue of John’s gospel. We met the Apostle John, an ambitious and hot-tempered young man, one of the Sons of Thunder. But John found a new life with Jesus, and eventually, he was changed so much that by the end of his long life, he was known as the Apostle of love. We said that reading through John is like walking through an art gallery. John has curated many different artistic images and portraits under one theme. And the theme is all about who Jesus is, what God has done and is doing through him, and the reality of the new life, eternal life, a life to the full that is possible when we believe. If you missed the introduction, you can always go back and watch it online or listen to the audio podcast if you’d like. But today, we’ll meet another man named John, not the Apostle, but the baptizer. And this John, John the Baptist, had the special God-given task to prepare the way for the coming of the Christ (Messiah). And John the Baptist’s ministry is fitting for us even to this day. Because before we get to Jesus, we must be prepared to see him. We must first understand that God had promised that Jesus would come. Second, we must have a realistic view of our own sin and struggle that we need help; we need a savior. Third, and finally, as John encourages us to do, we must behold Jesus. We must really look at him and listen to him. We must carefully consider his words and deeds and meditate on what all that says about who he truly is. But if we do this, if we prepare ourselves and if we walk through this gallery that John has prepared for us, we just might find the life-to-the-full that God created for us to live. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 1:19. Let’s jump in.
John 1:19-23 (NIV), “19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders 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.’ ”” Ok, let’s pause here. So again, the John in this passage isn’t the author, but the baptizer who had a very popular ministry early in the first century AD, but John was a wild man. He lived and ministered in the wilderness to the east of the Jordan River. According to Mark, “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” (Mk 1:6). John was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And the result was “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Mk 1:4-5). [map slide] If we take a look at a map, we can see where the city of Jerusalem in the region of Judea and the Jordan River and the wilderness beyond the Jordan are located. But so many people were going out to hear John and be baptized by him that the religious leaders in Jerusalem sent out a delegation to investigate this influential man. They asked him if he was the Anointed One sent by God (in the Hebrew, this would be the Messiah, in the Greek, this would be the Christ). But John “did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’” The Jews at the time had several other figures from their Scriptures they were expecting God to send including a prophet in the spirit of Elijah (from Malachi 4) and a prophet in the spirit of Moses (from Dt 18). And these aren’t bad questions. The priests and Levites were of the family lines that God had chosen to lead ancient Israel in worship. They were responsible for preaching and teaching God’s word at the Temple in Jerusalem, and they had found in the Scriptures promises of God that he would send these prophets to them. And in John’s ministry, they clearly saw the hand of God at work. So they were trying to figure out who he was and what his coming represented in what God was doing in their day. But John denied these questions. Finally, they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” Can you detect a little frustration here? I think that’s warranted. They seem a little more concerned about their task than about what God was actually doing. But John answers them, quoting Isaiah 40. And I’d like to read to you the longer quote. Listen to this. Isaiah 40:3–5 (NIV), “3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” John is saying that he is the voice in the wilderness, and it was his mission to prepare people for the coming of the Lord, which means that the glory of the Lord was about to be revealed! God was truly about to do something big. What God had promised through Isaiah 700 some years earlier was going to be fulfilled in their day. Can you imagine what people must’ve thought when they saw this wild man and heard what he had to say? Let’s continue with v. 24.
John 1:24–28 (NIV), “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 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.” Let’s pause here once more. So, the Apostle John introduces one of the themes of opposition that runs throughout his gospel, that of authority. Now, the Pharisees were conservative religious leaders in their day. The Apostle Paul was trained as a pharisee (and was likely an apprentice under Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem during this time). It isn’t clear if the Pharisees were a separate group from the priests and Levites or if they all came together. But either way, the Pharisees questioned John the Baptist as well. They say if John isn’t one of these promised figures (Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet), then who or what gives him the authority to be preaching and baptizing in this way? The implication is that he didn’t get the authorization from them. John’s answer probably made them nervous. John basically says, “You’re worried about me? I’m nobody. I only baptize with water. But among you stands one you do not know (not a priest or Levite or even a Pharisee). I’m not even worthy to be his servant to untie his sandals.” If you were there that day, you must have been thinking, who in the world was coming? It must be someone from God, or could it be God himself?!? John saw himself as preparing the way for the Lord and that the glory of the Lord would soon be revealed. And John claims that the one who was coming had authority over all the religious leadership of the people of Israel. John didn’t need the permission of anyone, even the religious elite, to do what he was doing. Who was this one whom John was talking about? Look at v. 29.
John 1:29–34 (NIV), “29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 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.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”” Matthew reports that, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” And God the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:16-17). And when John saw and heard all this, he knew that this was the moment he’d been preparing for. This Jesus of Nazareth was the one that God had promised to send and was the fulfillment of his own purpose/mission. Jesus was God’s Chosen One, his one and only Son. Jesus was the Messiah and a prophet in the spirit of Moses and Elijah. He was the one who would reveal the glory of the Lord to his people and be Emmanuel, God-with-us. But after John was questioned by the religious leaders from Jerusalem, the next day when he saw Jesus, he said emphatically, “Look! Behold!” You see, a true encounter with Jesus isn’t a casual experience. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, if Jesus really was the fulfillment of hundreds of years of promises of God and the Chosen One of God, then we must listen to him. He is either everything or he is nothing. So, we must consider his claims and think about what he does. We can’t just glance at him; we must behold him. But John goes on to describe Jesus as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. In John’s gospel, this is called the hour of Jesus. And from chapter one of John’s gospel, the hour of Jesus is in view. Just as John knew his mission, so Jesus knew his and ultimately oriented his life toward the cross. Jesus wouldn’t merely die; he would intentionally lay down his life as the perfect sacrifice, made once and for all, for the sins of the world. The whole system of animal sacrifices of the OT only pointed to and were fulfilled by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. So it was by John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and by his testimony about Jesus, the Lamb of God who would fully atone for the sins of the world, that John prepared the way for the coming of the Lord and the glory of the Lord God Almighty that would be revealed in the person and work of Jesus. Next week, we’ll see one of the results of John’s ministry is that some of his disciples start to follow Jesus. We’ll see the start of Jesus’ ministry of preaching, signs and wonders, and calling men and women to follow him as his disciples. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, John recognizes that his ministry was coming to an end, but John is ok with that. John says, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (Jn 3:30). At the height of his popularity, John gave everything over to Jesus. He saw his life and ministry not as a tool to give himself a greater platform or increase his brand but only to point to Jesus. What a man of humble faith! May that be said of our lives, as well.
But for today, all four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all start with John because John the Baptist’s ministry marks the historic start of Jesus’ ministry. But a question we ask every week is this: so what? What does this mean for us today? How might we apply this teaching to our lives? Well, I’d like to apply John’s ministry of preparation to us today. Are we ready to see Jesus over this coming year? Are we ready to find and experience the real/eternal life that Jesus offers to us today? You see, before we get to Jesus, we must be prepared to see him. So first, we must understand: God promised that Jesus would come. In many ways and throughout many generations, God promised through the prophets, including Moses and Elijah and Isaiah, that he would send one who would finally deal with the problems of sin and death. The religious leaders knew they were supposed to be waiting for somebody. They thought John might be the one, but John was only the one sent to prepare the way. But did you know this? Did you know that the whole Hebrew Bible, the whole OT, points to the coming of Jesus? This wasn’t an accident; this was the plan of God from before the creation of the world. God promised that Jesus would come. If you aren’t very familiar with the OT scriptures (as many people aren’t today), then you’ll need some help catching up because the coming of Christ is really the middle of the story. To properly behold Jesus, we must see that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything God has been doing in history up to this point. The gospel is his story, not ours. Second, we must have a realistic view of our own sin and struggle, that we need help. We need to understand: We need a Savior. We need Jesus. We cannot do this life on our own. If you don’t believe that, just try life on your own for a while and see how it goes. We weren’t made to be independent. We were made to be totally dependent on God. We were made to have a relationship with God as our Father as his child. There’s a reason John’s baptism was one of repentance. Repentance means a change in your heart/mind which results in a change in your life. Repentance means to turn, and not just to turn from your way but to turn back to God’s way. And we need repentance because we need a Savior. Third, and finally, as John encourages us to do: We must behold Jesus. We must really look at him and listen to him. We must carefully and thoughtfully consider his words and deeds and meditate on what all that says about who he truly is. And the reason is that if Jesus is who he claimed to be and accomplished all that he claimed he would do, then it changes everything. But if we do this, if we prepare ourselves, if we understand that God promised that Jesus would come and that we do need a Savior, and if we walk through this gallery that John has prepared for us, we just might find the life-to-the-full that God has created and is creating for us to live. Jesus just might change everything once again, today. He just might change us. So today, are you prepared? Are you ready to behold Jesus, the Lamb of God? The one who saves and takes away the sin of the world? The one who rescues and redeems and offers his own life to us? Let us pray.