Centuries and centuries ago, the prophet Isaiah said that a man would come who would be a voice in the wilderness.
Specifically, Isaiah said that a man would come who would prepare the way for the Messiah and to make straight a highway for our God.
In today's study of John 1, we're going to read about that man, a man we call John the Baptist.
Have you ever noticed the guys at the airport that hold up the signs with people's name on it?
Now, what are those guys doing?
Well, when I was a kid, I had no idea.
I thought, this is odd.
You come off a plane, there's people with signs, and they have names on it.
I didn't quite understand them.
I said, well, these are chauffeurs that are looking to pick up people who just came off the plane.
Now, the only thing I knew about chauffeurs was that we didn't have one.
The wealthy aristocrats had guys who sat there with signs waiting for them when they got off the plane.
With that said, why the sign at all?
Why the sign?
Well, here's the thing.
The guy who was waiting didn't necessarily know the guy he was waiting for.
And so the sign is a means by which they could make some sort of connection.
The guy waiting for the guy coming off the plane didn't know what to look for, per se,
wasn't really sure who it would be.
The guy could be standing right next to him, and he wouldn't know it
if there was not some sort of connection made.
Well, with that said, the first century Jewish leadership was a lot like the guy with the sign,
the chauffeur at the airport.
In one sense, they were waiting for somebody to show up.
In one sense, they were waiting for a Messiah, someone.
You know, Rome is really messing with us.
We're under the boot of Rome.
We sure don't like that.
We hope the Messiah comes any day now.
Are you him? Are you him?
Here's the sign, right?
At one level, they were expecting and anticipating that this Messiah would come.
However, they had lost complete touch with what to expect when he finally showed up.
They had been given instruction on what to look for.
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies that said,
he's going to do this, but not that.
He'll be born here, but not there.
He will grow up in this place, but not that place.
The Old Testament's filled with passages that should have told him,
like a neon arrow, what to expect when he showed up.
And if that wasn't enough, there was a miraculous star
that hung over the exact place where he was born,
that others witnessed, the star of Bethlehem.
There was all manner of means by which God had told him
what to expect, who to expect, where he'd be born, when he'd be born,
that he even was born through the star.
And if that wasn't sufficient, he's going to send this man named John the Baptist
to make it as abundantly clear as is humanly possible,
despite every sign that they could have been given
that this is the guy, behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world,
despite literally John pointing his finger.
The prophets for centuries, all they could do
was point through the annals of time
to some guy who would eventually come,
point with their words that there will be a guy
who will one day come who will do all these things.
John didn't just point with his pen.
He pointed with his finger and he said,
that guy, that's the guy we have been waiting for.
And yet, the Pharisees and the religious leaders,
they wouldn't comprehend and understand
who in the world this guy was
in comparison to who they wanted.
who they desired. They misunderstood. The worst case of mistaken identity was Jesus Christ. They
didn't know who he was, to the point of killing him when he was the Son of God. They had no
proper understanding. Now, if they didn't get Jesus right, they definitely weren't going to
get John the Baptist right. And today's text, John the Baptist, is going to be introduced to us as
this guy who was baptizing people down by the waters. That's how he got his name, John the
Baptist. With that said, they had no idea who he was, even though, just like Jesus before him, or
just like Jesus after him, even though he also had numerous verses in the Old Testament that
anticipated who he'd be, what he would do, and what he would look like. This morning's text,
we're going to look at these verses. We're going to see how John the Baptist was anticipated and
more the point, how Jesus was anticipated through the Old Testament lens that here in the first
chapter of John should have resonated more with the original audience, including the very priests
who were told to expect him. All right, let's look at verses 19 through 23. I'll read this
text and we'll work our way through as we usually do through the passage. Verse 19. Now this is the
testimony of John, John the Baptist. This is the testimony of John when the Jews sent the priests
and the Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? And he confessed and he did not deny,
but he confessed. That's really almost impossible in the Greek to translate properly because it's
so emphatic. It's more emphatic than we have words to really put to. So it says this, he confessed,
he did not deny, but he confessed, I am not the Christ, because some said that maybe he is.
And so they asked him, well, what then? Are you Elijah? Are you Elijah? We were told to expect
Elijah, the last prophet in the Old Testament. What's the last book of the Old Testament?
Malachi. The last book is Malachi. The last book in the Old Testament, and the last prophet of the
Old Testament anticipated the coming of this one who would be like Elijah. And so they ask,
are you Elijah? Are you Christ? No. Are you Elijah? And he says, no. And so they ask him,
verse 21, what then? Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. Now, in this particular case,
they're reaching way back to the book of Deuteronomy, because in Deuteronomy, Moses
talks about one who would come who would be a prophet, a prophet greater than he. Now,
that's also pointing forward to Jesus Christ. They didn't know any better. So they say, well,
you're not the Christ, you're not Elijah. Are you that prophet Moses talked about?
So they go through all the possible candidates. We know you're someone important. We know you're
doing things no one has done. And there's people who are saying you're one of the three. Which is
it? Are you this guy? Are you this guy? Are you this guy? And the answer is no, no, no. And so
verse 22, having exhausted the options, then they said to him, who are you then that we may give an
answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? And this is John's answer. And it's just
a wonderful answer because he's quoting Isaiah. He said, I'm the voice. I am the voice of one who's
crying in the wilderness, make straight the path of the Lord, just as the prophet Isaiah had said.
All right, let's stop for a minute. What caused the Jewish leadership, the Jewish elites, the
priests and Levites and all of those, not only the guys who were sent, but the guys who were
waiting in Jerusalem for the report back, what caused them to care about what some itinerant
hermit was doing in the wilderness? Why did they care in the least about what was going on
so far from their seat of power.
Well, they cared because there was people in Jerusalem
that were going to that guy.
Scripture says in Mark, all of Judea and Jerusalem
were traveling out, were leaving the city,
were going to the wilderness,
to a place no one went of their own volition.
It's like going to Wiggins.
I'm so sorry.
They went to a place of their own volition
that people, generally speaking, don't otherwise go.
So they go to this place, and people go,
why, why are you going there, why are you going there?
Great multitudes.
So John was attracting large crowds.
That's number one. That's why they had his attention.
It was attracting large crowds, and everyone was talking about this guy.
This guy is in a place that no one else would volitionally go, but everyone's going to him.
Why? Is he a great speaker? What's he doing?
Well, he's doing this. He's baptizing.
That was the second thing that got their attention.
He's baptizing? Baptizing? What is he baptizing for?
You see, they understood baptism through a very cultural lens, and here was the lens.
The only people that you put water on, the only people you immersed in the Jordan in this case,
the only people who were baptized were who?
were the Gentiles. Let's say you had some Gentile who drifts into the land and says,
you know, I kind of like what y'all got going on. I think I'd like to convert. Is that okay?
Could I convert? And they said, well, yes. And here's the things you need to do. And there was
circumcision and feast days and all sorts of things that had to happen. But among the things
that had to happen if a Gentile was to become a Jew is he had to undergo something called
proselytite baptism. Proselytite baptism was basically a way of saying, you, you know,
Mr. Pagan, you, Mr. Gentile, you're not clean enough to even set foot in our holy city,
let alone the court guards of the Most High. You are unclean. Remember that word comes up
all the time in the Old Testament. So you're unclean. And so what must happen? Well, you must
be washed. You must undergo baptism as a type of spiritual cleansing, a shadow of that which you
need in the heart. You must also endure outwardly. You'll undergo this proselyte baptism, and only
then can you join with us? All right, so that's their understanding of baptism. Well, here you
got this guy out in the wilderness, out in nowhere land, and he is not only drawing multitudes to him,
but he's drawing multitudes to him, not just to hear him speak. In fact, that wasn't foremostly
what he did, but rather to baptize. Now, if you're a Jewish aristocrat, you're saying,
what in the world are people Jews, what are our brothers and sisters doing going to a guy to be
baptized. That's reserved for them, the pagans. That's reserved for the Gentiles, the dogs, right?
Because that's a term they use for those nations. That's reserved for them. They're the ones that
need it, not the Jews. We don't do that. Who is this guy? Who is this guy who is baptizing as if
we're unclean? You see, John got something the religious leaders didn't. They thought they were
good. They thought they were clean. Remember the Pharisees would stand before Jesus all prim and
proper, as if they were just fine. They would say, no, no, no, no. You're a brood of vipers. You don't
understand who you are. You're of your father, the devil. They didn't understand corporately,
and especially in the leadership there in Jerusalem. They didn't understand just how
dire their situation was. They didn't understand corporately how far Israel had strayed. They
didn't understand that just in a few decades, God's judgment would come down. In 70 AD, the
whole city and the temple would be utterly destroyed because of their sins. They didn't
get it. They had no idea. They thought things were just fine. And it's funny how that happens.
In the Old Testament, even in the New Testament,
there was times when God's people think,
we're doing pretty well.
We're on top of this faith game.
God's pleased with us.
Things are going well.
I have no idea that the hammer's about to drop.
What's about to happen?
In 70 AD, God's hammer would come down.
With that said, there was going to be warnings.
Warning, the end is coming.
At least the end is coming for Jerusalem.
Warning, judgment is coming.
The winnowing fork is in his hand.
He comes to baptize with fire.
The one who's coming is not going to deal just with Rome.
going to deal with you, Jerusalem. That alone would have gotten under their skin if you were
a Jewish leader, because your main issue was Rome. If we could get rid of Rome, man, we'd be cool.
Get rid of Rome. Get rid of Caesar and the empire and all that sort of stuff. Get the tax guys out
of the way. Then, then we could really, really thrive. They thought their problem was Rome. It
was not their problem. If the problem was in here, it was sin, and they didn't get it. So everything
John was doing was counter-cultural. It didn't match with their understanding. They thought they
were good. They thought they were clean. They didn't think they had an issue. And so when John
says, come repent, repent, those who had no sense of a need to repent didn't grasp it. Whatever the
case is, John had gotten the attention of the elite in Jerusalem. So they sent their priestly
henchmen to go and ask him these questions and get to the bottom of what's going on. With that said,
how did John respond to their inquiries? On verses 19 through 23, he makes two things clear. Number
one. He says that if anyone had any doubts, if anyone had wondered whether he was the Messiah,
he says, I am not. If anyone anywhere is wondering whether I'm that guy, as a case of mistaken
identity that plagued first century Israel, he says, I'm not that guy. I am not the Messiah.
And he goes on to say, I'm not Elijah, and I'm not the prophet who's mentioned in Deuteronomy. I'm
none of those guys. I'm none of those guys. And yet, I am somebody in this sense. I'm the
fulfillment. I'm the fulfillment of the text in the book of Isaiah. I'm the fulfillment of a prophecy
of one who would come who would be a forebearer to the Messiah. You see, the Messiah is coming. In
fact, he's here, and you don't even know it. The Messiah is coming. But remember, priests, remember
Levites, the guys who should know better. Remember what the scripture said. It said before that guy
gets here, there's going to be another guy. Another guy's going to come and prepare the way.
I'm that guy. I am the voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. Make straight the
highway of our king. So that's his answer. That's his answer to them. Now again, these same priests
and Levites and leaders, they would not understand Jesus properly, and they would not understand John
the Baptist properly, even though there was verses and passages that said exactly what they would do
when they showed up. They were witnessing the fulfillment of things that they had been looking
forward to for centuries, but with the blinders on and a different level of expectations in place,
they either didn't understand it or rejected it, even when it was told them to their face.
it's not like these guys walked away and said hey we just met the voice in the wilderness awesome
and he says that guy's the savior all right let's worship him even when he made it clear
they did not respond accordingly all right let's look now verses 24 through 28 now those who were
sent from the pharisees and they asked him saying why then do you baptize if you're not the christ
if you're not elijah if you're not the prophet and john answered and said i baptize with water
I baptize with the most common ingredient on planet Earth.
I baptize with water.
But there stands one among you who you do not know.
And it's he who comes after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy
to loosen.
Now, these things were done in Beth Barah, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptized.
All right, so their first questions were geared to who in the world are you?
And I'm not sure they were satisfied with his response.
So they moved to the next question.
Why are you doing this?
Why are you baptizing?
This makes no sense.
As we said before, they were caught up in the idea that only pagans needed to undergo this.
They didn't understand why Jews were undergoing it.
And so they ask him these questions, and he responds.
And he says, I am baptized in baptism and repentance with water.
Of course, one is going to come after me who's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit.
And that's a whole other and better thing.
But then in verse 27, he says something interesting.
He says, if you're all wondering who I am, remember, I'm nobody.
And prove I'm nobody in verse 27.
He says, it's him, the one who comes after me, is preferred before me.
and his sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen. Now what's significant about that? Well culturally
that was a phrase that would have been very well understood. You see the most disgusting thing in
the first century Israel was feet. They wore sandals, it was dusty, it was dirty, they were
sweaty, they were all day long. Messing with anyone's feet, really in any context is no fun,
but especially in this context, it was not the most desirable thing in the world. So let's say
that you were the master of the house or what have you,
or let's say you were a rabbi, right?
Now, you had disciples who would sit around and listen to you,
and they'd sit at your feet, right?
They'd listen, and you'd train and teach and so forth.
But disciples didn't take off your sandals.
Disciples didn't wash feet, touch feet, generally speaking,
which is why it's such a shock when Jesus would do this later on.
But they didn't mess with that.
That wasn't the job of even the disciples who were listening to the rabbi.
With that said, you know whose job it wasn't either?
It wasn't even the slave's job.
If you had a Jewish brother or sister who was a slave in your house,
you know what? It wasn't their job to untie your sandals either. This is really the lowest, lowest,
lowest, lowest job in the world at this time. So whose job was it? If your disciples didn't do it,
and if your own slaves in your own house didn't do it, who's left? Well, at that time, it was once
again the Gentiles. You could get a Gentile dog, so to speak, to untie your laces, to take off
your sandals. That was a job that was worthy only of the lowest of the low of the low, which didn't
even include anyone in Jewish society, but only included the Gentiles. With that said, notice what
John says here. John says, I am not worthy even to untie the lace on his sandal. This one who's
coming, I can't even be the guy to mess with the feet. If I'm lower than a disciple, and I'm lower
than a slave, and guess what? I'm also lower than even a Gentile compared to this guy, then what
does that leave? Well, it leaves nothing. Yeah, he didn't say this. Notice in this text, he didn't
say, I'm only worthy to untie his laces. He didn't say, I'm only worthy to loosen his sandal strap.
That would have said, I'm like the Gentile dog, right? I'm like those guys. I'm only worthy to
do that. I'm compared to those guys that we all hate. I'm like that. He says, I'm not even up to
that standard compared to him. You see, the interesting dichotomy here is that Jesus would
later say that John the Baptist was the greatest one of woman born. Of all the people who've ever
walked the planet earth, whose name was not Jesus the Christ. Of all anyone else, you know who the
greatest is? John the Baptist. And we know that because Jesus said it. He says, of anyone who's
ever been born of a woman, the greatest is John the Baptist. And yet John the Baptist rightly
understood this, that even he is the greatest person to walk the planet earth, is the greatest
among men and women of all time. Even he was not even worthy to do the least of all jobs in Jewish
society to untie the sandals of this king. The object here was not simply for John to be humble,
although he did that. John regularly said, I must decrease, he must increase. Humility was 100%
part of his desire here. But it's not just to lower himself. It was to say, you have no idea
the majesty and the holiness and the radiance of the one who walks among you. You don't know who
he is, but he walks among you and you don't know it. So that's what he's saying in verses 24 through
28. All right, let's look at verses 29 through 34. Now, the next day, John saw Jesus coming toward
him, and he said, behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. This is he
of whom I said, after becomes a man who's preferred before me, for he was before me. That's a way of
saying this is the eternal king. This is not a guy who was just born, you know, a week before,
a week after me, or anything like that. This is the eternal one. So this is he of whom it is said,
after me comes a man who is before me, for he was before me. I did not know him, but that he should
be revealed to Israel. Therefore, I came baptizing with water. I'm the voice saying, that's the guy.
Verse 32, and John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove.
So this text takes place after the time that John baptized Jesus in the Jordan. And he says,
I saw it. I was there. I saw the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God descend from heaven
like a dove. Not necessarily as a dove. We don't know exactly what it looked like, but at least
like a dove. And he remained upon him. And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he is the one
who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen that, and I have testified that this is, that guy
is the Son of God. He was there when the Spirit came down to anoint the one who would be the Son
of God. He was there to hear the words that were proclaimed from on high from the Father that said,
this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Again, this wasn't just his conjecture saying,
I sure hope and think and pray that it might work out this way. He says, I saw it. I heard it.
I'm a witness to this. The word witness comes up time and time again in chapter one. Again,
our faith doesn't hang just on conjecture. It hangs on facts. He says, I was a witness to this,
and I saw the Spirit come down, and I heard the voice, and the Spirit, and the voice, and the dove,
and all of it testified that this man, that man, behold, behold, look at him. He's right there.
He's coming down the river. That man, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Now, as we look to wrap up this morning, why that phrase? That's not a normal phrase. That's 100%
not a normal phrase anywhere in Scripture. The term Lamb of God really comes up here and it
comes up in Revelation. It's not a concept they understood at great length throughout all the
pages of scripture so why use it why not just say behold the son of god behold the messiah is here
everyone why didn't he just do that why do you refer to the lamb of god well as we wrap up remember
what jesus came to do he didn't come down just to flex his power come down and you know from his
high and area state just to show off some miracles and and everyone realized who he was and maybe
worship him because he was you know so great and majestic and powerful he didn't do that exclusively
he didn't do that principally principally he came down from a throne to this fallen world
ultimately to go to a cross in order that he might die our lord and savior came down that
he might die now that would have resonated with first century israelite because because they
engage frequently daily in something called the sacrificial system you ever wonder why they
slaughtered animals in the old testament when i was growing up that was the one part i had the
most trouble with you know i was like you know six seven eight years old i got the idea that
Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. This I know. So I got that sort of stuff really well. But I'd go to
Old Testament or Sunday school class. I'd be on some sacrifices in the temple, and I just didn't
get it. I love animals. I still do. That's why I adopt every weird thing that comes down our path.
You know, everyone abandons dogs and cats and chickens and other things in our front yard
before I know it's in my house. Why? Because I love animals. Well, that said, I just couldn't
fathom. What's the deal with all the slaughter of the animals? What is this all about? Well,
here's the thing. The slaughter of animals was a teaching mechanism. God tutors people for centuries
on the need for a sacrifice to do what? To take away sins. And so when they slaughtered oxen and
goats and the like, the idea was that those sacrifices pointed forward to a sacrifice that
would later come. That one day one would come, would be the fulfillment of these shadows and
types. Now not only did they sacrifice all these bulls and oxen and so forth at the temple, but you
remember, once a year they celebrated something called Passover. Now, Passover was the recollection
of what God had done during the Exodus. You recall during the Exodus that God says, let my people go.
He sends Charlton Heston to talk to Pharaoh, and let my people go. And Pharaoh is like, no,
Charlton Heston, I'm not going to do that. Not going to happen. And so all these plagues, you
know, rained down upon this hard-hearted Pharaoh. And ultimately, the final plague was the death of
the firstborn. The death of the firstborn. The angel of death would go through the land at night
and slaughter the firstborn throughout Egypt.
Now, how could you be saved from such a terrible event,
such a terrible encounter on this one night?
How could you and your family be spared?
Well, remember, God gave instructions through Moses to the people,
and he says, what you're going to do is you're going to find a perfect lamb.
Not just any lamb, not the three-legged, buck-toothed, cross-eyed lamb.
You're going to find the perfect lamb.
When you find the perfect lamb, in the exact manner that's described,
you're going to kill this lamb,
and you're going to take the blood from this perfect lamb,
and you're going to mark the doorpost of your home.
You're going to mark what's called the lintel of your home.
And because your home is marked in the blood of the Lamb,
when the angel of death comes through, comes through the city,
he will pass over your home and spare those who are within.
Why? Because your house is marked in the blood of the Lamb.
For century upon century upon century, they celebrated the Passover.
They found the perfect Lamb and they slaughtered this Lamb in recognition,
not only what God did way, way back then
during the time of the plagues,
but in anticipation of what he would later one day do,
that ultimately, finally, there would become one.
One would come down who would be the fulfillment
of all those dead animals over all those centuries.
One day one would come that would be the perfect lamb.
And on this particular day by the river,
John pointed to him.
He says, behold, behold the lamb of God
that takes away the sins of the world.
What we've been doing for centuries, slaughtering animals,
what we've been doing every time we celebrated the Passover,
it all pointed to that guy right there.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
So we wrap up here this morning.
This whole book is predicated on the belief that you and I are sinners
and that we need a sacrifice on our behalf
if we're ever going to be able to dwell with God on high.
Now the culture around us believes in something called appeasement.
the culture around us says, okay, there is a God. He exists. How am I going to be right with Him?
I'm going to be right with Him by appeasing Him. Maybe I've offended Him. Okay, maybe I've sinned,
right? Maybe I've done something like that. But what I'll do is I'll do these right good things.
I'll give to the Boys and Girls Club. I'll volunteer to do this. I'll help the old lady
cross the street. I'll do these various tasks. And because I've done these things collectively,
God will look at me and say that my wrath that was otherwise going to fall upon you
is now appeased because you're just too lovable I just can't do it you know look at all that you've
done I mean I can't turn a blind eye to all that you did right so what happens then is that
salvation there's no grace in that salvation there's a debt God owes you because look you
earned it he just can't judge you now because you're too wonderful that's appeasement and that's
what culturally our whole world believes there's belief systems that don't even call themselves
Christian that still believe the same concept that you appease whatever's out there wherever he is
you do enough good stuff, you offset the ledgers, and you're in.
Maybe there's some of us who have fallen into that trap.
That's not the gospel.
The gospel is not about appeasement.
The gospel is about atonement.
Do you understand the difference?
The gospel is not about appeasing God so that he just,
well, eh, I can't judge you today or down the road.
Welcome on in.
It's not about appeasement.
It's about atonement.
The wages of sin is death.
If a man has sinned, then a man must die.
Scripture's unequivocal about that.
the wages of sin is death so the question is are you a sinner you should hear a lot more yeses i
know we're presbyterian but yes yes we are sinners we confess that's confession we confess we are
sinners we've sinned more since breakfast you know than we could possibly imagine yes we're sinners
we sin we sin we sin the wages of sin singular not plural the wages of sin singular is death
what are we going to do about that well john knew the answer he points and says that guy
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
This one, through his sacrifice, because that's what he came to do,
through his sacrifice and our faith in him, not in ourselves, not in our works,
not in the pile of stuff we've piled up here,
but our hope in him and our faith in him and our trust in his perfect person and work.
That's the means of our salvation.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
God looked down upon the Lamb when he hung on the cross
and it pleased the Father to crush the Son.
He who knew no sin became sin for us.
What must we then do?
Get away from the idea that we're going to pile up our mountain of works.
That's not the answer.
Instead, we behold the Lamb.
We say, this one, this one, this one who came down,
who suffered and died, it is on him and his person, his work,
that I have any hope now or for the future.
John the Baptist, John the Apostle,
they both are in the same business,
and it's the same business you and I are in,
to say, behold the Lamb,
To say that although a man has sinned and a man must die, that's exactly what happened on Calvary.
He who knew no sin became sin for us.
It pleased the Father that crushed the Son.
And because of who he is and what he did, his sacrifice is considered sufficient to save not only me, but the whole lot of we who believe.
Atonement, not appeasement.
Your sins were atoned for by Jesus Christ on Calvary, the Lamb who was slain.
Let's pray.