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Let's turn in our

Bibles, please, to John chapter 1 once again. I'm enjoying this study in John's Gospel.

I've got about a dozen books I think I try and read through on each passage each week, and I'm being instructed in a lot of ways about things

I've never seen before. The scriptures are rich, and as I've already, you know, drawn attention to, even though John's Gospel is characterized by actually rather simple language, humanly speaking.

Short sentences, rather simple vocabulary, repetition of words. There is a profundity, there's a depth here that's just incredible to me.

Well, let's pray once again. Father, help us, we pray, to understand these things, and not only understand, but appreciate them, value them.

And we pray, Lord, that they would be transformative. We pray that your Word would cleanse us, our

God, illuminate us, inspire us, help us, we pray. Father, we also want to pray for those, we're mindful of those who are traveling.

We do pray, Lord, for Chris Turner and his bride as they're on their honeymoon now.

We pray for your blessing upon them, your protection of them, their safe return. And also for Jason and Laura's son and daughter as they travel back from Ohio this week, give them a safe return.

Again, may your grace be with us, help us to be attentive, receptive, and responsive. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Last Lord's Day, we completed our consideration of John's prologue to his gospel, which is verses 1 through 18.

We now can consider the remainder of John chapter 1 as the prelude to the public ministry of Jesus.

Verses 1 through 18 was the prologue for the whole gospel, and now verses 19 and following is it really a prelude to Jesus' public ministry.

And so in this portion of the gospel, we read further of the witness to Jesus by John the

Baptist. This is the main theme here. We then read of the calling of his first disciples.

We're not going to get there today, maybe not even next week, we'll see. But it's really a description of the onset of our

Lord's public ministry in Judea just prior to departing to Galilee where the bulk of his earthly ministry took place.

We have an outline of the remainder of chapter 1 before us. I put it in your notes there.

Again, the prologue of the gospel, verses 1 through 18, and then the prelude to the public ministry of Jesus, which is verses 19 through the end of the chapter, verse 51.

And within this prelude, we have the witness of John the Baptist, and then we have, secondly, the calling of the first disciples,

Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathanael. Now within this witness of John the Baptist, which is verses 19 through 34, we have

John encountering the Jews, and you notice I put that quotation marks because the

Jews is a particular term of importance in John's gospel, as we'll point out.

And John's engagement of the Jews involved really two embassies coming from the

Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. First, the priests and Levites inquire of John, who are you?

And then those of the Pharisees inquire of John, why then do you baptize? And today,

I had hoped to get through all of that today, but we're only going to be able to accomplish, Lord willing, that which is emboldened there.

John and the Jews, and then the first portion of that, the priests and Levites inquire of John, who are you?

And so today we'll begin to address this witness of John the Baptist contained in these verses. Now, we're seeing

John the Baptist repeatedly here in John chapter 1, aren't we? And his witness has already been attested to twice, and we're only, you know, up to verse 19, but two separate times

John the Baptist has been cited by John the Apostle, who wrote the gospel. And so in verses 6 through 8,

John was identified as having been sent by God to bear witness to the light, and then in John 1, 15 also, we have

John the Baptist as brought forward, and here for the third time, here in John chapter 1,

John the Baptist is introduced for us, and here it's a little more lengthy, of course. I want us to read all of these verses to keep a context in which this is all related to us, and so John 1, 19 through verse 34, and although we did see last time there was one statement that was direct discourse, direct speech, here we see now once that prologue is over and the main content of the gospel opening up, we have dialogue here going back and forth between people, and that's why there's so many different paragraphs here.

Verse 19, now this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you?

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.

That's kind of a, looks a little awkward, a little cumbersome, doesn't it? He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed.

A positive statement, negative statement, positive statement, that's quite unique, by the way. They asked him, what then?

Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? He answered, no.

Then they said to him, who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet

Isaiah said. Now those who were sent were from the

Pharisees, and they asked him, saying, why then do you baptize if you're not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?

And John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you whom you do not know.

It is he who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap

I am not worthy to lose. These things were done in Bethabara, beyond the

Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, behold, the

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And this is he of whom

I said, after me comes a man who is preferred 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. And John bore witness, saying, I saw the

Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained on upon him. 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 on him, this is he who baptizes with the

Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.

And so here we have the prelude, beginning of the prelude to the public ministry of the

Lord Jesus. And so again, in verses 1 through 18, we had the prologue to the entire

Gospel of John, and now with verses 19 through 28, we have a prologue or Lord's earthly ministry.

John the Baptist is once again called upon by the Gospel writer to bear witness of Jesus Christ.

It seemed like, you know, everywhere John's preceding the Lord Jesus, preceding and preparing for the way of the

Lord, both historically and literarily. The Apostle at first identified

John the Baptist as having been sent by God to bear witness to the light, verses 6 through 8. And then the writer again brought the

Baptist forward in verse 15. John bore witness of him and cried out, this was he of whom

I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me. We dealt with those in some detail.

And now the third time, the Gospel writer calls upon the witness of John the Baptist of the direct witness that he bore to Jesus.

The witness that John bore to Jesus is shown to have been initially due to the Jews in Jerusalem inquiring of him who he was.

Who are you John? And why he was baptizing the people. Why are you baptizing?

First the Jews sent priests and Levites to John, verse 19. Later the Pharisees sent some on their behalf to inquire of him.

And then with verses 29 and following, John bears direct witness to Jesus in which after he recounts having seen

Jesus, he declared openly he was the promised Messiah. And so let's give attention to John's witness to the

Jews. And here in verses 19 through 28 especially would be

John and the Jews. And then we're zeroing in even closer to verses 19 through 23.

The priests and the Levites inquire of John, who are you? So verse 19, now this is the testimony of John when the

Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? You might take notice of the word sent.

This is a common word in John's Gospel. We've already pointed that out, haven't we? It carries the idea of being sent with some authority.

These people were representing the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. The Jews, notice, when the

Jews had sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem. And so the way it's described by the

Apostle John, they were sent, it means that they were sent on official business. They came with the purpose of inquiring of John on behalf of the

Jews. The Gospel of John actually mentions priests and Levites here directly, only this time, only this once.

And although there are a number of references in John's Gospel to chief priests, this is the only place in John's Gospel where ordinary priests and Levites are mentioned.

Priests and Levites belong to the lower rank of clergy in Jerusalem. Priests were rarely high in social status.

That might be news to us. We might have kind of an exalted view of them, but they were actually looked upon rather lower in social status.

The Levites were even lower than the priests. They were forbidden to take part in offering sacrifices.

They usually provided service as musicians, doormen, and the police force of the temple.

All priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. John the

Baptist himself was a son of a priest. His father was Zacharias, who was serving in the temple.

However, there's no word whatsoever of John the Baptist, although being a son of the priest, being from the tribe of Levi himself, there's no indication that he himself ever was trained or served as a priest.

The Gospel writer wrote of the Jews who had sent the priests and Levites, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem.

This is our first introduction to this group of people. Jews is a commonly used term in this

Gospel, something we could perhaps read over rather casually without giving much attention to it, but we should give attention to it.

It's an important term. It's used in this fourth Gospel much more frequently than in the synoptic

Gospels. The expression the Jews has a peculiar place in the fourth Gospel.

In Mark's Gospel, it occurs six times, and five of those occasions are in the phrase king of the

Jews. In Matthew, five occurrences of the word the

Jews, four of them in the expression the king of the Jews. In Luke, five occurrences, three in the expression king of the

Jews, whereas the Jews occurs 70 times in the Gospel of John.

It's a significant term. The Jews is a term that conveys a number of nuances depending on the immediate context in which it is found, and we've always been trying to emphasize that.

Words may have a general meaning outside of context, but once they enter into a context, they become more clearly defined in their meaning.

And the Jews is found in a number of different contexts with a number of different nuances. At this time in history, when the

Gospel is written toward the end of the first century, when Jews referred to themselves, they commonly used the word

Israelite rather than Jews. Jews was a term commonly used by non -Jews to refer to the

Jewish people. Although, however, Jews in the Diaspora out in the

Roman world away from Palestine, they tended to refer to themselves as Jews. By the way, since the

Holocaust prior and during World War II, the term

Jews itself is sometimes perceived as a derogatory term.

We may not be aware of that, maybe most of us being Gentile. I had a very good friend who was a missionary who was

Jewish himself in Israel, and he said that when you use the word

Jews, it kind of sets them back a little bit. It bothers them.

It's viewed as a pejorative term sometimes. It's heard that way by a Jewish person. And so I tend to refer, rather than to Jews, I tend to refer to Jewish people.

It's a little softer in their ear apparently, and I got that firsthand from a good friend who knew about that.

What is meant by this term the Jews in this gospel? Well, the Apostle John did not use a term with an exclusive negative connotation.

For example, John himself is a Jew writing to Jews. John described

Jesus as a Jew in chapter 4 verse 9. He wrote of Jesus speaking to the

Samaritan woman that salvation was of the Jews. Certainly Jesus was not saying anything negative about the

Jews in that context. Later, John wrote of many Jews who had believed on Jesus.

He wrote of the feast of the Jews. And so it's not a negative term in every context.

However, the Apostle frequently does refer to the Jews in their hostility to Jesus, as one wrote.

Nevertheless, and this is an important nuance in the fourth gospel, the Jews are frequently seen in dialogue with Jesus, and the term thereby acquires a strong connotation of Jews who are hostile to Jesus, with special reference in many cases, and a sharp line of demarcation is impossible here, to the

Jewish leaders and authorities. For instance, it is said that the feast pilgrims, themselves

Jews, dared not speak about Jesus for fear of the Jews. That's curious, isn't it?

In other words, that second use of the Jews carries on a nuance of more of the Jewish leadership, who in that case are those more specifically called the

Pharisees elsewhere. The Jews defend the letter of the law, refuse to accept the authority of Jesus and his messianic status, and after denying his kingship, ultimately they deny their own status as the people of God.

The term Jews, therefore, although setting forth specifically the hostility of the Jewish leadership toward Jesus, reflects the general opposition and rejection of the

Jewish people in mass to Jesus. John declared that earlier, he came unto his own and his own did not receive him, and as one wrote, even then one will have to guard against the generalizing tendency toward all

Jews and everything that is Jewish. There is in this gospel a spectrum of nuances, from the

Jews as the people called and chosen by God to salvation, to the Jews as a leading aristocracy, those that sought

Jesus's destruction. But we should recognize this term, the Jews, to be an important one that conveys meaning depending upon the context.

And even though there's no open hostility attributed directly to the Jews in the passage that's before us here in John chapter 1, the tone betrays at the outset of the gospel resistance and rejection of the

Jews to the forerunner of our Lord. They came in an accusatory manner, you know, who are you and why are you baptizing?

They weren't looking for information and to be informed, they weren't looking with excitement, they were concerned about what

John was doing. And so here we have portending for us the hostility that our

Lord would encounter throughout his ministry from the established Jewish leaders. But let us also stand back and take another perspective.

Oftentimes you get into the narrative and you get involved as the story is happening. John wrote this gospel perhaps 60 years after the event.

And so many decades after the narrated events occurred, long after the Jewish authorities had rejected and crucified

Jesus, persecuted the early church, had suffered God's judgment upon them by the

Romans in the war of AD 67 to 70. And so the evangelist, and when we refer to the evangelist, we're referring to John the

Apostle. And I'm finding it difficult when I refer to John, you know, because they're

John the Baptist and they're John the Apostle and I don't want to confuse people about this.

And so perhaps the reference to the evangelist would be better a reference to the writer of the gospel.

John the Apostle recorded in his gospel this hostility of the Jews from the earliest days of onset of this kingdom age.

And so of this gospel's presentation of the Jews, Francis Hoskins wrote a good and thorough description or depiction.

And this is a lengthy quote. This is an obscure volume.

And I've been buying a number of these here lately. But in one of the commentaries

I've been using, the commentator just kind of made a little note, the footnote.

He was greatly blessed by reading, devotionally by reading this this book.

I went online and I found it and nobody knows about it, but I found one on eBay and I got it.

And I found this paragraph that describes the Jews here. The evangelist is not here speaking of a race marked by the peculiar purity of its physical descent or of a people endowed with peculiar moral and intellectual qualities, especially visible in its accredited leaders.

To the evangelist the Jews were Jews because to them the law of God had been given, because to them the prophets had spoken, and because to them the coming of the

Messiah had been promised. Salvation is therefore of the Jews. They were a nation under the authority of God, this authority being exercised to the priests who were responsible for the worship in the temple, and to the

Pharisees who were the guardians of the law. On the knowledge and understanding of the priests and Pharisees, and especially on their ability to recognize the

Messiah when he came, depended the destiny of the whole Jewish people. But the

Jewish authorities, with the approval of the populace in Jerusalem, had put Jesus to death. And the evangelist knows only too well that since that time the

Jews had consistently and with great bitterness everywhere opposed and persecuted his disciples.

Throughout his gospel the evangelist therefore uses the phrase the Jews to denote the national rejection of the

Christ and especially his rejection by the Jewish authorities, and by the Pharisees, and by the chief priests, and the

Pharisees. By their failure to recognize the Messiah in whom the law and the prophets are fulfilled, the

Jews have shown that they have misunderstood their own worship, their own practices of purification, the

Sabbath, the scriptures, and the Passover, and so far from accepting the authority of God, they are actively engaged in the service of their father the devil.

In the perspective of the gospel the Jews are therefore merged into the world. I thought that was an interesting statement.

Which though created by the Word of God does not receive him when he comes into the world to his own.

Indeed it is an open opposition of the Jews in general, though less self -conscious opposition of the world is most clearly seen.

The gulf that separates John from the Jewish deputation and which causes the evangelist to speak of the

Jews as a distinct and separate people is not due to the possibility that the Prophet had been born and exercised his whole ministry on the periphery of Palestinian Judaism and the evangelist was a

Greek writing for Greek Christians. He's slapping down liberals here that made that claim for a long time about the writer of the

Gospel of John. Rather the gulf between John the writer and these Jews is the ultimate gulf between unbelief and faith, between blindness and sight, between death and life.

And so at the outside of the gospel here basically we have these the two sides already seen to be in conflict that you know have two purposes, two views and they're antagonistic toward one another.

And so here at the outset of the gospel the hostility of the Jewish leadership is introduced to us not overtly but certainly they will be the opposition to both the forerunner and Messiah himself which they will fully manifest fully and finally at the cross.

Now having said that in this negative sense about this term let us be mindful of this.

God often works salvation those who may initially be quite hostile to the Lord Jesus and his and or his people.

Although the Jews especially Jewish leaders were resistant and hostile to the Lord his representative nevertheless many of them later became disciples of Jesus Christ.

Yes the Jewish leadership persisted in their resistance but there was a Nicodemus among them and there was a

Joseph of Arimathea a secret disciple and later we read that a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith in the book of Acts and later still of course we read of Paul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the

Lord whom the Lord converted and transformed into a Christ promoter rather than a persecutor.

And so I say that so that we should we should not cease praying for and bearing witness to even the one who most opposes us who is most resistant and hostile to the gospel for it may be the

Lord's intention to save that soul. In fact I would argue that that's what that's who the kind of people

God's looking for and purpose is to save. The Lord Jesus is a great

Savior and he's in the business of saving great sinners and I think it's a wrong way to view the world as we go go around and trying to look for people that might be less resistant and more willing and more desirous to find a seeker and then you know tell them the good news.

Now we tell the good news to sinners and great sinners defiant sinners rebellious sinners and some of us can testify that that's how the

Lord came to us and brought us salvation. And so I would argue sometimes we may even find it more profitable to engage a soul for the

Lord who's either cold or hot rather than lukewarm because many times you'll find someone who maybe isn't that hostile to you or to me in the gospel but nothing ever comes of them but sometimes the ones that are most opposed well they're great trophies of grace aren't they and it's an encouragement and no wonder to see the

Lord work in that way. Now let's consider how John first denied that he was the

Christ this was the first question posed to them again verse 19 reads now this is the testimony of John when the

Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who are you. Now the

Lord was still in Judea at this time probably not far from Jerusalem he'd be leaving for Galilee before long the

Gospels of Matthew and Mark tell us the reason Jesus left Judea traveled to Galilee was due to the hostility of the

Jewish leadership and particularly when they arrested when Herod arrested in prison John the Baptist that's when

Jesus and his disciples headed north. When the

Jewish leaders inquired of John who are you they weren't concerned about his personal identity as such they wanted to know what

John claimed regarding his place in his role in announcing the coming Messiah and the promised kingdom of God.

John was declared repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. They asked who

John was and we read of his response he confessed did not deny but confessed I am

NOT the Christ and again there's some difficult language there and it seems to be kind of redundant but that's for a purpose.

There is of course great expectation of the people at this time that the promised Messiah would soon appear as one wrote first century

Palestine was rife with messianic expectations some expected the Davidic Messiah others say

Qumran that's the Dead Sea community expected a priestly Messiah as well in other words two

Messiahs not to mention the coming of the Prophet but if they think he is a

Messiah at all an anointed one long prophesied by the scriptures they are wrong that is if they thought

John was the Messiah. John the Baptist had such a remarkable ministry that many thought he was the

Christ. In fact we read of that in Luke 3 15 all reasoned in their hearts about John whether he was the

Christ or not see many of them thought he was the Messiah. The manner in which

John the Baptist answered their queries rather unique again it said of John he confessed it did not deny but confessed

I am NOT the Christ and his response was emphatic I am

NOT the Christ I mean he made it he made it clear and forthright to them the way the

Greek is is recorded it's emphatic as one wrote the forceful way this is presented he did not fail to confess but confess freely is the evangelist way of saying that even the

Baptist denials that he was the Christ constituted part of his positive witness to his confession of the true

Christ. I think that's a very good observation even in John's denial that he was the

Christ he was witnessing to the true Christ and the way he denied that and that what looks like you know some rather complicated language there that he was pressing at home

I am NOT and so the depiction of John's answer is special John confessed it did not deny the word confess by the way conveys the idea of a formal witness the

Greek word would commonly use say of a witness in a court scene a formal witness testified and John was undergoing a legal examination from this embassy sent from Jerusalem and he declared the truth openly and forthrightly and so the gospel writer setting forward

John the Baptist really is the ideal witness of Christ nobody could do better than he who was legally testified of Jesus Christ John would have no one think more highly of him than what they thought of Christ and so even questions posed to John regarding Jesus he turned about to testify of Jesus and so even in his humility he sought to exalt

Christ Matthew Henry he is always good he was more industrious to do good than to appear great don't you like that and therefore waived saying anything of himself until he was legally interrogated those speak best for Christ that say least of themselves whose own praise them not their own lips and John's works praise him and then

I appreciated the words of J .C. Ryle and in the 19th century commentator if we profess to have any real

Christianity let us try to be of John the Baptist spirit let us study humility this is the grace with which all must begin who would be saved we have no true religion about us until we cast away our high thoughts and feel ourselves sinners this is the grace which all

Saints follow after which none have any excuse for neglecting all

God's children have not gifts or money or time to work or a wide sphere of usefulness but all may be humble and this is the grace above all which will appear most beautiful in our latter end never shall we feel the need of humility so deeply as when we lie on our deathbeds and stand before the judgment seat of Christ our whole lives will then appear a long catalog of imperfections ourselves nothing in Christ all

John was a humble man even though he was the greatest of men John secondly denied that he was

Elijah the prophet are you the Christ no are you Elijah the prophet and so we read they asked him what then are you

Elijah he said I am NOT John's answer was short and terse one rightly pointed out the increasing curtness of John's successive utterances should not be missed it appears to stem from a dislike for answering questions about himself he had come to bear witness to another

I love that I'm not the Jews anticipated the arrival and ministry of Elijah the prophet before the arrival of the

Messiah and of course this was based on the last passage in our English Old Testament it wasn't the last passage in the

Hebrew scriptures but the last passage in the Hebrew Old Testament Malachi 4 5 through 6 you know turn one page before Matthew 1 and you've got this prophecy of John the

Baptist behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great dreadful day of the

Lord he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children the hearts of the children to their fathers lest I come and strike the earth with a curse the

Lord Jesus later taught his disciples that John the Baptist was the realization and fulfillment of this

Elijah prophecy Matthew 11 as they departed

Jesus began to say to the multitude concerning John what did you go out in the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing or in kings houses but what did you go out to see a prophet yes

I say to you more than a prophet for this is he of whom it is written behold

I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you surely

I say to you among those born of women there is not risen one greater than John the Baptist but he was laced in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he and from the days of John the

Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John and if you're willing to receive it he is

Elijah who is to come he who has ears to hear let him hear couldn't be clearer could it he is the

Elijah who is prophesied to come now when John the Baptist answered the question negatively no

I'm not Elijah either he was not aware that himself that he was the fulfillment of Malachi 4 or else he was simply denying that he was not literally

Elijah the prophet I'm not Elijah I'm John but our

Lord definitively stated that John the Baptist was the Elijah that God had promised to come before the day of the

Lord and yet in spite of the fact that our Lord declared John the Baptist to have been the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi 4 5 and 6 there are many evangelicals today who insist that in the future

Elijah will appear on the scene before the second coming of Jesus Christ during a supposed future seven -year tribulation this is a common belief

Elijah's coming I would argue it's an errant belief

John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy I heard it declared recently on the radio two weeks ago and I knew this passage was coming when

I was listening to it the radio preacher argued from our text of John 1 21 see

John the Baptist directly denied that he was Elijah and so John the Baptist was not the fulfillment of the

Elijah prophecy I don't know how he got around what Jesus declared but that's what he did he did not address our

Lord's forthright statement that the Baptist was the promised Elijah to come but he began to talk about how the prophet

Elijah was caught up into the chariot he didn't see death and so he's going to appear again during the tribulation in Israel in Jerusalem just before the second coming of Christ that is not what the scriptures teach

Ralph Woodrow set the matter plainly what is meant by this prophecy about the coming of Elijah again there are two different views that are held among Christians today the one is that this prophecy is yet future a prophecy for the very last days of the age according to this view

Elijah the literal Elijah will make another appearance on this earth before the second coming of Jesus Christ in judgment the other view is the fulfilled interpretation that Elijah has already come and that this prophecy met its fulfillment in John the

Baptist but again there are those who argue after all Elijah not did not experience physical death taken up alive in a chariot since he did not die he come back again before the second coming besides they say and here's a little further argument it's just as wrong

Malachi foretold of the coming of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord which was not a reference to the first coming of Jesus but a second coming therefore they argue

Elijah must yet come in the future just before the day of the Lord but if one reads the passage of Malachi 4 carefully it foretells both the deliverance and the overthrow of the people of both the rise and fall of many in Israel and this is consistent with the prophecy of Simeon pronounced over the infant

Jesus in the temple when he said to Mary behold this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against and so the day of the

Lord foretold in Malachi 4 or 5 is a direct prophecy of the overthrow of Jerusalem in AD 70 and I think it's providential that we've read

Luke 21 where they were overthrown the day of the

Lord Malachi 4 was speaking specifically about the overthrow and fall of Jerusalem and there are many days of the

Lord in history Egypt encountered the day of the Lord Edom encountered the day of the

Lord Jerusalem encountered the day of the Lord when Babylon destroyed them Jerusalem encountered the day of the

Lord in AD 70 and they all portend of course the final full day of the Lord when

Jesus comes back a second time but just because Malachi 4 speaks about the day of the

Lord does not mean Elijah therefore has to come back before the second coming of Christ but that's an assumption that many many made down toward the bottom of page 7 but in addition to those who believe that Elijah himself will literally appear before the second coming of Christ there have been many preachers who have claimed to be the

Elijah to come Woodrow Ralph Woodrow thinks there have been hundreds of these claimants that they were the fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah would return before the second coming of Christ and I've got this little paragraph from Woodrow failing to accept this is final over the centuries there have been men who have claimed to be

Elijah or had the Elijah ministry one man who makes his claim sends out his sermons in scroll form maybe that's something we ought to try just joking just joking another man figuring himself to be the leader of God's true church has told some of his closer followers he's the

Elijah many years ago the Chicago preacher healer and founder of Zion Illinois John Alexander Dowie taught that he was

Elijah an interesting and controversial character with his beard and forceful preaching he could have well fit the part but his kingdom fell into discord after years of preaching against doctors he was afflicted divorced by his cousin wife and accused of polygamy quite a number believed

William Branham was Elijah that his ministry was the forerunner of the return of Christ probably very few of you ever heard of this man

William Brannan he was he was one of the foremost Pentecostal preachers of the early 20th century one of the first faith healers one of the great early televangelists he was very very popular and he was killed by a drunk driver in 1965 by the way in Texas I believe and but so many

I went on the internet and read a Wikipedia article which I you know take with a grain of salt but it was quite fascinating he was a very popular important man internationally and he claimed to be

Elijah or have the ministry of Elijah and so Woodrow speaks of these ones who make this claim such as commonly resulted in misunderstanding and ridicule all of which could have been avoided by recognizing

John the Baptist as Jesus explained as the fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy and clearly that's the case our

Lord was very clear very spoke very plainly Malachi's prophecy was fulfilled in the life and the ministry of John the

Baptist and this was declared even to John the Baptist father Zacharias by an angel we're not gonna read that whole passage but the angel when he announced to Zacharias the father

John the Baptist in the temple that he was going to father this great prophet we read in verse 17 of that block quote he will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah and so even before John the

Baptist was born he was linked by an angel to the prophet Elijah and so when these had come from Jerusalem they asked

John if he was literally Elijah reincarnated perhaps and he declared them no

I'm not very simply well thirdly John denied that he was the prophet verse 21 so here's the third possibility that the

Jews had heard regarding the identity of John are you the prophet and he answered no they did not ask

John if he was a prophet they asked if John was the prophet the definite article is there in the

Greek precedes prophet they were asking John if he was a specific prophet that they were looking to come common understanding among the

Jews was that with the coming of the Messiah God would send a prophet who would have the same authority same standing as Moses even greater authority then had

Moses Moses himself had declared this prophecy in Deuteronomy 18 we want to read this the

Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren him you shall hear according to all you desired of the

Lord your God and Horb that would be Sinai and the day of the assembly say let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my

God or let me see this great fire anymore lest I die okay we need a mediator to go between us and God the

Lord said to me what they have spoken is good I will raise up for them a prophet like you in other words like Moses from among their brethren and will put my words in his mouth and he should speak to them all that I command him and it shall be that whoever will not hear my words which he speaks in my name

I will require it of him and he goes on to talk about false prophets and so the

Jews thought to themselves top page 9 would John claim to be the Messiah or the forerunner of the

Messiah the prophet and so they query John are you that prophet now of course the

Word of God declares that Jesus Christ is that prophet that Moses foretold

Jesus Christ is our prophet priest and king he is the prophet greater than Moses and Peter declared this before the crowd in Jerusalem not long after Pentecost after the

Lord had been raised crucified raised and enthroned and we read of this in the book of Acts yet now brethren

I know that you did it that is crucified him in ignorance as did also your rulers but those things which

God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ should suffer he has fulfilled repent therefore be converted that your sins may be blotted out that your times are refreshing may come from the presence of the

Lord and that he may send Jesus Christ who has preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which

God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began and here it is in bold italic for Moses truly said to the fathers the

Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren him you shall hear at all things whatever he says to you verse 23 is extremely important it negates much of dispensationalism it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people see the people continue but only those who believe on the prophet

Jesus Christ continue among the people all the other Jews who didn't believe this prophet was cut off one people of God yes all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow as many as have spoken foretold these days that is the days of the gospel this church age you are the sons of the prophets the covenant which

God made with our father Saint Abraham and in your seat all the families of the earth shall be blessed to you first God having raised up his servant

Jesus sent him to bless you and turning away every one of you from your iniquities the

Reformation study Bible which I highly regard and recommend has this footnote on the Deuteronomy passage where Moses declared a prophet was coming

Moses the preeminent prophet of the Old Testament period introduces a topic of Israelite prophecy

God would communicate his word to Israel through a succession of prophets as mediators of God's Word to his people the other

Old Testament prophets would function in similar ways to Moses but none would be the initial mediators of a covenant none would equal

Moses's intimacy with God or receive divine revelations as clear as those given to him this passage then finds final fulfillment in the prophet who is equal to indeed greater than the prophet

Moses Jesus Christ like Moses Christ is a mediator of a covenant between God and his people and so Jesus Christ is that prophet again the

Jews did not understand that prophet was the Messiah they thought it was a two different individuals but clearly the

New Testament teaches that Jesus is that prophet promised by Moses lastly as we're wrapping things up here we read that John declared himself to be the voice prophesied by Isaiah and so John told this delegation of the

Jews from Jerusalem I'm not that prophet I haven't exhausted the opinions of most they asked him to identify himself then they said to him who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us what do you say about yourself he said

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness speaks make straight the way of the Lord as the prophet

Isaiah said or declared and so these representatives from Jerusalem they they had to go back and give a report and they had this they had to report more than just what

John said he wasn't who do you say you are as one wrote the members of the deputation felt frustrated

John was clearly an eschatological figure in other words an end times figure as the

Jews were anticipating with his preaching of imminent judgment to be administered by the coming one yet he refused to be identified with any of the figures of popular eschatological expectation what then was his own account of himself what kind of answer were they to take back to the people who had sent them so they asked

John how do you identify yourself what do you claim is your role in God's purposes and John declared that he was the voice foretold by Isaiah quoting

Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 I want us to consider this prophecy because it's important let's give you the context of Isaiah 41st

God had brought his judgment upon Israel we read of his severe but just punishment of his people who were under his wrath they had broken the covenant the people had sinned against God's kindness and blessing that he had so graciously bestowed upon them their sin warranted his judgment which he justly brought to pass in history they had nothing remaining that God had not smitten he had removed from them their land had been decimated their cities destroyed the temple raised the people had been enslaved they had no hope before God they had no basis of claim to God this

God who had formerly been their God was against them and it greatly afflicted them this was how

Israel the once great people of God stood before their Holy God whether the Gentiles who didn't know God never knew

God what hope had they and the answer of course is no hope when they considered their condition and the state for the one true

God would pass the judgment on them but it was to this hopeless helpless people that the initial message of comfort and restoration was given through the

Prophet Isaiah 40 comfort yes comfort my people says your

God speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare is ended that her iniquity is pardoned for she has received from the

Lord's hand double for all her sins here it is the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the

Lord make straight in the desert a highway for our God every valley should be exalted every mountain and hill brought low the crooked places should be made straight the rough places smooth the glory of the

Lord should be revealed all flesh will see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken the voice said cry out and he said what shall

I cry all flesh is grass and all its loveliness like the flower of the field the grass withers the flower fades but the breath of the

Lord blows upon it because the breath of the Lord blows upon it surely the people are grass the grass withers the flower fades but the word of our

God stands forever Oh Zion you who bring good tidings get up into the high mountain no

Jerusalem you who bring good tidings lift up your voice with strength lift it up be not afraid say to the cities of Judah behold your

God and behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand his arm shall rule for him behold his reward is with him his work before him he'll feed his flock like a shepherd he'll gather the lambs with his arm he's the

Good Shepherd and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young that's all of Isaiah 41 through 11 this prophecy of Isaiah anticipated the restoration of a remnant of Jews from the

Babylonian exile in which God had sent them their release and return from Babylon is set forth as an act of salvation that God brings to his people but it's clear that Isaiah was looking beyond a mere physical return of Jews to their homeland what

Isaiah proclaimed was God's promise he would bring salvation from sin under which his people had been condemned their return to Zion they would see as the inauguration of the long promise kingdom of God ruled over by the promised

Messiah and here therefore we have a beautiful prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ and salvation that God wrought through him

John the Baptist was the voice of Isaiah 40 verse 3 in which the heralded kingdom of God was at hand that the

Messiah would soon arrive in order to redeem and restore his people unto God Isaiah 40 is not a prophecy of a future earthly Jewish millennium it's a prophecy of this gospel age

John the Baptist heralded the Messiah came he inaugurated the kingdom of God and he saved his people from their sin and that's what this prophecy is about FF Brooks said it well in the original context the

Prophet hears a voice calling for the leveling of a path through the eastern desert so that the

God of Israel may lead his people home from exile in the New Testament application of the

Oracle the desert becomes the wilderness of Judea in which John preached his message of repentance see that association very good very clever the two -fold corpus of prophecy which runs from Isaiah 40 to 66 begins by proclaiming good tidings to Zion of the return of her exiled children but goes on to tell of a greater redemption wrought not by the edict of Cyrus but by the passion and triumph of the obedient servant of the

Lord and concludes with the promise of a new heavens and a new earth the New Testament writers reinterpret the glad tidings to Zion in terms of the

Christian gospel the message which began to be inaugurated when John prepared the way for a greater than himself the redemption which he was to accomplish was now on the eve of its appearance and it was

John's high honor to be the voice announcing its near approach and so John declared that he was the voice he rightly applied the

Holy Scripture to himself and he did so not to bolster in any way his own dignity or notoriety or rather to emphasize his duty and dependence on another to give him his message and to enable his proclamation even when he said

I'm a I'm the voice it was an expression of his own humility and dependence upon the

Lord it was not at some kind of braggadocious claim how do we conclude this matter let us be faithful witnesses as John the

Baptist was faithful to the Lord let us be quick to deny any credit or status that may be conferred upon us but rather testify to the glory of our

Redeemer Matthew Henry wrote temptations to pride assuming that human honor to ourselves which does not belong to us ought to be resisted with a great deal of vigor and earnestness we are helpless and powerless to produce any spiritual good to others they need

Jesus Christ and we're to clearly and forcefully place Christ before them and so it is that we need

Jesus Christ as well may we not only prepare others to hear and respond to the Lord as John did but may we also prepare ourselves to receive the

Lord in his words that come to us when God is coming toward us we must prepare to meet him let the word of the

Lord have free course in us amen let's be receptive and responsive and attentive let's pray father we thank you for your word thank you

Lord for the wonderful testimony and example we have in John the Baptist and we pray our

God that you would help us to be faithful heralders of the kingdom of God in this day pointing people to Jesus Christ the lamb who takes away the sin of the world help us our

God to proclaim Christ faithfully to set him forth Lord before everyone who will hear us and may you bless that word our