WWUTT 791 The Testimony of John?

The Apostle John wrote about seven witnesses to the identity of Jesus Christ as God himself, and one of those witnesses was

John the Baptist, who we will read about today when we understand the text. This is when we understand the text studying

God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing and if this has ministered to you, please let others know about our program.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, and today's reading will be verses 19 through 28.

I have a couple of things I want to mention about last week's reading, but for the time being we'll open this way.

John wrote, and 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. And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet?

And he answered, No. So they said to him, Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us.

What do you say about yourself? And he said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the

Pharisees, and they asked him, Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the

Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? And John answered them, I baptize with water.

But among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal

I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

So we have an obvious shift in John's writing occurring here. We've gone straight into narrative, talking about John the

Baptist and this exchange that he has with messengers who had been sent by the Pharisees. This is much different than what we read in the first 18 verses of this gospel, which were deeply theological,

John confessing to Jesus Christ being God himself. We start the book that way.

John 1 .1, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was

God. And we finish that deeply theological section the same way with a claim of Jesus being

God. Verse 18, No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the

Father's side. He has made him known. Now, last week we were studying verses 14 through 18.

There were a couple of things mentioned there that I said that I was going to talk about, but then it wasn't until later that I realized, oh,

I forgot to touch on those things. So the first one was the use of the word only in this particular section.

We have it in verses 14 and 18. So first of all, the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the

Father, full of grace and truth. And then in verse 18, as I read earlier, no one has ever seen

God, the only God who is at the Father's side. Now, if you read this in the King James Bible, it will say only begotten.

So back to verse 14 again, glory as of the only begotten son from the

Father, full of grace and truth. Why is it that begotten has been dropped from the

English Standard Version and from the New American Standard? There's actually a deeply theological point to this.

There's a reason why the word begotten doesn't appear here. Now, this is one of the arguments that King James onlyists will use when they say that the newer translations have removed words and this being one of them.

They've taken begotten out of John's testimony to who Jesus is.

Well, that word begotten was added by King James translators. It's not in the original Greek.

The reason why begotten is not used here, specifically, I'm talking about the

English Standard Version, but even the most original autographs of the earliest

Greek manuscripts that we have of this particular section where we read the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the

Father, full of grace and truth. Why is there no begotten there? Because the son of God was not born.

He was not created. He has no beginning. That's established by the very start of John's gospel.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He is from everlasting to everlasting.

There is no beginning with Christ. To add the word begotten would be to imply that the son of God was born the son of God.

Now it's likely that the King James translators put that word in verse 14 because of the way that verse starts the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

But the reference to him being a son later on in that verse is not in relation to his incarnation.

It's in relation to his eternal state as God. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

That's a confession of Christ becoming very God and very man. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the

Father. So not that he was born into being the son of God, but he was always the son of God.

He is from everlasting to everlasting. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, just as his heavenly father is.

So God, the father, God, the son, God, the Holy Spirit, none of them have a beginning. They are, they are in eternity with God as the

Godhead. So to say he is the only begotten son from the father would be to imply that he was born the son of God, which would not be the case since he is eternal, just as the father is eternal.

So then in verse 18, no one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the father's side.

He has made him known. Of course, you wouldn't use begotten there because it's referring to God who is not begotten.

So it's carrying over that understanding and that interpretation from verse 18 back into verse 14, which, of course, is kept in context from what we read in verse one.

So that's the reason why the word begotten is not used there in the in the translations like the

New American Standard in the English Standard Version. Now, these are not taking words away from the

King James Bible. That is a silly accusation. Rather, the intention of these two translations in particular, the

NASB and the ESV, is to be as close to the original manuscripts as possible.

So it's not about looking at the King James Bible and saying, well, we need to take that word out. It's about going back to the earliest manuscripts and being as close in an

English translation to what was originally written by the original authors.

The King James Bible was has some things that were inserted into it that are not in the original manuscripts.

But furthermore, language has changed. So things that meant something in English 400 years ago don't mean that in English anymore.

And that's another reason why translations need updating, because languages change.

So there is not some sort of conspiracy going on here in these more modern translations to try to take things out of the

King James and change the meaning of the text. Rather, it's simply an attempt to be as faithful to the original manuscripts as we can be.

That's why that word begotten does not appear there, because it seems to imply that God the son is born, which he was not.

He is eternal with God. He was born in the flesh as the incarnate son of God.

One of the other things that I wanted to mention out of this particular section is the appearance of the word grace.

We actually talked about grace quite a bit. Verse 16, for from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ in the opening of the

Gospel of John. We've already talked about grace more than it's mentioned in the entire

Old Testament combined. Grace is something that was introduced to us through Jesus Christ, unmerited favor that we do nothing to earn the favor of God.

And we've certainly done nothing to deserve it. It is God's gift, a demonstration of his love to the praise of his glorious grace through his son,

Jesus Christ. Now, here in the month of October, we're approaching the 501st anniversary of the

Protestant Reformation. You'll probably remember October a year ago in the year 2017 was kind of a landmark date once we came up on October 31st, because that was 500 years from the time that Martin Luther had nailed his 95 thesis to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Saxony.

So here is we approach October 31st of 2018. We're coming up on the 501st anniversary.

One of those doctrines that we speak a lot about in relation to the

Protestant Reformation is what's called Sola Gratia or by grace alone.

It is by the grace of God alone that we have been saved. If you add works to that, then it's no longer grace.

Remember that Jesus said to Paul in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 12, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.

The grace of God is sufficient for our salvation and grace alone.

There is nothing else that is needed to bring about salvation in those who are predestined from before the foundation of the world to be his elect, to be made holy before him.

This is by the grace of God that this has been done through his son, Christ, who died on the cross to affect our salvation by the shedding of his blood.

But this was all by the grace of God and grace alone. One of the leading arguments of the

Protestant reformers was not that grace was needed for salvation.

That could not have been one of their main arguments, because Rome was already saying that the Catholic Church says grace is necessary for salvation, but rather for the

Protestant reformers, it was that grace is sufficient for our salvation, meaning it's all we need.

You don't have grace plus something else, because otherwise it wouldn't be grace. There's nothing gracious about that gift.

There's nothing unearned if you then have to earn it, if you then have to do some works to go cooperation with grace.

Well, then the grace wasn't sufficient. So it was the Protestant reformers who argued against Rome by saying grace is more than necessary.

Grace was sufficient for our salvation. And that's really the argument. And John presents this strong, compelling case for grace, even here at the beginning of this gospel, that it is through Christ that we have received grace upon grace.

It's an immeasurable grace. It is such wonderful favor that we have been given from God.

How could we possibly describe it? How could we possibly praise in such a way that's even worthy of the grace that we have been given?

We can't. There's nothing that we could do to pay back this grace that we've been given. And that's part of what makes it grace.

The law was given through Moses and the law is not gracious. You cannot do works and earn the favor of God, but rather God showed us favor through his son.

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So that was another point that I wanted to make about that section last week.

And I know that I was thinking about it and I just I never seemed to manage to get to it. So I apologize for that.

But now we get to a part of the reading that shifts in tone significantly, although this is still

John testifying to the identity of Christ. Remember that I mentioned I can't remember if it was last week or the week before, but there are seven witnesses to Jesus over the course of John's gospel.

John the Baptist being one of the major witnesses at the start. And so we've talked about John the

Baptist once already. Now we come to his testimony specifically. And just to kind of refresh you on those seven witnesses to Jesus as the son of God.

Number one, John the Baptist. Number two, Jesus own works. Number three, God the father, of course, who testified from heaven.

This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Number four, the scriptures, especially those scriptures of Moses.

We're going to get some hints of that even here. Number five, Jesus himself, who testified that he is the

Christ. Number six, the spirit of God that testifies. And number seven, the disciples who were eyewitnesses of these things, especially

John who is writing. So here in this section, verses 19 through 28, we have the testimony of John the

Baptist. This is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you?

Now, first of all, I want to make a quick note about this reference to the Jews. Most of the time when that term

Jews is used in the Gospel of John, it's negative. It's a very negative use of the term.

Now, it's not like John is saying all Jews are bad because John was a Jew. Jesus was a Jew. The reason why he makes this distinction of Jews being largely antagonistic against Christ is because the people of God are not those who were descended from Abraham in the flesh, the people of God who are those who are followers of Jesus.

And that line of division has become even more prevalent during the time that John is writing, because this was in a post temple period.

The temple had already been destroyed. The line between the

Jews and the Gentiles had been erased in Christ. And so now the people of God are those who are followers of Jesus.

Those who were opposed to Christ were largely Jews, the Jews that did not want to accept or believe that this is the

Messiah who was prophesied. So that's why John uses that term in a largely negative connotation over the course of his gospel.

So this is the testimony of John. When the Jews, negative sense, sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you?

Now, we know specifically that the Jews that John is referencing is the Pharisees because these priests and Levites bear witness about that a little bit later on in this narrative.

So they ask him, who are you? And John confessed and did not deny, but confess.

That's a strange way to word that. But it's simply to say that John was out to confess who the

Christ really was and John was not him. So it's not that he's just out there to deny, hey,

I'm not the Christ. Nobody come and worship me. He's out there to testify who the Christ is. And so him saying

I am not the Christ is simply a further affirmational attestation to Jesus being the true

Christ. So John says, I'm not the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Are you

Elijah? And he said, I am not. Now, that's a significant question. And it's not one that we often consider that John was

Elijah. Oftentimes it said and I think I've even said this, but oftentimes it said that the

Jews believe that John was the reincarnation of Elijah. Or maybe they believe that Jesus Christ was

Elijah reincarnated. It's not necessarily that they believe that he was reincarnated.

So if I've said that before, I misspoke. But remember that Elijah did not die.

Elijah was carried into heaven by a whirlwind. This is right at the start of Second Kings. So he and Elisha cross the

Jordan, and that's exactly where John the Baptist is. That's where he's been baptizing is in the

Jordan River, which Elijah and Elisha crossed to the other side before Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind.

Elijah and Elisha were separated by flaming chariots of fire, and then Elijah was carried up into heaven.

So the belief was that Elijah was coming back again. And maybe

John the Baptist is him. He lives out in the wilderness. He dresses in a very homely way, just like Elijah was known to have dressed.

So maybe he's Elijah who has returned. You know, there is there's a belief among Hebrew roots folks, but I've heard this belief.

I've heard this claim made in other places as well that Elijah did not ascend into heaven, but rather the whirlwind just took him and redistributed him in another place.

But then he died later on. But here in this very question that we have in John, clearly the

Jews did not believe that Jesus or I'm sorry, that Elijah had just been redeposited somewhere.

They believe that he had been taken up into heaven. He did not die in the body and he was coming back again.

That's clarified by the very fact that they asked John, are you Elijah? Are you the return of Elijah, the prophet?

And John the Baptist says, no, I'm not. So then they ask him, are you the prophet? Is that a reference to Christ?

Well, not directly. It comes from a statement that Moses made in Deuteronomy 18, 18.

The Lord speaking through Moses said, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

So they're asking Elijah, are you that prophet that Moses testified about?

Are you Elijah? No. Well, are you the prophet Moses talked about? No, I'm not him either. So they said to him, who are you?

We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?

And John says, I'm the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the

Lord, as the prophet Isaiah had talked about, had prophesied about my coming ahead of the

Messiah, whose way I am preparing. And then we have in verse 24.

Now, they had been sent from the Pharisees and they asked him, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the

Christ nor Elijah, nor the prophet? And John answered them, I baptize with water.

But among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal

I am not worthy to untie. And that's where we're going to pick up tomorrow, explaining those passages and how much

John knew about Jesus before the father had spoken from heaven.

This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Let's conclude with prayer. Our wonderful God and savior.

We thank you for the grace that has been given to us in Jesus Christ. We could do nothing to earn it.

And we did not do nothing to deserve it. We could not be keepers of this law as sinful creatures as we are.

Even our best deeds would be as filthy rags before a holy God. But you were merciful toward us and considered our need and sent us your son to die on the cross to pay for our sins.

And may we know that there is nothing that anyone in this world can hold against us. And this world can take nothing from us.

We've been given everything in Christ. So with this confidence, help us to go throughout our day, holding our heads up high, though the world might beat us up.

We know that there is laid up for us a treasure in heaven that is beyond all comparison, that nothing in this world could even give to us to satisfy.

We find full satisfaction in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In whose name we pray.

Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website, www .wutt

.com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our