The Witness of John the Baptist Part Two

John the Baptist’s Witness to Jesus as the Messiah

John chapter 1, starting in verse 19. And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? And 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. Therefore, they said to him, who are you? So that we may give an answer to those who sent us.

What do you say about yourself? He said, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. Now, they had been sent from the Pharisees, and they asked him and said to him, why then are you baptizing if you're not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. This one is he who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal. These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God and the Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement

On the next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who has been ahead of me, for he existed before me.

I did not know him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water. And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he abided on him.

And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, the one upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I myself have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

Verse 35, on the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, behold, the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus.

And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, he said to them, what do you seek? They said to him, Rabbi, which translated means teacher, Rabbi, where are you staying? And he said to them, come and you will see.

So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the 10th hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which translated means Christ.

He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, he said, you are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter. And we'll stop there for now. You may be seated. In verses 19 through 42, the apostle John describes the witness of John the Baptist over a three-day period to three different groups so that you can see the first of many witnesses that prove Jesus is the Messiah, the true identity of Jesus is the Messiah.

When we rightly understand him, we can rightly display him to those who don't know him. When we rightly understand him, we have assurance in our own salvation. Last week, as we considered the claim of the second day, the apostle showed us a connection from the prophet Isaiah to John the Baptist.

The apostle recorded the Baptist words in verse 23. When questioned by the misunderstood errand boy Jewish delegation, those who had just been sent out by their bosses, the Baptist answered their questions about who he was by quoting the prophet Isaiah.

Verse 23, he said, I'm a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. As Isaiah the prophet said, that's quoting Isaiah 40 verse 3. And there is another obvious connection to the prophet and his prophecy of the suffering servant from Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53 verse 7, we find this, he was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.

A prophecy about the crucifixion of Christ approximately 700 years before Jesus was born. Clearly, the Baptist was familiar with the prophet's writing and he was quoting it. He obviously knew about this prophecy and it was on his tongue.

We can rightly deduce that John the Baptist would have applied chapter 53 to Jesus just like he applied chapter 40 to himself. And the greater context of Isaiah gives the true understanding of Christ's suffering on our account.

Here we see the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. Isaiah 53 in the full context, just going back a few verses starting in verse 4, Isaiah explains the suffering servant who is of course Jesus. Isaiah says, surely our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows he carried.

Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our peace fell upon him and by his wounds we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shearer, so he did not open his mouth.

Jesus is the lamb of God. This is the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, a giving of life in another's place, a giving of life so that others may live. Of a real world example, it made me think of this story that I had once heard of.

Everybody remembers the day September 11th, an infamous day for all of us as Americans, September 11th. On that day in 2001, armed men hijacked planes and flew them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing just under 3 ,000 people approximately.

There are many stories of policemen and firefighters and other first responders laying down their lives to save people. One such story is about a man named Benjamin Clark. However, Benjamin Clark was not a policeman or a firefighter.

Benjamin Clark was a chef. He worked as a chef for the Fiduciary Trust Company on the 96th floor of the South Tower. He was also a former Marine, but that morning it was business as usual as he prepared meals, just doing his job, cooking, and he was preparing the meals for the folks working at the company.

Benjamin would later be credited with saving hundreds of lives as he made sure everyone in his department and then also everyone else on the 96th floor got out safely. He would later stop on the 78th floor to help a woman in a wheelchair get to safety.

Although every person on the 96th floor got out with their lives, Benjamin did not. He sacrificed his life for people who he knew, and in most cases, even for strangers. Today, Benjamin Clark is celebrated as a hero who gave his life so that others could live.

Benjamin Clark's example of selflessly giving his life for others is an amazing testimony. It's a helpful illustration of this idea of substitution, substitutionary atonement, but John's Gospel shows us the profound weight of this doctrine in light that Jesus died for sinners.

Jesus took our place. The Apostle Paul put it like this,. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Paul says,. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man some would even dare to die.

But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And Paul says,. Much more than now, having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.

For if while we were enemies, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

What an important doctrine we have before us this morning, the Lamb of God, substitutionary atonement. We have received the reconciliation. The question for you this morning is, do you have this reconciliation?

Do you have this reconciliation? Do you have peace with God? Purchased once and for all. Jesus died an agonizing and humiliating death on the cross and willingly laid down his life as a substitute to atone for our sin.

Not just one person or even several hundred, but for all of God's elect. Jesus gave his life as a substitute for sinners so that he took God's wrath in the place of sinners. This atonement is the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls all people to turn away from sin and to return to God and to believe in the gospel so that they may have eternal life and avoid God's just penalty for sin. As the perfect spotless lamb, Jesus suffered and bore the very wrath of God.

The Puritan Matthew Henry said this regarding Isaiah and the prophecy of the Messiah. Suffering for sinners. Quote, in these verses is an account of the sufferings of Christ. Also of the design of his sufferings.

It was for our sins and in our stead that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned and have come short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their own evil way of which they are fond.

Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows, even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin to which by sin we become liable by laying our sins on Christ. This atonement was to be made for our sins. And this is the only way of salvation.

The only way. He goes on to say our sins were the thorns in Christ's head. The nails in his hands and feet. The spear in his side. He was delivered to death for our offenses. By his sufferings he purchased for us the spirit and grace of God.

To mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We may well endure our lighter sufferings. If he has taught us to esteem all things but loss for him. And to love him who has first loved us.

Following Jesus for the Right Reasons

In this section of John, we see the witness of John the Baptist. Over a three-day period to three different groups. Three days, three groups, three testimonies. Day one, the first testimony to the Jewish delegation is in verses 19 -28.

Jesus as Messiah. Day two, the second testimony to a crowd of Jewish people, verses 29 -34. Jesus as the Lamb is the Son of God. And day three, the third testimony to the Baptist disciples. We'll see this morning in verses 35 -42.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. This section of the historical narrative records the Baptist witness to the third group. Consistent with John's humility. Remember, this one is he who comes after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.

The Baptist focuses the attention of his own disciples onto Jesus. The best way I found to break down this passage is to look at it in two parts. The claim and the consequence. The claim and the consequence.

The claim in verses 35 and 36. And the consequence in verses 37 -42. First, the claim. He says in verse 35, on the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples. And he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, Behold, the Lamb of God.

The witness of John the Baptist. On the third day, John again was standing with two of his disciples. We get a little more info about the crowd of Jews from the second day. It says again, the Baptist disciples were present the day before as well.

At least two, probably more. But the apostle records that two of his disciples were present this day and the day before. We know one of the two disciples was Andrew, as the apostle John will point out in the following verses.

I believe the second disciple was the apostle John himself. He has a habit of referring to himself in the third person and not inserting his name in the various accounts he records. So going with the style of writing, it makes sense.

It would also make sense that the apostle's testimony is first hand. Meaning the apostle John witnessed these events. He wasn't told these events. I believe we are looking at a first hand account here.

And he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, Behold, the Lamb of God. The verb the apostle employs here refers to looking at something directly and therefore intently. So to look with intention, to look at, this is to gaze upon it, to look and to gaze.

John was looking at Jesus as he walked and calls out emphatically for the others to do the same. Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold, to point out something to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. Look, see.

Specifically to indicate a place or individual. Here is the Lamb. This one, this man right here, this man is the Lamb of God. As the Lamb, Jesus offered up his complete being, involuntarily giving his life as a sacrifice to satisfy the righteous wrath of God.

He took the penalty of sin due to us. Willingly. A perfect, spotless sacrifice without blemish. He was a holy and righteous man. With no sin and had committed no crimes. Yet he was mocked. He was falsely accused.

He was condemned to death as a criminal. As a criminal. Jesus was humiliated. They mocked him. They spat in his face. They beat him. He was tortured. They scourged him with cattail whips, mutilating his flesh.

He was marred and disfigured. The account tells us to the point that he didn't resemble a human being. He was beaten and tortured so much that he was marred and disfigured to the point that you didn't recognize you were looking at a man.

Just completely tortured. Yet, with all that in mind, it pales in comparison to what he did for us. His physical pain would have been easy to endure compared to the cup that he drank. The cup he drank of God's wrath being poured out on him.

The anguish of his soul is our peace, as Isaiah wrote. Jesus as the Lamb took away our sins. Jesus as the Lamb understands our suffering. This one understands suffering. Our God, the one who intercedes for us night and day.

There isn't one second of one minute of one hour of any time in your time as a Christian that Christ hasn't been advocating for you. Jesus as the Lamb understands suffering. Helen Keller once famously said this,.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. It's a good quote. Helen Keller was the first deaf, blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. When she was 19 months old, she had contracted a virus that led her to becoming deaf and also resulted in the loss of her sight.

One could argue that Helen Keller rightly has some authority on suffering. On the surface, this quote seems legit, seems right. It may be, maybe not. Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.

I'd like to suggest that this quote actually falls flat in a biblical understanding on suffering. We must seek a biblical understanding if we are to properly contemplate our own trials and how we can rightly deal with them.

The Gospel according to the Apostle John and the eyewitness of John the Baptist help us to see the biblical authority in the testimony of Jesus' identity. It is crucial that we seek biblical truth in any understanding.

We have set ourselves up for even more trouble in a lack of defense against real and damaging suffering. Otherwise, one man once said this about trials,. Suffering is the evidence against God, the reason not to trust Him.

Jesus is the evidence for God, the reason to trust Him. This, I think, gets us closer to the point, but it still seems lacking. A Christian author said this on the topic,. This is much better, but it's still lacking.

These quotes, while insightful and somewhat inspirational, even being potentially true and correct, are all lacking because they do not originate from God's Word. The Bible is the only genuine source to rightly speak on the reality of suffering.

If we're going to develop a strategy for dealing with suffering, we need to look not to human wisdom, but to the true wisdom that comes from God. We could take comfort in our sufferings knowing that Christ, as the Lamb of God, understands suffering.

The Bible teaches that Jesus, in His humanity, was perfected in suffering. Hebrews chapter 5, If you're going through something and you're offering up loud crying and tears to the Father, be encouraged because that's what Jesus did in the days of His flesh.

This one understands suffering. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.

Hebrews chapter 5, verses 7 through 9. It's easy for us to become stoic, despairing, or disconcerted as we go through various trials, as we see the world filled with all manner of evil. The more we take a stand for the holiness of God, the more it will cost us.

The more we will suffer. But remember the words of even Paul the Apostle in the letter to the Philippians. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but what? But also to suffer in His name.

To suffer, Paul says, for His sake. In the midst of trials and suffering, we can look upon Jesus as the Lamb of God and follow Him. And the repeated Lamb of God statement in verse 36 gives the strong implication that the two disciples had caught the significance of the one the Baptist had pointed out.

This conclusion is demonstrated in their response to the claim. And this leads us to the consequence. The consequence. Look at verse 37. The two disciples heard Him speak and followed Jesus. And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He said to them, What do you seek?

In other words, what do you want? They said to Him, Teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and you will see. So they came and saw where He was staying and they stayed with Him that day.

It was about the tenth hour. One of the two heard John speak and followed Him. It was Andrew, Simon's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah. Of course, which means Christ.

He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter, Petras. The witness of John the Baptist. The two disciples heard Him speak and followed Jesus.

The two men heard the Baptist speak and they followed the one He was speaking about. It was Jesus of Nazareth. Although the Greek word can mean to literally move behind someone in the same direction, we understand that, to come after or to follow, that isn't how the Apostle used it here.

It is not. He wrote that they followed as disciples. The specific lexical meaning gives us a clue that the second disciple was John. The word follow here is with transition to the figurative meaning to follow someone as a disciple, to be a disciple, to follow that person.

So why did these disciples leave John the Baptist? Because that's what the Baptist wanted them to do. That's the purpose of his witness. The forerunner ministry of the Baptist was pointing the way away, to point to Christ, to point the way to Jesus.

The Baptist was never gathering his own following. The one John had prepared them to follow was Jesus, the Lamb of God. These were Jesus' first disciples, along with Simon Peter in verse 42, Philip in verse 43, and Nathanael in verse 45.

This is another important clue that the Apostle John was the second disciple. In the account from the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, James and John were called directly after Andrew and Peter, but notice that's not what we see here in John's Gospel.

In the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 4, we see this. Now, as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

And he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets.

And he called them, and immediately they left the boat, and their father, and followed him. That's not how John records the timing in his Gospel. And actually, even if we look at that portion in Matthew, we get more from John.

Simon, who was called Peter, the reason he's called Peter is Jesus gave him that nickname. We get to see these details coming up in John that we don't see in the other Gospels. Remember, the term synoptic just means same or similar.

The Gospel of John is not part of the synoptic Gospels as Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the same or similar information. John provides more information and alternative perspective to the same events recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

He simply omitted himself and his brother and referred to himself in the third person, as was his habit. We know from the synoptics that Andrew and Peter and James and John were the first called. Likely, it was Andrew and John, and then they went and grabbed their brothers.

Remember, this is a first-hand account. And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, he said to them, What do you want? What do you seek? He said to them, What do you want? And they said to him, Teacher, where are you staying?

When Andrew and John began to follow Jesus, he asked them, What do you seek? And notice they don't answer him plainly. They answer with a question, Where are you staying? Jesus' question is important.

The implication is that following Jesus is not enough. In other words, we must follow Jesus for the right reasons. Think about it like this. Following Christ for our own gains would be asking Christ to follow us.

We don't become disciples of Christ for him to align with us and support or advance our cause. We must examine our motives for following him. Jesus said, What do you want? What is it that you seek? Are you seeking my glory or yours?

Are we seeking his glory or ours? One commentator pointed this out. The following, quote, following here does not necessarily mean that they became permanent disciples at this time. The implication may be that they went after Jesus to examine him more closely because of John's testimony.

This event constituted a preliminary exposure of John the Baptist's disciples to Jesus. They eventually dedicated their lives to him as true disciples and apostles when Jesus called them to permanent service after these events.

He said to them, Come and you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day. It was about the 10th hour. Jesus graciously overlooked their misunderstanding and invited them to come and see where he was at, where he was staying.

And we are told by the Baptist that they did indeed follow him and stayed with him that day. And we see the evidence of the firsthand account in the exact time of the day given, the 10th hour. The apostle shows his firsthand knowledge in the exact time of day.

It was 10 a .m., 10 a .m. One of the two who heard John speaking and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And here the apostle gives the identity of the other apostle, I'm sorry, the other disciple.

So the apostle John is telling us one of the two disciples, it was Andrew, it was Peter's brother. Andrew accepted John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus and immediately went to tell his brother Simon about him.

We can only imagine how exciting and transformative this encounter must have been. I mean, you can almost just picture Andrew running to tell Peter, we found the Messiah. The point the apostle is making is the consequence of the claim.

There was obviously no question in Andrew's mind that Jesus was the Messiah. Not only did he tell his brother, but we see later in the gospel account that he was also eager to introduce others to Jesus.

We see Andrew's participation amongst the crowds when Jesus fed the 5 ,000. Later in the eyewitness account of the gospel of John in chapter six, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?

Later, after the triumphal entry in Jerusalem, some Greeks were seeking Jesus, and we see Andrew's participation, John chapter 12. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast.

These then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. So an important implication for us, Andrew was also eager to introduce others to Jesus.

And we can just pause here for a moment. How many people in your life have heard you talk about Jesus? How many people in your life have heard you talk about your relationship with Jesus? Upon seeing this one, upon hearing John's testimony, he eagerly went to his brother.

And we see throughout his time with Christ, that he is participating, and he wants to point people to Christ. You know, we can think about our own lives. When we first got saved, you were probably so excited to tell people about Jesus, but something fades over the years.

Think about this passage. May this stir up your heart for zeal to tell others in your life. Who have you told about Jesus? Do people know that you're a Christian? Oh, beloved, I pray that if that's the case, that you repent, repent of that, and then go and tell that person.

I want to make sure you know I follow Jesus. Jesus is my Lord. How many people in your life have heard you talk about your relationship with Jesus? May we look at Andrew, and then the continuation in the narrative.

It says in verse 41, he first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which translated means Christ. The first response from Andrew was to seek out his brother and tell him, we have found the Messiah.

The apostle uses the Greek word for Messiah, and this is important. We need to look at verse 41. Normally, we see the word Christos. We do see that in the insert, Messiah, which translated means Christ, Christos.

Fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a deliverer, the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ. The Greek word for Messiah is different, and is only used twice in the whole New Testament. This word, the Greek word for Messiah, only used twice in the whole New Testament, and one of them is here in verse 41.

Here in verse 41, and again, by the apostle in John's gospel. That second usage is the account of the Samaritan woman at the well. John chapter four, verse 25, the woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, he who is called Christ.

When he comes, he will declare all things to us. The only two places in all the New Testament where one of the biblical writers uses the actual word for Messiah, pointing out that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.

While being a Samaritan, there may have been a misunderstanding on her part, so we have to understand that, that she was separated from the body of the Jewish believers. The Bible commentator, Donald Guthrie, made this comment.

God desires worshipers who are in tune with him. All this probably left the woman somewhat out of her depth. She sent some messianic connections, although it is not clear what she meant by Messiah. The Samaritans did not use the word, as far as we know.

The woman may have used it because she was talking to a Jew. Certainly the Samaritans were looking for the prophet. This is the prophet promised by Moses, Deuteronomy 18. The prophet who would reveal the truth.

Thus says the Lord through Moses, I will raise up a prophet among you who is like Moses. And this throws light on the woman's words. It gave Jesus the cue to declare himself as the expected Messiah. Not the same thing going on here in verse 41.

Not the same. Andrew is recorded as saying, Messiah, not Christ. So there was a Jewish expectation, and he understood that the fulfillment was in the human man standing before him. Only twice, and both in John, the Messiah equals the anointed one.

Again, Guthrie is helpful here. He says the term Messiah is translated by John for the benefit of his non-Jewish readers. But the Hebrew Messiah and the Greek Christ are derived from a root meaning anointed one.

Although in the Old Testament the idea of anointing was mainly in the setting apart of kings, in the New Testament the concept is applied to Jesus in a widened sense to include the idea of an anointed prophet, priest, and king.

A contradiction has been supposed between this announcement and the synoptic records, which suggests that Jesus was not recognized as Messiah until Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi. But there is no need to suppose that here the disciples had anything but a very general idea of what Messiahship really meant.

In other words, Andrew saw Jesus as the promised, anointed one from the Old Testament and he was not confused about it. Not confused about it. Verse 42. He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of John.

You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus looked at him, he said, You shall be called Cephas, which is the Aramaic surname for Simon. It means stone.

Jesus not only saw who Simon was, but who he would become. In his omniscience, Jesus gave him a new name, Cephas in Aramaic. Peter in Greek, Petros, the name means a rock. By giving Simon a new name, Jesus introduced a change in character.

And this, of course, was a foreshadow of Peter's later confession. Recorded in the synoptics, we see a different, more nuanced thing here in John's gospel. In chapter 6, Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God, the anointed, the Messiah. At the present time in our passage, the disciples Andrew and John have decided to leave the Baptist and follow Jesus.

Andrew has told his brother Simon Peter. We don't get any info on John telling his brother James, but we know from the other gospels that the first disciples called by Jesus were Andrew, Peter, James, and John.

Jesus had started his earthly ministry following his baptism, and the narrative will now shift to showing the disciples and the calling of the apostles as they choose to follow Jesus. Or rather, Jesus chooses them to follow him.

Jesus as the Only Worthy Object of Following and Worship

This one, this Jesus, is worth following. He's the only one worth following. We need this Jesus. Without Jesus as your substitute, there's only wrath, only wrath. We need this lamb. We need this substitute.

You need this lamb. You need this substitute. Think with me, if you would, about maybe some examples of our need. A man who was trying to save his dog from being hit by a car. As the beloved pet was attempting to cross the street after getting away from the owner, and as the man carefully warned and called off the animal from speeding cars on the busy road, right at the last to have his dog hit and killed by a car.

If a doctor carrying a viable organ was trying to catch a flight at the airport and was running to make it, how troubling it would be to almost make it to the plane on time, to only miss the flight stuck at the terminal, dooming the person awaiting the life-saving transplant.

How sad would it be if a person was thrown overboard a boat and seeing land in the far-off distance gave every part of their being to swimming for the land, only to drown as they were right next to the shore.

These examples may seem extreme, but indulge me one further. An even more example, and it is disturbing because it is really a reality in every local church across this country. Imagine how above every other example, anecdote, or illustration a preacher might give that a person could almost be a Christian only to end up in the horrific lake of fire of God's wrath for all eternity.

A famous theologian had this to say about conversion. We know people who have been converted many times. Every time there's a church revival, they go to the altar and get saved. One minister told of a man in his congregation who had been saved 17 times.

During a revival meeting, the evangelist made an altar call for all who wanted to be filled with the Spirit. The man who had been converted so often made his way toward the altar again, and a woman from the congregation shouted, don't fill him, Lord, he leaks.

Those who become unconverted were never converted. Those who become unconverted were never converted in the first place. The scripture today aids us in questioning what kind of conversion we have as we look upon the Lamb of God, and how or if we have truly followed him, or if we are truly following him.

Three days, three groups, three testimonies. Day number three, the third group and the third claim in verses 35 through 42, Jesus is the Lamb of God who bore the wrath of God for sinners, and he is the only anointed one of God who is worthy of following.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who bore the wrath of God for sinners, and he is the only anointed one of God who is worthy of following. These truths are imperative for the sinner. Turn from your destruction and seek the Lamb and find peace.

I pray that you know Jesus as the Lamb this morning. These realities cause the sinner to be confronted with eternity. These truths likewise encourage the believer. May it do so for you this morning as a child of God.

I pray that if you don't know the Lamb this morning, you would gaze upon Jesus and be drawn to his mercy. Go to your substitute and find peace. For those in the loving embrace of your Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, may you be encouraged.

May you be encouraged and refreshed with the Baptist testimony. May the witness of John the Baptist encourage you and strengthen you, beloved. An ancient theologian once said, if I was the nightingale, I would sing like a nightingale.

If a swan, like a swan. But since I am a rational creature, my role is to praise God. I love this quote because it's simple to understand. We are made to praise the one who has made us. He is deserving of our praise.

We are not to praise the creation. We are to praise the creator. Those that have rejected God get that backwards. Thankfully, we have God's word and we can contemplate God's character and his attributes.