WWUTT 781 He Came to Bear Witness?

Over the course of the Gospel of John, the Apostle lays out for us seven witnesses who testify to the identity of Jesus Christ. And the first of those witnesses that we are given is John the Baptist, when we understand the text.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We come back again to our study of the Gospel of John. And for today's reading, I'll begin in chapter 1, verse 6, and read through verse 13. The Apostle John wrote,. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John the Baptist as the Forerunner to Christ

So in verse 6, we read,. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. And we know specifically the John that we're talking about here is John the Baptist. Yes, this gospel was written by John, but he's not introducing himself or identifying himself at the start, but rather pointing to the one who would come as the forerunner to Christ.

We know this because when we get to verse 19, John the writer comes back to John the Baptist and says,. 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. So we're talking about John the Baptist there. John the Baptist fulfilled a prophecy that was made in the Old Testament about one who would come ahead of the Messiah.

We read in Matthew chapter 3,. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. So this is who was being referred to in Isaiah 40 verse 3. We know that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of that particular prophecy.

And Malachi also made a prophecy in Malachi chapter 3. Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. John the Baptist was like one who goes before a king and says, Attention, attention, the king is coming.

Make way. Here comes the king. And that's what John the Baptist did. He was basically considered to be the last prophet before the great prophet. It was Jesus Christ. He was the one that foretold of this Christ who was going to come as the other prophets had talked about, which is why Jesus referred to John as being the greatest of men who were born of women.

This is Matthew chapter 11, beginning in verse 7. Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see?

A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses. What then did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you. That, of course, is in reference to Malachi.

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And what Jesus was referring to is those who would know the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross and his resurrection from the grave.

Those who have faith in this are even greater than John, for they are least in the kingdom that would be greater than he. John the Baptist did not live long enough to see the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection, but the one who does know of these things and has placed their faith in Christ has received something even greater than John the Baptist received, a recognition even greater, for we have the righteousness of Christ given to us by faith.

So in verse 12, still in Matthew 11, Jesus said, From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. So understand what Jesus was saying when he said, He is the Elijah who is to come. Just as it said in Malachi 4, verse 5, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

So later on in the gospel of John, in John chapter 1, when the Levites asked John, Who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but he confessed, I am not the Christ. And then in verse 21, it says, They asked him, What then?

Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Now when the Levites asked John, Are you Elijah? They were being literal. They wanted to know if he was the reincarnation of Elijah. So as they read this prophecy in Malachi chapter 4, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

They were taking that literally. Jesus was saying in Matthew chapter 11, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. In other words, he who is able to understand what I am saying to them, let them understand.

But those who did not understand took Malachi 4, 5 literally. They took it to mean that Elijah would be either reincarnated or he would make some kind of appearance before the coming of Christ. And so they asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah who had come, according to Malachi 4, 5.

And John the Baptist saying, I am not. Now Jesus said that he was. In John chapter 17, I'm sorry, Matthew 17 now is where I'm at. Verse 9, it says, As they were coming down the mountain, this is right after the transfiguration.

So you had Moses and Elijah who appeared with Jesus. Glory unveiled before Peter, James, and John. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.

And the disciples asked him, Why then do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? And Jesus answered, Elijah does come and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased.

So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. So Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah. But again, out of Matthew chapter 11, let he who has ears hear what is being said to them.

Let them have understanding. John the Baptist, when he was asked, Are you Elijah? And he says, I am not. He was responding to the question as though the Levites were asking him, Are you the reincarnation of Elijah?

John is saying, No, I'm not the reincarnation of Elijah. But was he the one who was to come as prophesied in Isaiah and Malachi, preparing the way of the Lord? Yes, he certainly was. And he came in the spirit of Elijah, though he was not literally Elijah.

The Spirit and Power of Elijah

In Luke chapter 1, when Zechariah went into the temple to burn incense, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said that his wife, Elizabeth, was going to be with child and they were going to name this son,.

John.

And as Gabriel was telling him about this son who was going to be born to his wife, Gabriel said that he, John will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God, and he will go before him, the Messiah in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.

So even though John the Baptist was not literally Elijah, he went in the spirit and power of Elijah. What does that mean?

Well,.

The spirit of God would move in the hearts of the people to respond to John the Baptist, just as the spirit of God moved in Israel to respond to Elijah's prophesying and John the Baptist would be the last great prophet until Jesus Christ, who would become the greatest prophet.

And then there would be no more prophets for all those prophets were preparing the coming of the Lord. And John the Baptist would be the one who is the closest to the coming of Christ, preparing the way of Jesus, the coming Messiah, the fulfillment of all of the law and the prophets for, we have it said in Hebrews one, one that long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed the heir of all things. So no longer after Christ was there going to be this manner of, of profit speaking as there was in the period of old, but now everything has been revealed through Christ and through his apostles.

And we have the revelation of the gospel that has been given to us in the Bible. There's nothing that needs to be added to this. The Bible is fully sufficient for our every need. We don't need anything else.

It is a benefit to us that we are able to see this picture completed and given to us in the canon of scripture that we have Genesis to revelation. We're even given the benefit of knowing how this story is going to end.

And many of the apostles didn't even get that privilege. Peter didn't get that privilege. John was the one who was given the privilege of being able to see what that conclusion was going to be like and given the privilege to write about it.

Now, Peter certainly knew some things about the end. He wrote about it in second Peter chapter three, but didn't have the revelation that John had and was and wrote it down. And it became the last book of the Bible.

So as Peter said in second Peter chapter one, we have the word of God more fully confirmed this testimony of Christ and, and how all things are going to be reconciled to God through the person and work of Christ.

This testimony has been more fully confirmed for us and what a blessing it is for us that we have the Bible and we can open it and read it and see how God was working from the beginning of time to the end to bring all things to completion in his son, Jesus.

The Seven Witnesses to Jesus Christ

So John the Baptist is the forerunner to Christ who is preparing the way. He's the last great prophet before the coming of the Messiah. And he came as a witness to bear witness about the light. That's what we have in John one, seven that all might believe through him.

So again, just as Gabriel said to Zechariah in Luke one, 17, he will go before the Messiah in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.

And John is saying a very similar thing here. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him, not to put too fine a point on it, but the gospel of John is really the only gospel that doesn't make a direct correlation between John the Baptist and Elijah.

Whereas in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it is distinctly said there that that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of the Elijah prophecies that were made in the old Testament. There's kind of an indirect correlation in the gospel of John.

And it's of course, what I read earlier out of John chapter one verses 19 through 21, where the Levites asked him, are you Elijah? And John the Baptist said, I am not. But you don't have that direct connection between John the Baptist and those prophecies that were made about him, at least in this particular gospel.

Now, why is that? Well, as I had mentioned in our introduction to our study of the gospel of John, John is, is writing for a different reason and a different occasion and in a time that is following the destruction of the temple.

So the gospel, as we have it proclaimed in Matthew, Mark, and Luke has gone out far and wide. And John is simply telling a different story, but he has something very particular that he means to say with this story.

And one of the things that he brings to light, if you, and I'm not trying to be punny there, even though we're talking about light and darkness motifs, one of the things that he brings to light is all of the different witnesses who testified to the identity of Jesus Christ as the son of God, as the Messiah who was prophesied.

So as we go on here in John one, eight, John says, he referring to John the Baptist was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light, who of course is Jesus Christ. Now, when we go to John chapter five, beginning in verse 31, Jesus said, I can do nothing on my own.

As I hear, I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me.

And I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you might be saved.

That's just as what we read in John one, eight, he was not the light. John the Baptist was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. So Jesus is saying, there are others who testify about who I am so that you might believe and be saved.

And one of the things that John means to point out with his gospel is all of the different witnesses to the identity of Christ. It's as if there was a trial going on and the whole world was put on trial before Jesus.

Now, when we read the gospel story, you might see in the narrative, at least that Jesus was put on trial before the whole world. At least that's what it looks like. Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin.

They declare that this man is guilty. He's brought before pilot. The Gentiles declare that Jesus is well, not really guilty, but still turn him over to be crucified. A pilot washed his hands of this man's blood.

Jesus was still killed by the Romans. So you had both Jews and Gentiles who cooperated in the crucifixion of the son of God, the murder of the only innocent man who has ever lived. So there's this appearance of the fact that Jesus had appeared on trial before man, but that's really not the case.

All of mankind was put on trial before Christ. So Jesus said in John 3, 17, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Why did Jesus not come to condemn the world?

Because he didn't have to. The world was already self condemned. So John in this, as though it's in this trial motif,.

Okay,.

John brings seven witnesses who identify that Jesus is the only innocent man, whereas the rest of the world is sinful and fallen and desperately in need of a savior so that we might believe in him and be saved just as John is talking about here.

And there are seven witnesses that John points out in his gospel who testify to the identity of Christ as the Messiah who was sent from God. The first witness is John the Baptist. And that's what we're reading about here at the very start of the gospel.

The second witness is Jesus own words. And that's what Jesus is referring to here in this particular section that we're reading out of chapter five, but then it comes up again also in chapter 10, the other witness to the identity of Christ is God, the father and the voice of God.

The father was heard at Jesus baptism. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The fourth witness to Christ is the scripture itself, even Moses. And this is something that Jesus talks about in John chapter five, verses 30 through 47 to the end of the chapter, where he goes through a mention of, of most of these particular witnesses, Moses being one of them for, he says in verse 39, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is they that bear witness about me.

The fifth witness is Jesus himself.

I mean,.

How crazy would it be if the scriptures said something about Jesus that Jesus did not actually say about himself. So it is that Jesus is yet another witness to who he really is and who sent.

Him.

The sixth witness is the spirit of God, as it says in chapters 14, 15 and 16, what Jesus lays down before the disciples at the last supper. And then finally, the seventh witness to Christ is the disciples themselves, especially John, who is writing about these things.

So these are those seven witnesses that in a trial that is being presented before the whole world, testify that Jesus Christ is indeed the son of God so that we may know him who was sent by God as our Messiah, so that all who believe in him would be saved.

Once again, John one,.

Six through eight, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. This is the first witness that we have in the gospel of John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

He,.

John was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. And just the first of seven witnesses that we have over the course of the gospel of John testifying to us that Jesus Christ is he who is worthy of.

Worship,.

Who is mighty to save. Let's let us pray our great and heavenly father. We thank you for sending your son and giving us the testimony of your son in the pages of scripture. May we read these things and know all the more Jesus, who is the Christ falling in love with him more and more day by day so that we might be sanctified and shaped in the image of our savior, turning from our sin and walking in his righteousness, walking not in darkness, but in the light as he is in the light.

We pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

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