The sermon discusses John the Baptist's role as a witness to Christ's light, emphasizing our similar calling to point others to Jesus, with the advantage of a fuller understanding of His divine nature.
Hello Church! Today our passage comes from the Gospel of John. Now, there are two different “John’s” we’re going to discuss today. The first one is John the Baptist. Some of us are familiar with this guy. He was the forerunner of Jesus who baptized people in the wilderness for forgiveness of their sins. He’s the primary “John” we’ll talk about today.
The other John is actually the writer of the Gospel of John. This is John the apostle. He wrote the Gospel of John and is also credited with writing three other books in the New Testament (it was either John himself who wrote these epistles or possibly members of his community — some scholarship indicates the latter).
In today’s passage, we have John the apostle writing about John the Baptist. And here’s what he writes:
"There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."
John the Baptist was sent from God. He came as a witness to the light of Jesus Christ.
Now it’s interesting that while John the Apostle says that John the Baptist “came as a witness to the light,” John the Baptist never says those words in this gospel. John the Baptist never says that Jesus is the light. Only John the Apostle says that.
And this is because John the Apostle became much more acquainted with Jesus than John the Baptist did. John the Apostle was the disciple “whom Jesus loved”(John 13:23). John the Apostle was the longest-living disciple among the twelve. He actually lived a very long time after the resurrection, a good 40 or maybe 50 years.
John the Apostle walked with Jesus in this life when Jesus lived on earth. He also encountered the risen Christ, after the resurrection, through prayer and the church until his death. So it’s fair to say that John the Apostle knew Jesus Christ more closely than John the Baptist did. The Apostle simply had an abundance of years and experiences with Jesus. He encountered a lot of truths about Jesus that John the Baptist didn’t have the chance to encounter yet.
And the same is true for you and me. You and I possibly know much more about Jesus the Messiah than John the Baptist knew. We’ve encountered the Lord’s kindness, love, forgiveness, guidance, and healing power. We also have two thousand years of church history to learn. And we have the New Testament scriptures.
John the Baptist knew the Messiah was coming, but not much more than that. He wasn’t exactly sure who it would be actually. As it turns out, the Messiah was his very own cousin!
You and I have the benefit of receiving the outpouring of love and kindness in our life through the Holy Spirit. You and I have tasted how good and gracious God the Father is. You and I have the ability to pray to our Father in heaven — and then hear back from God. We also have the gift of scripture to guide us, teach us, and inform us.
We have a lot of advantages over John the Baptist!And yet, John the Baptist is still known as a “witness to the light” of Christ. We can become witnesses to the light of Christ too.
You and I possibly know much more about Jesus the Messiah than John the Baptist knew.
How can we become witnesses to the light of Christ?
It’s clear from reading the gospels that John the Baptist understood his calling and his identity in the kingdom of God ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
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