11 9 14 A Witness of the Word: John 1:6-8
We have been walking with John through the Gospel of John and meeting the Eternal Son of God who became the Son of Man. We have seen the Savior in the first five verses as the Eternal Word, the Eternal Son, the Creator Word, The Self-Existent Word, The Life-Giving Word, The Light-Bearing Word.
John 1:1-5: 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend ( did NOT overcome) it.”
Today we look at verses 6-8: “There came a man sent (apostellô) from God, whose name was John.” (or There came a man ‘having been sent’ at one point in time and then sent, COMMISSIONED from God Himself) (John, NOT the evangelist who is writing, but John the Baptist, came into being, unlike the WORD who always existed.)
Here is the supreme purpose of God in the life of John the Baptist: 7 “He came as a witness, to testify (to witness) about the Light, so that all might believe through him. (Through his testimony) Verse 8 clarifies verse 7.) He was not the Light, but he came to testify (to witness) about the Light.”
John the Baptist was a charismatic character.
I. John the Baptist was a very charismatic character and figure in God’s Kingdom; Listen to the unique introduction for him in Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"-- 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
John THE Baptist was not charismatic in a flamboyant kind of way, but he faithfully lives up to the expectations of God in his ministry: He was a faithful forerunner of the Lord Jesus; He is merely a VOICE to be heard, crying in the wilderness. He is urging people to TURN TO God IN REPENTANCE because the LORD is coming! In John 1:23: “He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said."
John the Baptist was a pivotal prophet of God. Luke 16:16 tells us: "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” John was the last of the Old Testament prophets before Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God! It is no wonder that he earned the praise of Jesus Himself in Matthew 11:11: “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
He was extremely mindful of his humble position. His obvious humility is displayed in his outward appearance. He dresses down, not to impress and compete with the elite but to draw those who are humble. More importantly is his demeanor as he explains his OWN lowly position as “A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS”. What a contrast to the Eternal ONE in John 1:30: “This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me (is greater than me) because he was before me.'” (Humanly speaking, John the Baptist was born before Jesus, but Jesus always EXISTED before John.)
Also in John 3:27-32: (sneak preview) “To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less. 31 "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.”
The Purpose of John the Baptist
The Purpose or calling of John the Baptist was to be a Witness of the Light. “WITNESS” in the book of John is extremely important: the verb for witness (“martureo”) occurs 76 times in the New Testament, 47 of those times are in John. The noun for witness (marturia”) is used 37 times in the NT, 30 of which are in the Gospel of John. (We’ll see numerous times in John 1.)
In the HISTORICAL sense, a witness is reliable because He is an EYE-witness: John saw with his own eyes the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament prophets had only hoped for. He SAW the Lamb of God who came to die for sin, and he announced Him to those who would hear.
This aspect ties directly to the Legal Sense of a witness. A person is not a “witness” merely because he was present at some event. To be a WITNESS means to be active in the proclamation of what you have both seen and heard. To be a witness means that you open your mouth and testify and proclaim the truth and validity of what you witnessed with your own eyes and heard with your ears. John the Baptist was the medium through which God revealed the coming of the Incarnate Word of God. His announcement did not mean that all who heard would believe, but certainly his proclamation is cause for the hearers to make a definitive act of faith, a decision, to TRUST THIS JESUS or disregard the testimony concerning Him. Josh McDowell would say that the given EVIDENCE OF JESUS demands a verdict.
In John the Baptist’s case as well as that of John the Evangelist, they will testify of the truth and validity of the eternal character, the life and the redeeming work of the Light, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a third aspect to “WITNESS” and that is in the ETHICAL sense: In scripture, those who believe and share the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ and often demonstrate that faith by undergoing a violent death on account of their witness; We call such people “martyrs” from the word “marturia”. There are more and more martyrs every year for believing John’s testimony concerning Jesus: Why do people die for Jesus? Because HE IS THE TRUTH! There is no denying the TRUTH for a follower of Jesus: It is the RIGHT or RIGHTEOUS thing to do, to deny your own agenda, to say no to self and YES to the Savior. We have seen His Glory and we testify to that TRUTH.
I’m sure you’ve watched enough cop and court cases on TV or read books to know that in the legal system we refer to a credible witness as being someone who is “believable”. The ONE identified, who is the Light of the World, the Logos, the Lord Jesus, is the reason for a response of Faith and Obedience. The testimony of John the Baptist makes him a credible witness as recorded by John the evangelist, and he points to Jesus as the sole object of our faith. He is the One who is the Savior sent from God in order to die as the perfect sacrifice and substitute, the propitiation for sin.
A few previews of John 1 to come:
John 1:29: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:34: John said: ”I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
John 1:36: When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" (BELIEVE- in Him on account of the testimony which John the Baptist gives. (1:7-8,15, 19, 32 ,34, 3:26, 28; 5:33)
OTHER WITNESSES
John the Evangelist (the author of the Gospel) provides SIX other Witnesses to the Light of the LORD Jesus Christ besides John the Baptist, and we will be looking at those in the future as we study, Lord willing, so I just mentioned them in your notes. I urge you to read and study this Gospel of John. The six other testimonies or witnesses that Jesus is who the Evangelist claims Him to be are as follows:
1. The Father (chapter 5 is very powerful!)(5:31-32, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
2. The Holy Spirit (15:26, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
3. Jesus Himself affirms who He is.(3:11, 32, 8:14, 18, 37)
4. The Works of Jesus could only be done by God. (5:36, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
5. Scripture predicted Jesus’ coming and provides the eyewitness accounts as evidence in God’s Spirit INSPIRED Infallible Word. (5:39, 45-47)
6. Then we have Human witnesses which are mentioned often in John’s Gospel (4:39, 12:17, 15:27, 19:35, 21:24)
Last week at the midweek studies we looked at the fact that when Jesus comes into a heart and gives a new heart by faith, THAT life is always accompanied by “kerygma” or proclamation. Listen to these examples from John:
John 4:39: “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him (Jesus) because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." Jesus is ALL-knowing and convicts the heart. When He changes us, we tell others what He has done.
John 12:17: “Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.” Human Witnesses of the testimony and work of Jesus SPREAD THE WORD.
John 15:27: Jesus says this to those who respond to the command of Jesus to “follow Me! “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” The disciples may have been with Jesus for three years; How long have YOU been with Jesus? The gift of the Holy Spirit to believers enables and empowers them to testify.
In John 19:35, John is a witness at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hangs and John says: “The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.” John the Evangelist witnessed and recorded the life, ministry, death and resurrection so that you might BELIEVE…AND so that you, too, would become a witness of the Gospel.
All “Believers” are Witnesses of the Light.
All believers are witnesses of the Lord Jesus and His Gospel. Having received the gift of Saving Faith in Jesus and your decision to follow Him as Savior and Lord makes you a lamp to shine the Light of Christ. In John 5:35, it says: “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.’ The function of the lamp is to let the light shine: The Lamp is nothing in and of itself without the light. A witness is NOT the Light but one who points to the Light. John the Baptist “was not the Light, but he came to testify (to witness) about the Light.”
The beauty of witnessing in this way is that people believe. When you witness like this, pointing to the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, people are drawn NOT to you but to the LIGHT of the Lord Jesus. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7: But we have this treasure (the treasure of the Gospel and the presence of Jesus’ Spirit, we possess it…) in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” This makes it clear that SALVATION is from God in our Lord Jesus. The attraction is not the clay pot (clay is wet sticky dust). The attraction is not the simple lamp, but of the powerful LIGHT of the WORLD. Simple, humble people who have been filled with the Light of the Gospel of the TRUE and only light and the Spirit of God will proclaim the LIGHT in word and deed! May God powerfully use you in your sphere of influence as a witness of HIS LIGHT and WORD shining and speaking through you for His Glory alone.
OUTLINE: Intro (John 1:1-5): Jesus is The Eternal Everlasting Word, The Eternal Son, The Everlasting God, The Creator Word, The Self-Existent Word, The Eternal Life-Giving Word, The Eternal Light-Bearing Word.
I. John the Baptist was a charismatic character: (Mark 1:1-8)
A. A faithful forerunner of the Lord Jesus. (John 1:23)
B. A pivotal prophet of God. (Luke 16:16, Matt. 11:11)
C. He was mindful of his humble position. (John 1:30, 3:27-32)
II. The Purpose of John the Baptist was to be a Witness of the Light.
A. In the HISTORICAL sense: a reliable eyewitness.
B. In the LEGAL sense: To testify to the truth and validity of the Light.
C. In the ETHICAL sense: “Those who after his example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing a violent death.”
D. The ONE identified is the reason for a response of Faith and Obedience. (John the Baptist identifies the One as “The Lamb” (1:7-8,15, 19, 32 ,34, 3:26, 28; 5:33)
III. John the Evangelist provides SIX other Witnesses of the Light:
1. The Father (5:31-32, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
2. The Holy Spirit (15:26, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
3. Jesus Himself (3:11, 32, 8:14, 18, 37)
4. The Works of Jesus (5:36, 10:25, 14:11, 15:24)
5. Scripture (5:39, 45-47)
6. Human witnesses (4:39, 12:17, 15:27, 19:35, 21:24)
IV. All “Believers” are Witnesses of the Light. (John 5:35, 2 Corinthians 4:7)
A. A witness is NOT the Light but points to the Light.
B. When you witness like this, people believe.
(Copyright 2014, Ronald W. Tuit, All Rights reserved)
