Foreshadowing Jesus’ Fate
John 1:19-34
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 1:19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then 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?” 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 1:24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Knowing the culture of Judea and Galilee in Jesus’ day is essential to understanding any of the narratives in John’s Gospel. You may have heard that scholars believe this Gospel was written for a Gentile community of believers. This section of chapter one probably moved many persons over the centuries to that conclusion. Why do you ask? Because John the Baptist is clear that he is not Elijah.
Right off the bat, we examine a statement of John’s based on his culture. This demonstrates why the day’s culture is vital to understanding the narratives. The prophet Malachi said that the prophet Elijah would return before the Messiah. Elijah would prepare the people’s hearts so that they would be ready. The messianic age always had the component of the LORD’s return. This event was called the “Day of the LORD.” This day invoked the end of time, the apocalypse, the final judgment, and the end of the world as we know it.
According to John’s Gospel, the Day of the LORD could not happen through John because he was not Elijah. Inside the Gospel, Jesus never calls John the prophet Elijah. Oh, by the way, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus calls John the prophet Elijah. This raises some questions for Jews who are looking at the life of Jesus and determining if He is the Messiah promised by the LORD.
John refers to Jesus as the “lamb of God.” This title appears twice in the Bible. Both appearances are in John’s Gospel, verses 29 and 36. What does it mean to be called the “lamb of God.” In order to discover this meaning, we have to examine the culture of Jesus’ day. To be honest with you, several biblical scholars of today cannot offer a good explanation of this phrase. One of the academic commentaries I used in Seminary, and still refer to today, could not give a definitive answer to what the phrase meant.
Luckily for you, I study the culture of Jesus’ day. The “lamb of God” was a particular sheep selected in the springtime by a farmer. The family would select the perfect sheep from their flock, usually a newborn, and would prepare that animal to be sacrificed in the fall to the LORD. Jews believed and still do that the LORD has ownership in everything. After all, the LORD created the Heavens, the Earth, animals, and us. Therefore, God owns a piece of the sheep that was selected.
During the summer months, the sheep would have had exceptional care. It received plenty of food and water to grow and be healthy. The lamb of God was destined from its selection to be sacrificed to the LORD. The meat of the sheep would have been boiled and shared among the people in the town as a tribute to the LORD.
When John calls Jesus the “lamb of God,” he foretells the story’s end. Jesus was to be sacrificed to the LORD. The blood of sheep was used on the lentils and doorposts during the festival of Passover. When the angel of death moved over Egypt, the LORD told the Jewish people through Moses to put sheep’s blood on the lentils and doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over their homes. The firstborn of Egypt died that night.
The synoptic Gospels tell us that Jesus was the firstborn of Joseph and Mary. Jesus’ lineage is not offered in this Gospel. Jewish families buy back their firstborn sons from the LORD as a part of the circumcision ritual because firstborns belong to the LORD.
Jesus being the firstborn son, would have been bought back at his circumcision. But that did not matter because He became the “lamb of God.” Now you know that this means that Jesus had to be sacrificed to the LORD. Jesus’ sacrificial death was foretold to us by John. For Jews reading this Gospel, they would have picked up what the “lamb of God” title meant from their culture.
Now you know how John’s author told us what the end of the story was about. Oh wait, that is not the end of the story. It is the end of the story of Jesus’ physical life but not the end of the story of salvation. John’s author did not give that away.
Let me give you an example about the end of the story. I saw the 2022 Downton Abbey movie. At the end of the movie, the matriarch, Violet, dies while the family surrounds her. She was a colorful character throughout the entire series. The filmmakers did an excellent job in making it appear that the movie was over. In fact, Violet tells us of her impending death in the first movie when she tells her granddaughter Mary that she must become the family’s matriarch. It was still very sad.
Then a transition to the final scenes of the movie. A child is born, and the family rejoices in new life. There is joy at the birth because the family will continue after Violet’s death. The family has a new member and will continue.
I know that this is not a spoiler to you that the story does not end when Jesus dies on the cross. Actually, the story is reborn and now lives in each of us. The Gospel will continue through time as long as Christians continue to tell the story to the next generation. Even with the decline in church membership, I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will never be forgotten. The story came close to being removed from history when the Muslims invaded Spain and made their way into France.
The believers came together to save the Gospel with the help of the LORD. We must go out and tell the story. The Lord Jesus died to forgive sins and gave us a new way of life in righteousness. Shout it from the rooftops. Shout it from the mountain tops. Tell the Gospel story as often as you can, no matter where you are!
