The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
April, 1955
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Three)

THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Matthew and Luke give the birth narratives of the Lord Jesus Christ in chapters1and 2 of their records. Mark begins his narrative with the great Galilean ministry of our Lord. John in his prologue (1:1-18), goes back into eternity and shows that Christ was God, and that He was in association with God, throughout the endless ages of the past. Then he tells us that the Word (Christ) became flesh and dwelt among us. This is just another way of speaking of the natural birth of the Lord Jesus. We can say, therefore that John begins the human narrative of the life of Christ just where Matthew and Luke do, only in a short, abbreviated manner.

Following this, he gives us the ministry of John the Baptist. This is found in John 1:19-42. John the Baptist broke the silence of four hundred years of the Inter-Biblical Period by announcing that the time had been fulfilled, and that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. He was in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming his message of the advent of the long-expected Messiah. The people flocked to his services. The nation was thrilled from center to circumference. They could hardly realize that God was fulfilling prophecy in their day and time. Whereas the great majority of the people were not looking for the Messiah at that time, and were startled by John's announcement that the kingdom of heaven had come near, there was a small group of people who studied prophecy, who believed what the prophets said, and who were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah in their own day and time. Among these were good old Simeon and Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22-39). Those who believed the voices of the prophets, who studied them, and who wanted to do the will of God, realized the seriousness of the times in which they were living and were confident that that was the time for Messiah to make His first advent.

There are students of the prophetic word today who see what the messengers of God said, who are able to interpret these prophecies, and who assure us that the time is fast approaching for the return of Messiah. Anyone who believes God and His Word, and who takes Him at exactly what He says, can realize the seriousness of the times in which we are living. Nevertheless, the bulk of humanity pays no attention to what God has said in the prophetic portion of the Word. They consider those students who call attention to these things as being rather wild and fanciful in their thinking. But such people will eventually see that the students of prophecy are right, and that it pays to study all the Bible—including the prophecies.

A Delegation From the Authorities at Jerusalem Calls Upon John

In John 1:19 we are told that the Jews at Jerusalem sent a delegation of priests and Levites to John to ask him as to his identity and his authority for launching such a preaching ministry as he had inaugurated. Not knowing the Scriptures, they were amazed at this sudden appearance and at his message.

They therefore asked him, in the first place, if he were the Messiah. The Greek word Christ means "Messiah," or "Anointed." The term Messiah means the expected King of Israel, who was foretold by the prophets. John immediately confessed and denied not, saying, "I am not the Messiah." He certainly did know who he was and who he was not! His denial was positive proof that he was not.

The second question which they asked was: "Are you Elijah?" Before we consider his answer, let us remember that in the last two verses of the Old Testament, God promised: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come" (Mal. 4:5). Elijah will be sent to perform a special ministry of restoring the normal family relationships in Israel lest the Lord "come and smite the earth with a curse." According to Malachi's prophecy God will send Elijah the prophet, who lived in the days of Ahab the King of Israel, and who played such a prominent part in political affairs at that time.

John confessed and said that he was not Elijah. He certainly ought to have known!

When the angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, that he was to become the glad father of a son whom he should name John, the angel said that he should go before the face of the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elijah." Note the language: He should not be Elijah, but should be a man similar to Elijah, going before the face of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah.

At the transfiguration scene Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the holy mount. After the vision passed, the disciples asked Jesus, "Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?" (Matt. 17:10). John the Baptist had been dead something like twelve months at that time. Jesus said, "Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things: 12 but I say unto you, that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would…. Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist" (Matt. 17:11-13). According to this prediction of our Lord, Elijah will yet come and will perform the work that was foretold by Malachi the prophet. According to this prophecy, Elijah is to come before—immediately before—the great and terrible day of Jehovah, that is before the great Tribulation. But the Lord Jesus said that Elijah had already come, and that the people had done to him whatsoever they would. Then the disciples understood that he did not mean Elijah the prophet, but one like Elijah, who was John the Baptist. John was an Elijah, not Elijah himself.

We may, therefore, upon the authority of Malachi and the Lord Jesus Christ, expect Elijah to return to earth and to perform the ministry in Israel of restoring the family relations, just before the great and terrible day of Jehovah, the Tribulation, bursts forth upon the world.

After John denied that he was Elijah, the delegation put the third question to him: "Art thou the prophet?" The one concerning whom they asked this question is the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. According to Peter's statement in Acts 3:22-26 the prophet to whom they referred, and whose advent Moses foretold, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, these Jews from Jerusalem did not identify the prophecy as a messianic prediction. Of course, they were mistaken.

When they asked John, "Art thou the prophet?" they were asking him, in substance, if he were the Messiah. Of course John denied that he was.

Then they asked him, "Who art thou?" Since he was none of those for whom the nation was looking, they asked him who he was. His reply was that he was the "voice" mentioned by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 40:1-5). An examination of this passage in its context shows that Isaiah was speaking primarily about the Messiah at His second advent, and His being preceded by a herald, namely, Elijah. At the same time, according to the New Testament, Isaiah in this very vision saw John the Baptist preceding the Messiah at His first coming, as well as seeing the Messiah when He returns, being heralded by Elijah the prophet.

John concluded his testimony to this delegation from Jerusalem by saying: "I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, 27 even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose" (John 1:26, 27). These things were done at Bethany, which was beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing at first.

John Identifying Jesus as the Lamb of God

On the day following the visit of this delegation from Jerusalem, Jesus was coming toward John. Let us remember that the Lord had already been tempted by the Devil for forty days. After that He came back to the place where John was baptizing. When John saw Jesus coming, he spoke saying: "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). This language is an echo of Old Testament predictions. All of the sacrifices that were offered at the Tabernacle and Temple were types looking forward to and foreshadowing the coming of the real One who would make atonement for man. Whether or not John had one particular offering in mind when he used this language, we cannot say. If he had been thinking of the ritualism of the Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, to which the high priest transmitted symbolically all the sins of Israel, is meant. John's language would seem to imply that. Just as the scapegoat bore the sins of Israel symbolically away to Azazel in the wilderness, thus the Lord Jesus Christ would have the sin of the world laid upon Him, and He would bear it away. Regardless of which prophecy John the Baptist had in mind when he used this language, we may be certain that there loomed before his sight such a passage as Isaiah, chapter 53, which foretells the vicarious suffering and atonement of the Messiah for the sins of the world.

John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!" He used the word sin in the singular. It is quite likely, and probable, that the sin of the world to which he refers is unbelief. That seems to be the one besetting sin of all men. It is thus held up in the Gospel of John. It is quite fitting to interpret "sin" in this place, at the beginning of the Gospel, as referring to the outstanding sin of unbelief.

John the Baptist, though a relative of Jesus, did not know Him personally. He states that fact twice. In verse 31 he said: "And I knew him not." Again, in verse 33 he repeated the same thing. We are to take this language at exactly what it says, since there is nothing to indicate a departure from the normal, literal meaning.

John declared, "this is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me" (1:30). Christ was before John. He was from all eternity, co-equal and co-eternal with God and with the Holy Spirit. This being true, Jesus said in a discussion with the Jews: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58). John then stated that he did not know Jesus, but that God, who had sent him to baptize, said to him that upon whomsoever he, John, should see the Spirit "descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he." Then John said to those present that he did not know Jesus before this, but that he had witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him at the time of His baptism. He therefore knew positively and had borne witness to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God—the Messiah of Israel for whom they were looking. This testimony of John the Baptist is clear and ringing and unmistakable.

Jesus Wins His First Disciple

On the day following John's identification of Jesus, as we have just seen, he (John) was standing with two of his disciples and, as they were looking, they saw Jesus walking along. Then John witnessed again, saying: "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (vs. 36). When John gave this testimony, the two disciples who heard him speak left John and followed Jesus.

As they were following Jesus, He looked around and asked them, "What seek ye?" Their reply was, "Rabbi… where abidest thou?" John explains to his readers the significance of the Jewish term, rabbi, which when interpreted in Greek means "teacher." Thus these disciples recognized Jesus as Teacher and asked him where He was staying. His home was at Nazareth, but He had left home and had come to Bethany, where John was baptizing in the Jordan. It is quite likely that there were people who had constructed some kinds of booths or tents in which they were staying, as they attended John's protracted meeting, or revival services. Jesus may have been residing in such a place as that, or He may have gone to the home of someone, with whom He was lodging while He was attending this revival.

To their question as to where He was staying, the Lord Jesus replied: "Come, and ye shall see." They accepted His invitation and went with Him. They therefore saw where He was staying and remained with Him that day. At the time it was ten o'clock (Roman time), or four o'clock in the afternoon. The rest of the day, the two hours till six o'clock, during which time they stayed with Jesus, is spoken of as a day. The Jews spoke of a day, or a part of a year as if it were the whole period of time.

One of the two disciples who heard John speaking, and who followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Immediately he went to find Peter and said to him, "We have found Messiah." John interprets the meaning of the word, Messiah, and translates it into the Greek, which is "Christ." Andrew immediately led his brother Peter to the Lord Jesus. An excellent lesson in soul winning! Live so as to be able to influence your relatives, friends, and neighbors, and to lead them to Christ.

When Jesus saw Peter, He looked upon him and told him that his Hebrew name was Simon, the son of John. But Jesus said that He was changing his name to Cephas. John interprets this Aramaic word and translates it into Greek by the term which is rendered in English "Peter." The word Cephas, meaning stone, was predictive, or prophetic, of the change in character that would come over Simon. He was vacillating and impulsive before Pentecost, before he was filled with the Spirit of God; but from that time on he was indeed and in truth a stone. A great transformation took place in him. Praise God for that fact!