The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
December, 1955
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Eleven)

THE PARALLEL MINISTRIES OF JESUS AND JOHN

A close study of the Gospel records shows that John began his ministry about six months before Jesus started His. We cannot be certain how long John's ministry lasted. Quite likely however it continued about a year. Probably their ministries ran parallel for about six months. These periods of activities ran from the first Passover (John 2:13) to the time that John was cast into prison. During the first part of John's ministry, he preached in the wilderness of Judaea and baptized at Bethany, east of the Jordan. See John 10:40: "And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing; and there he abode." After the baptism of Jesus, He went into the wilderness and was tempted forty days by the devil. Then he came back to the place where John was baptizing at the beginning. Four or possibly six of His early disciples at this time came to Him. Immediately He returned to Capernaum and established His headquarters there. He stayed there only a few days; then attended the Passover at Jerusalem (John 2:13). After that feast He engaged in His early Judaean ministry, which terminated with His departure for Galilee—as seen in John, chapter 4. This early Judaean ministry covered the first six months of the first full year of our Lord's ministry.

John the Apostle states that, "After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized." The things referred to in this quotation doubtless include Christ's discussion with Nicodemus and possibly other events connected with His visit to Jerusalem. Jesus, therefore, after these things went out and toured the country of Judaea where He tarried and baptized. It is true that Jesus personally did not baptize anybody, but His disciples performed this phase of the work for him. The Apostle Paul did some baptizing at Corinth, but he by no means did all of it. Others did it for him. But all who accepted Christ in the apostolic age were baptized. See Acts 18:8 and 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 for the situation at Corinth, which was typical of the apostolic church.

While Jesus was evangelizing Judaea, John moved the base of his operations from the Jordan up to Aenon, near the little town of Salim. Many people followed him and were baptized by him. Let us always bear in mind that John at first went and baptized in the Jordan River and later went to Aenon, and that he selected that place because there was much water there, so that he could baptize the people who repudiated their sins, publicly confessed them, and came out whole-heartedly for the Lord.

A Dispute Between the Disciples of John and a Jew

"There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purifying." According to the ninth chapter of Hebrews the Jews had various washings. Naturally in their thinking there was connected with these various ordinances the idea of cleansing, since that thought is the natural correlative idea that goes along with that of washing. Probably the Jew who was having this discussion with the disciples of John thought that the baptism of John, which was inaugurated by him, was just another one of these Jewish washings. There are those today who think of baptism as a saving or cleansing ordinance. As proof of this position they turn to such a passage as Acts 2:38, which reads as follows: "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." By certain legalists baptism is interpreted as a cleansing or saving ordinance. Whenever the gospel is thought of in legalistic terms, obviously the idea of cleansing is suggested by the nature of the ordinance. But we have already seen from many passages that salvation is a matter of God's grace and of man's having faith in that grace. The legalistic interpretation of baptism is therefore to be rejected. This position is confirmed by what Peter said in regard to baptism, found in 1 Peter 3:20-22, "That aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved through water: 21 which also after a true likeness doth now save you even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; 22 who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." According to this passage baptism is not a saving ordinance; it is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh—that which cleanses—but it is the interrogation, asking, or response of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

No Place for Jealousy in the Heart of John the Baptist

Jealousy is a poison deadly to the soul. The Apostle Paul declared that the love of money is the root of every evil, that is every kind of evil can spring from the love of money. Probably the same thing could be said concerning envy and jealousy. Most likely we could say that from jealousy and envy every imaginable sin often springs forth and does its deadly work. People have to be on guard against this demon of jealousy.

John's being free from jealousy was doubtless one of the occasions of the Lord's saying that of all men born of women there had never arisen a greater than John the Baptist. By God's grace he was lifted above all envy and jealously. The disciples of John came to him and said, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove. This sign was given to John the Baptist that he might identify the Messiah. After Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit came upon Him in fulfilment of the message given John the Baptist by the Lord. Later when Jesus was walking at a distance from John (after His baptism) he pointed out the Lord as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then some of the disciples of John left him and immediately followed Jesus. Jesus' influence and power spread rapidly. Soon the number of baptisms which resulted from the ministry of Jesus exceeded the number of converts which John was making. The disciples of John were very loyal to him and could not bear the idea or tolerate the notion that Jesus could be greater than John. They therefore came to John, calling him Rabbi and mentioning the fact that the number of Jesus' disciples and baptisms was greater than his.

John's reply to his loyal yet erring disciples showed that he was standing on a much higher plane than even the bulk of Christians of today. He gave four reasons why Jesus should increase in influence and why he himself should decrease.

The first reason was "A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven." Everything that any person has is a gift from God to him-even his heredity is given him by the grace of God. Our living in America, this land of liberty, and opportunity, is granted to us by the Lord. It is a possibility that we could have been born in some other country. The educational advantages that we have here-unparalleled in the world-are a free gift of God to us. By God's sovereign grace, relatives, neighbors, friends, and opportunities are all given to us. In short, everything that we have is given us by the grace and mercy of the Lord. Hence, if we have something that others do not experience and enjoy, we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but should be humble and thankful to God that He has conferred upon us such blessings.

In the next place, John called the attention of his disciples to the fact that they were witnesses regarding his statement concerning Christ. He had said, "I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him." John was free from all human ambition, and fleshly pride. He did not mind what people thought of him. Yet he did not want to sail under false colors. He, therefore, told the people plainly that he was not the Messiah. There are those in the spiritual realm who are climbers, and who desire to stand high in the estimation of people, and to be thought of as they are not. May the Lord deliver us from such unholy aspirations.

John's third reason for not being jealous is stated in John 3:29 as follows: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full." It is the bridegroom, who takes the bride. Christ is the bridegroom, who will eventually take to Himself His bride, the Church. No one else will ever have that honor. At an ordinary marriage no one thinks of stepping into the place of the bridegroom and of taking the bride. John therefore said that no one—and certainly not he—would ever think of flying under the false colors of being the bridegroom. Instead, he was simply the voice of one crying in the wilderness, making the announcement of the coming of the bridegroom.

In the last place, John declared that "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). From the nature of things it was proper that Christ should forge forward, figuratively speaking, should stand in the limelight, and should have the pre-eminence. He was God in human form—the God-man—who left heaven, came to earth, suffered, and died for mankind. It was therefore pre-eminently proper that He, the Lord of glory, should increase in influence and power, while John the Baptist was to decrease and to fade out of the public gaze. In keeping with this principle Jesus was, figuratively speaking, under the spotlight while John faded out of sight. Literally speaking, he was arrested and lingered in prison several months before finally being beheaded. In keeping with John's statement, he was to decrease while Christ was to increase. Let me repeat, that of all the men born of women there had never arisen a greater than John the Baptist. He has properly been called John the Loyal.

He who Is From Above and He Who Is From Below

According to verse 31 of the passage under consideration "he that cometh from above is above all…he that cometh from heaven is above all." John the Apostle in these words is practically repeating the thought which Jesus expressed in verse 13, when it is viewed from a little different angle: "And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven." Jesus is the only man who came from heaven. He laid aside the eternal glory that He had with the Father before the foundation of the world and entered the human family by miraculous conception and virgin birth. Being God in human form, He was above all others. This fact was recognized, especially after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. When Jesus appeared to certain disciples in Galilee, He declared to them that "…All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). When Christ returned on high, He ascended "far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:21-23).

In contrast with the Son of God, the God-man, who is from heaven, "he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth speaketh. …." Man is of the earth and speaks of the earth. This statement applies to all men. They naturally can speak only of the things which they know. Being here on the earth and studying only earthly things, they speak only of earthly things. Of course, there was one exception to this rule-the prophets who were inspired by the Spirit of God, and who frequently had visions of spiritual things and of eternal realities.

In verse 32, we have this language, "What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness." From the context it is clear that in this verse the Apostle was speaking of the man who is from above, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Being from above and knowing the things that are in the eternal world, He spoke of them, and bore witness concerning spiritual verities and realities; yet no man received His testimony, that is, men generally did not receive the testimony of the Lord Jesus. They do not do so today. Hence this statement is true. The following declaration shows that I am correct in interpreting this former statement, "He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true" (John 3:33). The public as a rule did not receive Christ's teaching; but—and that thought is what is meant by the preceding statement—those who did receive it had spiritual discernment and clearly saw things as they are. They therefore were brought to the conviction that God is true.

According to verse 34 "… He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God." The reason assigned for this fact is that God gave not the Spirit to Him by measure. This utterance of course refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. That this statement refers to Him is evident from the fact that God did not give the Spirit to Him by measure, in a limited way. The Spirit is given in measure to day to men who accept the Lord Jesus as Saviour. Not so was it with the Lord Jesus.

According to verse 35 the Father hath turned over all things to the Son. This assertion is in keeping with the statement of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:18, in which He said that all authority in heaven and in earth had been given to Him. He is the Supreme One who exercises absolute power in this present age and in the one which is to come. On this point see Ephesians 1:20-23.

The one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son, has eternal life—has it now; but he who does not believe, as the text is rendered in the American Standard Version (1901 edition), "obeyeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." While the word in the original may be rendered, obeyeth not, it is clear that the better translation is the literal one, believeth not, which thought is shown in the marginal reading. This statement is a well-balanced contrast. The one who believes has everlasting life; but the one who disbelieves does not have life, for the wrath of God abides on him. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ-trusting Him alone for life and salvation-determines the destiny of everyone. The conditions of salvation has been reduced to the minimum. Every person who has any desire for truth and life can see that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world and can, by simply trusting Him, receive the blessing of eternal life.