03 The Testimony of John the Baptist (John 1:19-34)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today is the third talk in my series on the Gospel of John. We won't be studying John chapter 1, verses 19 through 34. Thanks so much for listening. We are continuing in our series on the Gospel of John today. This is a big picture study. We're going to tackle big sections at a time looking at the themes and the overarching structure. I have argued that John chose to include certain aspects of the ministry of Jesus to highlight certain themes, and in this study, we're going to focus almost exclusively on those themes. Instead of doing the detailed deep dive into stories and passages that we usually do, I want to show the other aspect of Bible study where you put the pieces together, where you look up from all those details and word studies and outlining and so forth, and you say, what picture is emerging? We're going to focus on that picture. Last week we looked at the prologue to the gospel. And yes, I purposely went into a bit more detail on the prologue because it introduces the themes we're going to talk about throughout the gospel. Last week I did do a pretty detailed study, but going forward, I'm going to try to refrain from going into so much detail and instead focus on the big themes. And John's prologue introduced three big themes that we're going to see throughout this gospel. First is the importance of testimony. John explains why we should believe what we have not seen for ourselves, and we believe it because of the testimony of those who did see it. A second theme he's going to hit in this gospel is that believing in Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life. What's the point of all this testimony? That we believe in Jesus. Why is believing in Jesus so important? Because he's the only one who can grant us eternal life. And a third theme we're going to see in this gospel is the nature of belief. John explores the nature of belief, emphasizing our need for the Spirit of God. How do you become a person who believes Jesus is the Messiah? Well, we have to be born of God. And John will contrast those who believe with those who do not believe, and the difference between them is the activity of the Spirit of God. With 119, we're getting into the body of his gospel, and John starts with John the Baptist. For clarity's sake, I'm going to refer to our author as Author John and refer to the prophet as John the Baptist. Now there are four books, as you probably know, which tell the story of Jesus' life. All four of them include a discussion of John the Baptist, but this presentation of John the Baptist has a different flavor than the other three Gospels. The Apostle John wrote his Gospel much later. The others had already been written, and I think he assumed his readers had read the other Gospels or at least were familiar with them. The other Gospels tell the story of John the Baptist in full. They tell us he is a prophet who was given a message from God. They tell us about the circumstances of his birth, the way he dressed, ate, and lived. They speak of his ministry in the wilderness and his baptism and call for repentance. And they tell us what he taught, and they report a few conversations he had with Jesus and then end with his arrest and execution. The Gospel of John ignores all that material. The Apostle John focuses on one aspect of John the Baptist's ministry, and that is his proclamation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah. Now the other Gospels do talk about that too, but the Apostle John focuses on John the Baptist's testimony to the exclusion of everything else. And as I've said, testimony is one of those themes that's going to be running through this Gospel. What someone says about what they saw and what they heard concerning Jesus plays a huge role in the Gospel of John. We're going to see these words testimony, testify, witness, bear witness, confess, claim. We're going to see those over and over again. Why should we believe that Jesus is the Christ? Well, the first reason Author John gives us is the testimony of John the Baptist. Chapter 1, verse 19 starts, this is the testimony of John. Instead of telling us John the Baptist's life story, Author John narrows his focus to the evidence that John the Baptist provides about the identity of the Christ. John the Baptist gives two kinds of testimony. He gives a negative testimony, that is, he says, I, John the Baptist, am not the Christ, and he gives a positive testimony, he says, that man over there, Jesus of Nazareth, he is the Christ. So let's look at what he has to say. Let's start with 1 19 through 23. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, No. So they said to him, Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. First we need a little background. So after 400 years of prophetic silence, it's been about 400 years since the last prophet Malachi, here comes John the Baptist. He looks like a prophet, he sounds like a prophet, he's acting like a prophet, and he's out in the wilderness baptizing Jews. Well, that raises some eyebrows. The ritual of baptism developed among the Jews during the intertestamental period, which is the period between the last prophet Malachi and the close of the Old Testament, but before the time of the New Testament. But Jews were not baptized. Baptism was administered to non-Jews or Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism. And in this baptism, even though Levites and priests performed all the other purification rites, the convert was not baptized by a Levite or a priest. In conversion baptism, the proselyte typically baptized himself. So now, this seems odd. Here comes a prophet after 400 years of silence. He says, the Messiah is about to arrive, and you Jews need to repent and be baptized. And then this prophet baptizes Jews, even though he's not a priest or a Levite, and Jews didn't typically get baptized. Well, that attracts the attention of the religious authorities in Jerusalem. They want to know who this John the Baptist thinks he is, that he's calling the children of Abraham to be baptized, and then he baptizes them himself. They send a delegation out to the Jordan River to find out what's going on. And this delegation then demands to know, who are you? Who is John the Baptist? Author John cuts right to the chase. What was John's testimony? What did he know? What had he seen? What had he been told? They ask him, Are you the Christ? He says no. They asked him, Are you the prophet? He says no. And finally, they ask him, Are you Elisha? And he says, No. Well, let's look at those three questions and figure out what they are asking. So first they ask John the Baptist if he is the Christ. Presumably you're familiar with the word Christ, but let's talk about it. For those of you who are new, the word Christ is the Greek word which means anointed one. It translates the Hebrew word Messiah, which also means anointed one. These two words mean the same thing, and it comes to this. Every king of Israel was referred to as the anointed one, the one anointed by God to be king, to represent God and his rule over Israel. In one sense, every king of Israel was a Messiah, and you'll see that language used in the Old Testament. But then the Babylonians conquered Israel and took the last Davidic king into exile. The king is now gone. What happens now? Because God has promised David that his throne would last forever, and his throne has been desecrated. Well, the prophets come along and they announce, wait, there is a king coming who will establish a new era of life and peace. There will be a new king, this new anointed one will come, he will sit on David's throne forever, he will conquer all rebellion and death, and he will rule in justice and righteousness. The promise to David will be fulfilled in this one anointed one, this one Messiah, coming king, who will rule from David's throne forever. And this coming king came to be known as the Messiah or the Christ. So the first question the leaders asked John the Baptist is, Are you the one we've been waiting for? Are you the coming king, the Christ, the Messiah? And you'll notice that John the Baptist says no in a very strange and emphatic fashion. He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. That phrase he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, it's hard to translate in English, but it's also really convoluted in Greek. So it raises the question, why answer in such a cumbersome fashion? He answered using the strongest language possible. John the Baptist doesn't just say, no, no, not me. He's emphatic, he's insistent, he's leaving no room for doubt. Greek speakers would have no doubt that John the Baptist denied he's the Messiah. Then they ask him if he's Elijah. They say, Okay, well, if you're not the Messiah, are you Elijah? Well, what's that all about? The very last book in the Old Testament is Malachi, and the last words in Malachi in chapter four, verses five and six are these. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. Now, if you've read the Old Testament accounts of Elijah, you may remember Elijah doesn't die. He was taken up in some sort of angelic chariot, and then we have this proclamation, this prediction that God will send Elijah back before the day of the Lord. The Jews expected Elijah would return before the Messiah arrived. So they're asking John the Baptist, Are you Elijah? Are you the return of Elijah as predicted in Malachi? And John the Baptist says no. Now that's a really interesting answer because there's a passage in Matthew 11 where Jesus suggests that John the Baptist is Elijah. And I have a previous podcast on that passage where I go into a lot of detail. I'll put a link to that in the show notes. Let me just briefly say, to make a long story short, my understanding is that Malachi predicts Elijah will come at the end of the age or at Christ's second coming. In that sense, John the Baptist is not the Elijah to come. He is not the one who's coming before the second coming of Christ. But at the first coming, John the Baptist is acting in that same kind of role that the later Elijah will have. So he is acting in the spirit and power of that later Elijah. John the Baptist announced the first coming of Christ, and the later Elijah who will come and announce the Christ before he returns again plays that same kind of role. Now, from our point in history, we know that the Messiah is coming twice. At the time of Jesus, though, I don't think that was understood. I don't think anyone really understood there would be two comings until after the resurrection and ascension. But anyway, I think what's going on in Matthew 11 is that John plays the role of the herald to prepare for the first coming of the Messiah, and there is a later coming Elijah who is the herald who will prepare the people for the second coming. I think that's what Jesus is getting at in Matthew. John the Baptist is a forerunner, a kind of shadow of the Elijah that is to come, but he is not that Elijah. Finally, the Jewish leaders ask John the Baptist if he is the prophet. Who's the prophet? Well, in Deuteronomy, in the very last message that Moses gave to the Jews before they entered the promised land, he says this in Deuteronomy 18, 15. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers, and it is to him you shall listen. Now there's some debate as to exactly who Moses is talking about and what he's referring to, but there was an expectation among many that this prophet that Moses announced was still to come and they were still waiting for him. And you'll remember Moses was unique among the prophets in that God spoke to Moses face to face. God tells us he speaks to the other prophets in dreams and visions, but only to Moses does he speak clearly face to face. Furthermore, Moses mediated the old covenant, he gave the people the law, and the other prophets do not do that. Moses is unique in that he is a mediator of a covenant. At this point, if I had to vote, I think the prophet Moses predicted is the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus. When Moses says God will send another prophet like me, I think he means another prophet who can and will speak to God face to face, and another prophet who will mediate a covenant. And we know that Jesus the Messiah is like Moses in that way. He speaks personally to God and he mediated the new covenant. I think author John hinted at this in his prologue when he said in John 1, 17 and 18, For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. I think that Moses is predicting the Messiah, and the prophet he's referring to is Jesus, but there is some debate about that. People have different theories. At any rate, the leaders ask John the Baptist, Are you that guy? Are you that prophet that Moses predicted? And John says, No, that's not me. Then you can almost hear their frustration when they respond, Well, who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What are we supposed to tell them? And John says in 123, I am the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. John the Baptist essentially answers, You want to find something in the Old Testament that talks about me and talks about my ministry? Well look to Isaiah. I am the voice crying in the wilderness. So let's look at Isaiah. John is referring to Isaiah chapter forty verses three through five. A voice cries, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. John the Baptist tells them, I am that voice. If you want to see me in the Old Testament, I'm that voice that says, Prepare the way of the Lord. Now the imagery there is at the time it was very hard to travel through the wilderness. When a king wanted to travel from point A to point B, the king's people would go before him to clear the obstacles out of the road so that the king could travel easily and his path would not be obstructed. It's kind of like today when a president goes through town, the police go before him and they stop all the traffic and they turn all the lights a certain color and they clear the roads so that the president can just sail through all the traffic lights and intersections. In the ancient world, when a king traveled to another country, a large crew would go before him and prepare the way. They would remove the obstacles, they would smooth the road, they would get the boulders out of the way, so that his entourage, when it later came, could travel unobstructed. That's the image here, the voice that is telling Israel to prepare the highway, prepare the roadway, because their Lord is coming and they need to clear the path to be ready. Isaiah is presenting a metaphorical picture. Isaiah is calling for a path to be made in the wilderness so that they will be ready to meet their king because their king is coming. So every valley shall be lifted to make it easy to travel. You're leveling out the ground, so you bring the valleys up. Every mountain and hill is made low. That's the same idea. You're leveling the ground to make it easy for the king to travel. John the Baptist says, I am that voice, I am the herald who announces the king is coming. So far then we've seen his negative testimony, which is clear. He says, I am not the Christ, I am the herald announcing his coming. Now we go on to verses twenty-four through twenty eight. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, Then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The leaders want further answers. Clearly, John seems to think he's got some authority. He's out in the middle of the wilderness calling Jewish people to repent and be baptized. Jews don't get baptized, that's not how it works. Only people who convert to Judaism get baptized. And John the Baptist, if you're not the Christ, if you're not Elijah, and you're not the prophet, then why are you baptizing? Why have you taken this important and presumptuous role upon yourself? Well, John's answer is interesting. He doesn't explain exactly. He doesn't say something like, Well, I'm a prophet from God, and God told me to tell you that you need to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Baptism is a sign of that repentance. That's why I'm proclaiming this message and why people should listen to me. He doesn't do any of that. Instead, he says, My baptism isn't a big deal in comparison to what's coming. If you're upset now with what I'm doing, just wait until you see what the coming one does. I'm only baptizing with water. All I can do is provide an outward physical ritual, but the Messiah is coming. In fact, he stands among you now, but you don't recognize him. What I'm doing here in the wilderness, this is no big deal. I'm not even worthy to untie the strap of his sandal. Now that's a wonderful image. Disciples functioned as personal servants for their rabbis. They were expected to see to their rabbis' needs, to make his housing arrangements and ensure he was fed and clothed and so forth. And we do see examples of this in the ministry of Jesus, where on occasion he will send disciples ahead to the next city to find lodging or to make preparations for his arrival. But one thing that differentiated a disciple from a servant or a slave is a disciple was never asked to take care of his rabbi's feet or his shoes. Only the lowest slaves and servants were asked to take on that task. John the Baptist answers them, You're upset by what I'm doing now? You came all the way from Jerusalem just to see what I'm doing? Just wait until you see what the Messiah does. Compared to him, I'm lower than the lowest slave. I'm not even worthy to untie his shoes and take off his sandals to wash his feet. You should be asking him who he is, not worrying about who I am. He's out there right now among you, and you don't even know it. You haven't even recognized him. But he's the one that all this is about. I'm not the big deal. He's the big deal. It's not about me, it's about him. And you should be worrying about who he is. All right, so that section ends what I've called the negative testimony of John the Baptist. John the Baptist emphatically testifies that he is not the Christ, rather, he is the herald who is announcing the coming of the Christ. And now we get to his positive testimony that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. This is John 1, verses 29 and 30. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me. Now John's testimony is turning positive. Previously he said the Christ is out there, but it's not me. Now he says, Look, see that guy Jesus walking over there? That's him. That's the guy. You want to know who the Christ is? Jesus of Nazareth is the one. He says, I don't want you to be confused by the fact that I came first. You might think that because I, John the Baptist, was the first to arrive on the scene, I have a priority. Chronologically, I came first, but in terms of importance, he's first. Don't think just because I was the first to arrive, I, John, am the most important person in this deal. Jesus is the Christ. He's the one who has priority. Now the way he describes Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is interesting. Essentially, he means this is the Messiah. But why does he describe the Messiah in those terms? Why does he use that language to talk about him? As an aside, it's interesting to watch the titles for Jesus and John. By the end of chapter one alone, we'll see Jesus called the Word, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, Rabbi, Messiah, King of Israel, and Son of Man. And these are often significant. And you know this from real life. For instance, if my husband walks in the door and I say, Do you know what your son did today? He's going to expect something very different than if he walks in the door and I say, Do you know what my son did today? So the titles give you clues and watch for them, but we're not going to go into that now. Back on track. Why is John the Baptist calling Jesus the Lamb of God? Well, that's a much debated phrase. What exactly does he have in mind when he says Jesus is the Lamb of God? Today we're used to thinking of Jesus as the Lamb of God, but there are only two books in Scripture that refer to him that way, and John wrote both of them. We find that title here in chapter one, and we find it in the book of Revelation. So where does this language come from? Scholars point out that in the Old Testament, lambs were not used as sin offerings at the temple. Goats and bulls were used instead. So he's not drawing from the Old Testament sacrificial system. One very real possibility is that John the Baptist, as a prophet from God, was given this language by God to speak. However, the prophet Isaiah describes the coming suffering servant, who I think is the Messiah, who I think is Jesus, as one who is wounded for our transgression. I have a separate podcast series on the servant songs of Isaiah, which you're welcome to listen to. I'll put a link to those in the show notes if you want to dive further into that. This is Isaiah 53, verses 4 through 7. Isaiah is speaking of the suffering servant, and I believe that suffering servant to be Jesus. He says in 53 4, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its hears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. So Isaiah gives us this language of the suffering servant who will be bruised for our iniquities. God lays the iniquities of us on him. Isaiah says he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And John the Baptist could very well be building on this imagery of the lamb who took on our sins and was led to the slaughter. Another place John the Baptist could be taking this imagery from is the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. You'll recall that God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to him as an offering, and Isaac was the child of promise. But at the last moment God stays Abraham's hand, and Abraham discovers a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So God provides a sheep, a grown lamb, as a sacrificial substitute for Abraham's son. That's another place we see this imagery, but probably the clearest theme of a lamb in Scripture comes from Passover. When God prepared his final plague on the Egyptians, which was the death of every firstborn male, including the crown prince of Pharaoh, he instructed his people to slay a lamb and spread some of its blood on their doorposts. God promised to spare all the houses with blood on their doorposts. And in the Passover we see a symbolic lamb rescuing the people from God's judgment, which is, of course, what the Messiah came to do. So this is John's positive testimony. The Christ has come to deal with the sins of his people by being God's sacrificial lamb, and Jesus, that man walking by over there, that's the guy. He goes on to explain how he knows this to be true, and this is where we get to the heart of his testimony. This is John 1, 31 through 34. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. This is the key piece of evidence in John the Baptist's testimony. John the Baptist reveals, God told me in advance how I would know the Messiah. God told me when I baptize the person who is the Messiah, I will see the Spirit of God descend upon him and remain. And when I see that happen, I will know for sure this person is the Messiah. As the other Gospel writers tell us, that is in fact what happened when John baptized Jesus. The Spirit descended like a dove and remained upon him. Now we're not told in the other gospels, but we are told here that John the Baptist knew in advance this would happen. God had told John, This is what you're looking for. I will reveal to you who the Messiah is by this event, and you will know this is the Messiah. John tells us part of the reason he started baptizing was to see this event happen. And I think this also sheds light on the kind of cryptic exchange we see in the other gospels. For instance, is Matthew's account. This is Matthew 3, 13 through 17. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, say, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Jesus seems to know that his baptism is significant. There is something right and fitting about John baptizing him. We're not told this, but I suspect Jesus knew that this sign was going to happen. He knew in advance what would happen when he was baptized, and he knows it needs to happen to fulfill the plans and purposes of God. So he says, Let it be. And that's how it turned out with Jesus. Now we might want to think about that. John says that he didn't know him, he didn't know Jesus, but of course we know that he did know Jesus, at least they had met before. John and Jesus were cousins. They certainly knew each other as family and had probably met from time to time when they were growing up. Also, John the Baptist must surely have heard the stories about the unusual events that surrounded his own birth and the birth of Jesus. Surely his parents told him about the proclamations that were made, about the role that he, John the Baptist, was going to play and the role that Jesus was going to play. It seems very unlikely that John the Baptist was unaware of at least the potential that Jesus was the Messiah. And in fact, at his baptism, John responds to Jesus and says, No, you should be baptizing me, not vice versa. And that indicates that he has a very high respect for Jesus and suspects who he is. Because he says, You should be baptizing me. He's surely aware of the potential that Jesus is the Christ. So what John the Baptist is getting at here is not, oh, I had no clue who the Messiah was. He had a clue. But before the baptism, he could not speak with prophetic certainty. Before Jesus' baptism, John the Baptist couldn't say, as a prophet of God, I tell you Jesus is the one, but now he can. Now John can say, as a prophet, God told me how to recognize the Christ. I'm here to tell you that's what I saw. God told me in advance what would happen when I baptized the Messiah, and it happened when I baptized Jesus. So now I can say with prophetic certainty, Jesus is the Messiah. Notice the focus in this gospel. John the Baptist indicates part of the reason he baptized is it so that the Messiah would be revealed. Well, if we look at the story in the other gospels, there's a lot more to the issue of why John baptized. He baptized to call people to repentance. He was preparing the way for the Messiah, and that he was telling people they were sinners and they needed to repent, and he was baptizing them. All of that was important. All of that was an important part of his ministry, his work, and his baptism. But author John doesn't include any of those aspects. He doesn't tell us any of that about John's ministry because it's not relevant to the issue that he wants to explore in his gospel. The issue that John explores in his gospel is why should we believe that Jesus is the Christ? And the first reason he gives us is that when John the prophet baptized Jesus, he saw the sign God told him would happen when he baptized the Messiah. The focus here is all about the evidence. What evidence can John the Baptist give about the identity of the Messiah? This is the evidence he can give. He can testify, I am not the Messiah, but that man Jesus is. And the other aspects of his ministry, they're not even in author John's sights. Now we can notice the implicit contrast that John the Baptist makes here. He says, I baptized in water, but the Christ will baptize in the Holy Spirit. Clearly, that's a much more significant baptism. And the baptism of the Holy Spirit is going to be an important theme in this gospel. As it develops, we'll see that we need the supernatural work of the Spirit of God. God is going to contrast those who believe with those who don't believe. And the difference between them is this work of the Spirit of God. And we'll be talking about that a lot as we go along. And then let me just make another comment about this phrase son of God here. This phrase son of God is another phrase for the Christ or the Messiah. There's strong evidence that every Jew at the time was familiar with the idea that the Messiah was the Son of God. We'll see this in John's Gospel all over the place. But they did not associate the Son of God with the second person of the Trinity like we do today. This phrase meant the Messiah, and everybody used it to mean the Messiah. When John says, I have borne witness that this is the Son of God, he's saying, I have borne witness that this is the Christ, not this is the second person of the Trinity. It is also true that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, but that's not what author John is commenting on in chapter 1 when he quotes John the Baptist. So John's positive testimony is this: God told me how I would know who the Messiah is. That very thing happened to Jesus. I have seen and testified that this man Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. All right, then to wrap this up, let me go through the themes that we have seen in our passage today. I'm arguing in this series that there is a tightly unified set of themes running throughout this gospel, and we have seen a few of them here. For instance, this idea that the Messiah is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. The idea that we are so broken that we need the Spirit of God to work inside us, that theme is going to come out very strongly in John's Gospel. It's related to another question that John explores, which is how do we become people who believe in Jesus? He will tell us that we need to be born again. Here we just see a hint of it. The Messiah is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. Likewise, another theme we've seen is the point of believing that Jesus is the Christ is to find eternal life. How can evil, guilty people like ourselves ever find life? Well, the Messiah is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And that's going to be a theme that's strongly explored in John's gospel. Believing in Jesus leads to life because he has made this provision for the problem of our sin. But most importantly, our passage today emphasizes one particular theme very strongly, and this is another strong theme in John, and that is the value of testimony. This idea that evidence is communicated through testimony. John the Baptist had evidence that Jesus is the Christ. God told him what to look for, how to recognize the Messiah, and John the Baptist is saying, I personally saw it with my own eyes. The very thing God said to look for, I, John the Baptist, saw with Jesus. Now, today you and I didn't see this with our own eyes. Instead, we have John's testimony that this happened. And notice, author John's original listeners were in the same position. The first people to read this gospel probably did not see Jesus be baptized. And they didn't hear God tell John that the one on whom the Spirit descends, that's the Messiah. They didn't hear that stuff, they didn't see it. There was evidence that Jesus is the Christ, but they didn't see it firsthand. Instead, they too must rely on the testimony of John the Baptist. John tells them, This is what I heard, this is what I saw, that's why I can testify to you that this is the Christ, the Son of God. Author John is going to explore this theme of testimony from a variety of angles. We are called upon to believe that Jesus is the Christ because of the testimony of others. For now, we only have this one piece of evidence. It's our first piece of evidence, and it's an important piece of evidence. A man named John, who claimed to be a prophet from God and who was accepted as a prophet by the people of Israel, testified that he knew through personal revelation from God and as an eyewitness that Jesus is the Christ. And that's one of the reasons we should believe it's true. You can also find it by going to WednesdayInTheWord.com slash John Free. If you've been blessed by this podcast, please follow the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave me a positive rating and review. And most importantly, tell a friend what you learned and where you learned it. Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find his music on heartfeltmusic.org. All the episodes in this series, plus many more seasons of Wednesday in the Word, are available on my website. Just go to Wednesdayintheword.com. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.