John 1A. Leon Morris wrote that John s Gospel is a pool in which both a child can wade in and and elephant can swim in

Transcription

1 Jhn 1A Len Mrris wrte that Jhn s Gspel is a pl in which bth a child can wade in and and elephant can swim in It s a bk f simple yet prfund truth, relying n metaphr and symbls t reveal Christ t be the nly begtten Sn f Gd Chrnlgically, the Gspel f Jhn was the next t last bk f scripture penned at the end f the first century Only the bk f Revelatin came later And yet it s ften the first bk we recmmended t the persn curius t knw mre abut Christ r Christianity Jhn s Gspel is s memrable partly because f its uniqueness amng the Gspels and Jhn s distinct purpse in writing it By the time Jhn s Gspel was written, the church had cme t recgnize that Gd s timetable fr Christ s return was much lnger than first anticipated All but ne f the apstles had died, and secnd and third generatins f fllwers were nw leading the church The church was being embraced by Gentiles, even as its early Jewish cnstituencies were dwindling rapidly All this made clear that the prmise f a cming Kingdm needed t be understd with a new appreciatin and patience Certainly, it remains fr a true, physical kingdm t arrive n earth, with Christ as the King reigning frm Jerusalem But by the time Jhn wrte, few still expected that the arrival f that kingdm was right arund the crner After all, the earth had waited thusands f years fr Gd t reveal Himself in Christ the first time S it might take thusands f years mre fr His return Therefre, unlike the ther gspel writers, Jhn apprached his Gspel with the purpse f strengthening the church fr the lng perid that lay ahead 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 1A 2 f 18 Jhn was Jewish but wrte fr an increasingly Gentile church by taking time t explain Jewish wrds and custms and gegraphy In recgnitin that the Secnd Cming wuld nt be sn, he emphasizes the present-day reality f Christ s Kingdm and His ever-present authrity in the lives f believers He wanted believers t abide in Christ, t depend n His wrd Because f his unique fcus n living in the light f Christ (and because his Gspel came last), Jhn chse t skip ver many imprtant mments in Jesus ministry His mits Jesus genealgy, birth, baptism f Jhn, His temptatin in the desert, exrcising demns, n parables, the transfiguratin, the Lrd s Supper, the time in Gethsemane, and His ascensin And in their place, he reveals Christ thrugh extended discurses between Jesus and a variety f actrs A Pharisee A wman f ill repute A blind man, a lame man A crwd seeking t be fed His earthly brthers And f curse, His varius disciples These cnversatins are ften cmical, resembled tw ships passing in the night Jesus will speak in spiritual terms f birth, water, bread, blindness, and s n While his audience usually remains cnfused, bund by an earthly perspective He frequently emplys the verb, belief (pisteu), which appears 98 times in the Gspel But he never uses the nun, faith (pistis) 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 1A 3 f 18 In ther wrds, Jhn emphasizes the necessity f knwing Christ thrugh an active, cntinual trust in the Lrd, rather than simply resting n ur mment f cnfessin The cntent f Jhn s gspel suggests he selected a prtfli f Jesus best wrk, carefully selected t illustrate bth Jesus deity and humanity T demnstrate Jesus deity, Jhn related seven f Jesus miracles After each f these miracles, Jhn captured a lengthy discurse in which Jesus explains the spiritual significance f His wrk Thrugh these mments we cme t knw ur Lrd as a cmpassinate Shepherd Wh cares fr His peple And Wh has the pwer t sustain them in the present age as we await His return T remind us f His humanity, Jhn selected ther mments when Jesus reacted t life just as we might have Submitting t his mther s authrity Weeping at the death f a friend Raging at crrupt and evil men in the Temple Expressing disappintment at the pr chices f His disciples Jhn s Gspel is als knwn fr its seven statements f I am Jesus said I am the bread, the light, the dr, the gd shepherd, the resurrectin, the vine and the way, the truth and the life The phrase I am evkes the name f Gd prvided t Mses frm the burning bush Reminding us that while Gd has revealed Himself in many prtin and many ways thrugh Mses and ther prphets, in these last days He has spken thrugh His Sn As Thmas Cnstable said, the knwledge f wh Jesus really is, is the key t the knwledge f wh Gd really is And s Jhn wrte His Gspel t reveal Jesus as the light Wh came int the wrld cnquers the darkness 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 1A 4 f 18 He s the Prvider, the Life Giver, the Gd Shepherd He s the One Wh receives all that Father sends and lses nt a ne Even the start f Jhn s Gspel is whlly unique and reflective f his purpses Jhn begins by affirming Jesus rle in the beginning f all Creatin Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Wrd, and the Wrd was with Gd, and the Wrd was Gd. Jhn 1:2 He was in the beginning with Gd. Jhn 1:3 All things came int being thrugh Him, and apart frm Him nthing came int being that has cme int being. Jhn 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light f men. Jhn 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did nt cmprehend it. It desn t take a seminary prfessr t ntice that the pening wrds f Jhn s accunt are familiar In fact, if yu were t recite the wrds In the beginning... t a Bible student and asked him t cmplete the sentence, yu wuld be equally likely t hear them finish with Genesis 1:1 as with Jhn 1:1 The first five verses f Genesis and Jhn are strikingly similar And f curse, this is n accident Genesis begins this way Gen. 1:1 In the beginning Gd created the heavens and the earth. Gen. 1:2 The earth was frmless and vid, and darkness was ver the surface f the deep, and the Spirit f Gd was mving ver the surface f the waters. Gen. 1:3 Then Gd said, Let there be light ; and there was light. Gen. 1:4 Gd saw that the light was gd; and Gd separated the light frm the darkness. Gen. 1:5 Gd called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was mrning, ne day. Like Genesis, Jhn begins with a statement f the beginning f Creatin and with light and darkness Jhn brrws frm the wrds f Genesis s that we might pnder the cnnectin...and pnder we will 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 1A 5 f 18 Wh is this Gd Wh created all things? The Gd with the pwer t create merely by speaking Creatin int existence A Gd Wh made light by His wrd And separated light frm darkness by that same wrd Jhn writes t answer that questin That Gd was Jesus Christ The member f the Gdhead Wh acted t bring abut Creatin was the Sn And since He spke the Creatin int existence, Jhn calls Jesus the Wrd And t be sure we understd that Christ is the One and nly Creatr, Jhn adds verse 3 Paul eches this truth in Clssians, which was written decades earlier Cl. 1:15 He is the image f the invisible Gd, the firstbrn f all creatin. Cl. 1:16 Fr by Him all things were created, bth in the heavens and n earth, visible and invisible, whether thrnes r dminins r rulers r authrities all things have been created thrugh Him and fr Him. S Jhn cined the name The Wrd as a succinct way t explain that Creatin f Genesis 1 was the wrk f Christ But then Jhn als pints ut that there is Gd and there is the Wrd, and they distinct And yet they were tgether in the beginning By definitin, if tw entities are bth present befre the start f all Creatin, then neither created the ther S bth are Gd Perhaps Jhn was seeking t clarify Genesis 1:26, where Gd declares, Let Us make man in Our image Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 1A 6 f 18 The references t Gd in the riginal Hebrew are written in the plural, smething that has perplexed Jewish schlars fr millennia Nw we see that the plural tense was always intended t reflect the Trinity f the Gdhead Irnically, Jhn is embarking n explaining hw Gd made His Sn in the image f man, s t speak We culd talk all night n the mystery f the Trinity But even after hurs f talking, we prbably wuldn t understand it any better than we d right nw Simply put, ur Gd is One Gd in Three Persns Cntinuing with the Creatin stry, Jhn gives Christ yet anther name: Light Specifically, Jhn says in Jesus is life and He is Light f the wrld Jhn is establishing a chain f lgic as he mves thrugh his pening (r prlgue as sme call it) Lgically, if Jesus is the Creatr and Gd, then He is als the surce f all Life, since Gd is the Life-giver S since Christ is the Creatr, in Him is life fr men But Christ gives men life in tw ways, which is a central theme in Jhn s Gspel, which he intrduces here As Creatr, He brings physical life, But Christ is als the surce f spiritual, eternal life That s what Jhn means when he says the life in Jesus is the Light f men Once again, Jhn is brrwing frm the first day f Creatin Christ created light and darkness n the first day f creatin This design is very different than the ne Gd fllws fr the New Heavens and Earth we all will ccupy ne day In that new wrld, we will knw nly light...there is n darkness accrding t Rev 22: Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 1A 7 f 18 S if the new, perfect wrld will have n darkness, why did Gd include darkness in His plan fr ur current wrld? Jhn alludes t the answer when he draws this assciatin between light and spiritual life Gd uses light as a metaphr in scripture fr truth, righteusness and the eternal life that results frm the righteusness, which we receive in Christ While dark is a metaphr fr the ppsite, that is sin and the death it prduces In ur present wrld, we can experience bth the righteusness f Gd and the darkness f man s sinful heart S Gd has built ur present wrld with Light and dark t serve as cnvenient metaphrs fr the cncepts f righteusness and sin Then in the wrld t cme, we will n lnger knw n sin r death And therefre, He n lnger needs t have darkness as a metaphr in the Creatin In that sense, Jhn is saying Jesus is the slutin t the prblem f darkness Nt nly des He bring life t ur physical bdies, as ur Creatr, but Jesus is als the Wrd, the surce f Truth And by the revelatin f Christ, cme t understand He als brings eternal life t ur suls by His righteusness He is the Light and the eternal life f the wrld The questin becmes will the darkness embrace the light f Christ? Jhn answers in v.5 that Jesus brught His light int the wrld, but He was nt understd by the darkness Jhn neatly summarizes Jesus entire earthly ministry in that ne verse Jesus is revealing Himself t the wrld, but the wrld rejected Him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 1A 8 f 18 Nte that the first half f the verse is written in the present tense, while the secnd half is in the past tense The revelatin f Gd in Christ is frever available, and therefre it shines withut end The revelatin was nt limited simply t the perid f Jesus first visit t earth, but is everlasting The secnd half f the verse refers t the respnse Jesus received frm Israel in His first cming They rejected Him as Messiah S the unbelieving hearts f men did nt cmprehend the message f the Gspel in Christ This is anther majr theme in Jhn s Gspel: explaining the rejectin f Christ Jhn nw begins t explain the cmpleteness f that rejectin Jhn 1:6 There came a man sent frm Gd, whse name was Jhn. Jhn 1:7 He came as a witness, t testify abut the Light, s that all might believe thrugh him. Jhn 1:8 He was nt the Light, but he came t testify abut the Light. It might be easy t dismiss the Jews rejectin f their Messiah as merely misunderstanding r perhaps a case f mistaken identity But Jhn wants t make clear that the rejectin was spiritual and supernatural He begins with a simple bservatin n the ministry f Jhn the Baptist Jhn was sent frm Gd, which means Jhn was a prphet We ften say Jhn the Baptist was the last Old Testament prphet, in the sense that he was called int ministry befre the Messiah was revealed Jhn is the ne fretld in Isaiah 40, a man wh wuld cme frm the wilderness prclaiming the Messiah s arrival Ntice that Jhn says Jhn the Baptist was a witness, sent t testify abut the Light 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 1A 9 f 18 Jhn s ministry was essentially t prepare an audience within Israel t be anticipating the Messiah s arrival Nt merely t expect Him ne day but t expect Him imminently As Isaiah said, Jhn was preparing a way fr Christ by stirring up an interest within Israel Thse wh believed in the prmised Messiah fllwed Jhn int the desert and received his baptism as a sign f repentance in anticipatin f the Messiah s arrival Then when Jesus finally appeared, Jhn had prepared a audience f disciples wh readily fllwed Jesus frm the very first pint in His ministry As Jesus came t Jhn fr His wn baptism, He was annuncing t Jhn s disciples that He was the Messiah Jhn had fretld And at that mment, Jhn directed his disciples t begin fllwing the Lrd in his place Ntice in v.8 Jhn clarifies that Jhn the Baptist was nt the Messiah himself But he was a prphet wh annunced the cming Messiah Jhn has mre t say abut Jhn the Baptist, but fr nw he returns t his theme f Christ as Gd and Creatr as he paints a cntrast between the tw men Jhn 1:9 There was the true Light which, cming int the wrld, enlightens every man. Jhn 1:10 He was in the wrld, and the wrld was made thrugh Him, and the wrld did nt knw Him. Jhn 1:11 He came t His wn, and thse wh were His wn did nt receive Him. Jhn 1:12 But as many as received Him, t them He gave the right t becme children f Gd, even t thse wh believe in His name, Jhn 1:13 wh were brn, nt f bld nr f the will f the flesh nr f the will f man, but f Gd. As we seek t understand what Jhn is teaching, we need t keep in mind that Jhn wrte knwing that the ther three Gspels were available t his readers And in thse Gspels, Jhn the Baptist had been well chrnicled 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn 1A 10 f 18 But fr sme, there was a lingering questin f Jhn s rle and imprtance Even in Jesus day, men questined Jhn s identity, t which Jhn denied he was the Christ And sme were still sme claiming t be disciples f Jhn the Baptist in the day Jhn wrte this Gspel There is still a sect, which is hstile t Christianity, living in present day Iraq that claims t be ancestral fllwers f Jhn the Baptist S Jhn takes pains t distinguish Jhn s imprtance and purpse frm Jesus Christ s While Jhn the Baptist was nt the Light, Jhn says there was a true Light that entered the wrld And that Light came t His wn, that being the Jewish peple The very peple Jhn the Baptist had been attempting t prepare And still they did nt receive Jesus as the Christ The Jewish rejectin f Christ is all the mre astunding when we cnsider Jhn s pening theme f Creatin Jesus is the surce f spiritual truth fr all men And He is als the One Wh made the wrld And then, in the mystery f the incarnatin, He became a part f that very wrld He Himself made! Nevertheless, the Creatr, Wh cndescended t enter int His wn creatin, was then rejected by that same creatin Cnsider the humility f a Gd Wh wuld rchestrate the circumstances by which He wuld suffer humiliatin at the hands f the very peple He spke int existence and granted life The wrd wrld (ksms) is ften used in a negative sense in Jhn s Gspel 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn 1A 11 f 18 At the end f v.10 we see that emphasis as he uses wrlds as a euphemism fr all unbelievers living in the darkness f their sinful nature In that fallen state, the darkness f men s hearts leave them incapable f understanding truth, f seeing the light Imagine beams f sunlight falling upn a blind persn Despite the brightness f that light, the persn will remain in darkness fr as lng as they are blind Smene must first give them eyes t see befre they can Paul taught smething very similar in an earlier day 2Cr. 4:3 And even if ur gspel is veiled, it is veiled t thse wh are perishing, 2Cr. 4:4 in whse case the gd f this wrld has blinded the minds f the unbelieving s that they might nt see the light f the gspel f the glry f Christ, wh is the image f Gd. This is anther theme f Jhn s Gspel we ll see repeated many times Men are by nature set against Christ by their spiritual blindness And nly thse the Lrd draws t Christ will see the light and cme t knw the truth As Jhn says in v.12, all was nt lst in Gd s plan, fr sme received Him And all that received Him were granted the right t becme adpted children f Gd Thse wh believe in His name, in ther wrds, are thse wh receive Him This is the first f many expressins f the Gspel itself That t believe in the name f Christ brings eternal life Hw did these few find the eyes t see the Light and believe in His name? In v.13 Jhn answers the questin, and in the prcess he intrduces yet anther f his themes 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn 1A 12 f 18 Jhn says they were brn r as he will clarify in chapter, they were brn again And that new birth was nt f bld, meaning f natural birth r ancestry Nr was it accrding t the will f the flesh, meaning it des nt cme because we earned it by ur wrks Nr did it cme by the will f man, meaning we didn t make a chice f ur wn will t pen ur eyes and see the Light Our new birth cmes exclusively by the will f Gd wh grants t us the knwledge f Christ Finally, Jhn ends his prlgue intrducing his final theme, that the fullness f the Father dwells in the Sn Jhn 1:14 And the Wrd became flesh, and dwelt amng us, and we saw His glry, glry as f the nly begtten frm the Father, full f grace and truth. Jhn 1:15 Jhn testified abut Him and cried ut, saying, This was He f whm I said, He wh cmes after me has a higher rank than I, fr He existed befre me. Jhn 1:16 Fr f His fullness we have all received, and grace upn grace. Jhn 1:17 Fr the Law was given thrugh Mses; grace and truth were realized thrugh Jesus Christ. Jhn 1:18 N ne has seen Gd at any time; the nly begtten Gd wh is in the bsm f the Father, He has explained Him. The incarnatin f Christ is anther majr theme f Jhn s Gspel Jesus didn t just becme a man nr did he merely take n a bdy Such statements leave rm fr smene t say Gd came upn a man r merely tk the frm f man Truly, the Lrd became flesh The thught that the Eternal Creatr Gd culd ccupy a living bdy is a cncept that has captivated human cnsciusness Even the unbelieving wrld is fascinated with the idea f Gd incarnate, thugh they distrt it in ignrance The Greeks and Rmans had mythlgy Hllywd has cuntless messianic deliverers 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn 1A 13 f 18 Even cmic bk writers and sprts teams lve t brrw frm the incarnatin t create demigds But nly nce did the true Gd take n flesh and dwell amng men The wrd fr dwell in Greek is similar t the wrd fr tabernacle, reminding us that Gd nce dwelled amng the Israelites in the tabernacle But that tabernacling was incmplete and temprary When Christ tk n flesh, He dwelt in a fullness never befre seen A man r wman culd lk upn the man Jesus, and he r she was seeing the fullness f Gd the Father N ne has ever seen the Father He is Spirit and nt visible t the Creatin Therefre, the Sn has explained the Father, nt nly in wrds, but in His physical incarnatin and life example Explained in Greek is exegesat, frm which we get exegete r exegesis, which means t interpret scripture S we can Jesus explained r interpreted the Father t men Under the Law virtually n ne ever witnessed the glry f Gd resting n the mercy seat in the Hly f Hlies Under thse circumstances, hw much culd any man truly knw f the Father? Even the patriarchs and the prphets nly received glimpses f Gd in what was revealed As Hebrews summarizes: Heb. 1:1 Gd, after He spke lng ag t the fathers in the prphets in many prtins and in many ways, Heb. 1:2 in these last days has spken t us in His Sn, whm He appinted heir f all things, thrugh whm als He made the wrld Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn 1A 14 f 18 Ntice the writer als cmbines the cncepts f Jesus prviding a full revelatin f Gd t a wrld He created That s Jhn s pint in raising the issue f the Law and Mses There was a degree f revelatin and light and truth and dwelling experienced in past generatins under a lessr cvenant and deliverer But nw the greater things have arrived in fulfillment f Gd s prmises Law has given way t grace and truth Just as Jhn will recrd Jesus saying later that men must nw wrship in light f that grace and truth Jhn the Baptist was playing the part f anther Old Testament prphet as he t testified t Christ He was the final man t prvide a partial revelatin f Gd And his purpse was t reveal wh wuld be the Messiah His revelatin tld men that the fullness f Gd was t be fund in Christ Jhn s rle was nt t cmpete r cmpliment Jesus, since he himself declared that Jesus existed befre Jhn Yet we remember accrding t Luke that Jhn was brn six mnths befre Jesus Jhn knew that Jesus was n mere cusin, but Gd incarnate Jesus was the cmplete and final expressin f Gd the Father t His Creatin He is the begtten Gd (later t be called the begtten sn) This Jhn s unique descriptin f the Sn Begtten (mngenus) The wrd means the nly ne t cme frth It desn t suggest birth r creatin It speaks t a unique manifestatin sent ut 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn 1A 15 f 18 And befre He was sent ut, Christ was in the Father s bsm, anther uniquely Jewish idim It describes an intimate and clse relatinship Such were the Father and Sn befre Christ became flesh In fact, Jhn tk t describing himself as reclining in the bsm f Christ later in the Gspel, reflecting his wn intimate relatinship with Jesus Jhn has pened the Gspel presenting Christ as the Creatr, eternal and ne with the Father in the beginning, the Light, the Truth, the fullness f Gd and yet flesh living amng men These themes will reverberate thrughut Jhn s 21 chapters Finally, Jhn cncludes his prlgue and intrduces Jesus public ministry by explaining the cmpletin f Jhn the Baptist s ministry Jhn 1:19 This is the testimny f Jhn, when the Jews sent t him priests and Levites frm Jerusalem t ask him, Wh are yu? Jhn 1:20 And he cnfessed and did nt deny, but cnfessed, I am nt the Christ. Jhn 1:21 They asked him, What then? Are yu Elijah? And he said, I am nt. Are yu the Prphet? And he answered, N. Jhn 1:22 Then they said t him, Wh are yu, s that we may give an answer t thse wh sent us? What d yu say abut yurself? Jhn 1:23 He said, I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD, as Isaiah the prphet said. Jhn 1:24 Nw they had been sent frm the Pharisees. Jhn 1:25 They asked him, and said t him, Why then are yu baptizing, if yu are nt the Christ, nr Elijah, nr the Prphet? Jhn 1:26 Jhn answered them saying, I baptize in water, but amng yu stands One whm yu d nt knw. Jhn 1:27 It is He wh cmes after me, the thng f whse sandal I am nt wrthy t untie. Jhn 1:28 These things tk place in Bethany beynd the Jrdan, where Jhn was baptizing. This encunter begins what appears t be a single week f events that Jhn recrds up thrugh the wedding in Cana in chapter 2 It s a week fr the changing f the guard 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn 1A 16 f 18 Jhn the Baptist is leaving the scene while Jesus is entering Jhn s disciples are leaving t jin Jesus And Jesus is n the brink f revealing Himself in public ministry thrugh miracles and teaching authrity Jhn begins by relating a mment tward the end f Jhn the Baptist ministry, when he was cnfrnted by men sent frm the Pharisees They were questining him ver his authrity and identity Jhn answers each questin withut hesitatin He denied he was the Christ He als denied being Elijah and the prphet Each f these questins has its rt in Jewish understanding f OT prphecies The OT tells Israel t expect a cnquering, reigning Messiah, r Christ, wh will rule the wrld with a rd f irn But it als tells Israel that a great prphet will cme and suffer n behalf f the sins f Israel In additin, Malachi says that the prphet Elijah will return befre the great and terrible day f the Lrd The Pharisees were the religius authrities f Israel, and they had cme t see the Christ and the prphet as different peple They had n understanding fr hw a cnquering King and a suffering Prphet culd bth be the same Messiah S they cncluded there must be tw Messiahs But f curse we knw it wasn t t be tw Messiahs but rather ne Messiah with tw cmings In the first cming, the Messiah will serve as a prphet and as the Lamb f Gd, suffering fr the sins f the wrld In the Secnd Cming, Christ will return t rule ver His Kingdm And in befre each f these arrivals, a frerunner will cme t annunce the event 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn 1A 17 f 18 Befre the Secnd Cming, the Bible says that Elijah will return t prepare Israel fr their Lrd s return Malachi gives us that wrd But befre the Messiah s first cming, a different frerunner came, Jhn the Baptist Isaiah said that a frerunner wuld cme t make path straight in the wilderness befre the Sn s arrival That was Jhn the Baptist S when the priests and ther Levites came t inquiry f Jhn, they guessed three f the fur pssibilities, but they verlked the ne crrect answer Jhn was the prphet Isaiah said wuld cme befre the Messiah Jhn qutes frm Isaiah 40 t explain his identity The Pharisees wuld have undubtedly recgnized the qute S they understd that Jhn was calling himself a fulfillment f Isaiah s prphecy And that meant he was annuncing the arrival f the Messiah Since the Pharisees didn t see Jhn in the right way, they culdn t see Jesus either S when they ask Jhn t explain himself, he fcused nt n himself, but n his purpse: t annunce Christ He says thugh he baptized in water, the real baptism had cme Jesus brings a baptism far greater than the water baptism Jhn perfrmed Water has n spiritual prperties It is merely an earthly substance intended t picture smething spiritual The water baptism Jhn perfrmed pictured the baptism f the Spirit That s the baptism Jesus brings t thse wh believe in His name 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn 1A 18 f 18 Then Jhn bldly declared that these men did nt knw this Messiah Because they were nt willing t submit t the baptism f Jhn, then they were demnstrating that their hearts were nt prepared fr the Messiah The crked rads that Jhn prepared fr the Messiah s arrival were nt literal rads They were metaphrs fr crked, sinful hearts As Jhn declared his call fr repentance in preparatin fr the Messiah s arrival, sme men respnded while thers didn t A persn wh challenged Jhn s authrity r refused t submit t His baptism were revealing that their hearts were nt prepared They remained crked They were nt ging t fllw the Messiah when He appeared S Jhn rightly said these men did nt knw the Messiah Yet that Messiah was s great that Jhn was nt even wrthy t untie his sandals D we all knw Jesus in this way? Are we aware f His deity and authrity? Were ur hearts prepared t see His Light and hear His truth? Are we still crked in ur sin r have we humbled urselves and sught the salvatin that nly cmes thrugh Jesus? If nt, yu re cme t the right study 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.