John 1: 19-34 John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus 1998 1
Exegesis (What does the text say to its original readership?) Who was John the Baptist? Caravaggio c1604 Luke 1:20 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. Mark 1:4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. El Greco c 1600 Mark 1:6 John wore clothing made of camel s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 2
egkris cakes or bread made from the flour of the carob bean akris the insect Leviticus 11:21-22 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. Luke 3:7-9 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The axis already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Jesus birth ca 4 BC 5 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 BC AD 0 Jesus death 33 AD Luke ca 70 AD Mark and Matthew ca 68 AD Timeline of the life of Christ and the writing of the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John John ca 90 AD John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah 19 Now this was John s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ioudiaioi Judeans Levites Priests 3
20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, I am not the Messiah. Who is the Messiah? משיח The Messiah = the Christ Χριστός(christos) (see v 42) χρίω to rub (with oil), anoint 1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul s head and kissed him, saying, Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance? 1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. 21 They asked him, Then who are you? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Why Elijah? Malachi 4:5 promises it 5 See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 4
Cf Matthew 17:12,13 (Jesus talking to his disciples) 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. Joseph Smith s Inspired Version of the Bible 20 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem, to ask him; Who art thou? 21 And he confessed, and denied not that he was Elias; but confessed, saying; I am not the Christ. 22 And they asked him, saying; How then art thou Elias? And he said, I am not that Elias who was to restore all things. And they asked him saying, Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Do Adventists have their own edition of the Bible called the Clear Word? While the Clear Word Bible is printed by an Adventist publishing house, it is not endorsed nor commissioned by the SDA Church, but is the private enterprise of an individual. The Adventist Church does not use the Clear Word edition, which includes passages from Ellen G. White s writings, for its worship services and Bible studies around the world, but quotes from well known and well accepted Bible translations for example, the church uses the KJV, the RSV, the NAB, the NIV, and others. Quoted from South Pacific Division website 14 Misconceptions about SDAs. 5
How can we answer the apparent contradiction between the gospel of John and the gospel of Matthew? Many expected Elijah to come to earth in the same way he left Others expected Elijah to be the final messenger ielike a Messiah Did John think he himself was Elijah? Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. Deuteronomy 18:15 (Moses) 15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. The Samaritans looked to a prophet (ch4) 22 Finally they said, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, Make straight the way for the Lord. Make straight the way for the Lord. Isaiah 40 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. 6
What was the original context of the Isaiah passage? It was a prophecy of the return from exile from Babylon back to Jerusalem It was made about 750 years before Christ 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, Who are the pharisees? I see the groups surrounding him like competing television networks in a media scrum. Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? They are interested in Ritual cleansing. Cleansing was performed by an individual. Proselyte baptism occurred but again the individual would bathe himself/herself Why did a Jew need to be baptised? The question does not imply the M/E/P would baptise. It merely states that John the Baptist has set himself up as someone very special if he thinks Jews need baptising and by him. Mikvehfrom Herodion ca 69AD Mikvehat the American Jewish University in LA 26 I baptize with water, John replied, but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. A disciple of a Rabbi was to do every menailtask for the Rabbi. Just like a slave EXCEPT to take of his shoes. 7
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Transjordan vs Cisjordan Jesus is baptised..beginning of his ministry is in Bethany Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in Bethany..hislast major sign (out of the seven major signs in John s gospel). 8
Was John an Essene? Essenes (faction in addition to Phariseeesand Sadduccees Were responsible for the keeping and copying the Torah hence the dead sea scroll from Qumran found in 1946 and dating back to 300 BC found by a bedouinshepherd boy. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. Come toward..become a disciple 9
31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. John did not know him? 32 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. Dove end of the flood the spirit of God hovered above the waters at creation Key word is: remain Cf Gideon, Samson 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Key word is: remain Spirit baptism? 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God s Chosen One. The son of God Some patterns in the Bible Samuel the prophet(born of a barren mother) anoints David King John the Baptist(born of a barren mother Elizabeth) anoints (baptises) Jesus. John the Baptist rejects titles 3 times Jesus temptation in the desert 3 times (Luke 4) Jesus is: 1) the lamb of God 2) The one who baptises with the HS 3) God s Chosen One Hermeneutics (How can I apply the message of the Bible to my life today?) Who are you? what do you say about yourself? Are you a voice crying out in the wilderness? Are you a voice crying out in the wilderness? make straight the way for the Lord. Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness and the coming of God s kingdom? 10
Welcome God s Kingdom The already not yet aspect of God s kingdom God s Kingdom Now How can we bring it on? We can be unselfish. Politics is divided between the greedy and the envious Michale Yardley - Yahoo Finance We are the 99% Top 1% in Australia have assets of $11.4m Top 20% in the world earn $5,000 pa Top 10% in the world earn $12,000 pa Top 0.1% in the world earn $70,000 pa 2.8 billion people (nearly half the world s population earn less than $2 per day) Jesus brought good news for the poor do we? 11