JOHN IDENTIFIES THE CHRIST—JOHN 1:15-34–LESSON 3
Introduction:
In this lesson John identifies the Messiah to the religious Jews and to his own disciples as well. John says who he really is and who Jesus really is as well. He makes it very plain that he (John) is not the Christ using a double negative in the Greek text.
He identifies Jesus as the Christ. He is the One who has the power, not to baptize with mere water, but with the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, he points his disciple to their Messiah.
I. JOHN THE BAPTIST IDENTIFIES HIMSELF
A. “I am not the Christ,” John 1:20, “And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.”
B. “Who art thou?” “I am a voice,” v. 23, “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”
C. Why do you baptize? v. 25, “And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?”
1. I baptize with water, v. 26, “John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;”
2. They were told that the Messiah was among them at that time.
a. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit, Matthew 3:11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
b. The Jews, v. 24, “And they which were sent were of the Pharisees,” did not know the Messiah (they were not believers). John said as much, “whom ye know not.”
II. JOHN IDENTIFIES THE CHRIST
A. “Behold the Lamb of God,” John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
1. The religious crowd standing around John as he identified the Christ.
a. They understood John’s expression.
1) The lamb referred to the Passover lamb.
2) That lamb spoke of redemption.
b. They looked to see who it was of whom he spoke.
2. Jesus was coming toward the crowd, v. 30, “This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.”
a. I did not know Him, v. 31,
b. The Lord revealed who He was, vs. 32-34
B. “That taketh away the sin of the world.”
1. “Taketh away” – Greek, = to bear away what has been raised, carry off; to remove, Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
2. “The sin of the world,” Greek = to miss the mark; to err; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong. Romans 3:10-12, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11-There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12-They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
III. JOHN POINTS HIS DISCIPLES TO JESUS
John 1:35-36, “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36-And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”
A. John identifies Jesus as the Christ this time to his disciples.
1. The Lamb of God. That expression identified the Messiah to the disciples. Where is the lamb for the burnt offering, Genesis 22:7, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
a. The Passover lamb, Exodus 12:3, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:”
b. The sacrificial lamb points to Christ, Isaiah 53:3-5, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4-Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5-But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
2. John’s ministry was to preach the coming of the Messiah, Luke 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
a. In the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah). Elijah was a very colorful prophet in the Old Testament who spoke with all the authority that God gave him.
b. John was to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. He preached and won those folks to faith in Jesus Christ as we do today.
B. Now he has introduced the disciples to Jesus their Messiah.
CONCLUSION:
John identifies Jesus as the Messiah to the unbelieving religious Jews and to his own disciples as well. He points his disciples and instructs them to follow Jesus Christ as John’s ministry began to terminate.
LESSON 4 TO FOLLOW: