“Who Are You?”
[John 1:19-28]
February 1, 2015 (January 18, 2015) Second Reformed
Church
Jesus is the Incarnate Son of God –
the Promised One Way of Salvation – the Revealing of God in the flesh to all
who believe in Him.
We turn to look at the forerunner of
Jesus this morning – His cousin, John the Baptist.
“And this is the testimony of John,”
We will remember that John the
Baptist was the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the high priest. Elizabeth and Zechariah were older people, and
Elizabeth was known to be barren – she did not have any children and she could
not bear children. But God sent the
angel, Gabriel, to announce that God was going to open the womb of Elizabeth
for a special purpose.
“And there appeared to [Zechariah]
an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And
Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel
said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and
your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And
you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will
be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he
will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will
turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go
before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready
for the Lord a people prepared’” (Luke 1:11-17, ESV).
God opened the womb of Elizabeth,
and she bore John the Baptist. And God
said through Gabriel, that John the Baptist would be an important person who
would bring joy. He would be indwelt by
God the Holy Spirit, even while he was in the womb – we will remember that when
Mary went to visit Elizabeth, John jumped for joy in the womb since he was in
the presence of the Savior, Who was in Mary’s womb. John would minister in the “spirit and power
of Elijah” – fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi – that Elijah would return
before the Day of the Lord – and John would turn the people back to God and
prepare them for the coming of God the Savior.
John was around thirty at the time
of our text, and he was baptizing Jews who were repentant of their sins. Although there were washing ceremonies in Judaism,
it was understood that only Gentiles – non-Jews – needed to be baptized as part
of their conversion to Judaism. Jews had
Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – when the goats were sacrificed for the sins
of Israel.
John’s baptism was attracting hordes
of Jews, and word got back to the Pharisees who wanted an explanation as to why
he was baptizing Jews and as to where his authority was from. The only explanation they could think of –
which was almost right – was that he was someone from the past who had been
resurrected, or that he was the Christ – the Promised Savior, or that he was
entering the Levitical priesthood of his father, Zechariah.
And so they sent a large delegation
of priests and Levites to interrogate him.
We see, first, this morning, that
the delegation came with impure motives.
“when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’”
If the Pharisees wanted to know who
John was and by what authority he was baptizing Jews, they could have sent a
single person – or two or three – to interview him and report back – but they
didn’t: they sent a large delegation,
from which we can infer that they did not believe that John was acting with proper
authority. He was taking people away
from the Temple and the work of the Pharisees, Levites, and priests. They came – not merely for an explanation –
but to shut him down.
This understanding is supported by
the way that John reacted to their coming to the Jordan at all. Matthew records:
“But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping
with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as
our father,” for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children
for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree
therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“’I baptize you with water for
repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am
not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather
his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire’” (Matthew
3:7-12, ESV).
When John saw them, he was angry,
and he exposed their impious motives in coming to him. He warned them that they were teetering on
divine condemnation and warned them of the work of the Savior.
Still, they proceeded in asking him
who he was – with the underlying question of, “Who gave you the authority to
baptize Jews?”
Second, the delegation came with
wrong expectations. They had in mind a
very few possible reasons why what he was doing would be acceptable – they only
missed the right one.
“He
confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’”
The
delegation came to see a man of power, who was dressed in camel’s hair and ate
locusts and honey. He looked and acted
like a prophet, but there hadn’t been a prophet in Israel for over four hundred
years. Their conclusion was that he must
be the Christ – the Savior God promised to send.
But
John denied that immediately and strongly.
We
remember that in ancient Hebrew, they didn’t use words like “very” for
emphasis, but repeated what they were saying to emphasize the point, and so
John said, “No, absolutely not, I am not the Christ.”
“And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you
Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’”
They
knew that the prophet Malachi had prophesied the return of Elijah before the
coming of the Savior, but they thought this meant that he would rise from the
dead. That is why they asked him if he
was Elijah – if he was the resurrected prophet.
And again, John said, “no.”
“’Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’”
It’s
not clear whether they had a specific prophet in mind, but they were again
asking if he was some other prophet resurrected from the dead. And again, John said, “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?’”
They
were obviously aggravated by this point.
So they put it to him, “Who are you?
We have people to answer to, laws to uphold, and duties to perform. Tell us who you are and by what authority you
are baptizing, so we can tell those who sent us and decide how to deal with
you.”
“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.’”
“I am the voice of preparation that
the prophet, Isaiah, prophesied would come.”
Now, today, if we heard that, we
might think that was an unfair answer – it doesn’t really say much, does
it? However, these were the experts in
the Law of God – they knew God’s Word forwards and backwards, and they should
have understood what he was saying.
The prophet Isaiah was addressing
the exiles in Babylon when he wrote:
“Comfort, comfort my people, says
your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and
cry to her that her warfare is ended, that
her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for
all her sins.
“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’” (Isaiah
40:1-5, ESV).
Isaiah was relaying God’s hope to
the people in exile – that the exile was going to end, and that God was sending
“the voice” – who was John the Baptist – to call the people to repentance of
their sin in preparation for the coming Savior Who would reveal God to them.
Jesus later confirmed that this is
who John the Baptist was:
“As they went away, Jesus began to
speak to the crowds concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness
to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man
dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings'
houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more
than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
“’”Behold, I send my messenger
before your face, who will prepare your way before you.”
“Truly, I say to you, among those
born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the
one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the
violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until
John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who
has ears to hear, let him hear’” (Matthew 11:7-15, ESV).
The delegation should have
understood that John was authorized by God to do what he was doing as the one
God prophesied would come to prepare the people for the coming of the Savior –
Jesus. But they were blinded.
Third, the delegation had a wrong
understanding of sin and baptism.
“(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?’”
They didn’t understand the
seriousness of sin. They didn’t
understand that Yom Kippur was not enough to make the people sinless, much less
holy. They were forgiven in the moment,
but they still bore their sin nature, and within a moment, they sinned again,
and they were back under the condemnation of God.
They thought they could be saved by
their works. They thought if they kept
the Law meticulously – and they did – it would be enough to be eternally
forgiven, but it is not – for any sin is too much sin to be received by the
Holy God. God cannot stand any sin in
His Presence, but banishes it from Him eternally in the end.
They knew they were better than most
people, and they thought that was good enough.
Many people feel that way today – but to say that is either to not
understand the depths of the evil of sin or to not understand the heights of
the Holiness of God – or both.
They thought baptism was a ritual to
bring the Gentiles – the non-Jews – into Judaism – but, as John the Baptist
shows and we understand from the whole of the Scripture – baptism exposes us as
sinners and symbolically portrays the only way to become clean – to be forgiven
– to be right in God’s Sight.
How is baptism administered? Someone other than the one being baptism
pours water over the person seeking to be baptized. No one baptizes himself. This symbolizes that salvation can only come
by Someone Else making us clean – forgiving us – making us right in the Eyes of
God. Baptism does not save a person; it
shows that a person must be saved by Someone Else.
In theological language, we would
say that John’s baptism mortifies – it shows the way that sin is to be put to
death – by Someone Other than the person being baptized.
They didn’t get it.
Fourth, the delegation had a wrong
understanding of the Savior.
“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.”
John explained that his baptism was
with water – it did not save anyone – but pointed to Someone Else Who would
make those who believe right with God.
John explained to them that there
was Someone in their midst – Someone they had seen – Someone they knew – Someone
they had seen in the market place and in the Temple – Someone they should have
noticed! – the One Who comes after John to take up the work of baptizing – but
He is greater than John – so much greater that he was not worthy to untie the
filthy strap of His sandals.
Remember – in those days, most
people walked on the dirt roads, and the animals walked on the dirt roads, so
people’s feet and sandals would have been covered with dirt and animal
refuse. And John said he was not worthy
– it would be too high an honor for him – to untie the filthy sandal of the One
Who comes after him.
Something similar today would be to
say that it would be too high an honor for you to clean someone’s toilet. Get it?
Earlier, we mentioned Matthew’s
account of this event, and John said of Jesus – the One coming after him, “He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In theological language, we would
say that Jesus’ baptism vivifies – Jesus’ baptism brings to life.
John’s baptism – which is one of the
Sacraments – is for all people who confess that they are sinners and unable to
make themselves right with God – and the Sacrament of Baptism is one of the
visible signs of the Gospel approved by our God and Savior which shows that they
only way to be right with God is for Someone Else to make a person right with
God.
Jesus’ baptism is received by all
those who believe in Him savingly – by all those who believe the Gospel. And His baptism has two parts – fire – it
purifies a person – removing their sin from them – Jesus takes our sin and its
punishment upon Himself, and the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit – Who leads
us in becoming holy – in growing and perfecting faith and obedience to God – as
Jesus’ perfect sinless and holy life is credited to us and we grow in it – to
be fully received on the final day.
Jesus’ baptism is a spiritual baptism
in which Jesus forgives our sins through His suffering and death, and credits
His Righteousness – His sinless and holy life to us – for He lived such a life
and gives us its credit as our Substitute before God.
The savior many of the Pharisees was
looking for was one like themselves – a scholar-king who would keep separate
from sinners and overthrow the Roman government, restoring the kingdom to
Israel.
But God’s plan was not that
small. God’s plan was to send His Son
for all those who would believe in Him – to conquer the world, the flesh, and
the devil to provide the Enteral Kingdom for all those who believe.
Why did you come to the worship
service this morning?
Did you come with impure
motivations?
What did you expect would happen?
Did you come for bells and whistles
and lightshows?
Do you understand that you are a
sinner and there is nothing you can do about it?
Did you think your baptism saved
you, so you can do whatever you want now?
What savior do you believe in?
Did you come thinking that Jesus
would make you healthy and wealthy?
Or did you come this morning to
acknowledge that you have been an unprofitable servant, and there is nothing
you can do to be made right with God?
Did you come to ask God for
forgiveness and to hear what He has to say in His Word, intending to receive it
by faith and obey that your joy in Jesus would be full?
Who do you think you are?
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for
sending John to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, our God and
Savior. We thank You for the Sacrament
of Baptism in which we confess our sins and acknowledge that there is nothing
we can do to save ourselves. We thank
You for sending Jesus that He would be the Substitute of all those who would
believe in Him and His Gospel that we would be forgiven for our sins, be made
right in Your Eyes, and grow in holiness under the guidance and by the Power of
God the Holy Spirit Who lives in us, until that final day when Jesus returns
and glorifies us and brings us into the Kingdom of Life and Light. Lord, help us not to lose sight of these
things, and lead on, O King Eternal. For
it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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