Grace and Truth

John 1:15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias the priest and Elizabeth, a cousin of Mary. He was a close relative of Jesus’ humanity and had been miraculously conceived in his parents’ old age (Luke chapter 1). He was, however, only human. John knew he was sent to be the forerunner of the Christ, and he took that appointment seriously. The phrase “cried out” indicates shouting—loud public speaking. John was a street preacher, warning Israel to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah. His was a message of provocation—provoking them to think about their own spiritual shortcomings and provoking them to anticipate their Savior’s arrival. He had their attention when he introduced Jesus as “He who ranks before me, because He was before me.” Jesus is more important than the messenger. Jesus is Eternal Life. He transcends time. John didn’t present his own credentials. He presented Jesus Christ!

1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

fullness – Greek pleroma – completion – the piece that filled up or made complete. Jesus is the complete truth of God.

grace – charis – benefit or favor. Living grace built upon saving grace. Saving grace was bestowed once, for all time. We who have received saving grace grow into the grace way of living day by day.

1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

Moses was a man, an instrument of God through whom the law was given to God’s people, Israel. Jesus, the giver and subject of that law brings with Him “grace” – the principle by which God blesses believers, and “truth” – the declaration of that principle. How can we know God’s standards without law? How can we lawbreakers live without God’s grace? How can we receive grace without hearing the truth? Jesus completed that process.

1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

God the Father – spirit – invisible….. God the Holy Spirit – spirit – invisible

God the Son – spirit and human – human body visible, audible, touchable. He declares the reality of God to us because we cannot see, hear or feel spirit. He is God and He is Man in one person forever.

1:19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 

The Baptist’s ministry was creating a stir among the population. He cast a striking figure and challenged the comfort of the religionists. Clearly, he must be a dangerous man. “Who, exactly, ARE you?” The Jews wanted to know. Throughout John’s gospel, as in the Acts of the Apostles, that phrase “The Jews” means the religious leaders of Israel. They ruled the people by religious oppression and by political intrigue. These are the people who dogged the steps of both Jesus and Paul throughout their ministries. They started by dogging John the Baptist. The question is a challenge: “who do you think you are?”

1:20-22 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?” 

John had no illusions about who he was. He was an instrument in the plan and purpose of God, as was Moses; as was Joshua (Joshua 3:7). The Jews were nervous about his preaching because of course, they didn’t understand it. They always had politics on their minds, and meant to protect their own authority at all costs. The truth of God the Son was the furthest thing from their thoughts. Religion is essentially a power structure, using God as a threat to keep the hoi polloi in line, while advancing the elite few and enriching themselves at the expense of those they can manipulate.

1:23 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.”

“voice” – focus is on the message, not on the man. He is simply an instrument, and he knows it.

“wilderness” signifies separation from the system. John didn’t go to them, they came to him. He wasn’t asking The Jews for anything. His message was essentially that of Isaiah chapter 40.

1:24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) Yeah. That’s what we thought. John the Apostle wanted to leave no doubt about who was behind this interrogation.

1:25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “Who authorized you to do this? You are not qualified!”

1:26-27 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.”

Understatement. They surely did not know Him. They would soon become aware of Him, but at this point he was just another man in the crowd. The Baptist himself had only recently begun to realize Who He was, and still wasn’t sure of His physical identity, but he knew OF Him and of His deity and of His supreme importance to all mankind. And he knew that at the right time, He would recognize the Lamb of God.

1:28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 

Bethany: “place of the passing.” The crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Twelve stones were taken out of the river bed and placed on land, and vice versa, symbolizing movement. A memorial of passing. It illustrated baptism, or identification.

Baptism means identification. Baptism by immersion in water symbolizes the believer’s identification with what the water represents. In Christianity, the water represents the plan of God. Being “buried” in the water means becoming one with the plan of God. Those whom John baptized were identifying with God’s plan for the coming Messiah and His Kingdom. Jesus’ baptism identified Him with God’s plan of His becoming one with man’s sin. The Church Age believer’s baptism identifies us with God’s plan for us becoming one with the perfect person and finished work of Jesus Christ.

1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 

The next day, John knew.