EXPLORE IT! - John 1:19-34

The second part of the first chapter of John’s Gospel shows the preparation that John the Baptist was in the process of doing for the coming of the Messiah, the Messiah's arrival, and the Messiah's first disciples. 

First, John the Baptist consistently denies being the Light himself and instead to be making the way for the Light to come. 

When asked, he also denies being Elijah and The Prophet, but instead refers to himself with the words of Isaiah as “the voice calling in the desert…” 

It is ironic that John the Baptist doesn’t view himself as Elijah since he did in fact come to be viewed as Elijah. When the disciples later ask Jesus why the Scripture says that Elijah must come before the Messiah, Jesus himself even refers to John the Baptist as the Elijah who was to come. And he adds that the people and rulers treated John the Baptist just as poorly as their ancestors treated Elijah and all the other prophets.

John’s Gospel also says that the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 

When John the Baptist testifies that Jesus is the Messiah, he refers to him as “The Lamb.” He didn’t just make that kind of language up though. Throughout Scripture, we see God speaking through his prophets and others about “The Lamb” who would atone for the sins of all of us.

John explains that Jesus is the one he was talking about when he said that someone greater than himself was coming after him. 

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 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.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John’s Gospel shows a more reflective scene on the baptism of Jesus than do the other Gospels. All the Gospels record this event, but in John’s Gospel, it is not the narrator who tells the story, but rather it is the Baptist who testifies to his memories of what he has seen in the past.

Matthew’s Gospel includes the line where the Baptist says to Jesus, “You’re the one who should be baptizing me!” And Jesus tells him that this is what God wants at this time, and Jesus sets an example right at the beginning of his ministry of what his purpose is. His baptism points towards his own death and resurrection that will come later.