Sermon Cloud

© Eric M. Schumacher – Preached June 17, 2007 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I like to watch lawyer movies and television shows. I love to watch how a good attorney (at least on TV!) carefully and shrewdly weaves together various bits of information to deliver a convincing argument—proof about the person in question.

An attorney may conduct thousands of hours of interviews, but he doesn’t use everything that he has. He carefully selects the pertinent information that will best help the jury see the truth. He doesn’t call everyone to the stand. He calls as witnesses those whose testimony will help the jury see the truth.

In this Gospel, John is something like an attorney trying to convince you of the truth about his client. He has carefully selected specific material to convince you of the truthfulness of his case.

Here is his case:

John 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John is trying to convince the jury (his readers) of the truth that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

A Host of Witnesses

Throughout the Gospel, “calls witnesses to the stand” to give their testimony about who Jesus is. As we move through the Gospel:

• Jesus' works bear witness about him (5:36; 10:25). These are the “signs” that John refers to (20:30-31), which he has written to convince us of Jesus’ identity.
• The Trinity bears witness about Jesus:
  • Jesus bears witness about himself (3:11, 32-33; 8:13-14, 18; 18:37).
  • The Father bears witness about Jesus (5:37; 8:17-18).
  • The Holy Spirit will bear witness about Jesus when he comes (15:26).
• The Samaritan woman gives testimony (4:39).
• The Scriptures (the Old Testament) bear witness about Jesus (5:39).
• The crowd that saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead bears witness (12:17).
• Jesus' disciples will bear witness about him, after the Holy Spirit comes (15:27), which is what John does in his Gospel.
• John the Evangelist gives testimony (19:34; 21:24).

The First Witness

In the Prologue, John has made his opening statement about who Jesus is: Jesus is the Word made flesh, who is God and who is relation with God, who comes to reveal grace and truth of the glory of God. Those who believe in him are born of God and become his children. Now, he calls his first witness to the stand—John the Baptist.

The Baptist’s testimony comes in two parts. The first part of his testimony is his answer to those whom the Jewish leaders sent to question him. We find this in verses 19-28. The second half of his testimony comes as he gives his own pronouncement of who Jesus is. This is found in verses 29-34.

Those Sent By the Jews

Verse 19 reads, “And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews send priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’”

“The Jews” is a phrase that John uses frequently in his Gospel, much of the time referring to the Jewish leaders, especially those leaders in Jerusalem and Judea . They are representative of those who oppose Jesus.

These leaders sent “priests and Levites” to question John the Baptist. The priests were descendants of Aaron who offered the sacrifices in the Temple . The “Levites” were of the tribe of Levi, but since they were not from Aaron’s family, they were not priests. The Levites assisted the priests in Temple worship, mainly by serving as musicians and temple police.

It is understandable why they would be concerned with John the Baptist. John is preaching a message of repentance and calling people to be baptized. Priests and Levites dealt daily with issues of ritual purification. John’s message and baptism would have caught their attention.

Likewise, verse 24 tells us that the Pharisees have their hands in this. The Pharisees had control over what was taught in the synagogues, the local places of weekly worship. They would have naturally been concerned about this man who was attracting the attention of large crowds.

On the surface, their concerns could seem legitimate—they were concerned about the purity of doctrine and practice in the land. But more likely, John is doing a bit of foreshadowing for us. From the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, there are authorities watching, ready to challenge the legitimacy of anyone whose ministry does not fit with their purposes. This will climax in chapter 12, when the Jewish leaders make plans to put Jesus and Lazarus to death because the crowds were going away and believing in Jesus.

Who Are You?

Their question is “Who are you?” The way that their line of questioning progresses shows us that they are asking something more than “What is your name?” They are interested in knowing if John is one of the “end-time figures.”

You should understand that Judaism is a religion saturated with eschatology. Eschatology is the term for the “study of the last days [end times].” The Old Testament is an “end times” book—as is the New Testament.

When you think of studying the “last days,” I hope that you think of more than the books of Daniel and Revelation. The study of the end times begins in Genesis 3 when, as the curses are being given, God promises to send a man to crush the head of the serpent, freeing his people from the curse of sin and death. The end time/last days expectation of the Old Testament is this: The Lord is going to come—either the Lord himself or the Lord through his representative—to exalt his covenant people and to destroy his enemies.

That promise becomes more defined and narrowed as the Old Testament progresses. The seed of the woman becomes the seed of Abraham—which will become a great nation and be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. The promise goes to Isaac, who passes it along to Jacob, who passes it along to his twelve children who become the nation of Israel . The promise then centers on a single person, the descendant of David who will reign forever. Of course, all of this finds it fulfillment in the New Testament in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

An Age of Expectation

John the Baptist appeared on the scene in a day in which Israel was under Roman oppression. The “King” was a puppet of the state. No prophet had spoken for hundreds of years. There was a great amount of expectation for the Messiah to arrive, and a great amount of discussion of what events would pave the way for his arrival.

John understands what their question is getting at and he answers them clearly. We read that he “confessed, and did not deny, but confessed…” John is an ideal witness, who testifies to the truth without any hesitation.

Not the Christ

John answers them, “I am not the Christ.” The word “Christ” is a greek word meaning “anointed one.” It is equivalent to the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which also means “anointed.” In the Old Testament, a person was anointed to show that the Lord had set them apart for a specific purpose. It came to be most closely associated with the Lord’s chosen King. For example, we read in Psalm 2:2 refers to the king of Israel as the Lord’s “anointed.”

David was the greatest King in Israel ’s history. He was the quintessential “Messiah.” The Lord had promised to David a son whose throne and kingdom would be eternal (2 Samuel 7:12-16). A greater David was going to come one day, a final Messiah.

The prophet Hosea had prophesied:

Hosea 3:4-5 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.

After dwelling for a long period without a king, the children of Israel would return, seek the Lord and seek “David their king.” In saying that they would seek “David their king,” he means that they will seek this promised Messiah and really want to live under his rule. The Messiah would bring the end time salvation that Israel was looking—as the Lord’s representative, he would destroy the Lord’s enemies and rule justly over the Lord’s people forever. John denies that he is the Messiah.

Not Elijah

If John is not the Christ, they ask if he is then Elijah. Why would they ask about Elijah?

Elijah was a prophet in the days of Israel ’s kings who pronounced coming judgment and called for repentance. In 2 Kings 1:8, we read that Elijah “wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather around his waist.” Elijah never died, but was taken up in a whirlwind into heaven (2:11).

The prophet Malachi prophesied about the coming great day of the Lord when the arrogant and evildoers would be consumed in a fire like stubble and the Lord’s people would be healed and go out leaping like calves from the stall. Through Malachi, the Lord spoke of the “end times” that Israel was looking for—the Lord coming to destroy his enemies and exalt his covenant people. The Lord made this promise in Malachi 4:5-6:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

Elijah would return to call the people to repentance, to prepare them for the arrival of the Lord. However, the prophet Zechariah (13:4) indicates that false prophets were in the habit of putting on hairy cloaks to give the appearance that they were prophets.

So, not only were the Jews looking for the Messiah, they were looking for the return of Elijah to call the people to repentance. Yet, they were aware that imposters will prophesy falsely while wearing the clothing of Elijah.

John dressed like Elijah (Mark 1:6). John the Baptist preached a message of judgment and repentance like Elijah (Mark 1:4). Their question is understandable—are you Elijah, or an imposter?

John answers, “I am not.” This answer raises some questions for anyone who has read the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. In Matthew 11:13-14, Jesus says, “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.” And, in Mark 9:12-13 (cf Mt 17:12), Jesus says, speaking of John the Baptist:

Elijah does come first to restore all things. …But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.

So, we have to ask what John the Baptist means when he denies that he is Elijah, when Jesus clearly states that he is “Elijah who is to come.”

We shouldn’t loose any sleep over this issue. There are at least two possible explanations.

The first explanation is that John the Baptist simply didn’t make the connection himself. John, though his message sounds harsh and abrasive, is a very humble man. His focus is not himself, but the greatness of the Coming One. So, some suggest that he simply didn’t see as much significance in his own ministry as Jesus did. [1] I’m not personally convinced of this explanation because of the significance John places on his own ministry in verse 23.

A second explanation is that Micah 4:5—“I will send Elijah”—was never meant to be taken in a literalistic way. In Luke 1, when the angel announces to Zechariah that he will have a son, he says of John:

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.

The angel says, not that he will literally be Elijah, but that he will go “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” So, John the Baptist comes in “the spirit and power of Elijah,” and yet Jesus can say of him, “He is Elijah who is to come.”

So, John can be denying the Jew’s false expectation—“No, I am not literally Elijah.” And, Jesus can be affirming that John fulfills the prophesy, “He is Elijah who is to come;” telling us that the Lord only meant that a prophet equal to Elijah in spirit and power would come to preach a message like Elijah’s.

Discussing this question about Elijah is practical for at least three reasons:

First, it helps us understand our Bibles better.

Second, we need to investigate this because your Humanities professor at college will ask about it! And, he will ask it with a condescending grin, as he tries to destroy the reliability of the Bible, and your faith.

Third, this should cause us to interpret “end-times” material with a big dose of humility. There is a segment of modern day Christianity, especially among some dispensationalists, who insist upon “literalistic” interpretations of apocalyptic material. I wonder sometimes how many interpretations of events in Revelation will be similar to this with Elijah. How many modern day “end-times” experts, if alive in Jesus’ day would be standing there saying, “But, Jesus can’t be right on his interpretation of Malachi 4, because my grammatical-historical hermeneutic won’t allow that!”

Not the Prophet

If John is neither Christ nor Elijah, they ask if he is “the Prophet.” Again, there are various interpretations about which “Prophet” they intended. You might remember that when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the people say the Son of Man is?” they replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (cf Matthew 16:13-14). There was speculation that one of the great prophets, such as Jeremiah or Isaiah, would return when Elijah did. [2]

The best explanation is that they are asking about the Prophet that Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.” While the Lord did raise up many prophets to speak to the people of Israel and to mediate the covenant as Moses did, the people were expecting a prophet—The Prophet—equal to or greater than Moses. Again, John denies that he is this end-times figure.

I Am the Voice…

Those sent by the Jewish leaders state that they have to take an answer back to those who sent them. So, they ask John what he says about himself.

Now, John gives and answer. And, John states that he is an end-times figure. John is “the voice” of Isaiah 40. In this Gospel, I believe that John quotes from Isaiah more than any other Old Testament book. So, we had best be familiar with Isaiah, if we want to understand the Gospel of John.

The book of Isaiah (like the book of Exodus!) is a mini-picture of the story of the Bible. It moves from sin, to curse, to redemption.

Isaiah begins with oracles of judgment against Israel . In its first chapters, Isaiah brings charges against Israel , reciting lists of their sins and pronouncing God’s curses on them and the nations of the world. Israel will be judged by God through the nation of Assyria . When Israel is carried off into exile, it is as if they have returned to Egyptian slavery.

Isaiah 40 marks an important transition in the book of Isaiah. The Lord announces that he is done warring against them. Their sins are paid for and their suffering is going to come to an end. As the book progresses, we are told of the Lord’s Servant who will come and suffer for the people. Through his intercession, the covenant of the Lord with Israel will be renewed. The books ends with a depiction of a restored Kingdom—a New Heavens and a New Earth—in which God’s people will be exalted and his enemies will be finally destroyed.

The transition from suffering to salvation is marked in Isaiah 40:3, when Israel is told that the Lord is going to come. They are in exile in the land of Babylon , but the Lord himself is going to come, he is going to reveal his glory and bring them back out of exile. Isaiah 40 speaks of a New Exodus.

Here is how the Lord’s arrival is announced:

Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ 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. ⁵ And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The Lord’s arrival is preceded by a voice calling for the people to prepare for his arrival. They are to “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” The people are to build a road in the wilderness for the King to arrive on, and for the exiles to return on. This is metaphorical language for repentance. The people must leave their sins to prepare for the arrival of the Lord.

John identifies himself as this voice. So, while he denies being the Christ, Elijah and the Prophet, his ministry is anything but insignificant. John the Baptist is the voice that prepares the world for the arrival of the Lord.

So, Why Are You Baptizing?

Those who were sent by the Pharisees, entirely miss the significance of John’s answer. If John is neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, they want to know why he is baptizing.

Baptism—the immersion of a person in water—was not unknown in John’s day. Others practiced it. The Qumran community in the wilderness practiced baptism every day as a means of making themselves a pure end-times community. There were Jewish groups that proscribed baptism for Gentiles who were converting to Judaism. Both of these baptisms were self-administered.

John was different. John was baptizing people himself. And, John was calling for Jews to be baptized. In Luke 3:3, we read that the Baptist was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John was calling upon Jews to repent and be forgiven—as if they had to be cleansed in order to be the people of the Lord!

The question is probably—if you are not one of these great figures, then what authority do you have to baptize? If you aren’t one of these figures, then why do you baptize?

I love John’s answer: “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.”

John essentially doesn’t answer them. He rebukes them. He says, “Yes, I do baptize. But, you’re missing the point—that is, you’ve missed the person.” John states that he is preparing the way for someone—someone who has already arrived.

The one who stands among them is one who is so great that John does not see himself as worthy to untie his sandal. In that day, it was said that a disciple was required to do anything for his teacher that a slave would do, except take off his sandals. Taking off someone’s sandals was considered such a low task that only a slave could be forced to do it. John sees himself as so low in comparison to the greatness of Jesus, that he counts the lowliest of tasks as a privilege too great for him to carry out.

This truly is the arrival of “the Lord,” even the Messiah. Who John says to his questioners is “One you do not know.” The Messiah, whose way John prepares, has already arrived and they “do not know” him.

John’s answer seems to be—Quit paying attention to me! My purpose in life is not to draw attention to myself, but to point to the Coming One who is greater than me, who is the Lord!

John is the perfect witness—a witness from whom we could all afford to learn a lesson. The role of the preacher and the evangelist is not to draw attention to himself, but to point people to who Jesus is.

Implications and Applications

Let me close with some implications and applications from this passage, especially from John’s use of Isaiah 40.

Implication 1: Jesus is the Lord.

Don’t miss this. John’s answer is remarkable because of who it says Jesus is. Think about this—we will see shortly that the one whose arrival John announces is Jesus. Yet, who does Isaiah announce is going to arrive? “Prepare the way of the Lord.” In the Hebrew, it is “Yahweh,” the covenant God of Israel, the maker of the heavens and the earth.

So, what is the significance of John’s application of this verse? It tells us that Jesus is Yahweh!

Application 1: Therefore, be humbled at the greatness of Jesus!

Measure your own greatness in the light of Jesus Christ. Don’t measure yourself against other people, against the world, but against Jesus Christ, the great I AM.

Implication 2: The arrival of Jesus is the beginning of the end.

As I mentioned, Isaiah 40 marks a transition in the book of Isaiah, which is really a transition in the history of the world. In Isaiah 40, the arrival of the Lord sets in motion the end of history.

With the arrival of the Lord, a New Exodus begins. The punishment of God’s people is removed; their sins are paid for. The Suffering Servant gains their healing by bearing the punishment of their sins. The Lord’s people are brought into a renewed covenant relationship with him. The Lord establishes a New Heavens and a New Earth in which his people live with him and his enemies are thoroughly destroyed.

John’s use of Isaiah 40 signals that Jesus Christ is the arrival of the Lord that sets in motion the beginning of the end.

Jesus Christ is the Lord who arrives. And, as we shall see, he is the Spirit-Anointed Servant of the Lord who suffers on behalf of the people of the Lord. He dies on the cross as a sacrifice for sins, paying for their iniquities. And, in rising from the dead, he is the firstborn of the resurrection. In him, all things are made new, and we are given new birth and made fit to inherit the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Application 2: Therefore, repent and be baptized!

What is John the Baptist’s application in light of this reality? The message that he preached was, “Repent and be baptized!”

This application still stands. Humble yourself before the greatness of Jesus Christ the Lord. Leave your sins. Come to him in faith and call upon the Lord to forgive you and give you new birth through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection!

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[1] See Don Carson’s commentary for this opinion.

[2] See Kostenberger on intertestamental material