Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20130602.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
John: Believing On The Christ, The Son Of God, For Eternal Life
Part VII: Believing On Christ According To The Witness Of The Last Great Old Testament Prophet
(John 1:19-34)
  1. Introduction
    1. Since one must trust in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God to have eternal life according to John 20:31, it is imperative that we be sure this claim concerning Jesus of Nazareth is indeed valid!
    2. God did not leave us to the testimony of Jesus and His miracles alone on His claims, but gave us the last, great Old Testament prophet in John the Baptizer whose words give great credibility to Christ's claims:
  2. Believing On Christ According To The Witness Of The Last Great Old Testament Prophet.
    1. John the Baptizer's ministry was initially so highly regarded by even the nation Israel's leaders that they sent representatives of the most influential Hebrew sect to John to evaluate his ministry, John 1:19a, 24:
      1. The "Jews of Jerusalem" was the Apostle John's "title for the city's leaders," B. K. C., N. T., p. 274.
      2. Priests and Levites were Scripture specialists (Malachi 2:7-8), and those the Jerusalem leaders sent to John were Pharisees, Israel's most influential sect in Christ's day (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Matt. 3:7) who also were the most orthodox of Hebrews (Zon. Pict. Ency. Bib., v. Four, p. 747-751).
      3. Thus, John the Baptizer was so influential that Israel's leaders sent the most Biblically conservative, qualified officials they had to examine John in order to evaluate his credibility and thus his ministry.
    2. When these officials interviewed John, he clearly denied that he was Israel's Messiah, but asserted that he was Messiah's forerunner, and that the Messiah was far greater than he was, John 1:19b-28:
      1. John the Baptizer denied that he was the "Christ" (Christos), the "Anointed One, Messiah," U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 322; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 895; Jn. 1:19b-20.
      2. John also denied that he was Elijah who Malachi 4:5 predicted would come before the judgment, and he denied he was the Prophet Moses had predicted to arise back in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, John 1:21.
      3. When Jerusalem officials then asked John to identity who he was so they might report it to those who sent them, John replied that he was the fulfillment of the Isaiah 40:3 prophecy, that he was the voice in the wilderness crying out for Israel to "make straight" the way of the Lord, John 1:22-23 ESV.
      4. When the officials asked John why he baptized if he was not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet, he explained that he baptized with mere water, but One was coming Who stood among them Who was preferred before him, whose sandal latchet he was unworthy to loosen [as His slave], John 1:25-28.
    3. The next day, John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming unto him, and made the astounding statement that He was "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," John 1:29. John was claiming that in Jesus, all the redemptive typology of the Old Testament was fulfilled as He, the Substitutionary Sin-bearer would provide Himself as the Atoning Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, cf. Isaiah 53:1-12!
    4. John also testified that Jesus was the One of Whom he had said (cf. John 1:15) that He had existed higher in rank than John himself, for Jesus was existing as God before John came into existence, John 1:30!
    5. In addition, John the Baptizer testified that he had not previously known Jesus, but that Jesus might be made known to the nation Israel, he had come baptizing with water, John 1:31. At that baptism that had been recorded in the other Gospels written earlier (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22), John the Baptizer testified he saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and abiding on Jesus, fulfilling God's Word to John that this One was Israel's promised Messiah, John 1:31-33.
    6. This Jesus was also predicted of God to John to be the One Who baptized with the Holy Spirit, John 1:33.
    7. Since God the Father from heaven claimed at Jesus' baptism that "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17 KJV), John the Baptizer testified he witnessed at Jesus' baptism and testified that "this is the Son of God," a term for Jesus' full and equal deity with the Father, John 1:34 with 5:18.
Lesson: John the Baptizer, the last, great Old Testament prophet who gained the attention of Israel's leaders, testified that not he, but Jesus was the Messiah and Lamb of God Who took away the sin of the world as its Substitutionary Atonement, that Jesus was the Son of God in equal deity with the Father.

Application: May we believe in Christ not only due to His own witness, but due to the credible testimony of John the Baptizer, the last great Old Testament prophet from God to the nation Israel.