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God’s Love Through John: Light of a greater testimony
“John was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
Jesus, of John the Baptist – John 5:35 CSB

The Illustration

The Apostle John makes more references to light in his Gospel than any other New Testament writer.

Job, Psalms and Isaiah in the Old Testament also use the concept to evoke reflection on varying comparisons, as Jesus does in John 6. Here are just a few illustrations from the Hebrew definition, familiar to disciples of both John the Baptist and followers of Jesus.

אוֹר ‘owr – [used 122 times as a noun] means:

Light of day, of heavenly luminaries (moon, sun, stars), day-break, dawn, morning light, daylight, lightning, of a lamp (as Jesus uses here to refer to John the Baptist), of life, of prosperity,

As a teacher with the greater ‘light of instruction,’ Jesus compares Himself to John the Baptist.

John 1: a brief reflection

Although we will not continually return to the beginning of John’s Gospel, it is important for us to understand the Apostle’s perspective as events unfold in the teaching ministry of Christ Jesus.

Orazio Fidani, Saint John the Apostle, c. 1640-56

Just a reminder here that the events of Jesus’ ministry occurred around AD 30 when the Apostle was a young man and John wrote his Gospel [Good News] between AD 70-100 as the only remaining Disciple who had not been martyred for Christ.

John makes many references to light, including many in John 1, as we have already seen in ‘God’s Love Through John: In the Beginning.’

Reflections of the Teacher

John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John’s reference to Christ Jesus

7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

John refers to Jesus and the witness mentioned is the teacher, John the Baptist. Then John continues to clarify the difference by restating the comparison of John the Baptist to Jesus.

8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

The Gospel-writer then unequivocally states that Jesus the Messiah is both ‘the true light’ and the greater light than John. He was coming to the world as the light – a light of hope – for everyone in the world.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Gospel of John, of the Messiah Jesus

As mentioned earlier, John then proceeds to both explain the role of Jesus and continues to reflect on the relationship of the Prophet of the wilderness, John, to the Messiah.

What John’s Gospel does not say

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.
John 21:25 CSB

Although we are studying the Gospel of John, it is important for us to put some missing events detailed in other gospels about the life of John the Baptist. So before we proceed with Jesus’ teachings, let’s briefly chronicle a few events of the well-known teacher, John.

Matthew

Matthew, of course, was the other Jewish writer of the gospels who adds additional detail.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ”

Matthew states later of Jesus and his reaction to the political events which led to the Baptist’s arrest,

When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
Matthew 4:12

Jesus had been in Judea, but leaves for Galilee and gathers Disciples to Himself. John, no doubt, hears of this and sends some of his own disciples to Jesus with questions from John asking for assurance.

Matthew 11:

Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples… Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

We will continue shortly from the Gospel of John with the signs they would witness to the Baptist and others.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. … “Let anyone who has ears listen.
The Messiah Jesus, Matthew 11:12

Later in Jesus’ three-year ministry we learn the fears of Herod about Jesus from Matthew:

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus. 2 “This is John the Baptist,” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

The Greater Light

Immediately after John’s most quoted Scripture he testifies to the Messiah’s purpose and mission in Jesus’ own words. Jesus again uses comparisons of light and darkness.

John 3:

19 This is the judgment:
The light has come into the world,
and people loved darkness rather than the light
because their deeds were evil.
John 3:19

20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

Before we speak of Jesus’ love we must remember repentance. Darkness and evil envelope our lives, yet some love the darkness. Jesus offers love not only to Israel but to the world.

The Gospel of John shows many signs of the Messiah which should be recognizable to the Jews, even though many chose darkness.

Where will you look? Do you have eyes to see?

Do you rely on a lesser lamp or perhaps even live in complete darkness?

John presents signs, evidence and explanation of the Messiah.

Who is your hope?
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To be continued...
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September 28, 2018
God’s Love Through John: Disciples
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 12:26

Preachers, Teachers & Disciples

We’ve all seen them, the up and coming preachers who gain a public following. Of course appointed religious officials would like to be the superstars of their mega-temples in Jerusalem or cathedrals of later times, but this was not the style of Jesus or of his populist predecessor, John the Baptist.

Some men have the gift of preaching a message to which others will respond and follow. As we pointed out in our previous post, John the Baptist was one such gifted preacher and like Jesus after him, he also had gained a following of disciples.

How is a Disciple different from other hearers of preaching?

To be clear, Jesus was not the only teacher or Rabbi with disciples, so let’s begin with a definition.

μαθητής – mathētēs – a learner, pupil, disciple – from μανθάνω manthanō – to learn (in any way):—learn, understand.

Certain followers of rabbis of the same school of teaching, as in the party of the Pharisees, were also called disciples. These disciples often were loyal to a particular teaching in a certain place, often Jerusalem. Popular Pharisees and popular Sadducees competed for prominent disciples with influence.

Iterate teachers like Jesus or teachers in the wilderness like John also developed a following. Their crowds of disciples wanted to learn more about what they were preaching, but had to travel to a distant place to hear more teaching from this rabbi or prophet.

The question of truth always goes to what are they preaching and why does their message connect to their followers?

John’s Disciples

John’s message is ‘repent and be baptized,’ but it is more than that. Note these references to the disciples of John, men who followed John the Baptist as he cried out to sinners to repent and be baptized.

John 1:

“I baptize with water,”
“Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”

35 The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus.

What a pivotal moment it must have been in their lives! These two men were disciples of the brash baptist, John, the Prophet of the wilderness.

And what had John witnessed to his disciples about Jesus?

“Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is the one I told you about:
‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’
31 I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so he might be revealed to Israel.”

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” – John 1:20 ESV

Therefore, these two disciples of John the Baptist now turn to follow Jesus.

Disciples of John follow the Messiah

Where are you staying?

38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him.

Who was this unnamed disciple with Andrew who heard John and followed Jesus? No doubt, the young evangelist, John, who will also introduce his older brother to the Messiah of Israel.

James and John, along with Andrew’s brother, Simon Peter, will become Jesus’ inner circle of Disciples.

Disciples and Apostles

A preacher or teacher may have many listeners who do not hear, but men like John the Baptist had followers or disciples. John’s message was more weighty than the politically correct preaching of any particular religious party (like the Pharisees), with the authority of the LORD in Scripture.

Disciples are followers of a certain teacher, Rabbi or other preacher. Some now use the terms disciple and apostle interchangeably, but is there a difference?

Preachers need an audience of listeners. Disciples may follow some teachers of Scripture or other philosophy, yet an apostle is different. The apostle is a man with a different function than merely following a teacher.

Apostle

ἀπόστολος – apostolos – a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders; specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ, in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers, i.e. of Barnabas, of Timothy and Silvanus. – from ἀποστέλλω – apostellō – to order (one) to go to a place appointed or to send away, dismiss.

The Apostle John does not refer to himself as an Apostle in his Gospel or three letters, even though clearly he is sent by Jesus after His resurrection. John makes only a single reference in the words of Jesus at the time of their preparation for the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the atonement of Israel.

Nearly three years after having been disciples of John the Baptist Jesus will send them out as Apostles. John witnesses a story of their mission pointing to his own love and humility learned from Jesus.

The Meaning of Foot Washing

John 13:

¹²When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.

¹⁶“Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

You may find the terminology of the King James Version helpful to understanding the root relationship between a master teacher and a follower sent out.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
John 13:16 KJV

‘Amen, amen,’ begins the Greek. The servant is δοῦλος doulos, the same word used for slave. (I know we have difficulty relating to this relationship.)

The slave, therefore, says Jesus to His Disciples, is not greater than the lord (a term used for the master responsible for slaves). And ‘he that is sent,’ ἀπόστολος apostolos or apostle, is not greater than the one who sends (his lord who commands him with the message).

John the Baptist did not send his own disciples to Jesus, but witnessed the Lord of all Authority.

I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:34

Early Disciples of The Twelve

35 The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

John and Andrew, disciples of John the Baptist follow Jesus. They may not have been the only ones and other disciples no doubt followed Jesus later.

Their brothers, Peter and James then follow.

41 He [Andrew] first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.”

Galilee to the north of Judea is of course not only the place where Jesus stayed, but also the place of business for Simon and Andrew, sons of Zebedee, and others.

Beginning in Galilee

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.

“Come and see,” Philip answered.

John, Andrew, Peter and then Philip, (John’s older brother James is not yet mentioned); the an addition of Nathanael.

47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.

49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”

“Teacher, you are the Messiah and King of Israel,” says Nathaniel (נְתַנְאֵל which means, “God/El has given”), who other Gospel writers refer to as, ‘Bartholomew.’ He is likely also a fisherman from Cana, near Nazareth, where Jesus grew up as a child after returning from Egypt.

John does not introduce the other Disciples of Jesus here, but continues with witness of Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding in Cana, where John and other local Disciples were no doubt present.

50 Jesus responded to him [Nathanael], “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

51 Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
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To be continued...
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September 25, 2018
God’s Love Through John: A God-sent Baptist
John the Baptist is a brash Nazarite, an older cousin of Jesus who confronts all with our need for repentance.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
John 1:6-7 CSB

The Gospel prologue of the Apostle John describes John the Baptist as an apostellō ἀποστέλλω, one commissioned or sent.
See: John 1:6

The Baptist has gained a notable following, therefore officials of the Temple send men to keep tabs on this brash Prophet.

John the Baptist is not the kind of parishioner you particularly want to visit your synagogue. He even challenges the validity of Herod, King of Judea. And even more threatening than that, John now has a growing following among common Jews, even as some advocate violence against their Roman captors.

Who are you?

¹⁹This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”

John the Baptist’s Testimony

And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed:

“I am not the Christ.”

21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?”

“I am not,” he said.

They asked this because of a prophesy of Malachi.

“Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
click for Malachi reference

John is not the Messiah, but a messenger of the incarnation of the Messiah. Yet the Messiah would no more bring a terrible immediate judgment on Israel than John, but a lasting fulfillment of all prophesy.

“Are you the Prophet?”

“No,” he answered.

John humbly answers that he is not a Prophet, but Jesus will later state clearly that John is the greatest Prophet who has ever lived. The purpose for which John is sent is not prophesy, but announcement of the Messiah.

22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”

²³He said,

“I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
click for reference to Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 40:3

What did they expect?

Let’s take a brief look at this prophesy of Isaiah for a contemporary Jewish understanding of what John the Baptist had told them as an answer to who he was.

Isaiah 40:

“Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of forced labor is over,
her iniquity has been pardoned,
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”

Understand that Jerusalem is not only a political capital of Judea, but a religious capital — a place of worship of the LORD for all Israel.

A once united Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon is now ruled as several different Roman-governed captive states called principates. [click to see more] Octavian has seized power from the republic of Rome and proclaimed himself as the Emperor Augustus Caesar, a ruler to be worshiped as one of many Roman gods in the world he conquers.

3 A voice of one crying out:

Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will appear,
and all humanity together will see it,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah’s prophecy for the freedom of Jerusalem does not say that all will take place at once; however the Jews, captives of Rome and led by a corrupt, evil and powerless King Herod, certainly must have hoped for the Lord to intervene as in the days of Moses.

In the time of John the Baptist, the wildness near the Jordan would have been a welcome escape from the delicate politics of the Pharisees, Priests, Scribes, Temple guards and Roman legions, who all maintained strict loyalties and delicate alliances.

Why do you baptize?

In fact, John, the messenger of the coming Messiah preached repentance. It is the same message proclaimed by all prophets whose message is from the Lord. ‘Return to Me and I will again be your Lord.’

John’s call to baptism of repentance is far more than a temporary religious cleansing, but personal commitment to a personal transformed return to the Lord.

Baptism is a symbolic and public witness of this permanent change.
click to learn more βάπτισμα

New traditions of worship established during Israel’s several recent captivities had cultivated a politically-charged conversation about religious observances and traditions. Not least among these religious disputes is the need for cleansing and the role of various religious authorities. Of course, Jerusalem’s religious authorities had been limited not only by Rome, but also by the Herod’s.

John 1:

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John answered them.

Here is John’s message for the religious officials of captive Jerusalem:

“Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him.
27 He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”
MORE: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

What next for John the Baptist?

What do you suppose the reaction of the Pharisees in Jerusalem, Herod and others might be?

Fear, perhaps?

For if the one coming after John stands among them and they don’t even know Him, the Messiah of God will have great power.

Would the Messiah oppose the religious leaders of the chosen?

Further, John the Baptist has a great following of the common people, faithful Jews willing to repent of their sins. A righteous crowd following powerful leaders threaten a religious and political establishment subservient to Rome and disobedient to the LORD.

The Pharisees must be concerned about both the preaching of John and his announcement of the Messiah.

28 All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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To be continued...
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September 18, 2018