THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
[p. 19] THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
John 1:6-10; John 1:15; John 1:19-37; John 3:25-30
In reading this passage I have in view what has been already before us. I am encouraged to turn to this narrative of our Lord’s ministry, because I believe it is specially intended for the last days. It represents the reserve which the Lord had from the beginning, and by which He intended to meet conditions which should arise consequent upon the breakdown of that which was established by the apostles.
The writer, as you will observe, introduces John the baptist at the outset, and he introduces him in order to emphasise the excellencies which were peculiarly evident in him, as if to suggest to us that the witness in the last days is to be marked by these traits. I see this to be the design in introducing the Baptist in such an early stage of the narrative. Whilst carefully retaining him in his place as subordinate to Christ, yet he brings him in at the outset. John “was not that light”. The writer almost says, Do not mistake him, he is very far short of Christ; but whilst I beg of you not to mistake him for Christ, take account of the peculiar traits which are emphasised in him, for I want them to appear in you.
“There was a man sent from [not by here, but from] God”. He was sent from God. Now I suppose that the desire of every one that loves Christ is to serve Christ, and so the point here is as to where you come from in your service. John was sent from God. The force of the word is that he had been with God. Very little is given of John’s early life after his infancy, but there can be no doubt that he lived with God. Had he not it could not be said that he was sent from God. Now God may take up any [p. 20] person to accomplish some act of government, as for instance, Cyrus. It could not be said of him, that he was sent from God. So the first great thing is to be with God. This is also one of the first great points emphasised about the Lord. “The Word was with God”. The evangelist further states, “we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only begotten with a father”. That is how the apostles contemplated Christ. Note, they contemplated His glory, it was not a passing observation, but an interested occupation of the mind.
So John is presented to us as “sent from God”. Here I would impress upon you the importance of being with God. You will find that in the Lord’s ministry He habitually withdrew from the crowd. To be a minister one has to be with God, not with the crowd, It is quite true that He came down to the level of men, and that is the negation of the clerical idea. The Lord spent the whole night in prayer before He chose the twelve. He fitted the men for service, as illustrated in the man whose hand was restored in Luke 6, and then He prayed. Afterwards He chose twelve and named them apostles. Then He came down and stood with them in the plain or “level place”. With the apostles He came down to the level of men, as we may say, in order to bless them. As Paul says, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some”. (1 Corinthians 9: 22)
Coming back to John, this is how he is represented to us. He was sent from God. We were dwelling on the assembly at Antioch this afternoon. It was marked by priestly exercises Godward. Paul and Barnabas were sent from that company; not by it, but from it. So that it is well to inquire when a man presents himself to minister, who he is, and whence he is. The Lord made a point of who He was, and whence He was. The sum total of John’s witness is given in the verses I read. First he says, “He is preferred before me”. Have I come to that in my soul, that another is preferred before me? Now that the Son of God has come, no one else can have the first place. And then the evangelist adds, “of his fulness have all we received”. If we have not received of His fulness, we have not anything at all. So the Spirit of God turns aside to enlarge on His greatness. “Grace and truth subsists through Jesus Christ”. They are perfectly blended in Him. “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”. Not was or shall be, but “who is in the bosom of the Father”.
Now look at verse 19. “This is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem”. John the baptist was not there. Christ was not there. He was “with the Father”. They came to John and said, “Who art thou?” What a question! Let us just face it, beloved brethren. Have I a lineage to pride myself on? Here are the leaders of religion, giving John an opportunity to assert himself. What would the flesh do were it allowed to answer here? John was of the priestly family; he could have said: My father was a priest, and my mother a daughter of Aaron. But John was not governed by fleshly feelings. How ready we are to advertise! Simon Magnus was “giving out that he was some great one”. This is an anti-Christian element. “The beast” will be marked by it in a pre-eminent way. Let us beware of advertising.
Now see how beautifully the Spirit of God presents the opposite in John. He “confessed and denied not”. In Matthew and Luke the Lord defends John. Let us leave our reputation to Christ. He takes care of it, and we should have no reputation save what He commends and defends. You cannot say anything too bad as to what I am capable of as a [p. 22] man in the flesh, but if you look at me as a man in Christ, you cannot say anything too good, but, as I said, the Lord will take care of our reputation.
What was of God in the Baptist was tested in a remarkable way by the messengers sent from Jerusalem and by the questions they asked. As the questions proceeded, the test became more severe. He says, “I am not the Christ”. Then they ask him, “Art thou Elias?” He could have said ‘Yes’ with a measure of truthfulness, for the Lord said concerning him, “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, who is to come”. But John said “No”; he was not even Elias. The point here is, that you do not claim to be a special servant or vessel. Following this is the inquiry, “Art thou that prophet?” “No”. The steadiness with which John maintained a true estimate of himself in this tempting interrogation is very striking. It is a model for all who would serve Christ today. But the temptation proceeds: “Who art thou?” “What sayest thou of thyself?” they further ask. He answers, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias”. There is no assumption to new or special light. Why should we talk about new light when the sun is in the heavens? Christ is “that light”; as for John, he was just a voice, urging people to make a way for the Lord. So he says, “Make straight the way of the Lord”. The Lord is coming in. You prepare for Him. That is the message. Get right with the Lord. That is the point. He is about to appear now.
Are we prepared for the Lord? If one might speak about “the way”, in the Acts it is synonymous with fellowship. It was the way of the saints, their manner, the new thing that Christ had brought in, that was evil spoken of; Acts 19: 9. The great multitude have now turned aside from it. As Deborah said, “The highways were unoccupied and the travellers walked through byways”. How many of us here are on the highway of God? The Lord is coming and He will recognise “the way”. It is His way. Let us make it straight. It involves the fellowship of God’s Son, and of His death. Let us look to our associations. Further, the “Day-star” arises in our hearts, so that we should take care of our hearts.
They asked John, “Why baptisest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?” They questioned him now about his work. First, they ask about himself, then about his work. John said, “I baptise with water”. There is no claim to anything great; it was negative. That was the nature of his work. Most essential, indeed, in its significance, as we know, but for the moment it was water in contrast with the Spirit. But he points to the Man who is coming after. Look what He does! He baptises with the Holy Spirit. Christ is going to fill the world with positive blessing.
The questions of the Pharisees’ messengers being answered, we have John’s unsolicited testimony to Christ. From verse 29 it is “the next day”. He is done with the Pharisees. This begins another day. It is the substance of John’s witness in a positive way. He “seeth Jesus coming unto Him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. What a testimony! How the mind is directed to Christ! He is coming unto John, coming in the way of righteousness. Baptism with us is the demand of a good conscience before God. It demands baptism. Strictly, no one is righteous until he is baptised. The Lord said, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness”, (Matthew 3: 16). The Lord would not leave one item of righteousness unfulfilled. He is the accomplisher of righteousness for He takes away the sin of the world. And then, “This is [p. 24] he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me”. Then there is a further and separate testimony, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him”. This was the evidence to John of the One who would baptise with the Holy Spirit. We have thus the accomplishment of righteousness in the death of Christ presented in John’s witness, and also the great fact of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the sum-total of the testimony.
Then there is another part: “again the next day after”. I wish now to dwell upon this fresh part of the Baptist’s testimony. “John stood”. He has done working now, we may say; he has introduced Christ, who is now to do everything. The One who is to fill the world with blessing is now on the scene. May the Lord give us to take our place and stand as a witness to this glorious Man! Two of John’s disciples were with him. He looked upon Jesus as He walked. Jesus is not now walking to John. He is simply walking. Peter speaks of “his steps”; John is looking at Him as He walked. He says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” It is not Christ’s work now, but His walk. John’s word was like true ministry. True ministry directs the saints to Christ and not to the minister. The two were moved when John spoke. Ministry to the heart moves the saints. They heard John speak and followed Jesus.
Turn now to chapter 3: 25 - 30. John is now not only standing and looking at His walk, but standing and hearing the Lord Jesus. His heart is filled with joy. Our hearts should catch some of the joy which the Baptist had as he disappears, for we may say he disappears here. “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom ... rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled”. He is now standing and hearing. In the first chapter he was standing [p. 25] and looking; in the third he is standing and hearing the Bridegroom. John the baptist came to discern the voice of the Bridegroom. Have you discerned the voice of the Bridegroom? If you hear that voice you merge into the bride. It is much greater to be of the bride than even to be an apostle. I dwell on it, for it involves the voice of Christ’s love for the assembly. There has been the distinct voice of the Bridegroom in the ministry that has come to us in these last days. Matthew 25 speaks of a cry which calls attention to the Bridegroom, but then there is the positive ministry of Christ Himself, which contains the voice of the Bridegroom. He that “standeth and heareth”. It means the closing of the ears to other sounds and voices. What does it mean to me? It is that I belong to that for which Christ as the Bridegroom is coming So John says, “The friend of the bridegroom standeth and heareth”. I beg of you to stand and hear the Bridegroom’s voice; He is about to come for the bride, and He would appeal to her now. “for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready”. (Revelation 19: 7) John speaks of making straight the way of the Lord; for us this involves making ourselves ready. “To her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen”. The granting suggests distinguishment. Such array is in keeping with her dignity. The best robe was put upon the prodigal. But I would appeal to each heart as to whether we are ready for Christ. John says, “this my joy is fulfilled”. So he disappears. What a sunset! Truly a sunset suggests past glory, but John goes down in that way. His greatest, glory is as witness to the rising Sun. He is filled with joy, in the sense of the greatness of the One who is rising in the heavens, and who is to fill the universe. He is here now for faith; “for the Son of God has come”, but presently for sight.