1. Who are You? (verses 19-23)
2. Why are You Baptizing? (verses 24-28)
3. Who is He? (verses 29-34)

John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield were friends in Oxford in the early 1730’s. They were zealous in their pursuit of Jesus. They formed a club, which came to be known as “The Holy Club.” Those in the club met together regularly for prayer, bible study, and discipleship This club was formed by a band of men preparing for ministry, to help them in their pursuit of Christ. Daily they would ask themselves 22 questions.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?^[1]

These men had a passion for Jesus. They wanted to make him known. But they were being trained for ministry in the Church of England, which was deeply rooted in traditional liturgical practices that took place in church buildings. Their preaching was confined to the church buildings, where congregations were expected to attend regularly.

But George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers saw that the fields outside the church were “white for harvest” (John 4:35). They saw many without Christ, who would never enter into the doors of a church. So, they went out and preached the gospel in the open-air, wherever they could draw a crowd. They preached in the market squares. They preached in the fields. They preached at the beaches. One of the best times to preach was at 5am before the workers in the fields and the mines went off to their work.

If not in the open air, they were fine with preaching in homes or public buildings or jails. They believed strongly in the urgency of spreading the gospel to all people, regardless of their social status or location. This practice of open air preaching drew much conflict with the authorities in the church of England. It was not their normal practice and against many of their beliefs. They believed that preaching should be conducted within the structured environment of the church, where decorum and reverence could be maintained. They believed that only the ecclesiastical authorities had the right to ordain those who would preached the gospel.

But this practice of open-air preaching challenged the authority of those in the church system. It challenged their norms. It challenged their comfort zones. It challenged their very view of the gospel. Is the gospel to be confined within the walls of a church? Or is it to be released and sent forth to all who will hear? There were also questions about the nature of genuine religion. Was genuine religion confined to the activities within the church? Can only the ordained clergy preach the gospel from pulpits? Is worship only acceptable when it comes from people in pews? Or, was genuine religion that which speaks to the heart, where one can pursue God wherever and however they embrace the gospel.

As we come to the Scriptures, we are going to encounter a Biblical example of one who was preaching in the open air, much to the disapproval of the religious authorities. The religious authorities had no category for what was taking place. Certainly, they felt threatened in their authority.

So, I invite you to open in your Bibles to John, chapter 1. Today, we begin the narrative section of the gospel of John, which comes after the prologue. We will see John the Baptist, who preached in the open air, to be confronted by the religious authorities, who were trying to figure him out.

John 1:19-34
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “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.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

And let us remind ourselves why these things were written: “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 20:31)

The title of my message this morning is, “The Testimony of John.” This is how the passage begins. This is how the passage ends. Look at verse 19.

John 1:19
And this is the testimony of John,

Look at verse 34. John said:

John 1:34
I have seen and have borne witness.

The word, “witness” and “testimony” come from the same word in Greek, just one is a noun and one is a verb. They are just translated differently when they are in the noun form (in verse 19) and in the verb form in verse 34. This whole section is about John giving testimony to Jesus. We saw in the Prologue how this was John’s role, given to him by God:

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

This was John’s purpose in being. God sent him to bear witness about the light, who is Jesus. That’s exactly what we will see in these verses this morning. We will see John bearing witness to Jesus. Now, Verse 8 makes clear.

John 1:8
[John] was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

That’s the broad outline of what we will see in our text this morning. We will first see John affirming that he was not the light. Then, we will give testimony to the light. Let’s look at our first point this morning. My first point is a question:

1. Who are You? (verses 19-23)

Verses 19-23 center around the question about the identity of John the Baptist. I trust that you can see it there in verse 19.

John 1:19
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

John was a strange man. From the other gospel accounts, we know that he a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt (Matthew 3:4). We know that he lived on locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). We know that many from Jerusalem and Judea were going out to hear him preach (Matthew 3:5). We know that he was preaching a message of repentance, “Repent,” he said, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). We know that he was baptizing people in the Jordan River as people were confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6).

We read here in verse 19 that the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem were curious about what was taking place out there in the wilderness, so they sent an official delegation of representatives to find out exactly who this character in the wilderness was. You can picture these priests and Levites in their temple offices being stirred in the comfort of their offices, but being distressed a bit by all of the religious activity that was taking place outside of the temple, down near the Jordan river. Verse 28 tells us where these things were taking place.

John 1:28
These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

They were wondering what all the fuss was about. So they sent a delegation to find out what was happening, and who this man was who was baptizing all of these people in the river. Thus the question, 1. Who are You? (verses 19-23). John’s answer comes in verse 20.

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

It’s a strange way for John to write what John said. A positive: “he confessed” a negative: “did not deny” and another positive: “he confessed.” This brings us to the emphatic nature in which John replied, “I am not the Christ.” Now, in the Greek, there is an emphasis upon the first word, “I.” It comes across like this: “I am not the Christ.” As if to imply that someone else is the Christ, but “I” am not that person. It sets up the narrative that John is not the light, but that there is a light that he will bear witness to.

Now, John’s answer wasn’t really an answer. This delegation asked him, “Who Are You?” And he told them who he wasn’t. So, rather than an open ended question, “Who are You?” they asked him a more specific question.

John 1:21
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

Elijah was an Old Testament prophet who often lived in the wilderness and spoke strong messages of repentance to the king! Also, Elijah was prophesied to come before the Christ appeared. “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" (Malachi 4:5-6). John was preaching repentance, which is what Malachi 4 prophesied would take place before the Christ came. To this question, John replied,

John 1:21
"I am not."

That is, "I am not Elijah." So, they tried again,

John 1:21
"Are you the Prophet?"

This is probably a reference to Deuteronomy 18, when Moses promised of another prophet who would arise in the future. Moses said, Deuteronomy 18:18 “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—." Again, John denied it. And he answered, “No.” These delegates were getting nowhere, but they needed an answer from John. After all, they were sent on a mission from the priests and Levites in Jerusalem to find out.

John 1:22
So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

In other words, don’t just give us one word answers. Tell us about yourself. Here we see the humility of John the Baptist.

John 1:23
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Think about the things that John could have said. John could have said, “I’m a man sent from God to do his will!” “I was filled with the Holy Spirit even from my mother’s womb!” “My father was a priest, who raised me from my youth to walk in the ways of the Lord.” “I have lived all my days for the Lord.” “I’m a celebrity preacher! Look at the crowds who are coming to listen to me!” “I’m being used of God! Look at the numbers of people who are being baptized by me!” “People consider me to be a great man!” Jesus will later say of him, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). No. John says none of these things. In fact, he doesn’t really focus on who he is at all. Rather, he focuses upon the role that he was given.

John 1:23
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John is quoting from Isaiah 40 which says,

Isiah 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.
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.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
   and all flesh shall see it together.

The Jews would have been very familiar with this prophesy. It was the next event on the prophetical calendar for the Jews. They knew that one would come before the Messiah to prepare the way for him. They would have been anticipating the coming of such a one. Of course, this is exactly what John was doing. He was preparing the way for Jesus by calling the people of Israel to repentance. As many as were coming to John, soon they would be coming to Jesus.

In John 4:1, we will see John’s ministry of disciple making and baptizing being eclipsed by Jesus, exactly according to plan. As John was awakening a fresh interest in the LORD, the way of the Messiah was being prepared. These delegates knew full-well what John was saying, because they shifted their question.

John 1:24-25
(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

This is my second point.

2. Why are You Baptizing? (verses 24-28)
 
That’s the question that they asked in verse 25. If you are not the Christ (verse 20), and if you are not Elijah (verse 21), and if you are not the Prophet (verse 21), then, why are you baptizing? (verse 25). Apparently, these delegates understood that when the Messiah came he would be baptizing people. But as John was baptizing people, they were confused, since he wasn’t claiming to be the Christ. So, John tries to set things straight.

John 1:26
John answered them, “I baptize with water.”

In other words, what I am doing is not at all what the Messiah will do when he baptizes. If you look down at 33, this will be clear. John said,

John 1:33
he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Messianic baptism is entirely different than what John is doing. John is baptizing with water. It’s plain to see. It’s a symbol of cleansing. When people took heed to John’s message, they would confess their sins and John would dunk them in the water as a symbol of their cleansing from sin. When the Messiah comes, he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. which is on an entirely different realm than what John is doing. What John is doing is totally human. Anybody can take someone and dunk them in water. Nobody is able to fill others with the Holy Spirit. That’s only the job for the Christ. By the way, Christian Baptism follows the way of John’s baptism. When people repent of their sins, and turn and trust in Christ, Baptism with water is the symbol that Jesus requires.

Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." This is how the disciples made disciples. They went out, all over the world preaching Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42). As people believed, they baptized them. Then, they taught them to obey all that Jesus commanded.

You see this over and over in the book of Acts with the early church. People repented of their sins, trusted in Christ, and then they were baptized, that is, like John’s baptism, they were immersed in water. John’s baptism was on the minds of the disciples when Jesus said, Go and make disciples and baptize them (verse 19). This is Christian baptism.

OK, let’s get back to John’s answer.

John 1:26-27
John answered them, “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.”

His baptism is with water and simple to understand, a simple of cleansing. But there is something else going on that these delegates do not understand. There is one who is in their midst, who they don’t know. This is the sort of statement that arises the Messianic hope. When John was asked, “Who are you?” (verse 19), he said, “I am not the Christ” (verse 20). He was raising Messianic hope that the Christ was present.

Here in verse 26, John is saying that he is among you, but you don’t understand. Then John tells them how they don’t understand. This one is so great, that even John, the religious leader to which thousands are flocking to hear, isn’t even worthy to untie the strap of his sandal. Now, this takes us back to a cultural practice of the day. In Biblical times, people didn’t walk around with sneakers on clean streets. They walked around on dusty streets with sandals. As a result, their feet were dirty. It was the custom for the servants of the house to stoop and clean the feet of those who would enter the house. It was a lowly job.

Think of the most menial jobs you can think of, like cleaning the bathrooms at McDonald's, sorting through the garbage at the recycling center, or wiping the bottoms of the disabled children. Those are equivalent to taking off the sandals and washing the feet. John says, when it comes to the Messiah who is in your midst, I am not even worthy to do the task of a servant for him. “I am not worthy to stoop to his feet, and take off his sandals, so that I can wash his feet.” Those tasks are too high for John to do.

Again, this speaks to the humility of John. But it also speaks to the greatness of Jesus. If John the Baptist was not worthy to take off his sandals, then who is this Jesus? I’m glad you asked, because that’s my third point. We have seen John asked, 1. Who are You? (verses 19-23) 2. Why are You Baptizing? (verses 24-28). And now the question comes:

3. Who is He? (verses 29-34)

In verse 29 we see the answer.

John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

These are powerful words. I remember reading the story of this text and Charles Spurgeon. He was a great preacher in England in the 1900’s. He once had an opportunity to speak at Agricultural Hall in Islington, before tens of thousands of people. Before anyone had arrived, he took the stage to test the acoustics in that great room. Without any amplification, he needed to speak loudly to the coming crowds. Where we might check a microphone saying, “Check, check,” Spurgeon quoted John 1:29. He shouted out, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." He may have repeated it several times, “Check, check, check, check” "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Unknown to Spurgeon until later, high in the rafters of the building was a worker who heard these words and came to faith in Christ as a result of these powerful words.^[3]

Perhaps this morning, as I shout out the words of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” one of you may come to faith. In many ways it’s all that needs to be said about Jesus, because that’s who Jesus was. He was “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

This imagery would not have been lost upon any that day who heard John say this. They were acutely familiar with lambs, especially as it had to do with sins. They all knew that sins needed sacrifices for forgiveness. Lambs were sacrificed often upon the altar in the temple, for the peace offering (Leviticus 3:7), for the sin offering (Leviticus 4:32). A lamb was sacrificed every morning and evening (Numbers 28:3-8). Lambs were at the beginning of every month (Numbers 28:11). Lambs were sacrificed at various festivals on the Jewish calendar, at the feast of weeks (Numbers 28:26-31), and at Passover (Numbers 28:16-25). They were sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins.

Leviticus 4:27-35
If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering....If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the Lord's food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

Notice what John the Baptist says about Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who doesn’t merely “forgive” sins, but actually takes them away. In this sense, Jesus is different than all of the lambs sacrificed in accordance with the Mosaic law. They were all sacrificed so that sins would be forgiven. The sins were merely “covered over.” They were “forgiven,” but they were still present. But Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world.

I remember making this distinction with my children many times when I would discipline them. Because of some sin, they found themselves with me in the bathroom, as I was soon to apply the board of wisdom to the seat of knowledge. I would hold them tight in my arms. I would affirm my love for them. I would tell them that I forgave them for their disobedience. I would say, “I forgive your sin, but I can’t take away your sin. Only Jesus can take away your sin.” I would urge them to believe in Jesus. The same here. I would urge you to believe in Jesus.

As the writer to the Hebrews says, "It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). The blood of animals in the Old Testament were able to atone for sins, but they could never take away those sins. It is only Jesus who can take away sins. So believe on him! Believe on Jesus.

Now, at this point, I feel for Jesus. As he heard these words, he was reminded of what awaited him. When John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He might well have said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who will be killed on our behalf.” This is what Jesus would have to do in order to take away sins. He would have to die, like the many lambs of the Old Testament who were sacrificed upon the altar.

That’s the good news. Jesus did die for us on the cross, and he did so willingly. Jesus said this: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father' (John 10:17-18). Jesus willingly laid down his life for us that he might take away our sin. That we might be reconciled to God, our Father. That’s the good news of our text this morning.

John continues in verse 30 answering the question, 3. Who is He? (verses 29-34) He says:

John 1:30
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’

We have heard this before. It was quoted verbatim in verse 15.

John 1:15
(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

This is really John’s conclusion. He told the delegation of the greatness of Jesus! That he ranks before John. But John didn’t always know this. In verses 31-34, John tells the story of how he came to realize that Jesus was the one who ranked before him.

John 1:31
I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Apparently, God had come to John and had told him to baptize with water, that the Christ would be revealed to Israel through his baptism. But at first, he didn’t know who it was.

John 1:32-33
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John shares the moment that he realized that Jesus was the one, when the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. Now, the gospel of John doesn’t tell us this, but we know from other gospel accounts that this took place at the baptism of Jesus. Listen to Matthew’s account.

Matthew 3:13-16
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

At that moment, John realized that Jesus was the guy. The Spirit rested upon him! That was the sign that Jesus was the Christ. So, John gives his testimony.

John 1:34
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

There are really two applications of this text. First, we ought to be witnesses for Jesus, as John was. This is the title of my message, “The Testimony of John.” If John, of whom Jesus said, “no one greater has arisen” (Matthew 11:11), gave such glowing testimony to Jesus that Jesus is far greater, then how much more should we give testimony to Jesus? This is good for us to think about, especially in the book of Acts, where this is the key theme. God calls us to be like Charles and John Wesley and like George Whitefield, living to make Jesus known. Whether that’s in the open air, or in the gym, in our in our home, or at work, or in the public sphere.

But, I feel that this pales in application compared with the second application: we ought to believe in the one to whom John witnesses. This is really the point of the passage. John is pointing to Jesus, as the Lamb of God (verse 29). We ought to heed his counsel. We ought to believe in Jesus. We ought to see him as the great one in whom we place our trust, as the one who takes away our sin! He is so much greater than any of us! As the book of John progresses, we will see his grace and glory and his majesty and his mercy. We will be drawn to him. We will be drawn to seek him with all of our hearts and souls.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on July 14, 2024 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/john-wesley-holy-club-questions/.

[2]Christian History, Issue 29, p. 2