John having proclaimed before the face of his entry [among the people] [the] baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Paul is preaching in a synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, and he has just traced Israel's story from Egypt to David to the promised Saviour. Now he names John, the preacher every listener knew, and the call to repentance John brought to the whole nation before Jesus appeared.
Paul dates God's act by a ministry his hearers could remember. The point he draws from it is that God kept His promise to David.
Then he leapt over the centuries in between and announced that the promise to David had been kept: from his descendants God had raised up a Saviour for Israel, Jesus. And he fixed the date of this act of God by telling how John had preached first, before the Saviour came, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. So God had been faithful to His word in the past.
The words "before the face of His entering in" picture a herald going ahead of a king. Israel had waited a long time for a prophet's voice.
No one could say that God had failed to confirm the coming He had promised so long before. He gave fresh testimony, and it carried all the more weight because no prophet's living voice had been heard for more than four hundred years after Malachi... So, before the face of His entering in, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And his call was not only a moral one, a self-judgment before God. He also told them to believe on the One coming after him, that is, on Jesus.
John asked Israel for something the earlier prophets had not asked. Stepping into his water said something about the person who did it.
Earlier prophets had reasoned with Israel and called them back to the law they had broken. John no longer does that. He demands repentance. They were to admit that the law left them completely lost, and to take their place as dead men in the waters of his baptism. It was "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." If they listened to John and repented, they were ready in heart to receive the forgiveness of sins through the One who was about to come.
John's call went out to the whole nation. But anyone who accepted it stepped away from the nation as it stood. Even Jesus came to be baptised, for a different reason.
Through John's baptism the godly few took separate ground from the nation as a whole, waiting for the Messiah to come. They judged themselves, and cleared themselves of the sinful condition of the nation. John baptised the Lord too. In this way He took His place among the repentant in Israel, not confessing sins, but fulfilling righteousness, as He said, "Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15).
John's own conduct is part of Paul's argument. He had a huge following and could have claimed the title himself.
So God gave a fine witness to the Messiah who was just at hand. It was not a question of a great man, or of great deeds, but of God carrying out His purpose. If even a trace of ambition had moved John, he could easily have set himself up as the Messiah, for he had an immense following among the people. The truth was that he was not the Bridegroom but His friend. The fear of God shut out such low desires. He felt it was his joy and his duty to do the will of God, and to be the witness of the One who was coming.
Was John's baptism the same as Christian baptism? The timing alone answers that.
When our Lord spoke, Christian baptism was not known. The only baptism then was that of John the Baptist. Christian baptism was not known until after Christ had died, because believers are baptized into the death of Christ. John's baptism was "a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel" (Acts 13:24)... Baptism as a mere rite never did anything vital for anyone.
- Sent — God did not leave Israel without warning. No prophet had spoken for four hundred years. Then He sent a herald ahead of His Son.
- Summons — John did not call Israel back to the law. He called them to admit they were lost, and to take the place of dead men in the water.
- Scope — the call went out "to all the people of Israel." Those who answered it stepped away from the nation's condition instead of defending it.
- Signpost — John kept pointing past himself. He told the people to believe on the One coming after him. He was the friend of the Bridegroom, never the Bridegroom.
- Separate — his baptism belongs to that time of preparation. It is not Christian baptism, which speaks of Christ's death. No rite on its own has ever made anyone alive to God.
And as John was fulfilling his course he said, Whom do ye suppose that I am? *I* am not [he]. But behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.
Paul is preaching in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, tracing Israel's story from Egypt to David and on to the promised Saviour. John stands at the turn of that story, and Paul quotes what he said about himself as his work ended: a denial.
John's testimony carried extra weight. It came after a long silence in which God sent no prophet at all.
No one could say that God had failed to confirm His long promised intervention with fresh testimony. That testimony was all the more striking because no prophet's living voice had been heard for more than four hundred years after Malachi. Everyone took John for a prophet. Our Lord bore witness to him as more than a prophet: he was Jehovah's messenger, sent ahead of the Messiah to prepare the way before Him.
People had already made up their minds about John.
They completely mistook what John meant. Human nature is always ready to exaggerate man and belittle God. But the forerunner left no room for doubt.
John also had a large following. A man with ambition would have used it.
As he finished his course, he acknowledged that he was not the Messiah. So God gave an admirable witness to the Messiah who was just at hand. This was not about a great man or great deeds. It was about God accomplishing His purpose. If even a trace of ambition had moved John, he had a huge following and could easily have set himself up as the Messiah. The truth was that he was not the Bridegroom but His friend, and the fear of God shut out these base desires.
John picked one small, everyday image: the strap on a sandal.
The strap or ribbon that fastens an eastern shoe or sandal. Scripture mentions it as a thing of the least value, and untying it counted as a menial, servant's job.
So John placed himself below even the servant who does that job. Then look at what the Lord Himself later did.
If He were only a man, John would surely have been worthy to be His servant, however great that man might have been. But He was God, and He had come among His people bringing good news. How wonderful to find Him washing the feet of His disciples! No one greater than John was ever born of women, yet John was not worthy to untie the strap of that One's sandal. And He tied a towel around Himself and washed His disciples' feet.
Paul could lean on John's words because his hearers already accepted them.
All Israel knew that John was a true prophet of God. He took the lowest place because of the greatness of the One he bore witness to, insisting that he was not worthy to untie the shoes on His feet. Not the least doubt was left about who this was. When Jesus came to him in front of all the people, John declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
John's course ran out. What he had said did not run out with him.
The voice that uttered "the things" had passed away, but the things — yes, "all things that he spoke" — had remained. The vessel had been broken, but its treasure endured. The star had sunk below its horizon, but a greater Light had filled the sphere. John had decreased, but Christ had increased.
- Sent. After four hundred silent years, God sent John ahead of the Messiah. That is why Paul can build his case on him.
- Asked. The crowd mistook the messenger for the Master. Human nature is quick to exaggerate man and belittle God.
- Denied. With a large following in hand, John could have claimed the place himself. He refused it: he was not the Bridegroom but His friend.
- Lowered. Untying a sandal strap was a servant's lowest job, and John said he was not fit for it. The One he spoke of later took a towel and washed feet Himself.
- Finished. John's course ran out; his testimony did not. The vessel broke, the treasure stayed. That is the shape of every true servant's work: he decreases, Christ increases.