John 1:21–34

Every godly Jew expected the two figures named here to appear at some point in connection with Messiah. So when John came on the scene, the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him three questions. Was he the Christ? Once he had confessed that he was not, they then asked, with reference to Malachi 4:5-6, whether he was Elijah. He denied that too. Then they asked, now with Deuteronomy 18:17-19 in their minds, "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."

Knowing Scripture only blinds those who are not in present communion with the mind of God. In that case, the light a person has becomes darkness.

They press him further about whether he is Elijah (v. 21), no doubt with Malachi 4:5 in mind. "I am not" is his blunt answer. Does this contradict the Lord's words in Matthew 11:14? No. In a spiritual sense John was Elijah — that is, a prophet of similar spirit and power (Luke 1:17). But the Jews had in mind a literal reincarnation, and that was in no way true. John was not Elijah himself.

The key appears to lie in Matthew 11:14: "And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come." Such a word, however, needed ears to hear. The Lord Himself is Son of Man as well as Messiah. So John's testimony and his lot were to match a coming in shame and sorrow, as well as one in power and glory. The Jews cared only for the coming in power and glory.

The Lord, speaking of John, said, "Elijah has come," Mark 9:13, which seems to clash with John 1:21; another passage, however, explains it: "If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come." Matthew 11:14. He had come in the spirit and power of Elijah, as Gabriel had foretold.

The difficulty had to do with the truth of the two comings, which the disciples did not yet understand. The Lord came in humiliation. He will come again in power and glory. A forerunner preceded the first coming. A forerunner will appear before the second. So the Lord replied to the disciples' question: "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognise him, but did to him whatever they pleased." The scribes were right about the coming of Elijah. He will come and restore all things. Nothing like that has been seen down here yet.

Before Moses died, God commissioned him — the mediator of the first covenant — to tell Israel of a Prophet who would come like himself. All were to listen to Him (Deuteronomy 18:15)... The people were taught to expect a Prophet who would teach them, as well as a Messiah who would save them. That expectation had not died out in fifteen hundred years. For people asked John the Baptist whether he was the Prophet who was to come (John 1:21). So Israel was still looking for the Prophet. Soon after the word of God came to John, it became clear that the Prophet and the Messiah were one Person.

With his heart full of Christ, John gives this blessed reply: "I am not the Christ." The answer seems remarkable, since nothing had been said or asked about Christ. It is as if John said, "You have come to me, but I am not the One you need, I am not the Christ." As a true witness he presents Christ and hides himself. The more they press him to speak about himself, the shorter his answers become. They say, "Are you Elijah?" He replies, "I am not." They ask, "Are you the Prophet?" He answers with a single word, "No." John is decreasing so that Christ may increase.

His preaching caused a great stir in the land, so much so that priests and Levites came from Jerusalem to find out who he could be. But he was a faithful witness, and he would not let the support of these great and influential men turn him from his mission. He had come to speak of Christ, to prepare the people for their Lord, and he refused to talk about himself... He was a blessed and faithful servant. He kept himself out of his own message, so that his Lord might be everything in it.

It is unwelcome to any right-minded person to be asked to speak about himself. So, I have no doubt, John found it... But they wanted a positive answer. He had little indeed to say about himself. "I" had a very small place in John's thoughts.

They were determined to have an answer, and he gives them one. They would compel him to speak of himself, and he does so. But look at his answer! Who or what was he? Nobody. He was only "a voice." Here was a man of real power and dignity, one of Christ's most honoured servants, in the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels announced his birth; prophets foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet force this remarkable man to speak of himself, and the most he will say is, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.

A "voice" — barely a person. Its whole value lies in the message it brings. A voice must pass away, but it may do a work that will not pass. Here is a voice that would bring to the souls of men the imperishable Word which remains for ever... What are men, that a name among them and a following from them should be worth wanting?

He replies that he is only a "voice"... the voice Isaiah spoke of. He refuses to take a place as a gathering centre for the people of God; he refuses to take a name, to exalt himself among the people of God. He is simply a voice to speak of Jesus in obedience to the Word of God.

John does take his stand as a witness to Jesus, to His personal and divine glory. So when they challenged him about who he was, he used of himself the prophetic word attached to him in every Gospel: "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" Jesus was Jehovah. John was no more than a voice in a desolate earth — indeed, in a desolate Israel — to prepare the way before Him.

These priests, sent by the Pharisees in Jerusalem, should have hurried back to those who sent them. What a message they had to carry! The man they had enquired about was none other than the forerunner of the Lord... What would they do? Sadly, the announcement did not move them at all. They were a generation without faith. They could not even see past John's message, and they went on asking him about himself.

Listen to His testimony to John — the one who said of himself that he was nothing but a voice. "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist." How much better to hear this from the Master than from the servant! John said, "I am a voice." Christ said he was the greatest of prophets.

They were determined to have an answer, and he gives them one. They would compel him to speak of himself, and he does so. But mark his answer! Who or what was he? Nobody. He was only "a voice." … Here was a man of real power and dignity. He was one of Christ's most honored servants, holding the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels had announced his birth. Prophets had foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet when this remarkable man was forced to speak of himself, all he would say was, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.

A "voice" — hardly a person. Its whole value lies in the message it brings. A voice must pass away, yet it may do a work that will not pass. Here is a voice that will bring to the souls of men the undying Word that lasts forever. We cannot help seeing that the voice in John stands in fitting relation to the Word, who is Christ, and of whom the Gospel speaks in this way.

He replies that he is only a "voice." … He refuses to take a place as a gathering centre for the people of God. He refuses to take a name, or to lift himself up among the people of God. He is only a voice to speak of Jesus in obedience to the Word of God.

Still, John does take his stand as a witness to Jesus, to His personal and divine glory. To this end, when they challenged him about who he was, he applies to himself the prophetic word attached to him in every Gospel: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of Jehovah." Jesus was Jehovah. John was no more than a voice in the desolation of the earth — yes, of Israel — to prepare the way before Him.

It means that the One he brings in is Jehovah. But he leaves out the prophet's words, "a highway for our God." Though He is acknowledged to be Jehovah, He comes in as a man in humiliation. Besides, Israel in its present state could not be put in the position of saying "our" God.

This is why John the Baptist does not appeal to the people as a whole, like the prophets who had preceded him. He says, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness." Israel was a wilderness for God. From now on his appeal rests on their ruin beyond recovery. The appeal of the older prophets always assumed that the nation could still return to Jehovah.

In preparation for receiving Jehovah their King they were to make His paths straight. As His people they were to walk in His paths and not paths of their own choosing. What counted was reality and the evidence of it, not natural claim and empty words.

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. So the path before the Lord would be made straight.

"The Jews." Verse 24 says that the Pharisees sent them. Apart from a special use of the name "Jews" for the Lord's opponents — those who were such only in name — the distance of time and place called for that name, even from a writer who was himself a Jew by birth.

So God took care to stir up a general expectancy of the Messiah in the minds of His people. He also sent them the fullest witness. And there was never a more independent witness than John. He was born, brought up, and kept until the right moment to testify of the Messiah.

Now this was a very remarkable answer to fall on the ears of the Pharisees who were the messengers sent to question the Baptist. Surely it is not without meaning that this fact is stated. Pharisees know very little of self-hiding or self-emptiness. Such rare and lovely fruits do not grow in the withering air of Pharisaism. They only grow in the new creation, and there is no Pharisaism there. Pharisaism, in all its phases and at all its levels, is the direct moral opposite of self-denial. So John's reply must have sounded strange in the ears of the questioners.

This contains a volume of deep practical instruction for the heart. It is exactly what is needed in this day of busy self-importance — needed by each, needed by all. For do we not, each and all, have to judge ourselves for our strong tendency to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think? So we deeply need the wholesome teaching given by the lovely self-emptiness of John the Baptist, who when challenged to speak of himself could step back into the shade and say, "I am only a voice."

But those who had been sent were of the Pharisees, and they saw nothing. They did not heed the testimony as men who knew their need. They had misread the ages past, and here was the voice of those ages. It was strange and distant. And the light in the eyes of the man who spoke — had they not seen it before in many a fanatic?

These priestly delegates from the Pharisees in Jerusalem should have hurried back to those who sent them. What a message they had been given to carry! The man they had asked about was none other than the forerunner of the Lord. His Master's footsteps were already sounding behind him... What would they do? Sadly, the announcement did not move them at all. They were a generation without faith. They were ritualists. They cared much about the outward form of baptism and about who had authority to perform it. But they had neither ears nor hearts for the word of God which John spoke among them.

If, however, John refuses to become a new gathering centre, why does he baptize? The Pharisees knew well that baptism meant death, and therefore separation, for death is the great separator. If John baptized, it meant separation from the old order of things, to have part in something entirely new. What, then, the Pharisees ask, is the new centre of gathering, seeing that John refused to be a leader or centre?

In fact, it was an unheard-of boldness to impose such a baptism on Israelites. Here was a man with no miracle to back him, with nothing but his own life, lived apart from the world, and that fervent appeal to the conscience which woke it up to its work. They could not meet him on the ground of Scripture or of fact; but it was easier to question his personal right to baptize, of which they themselves were the accepted judges.

But the men who had been sent were Pharisees, and they saw nothing. They did not take in the testimony, as people aware of their need would have done. They had misread the ages past, and here was the voice of those ages, and it was strange and distant... But they were sharp ritualists, and now they had a rightful question for him, founded on his own confession. If he was neither Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why did he baptize?

They further ask why he baptized, if he was neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. Elijah means the immediate forerunner of the kingdom in power and glory over the earth (Mal. 4). The prophet means the one promised in Deut. 18. The apostle Peter in Acts 3 applies that promise just as clearly to the Lord Jesus, though the Jews seem by then to have taken it away from the Messiah.

The Greek article, here as in verse 21, excludes the idea some have had that behind the Jew's question lay the superstitious notion (referred to in Luke 9:19) that the old prophets would rise from the dead when Messiah came.

The Pharisees were well aware that baptism signified death, and therefore separation, for death is the great separator. If John baptized, it meant separation from the old order of things, to have part in something entirely new. What, then, the Pharisees ask, is the new centre of gathering, seeing that John refused to be a leader or centre?

In fact, it was an unheard-of boldness to impose such a baptism on Israelites. Here was a man with no miracle to back him. He had nothing but his own life apart from the world, and that burning appeal to the conscience which woke it up to its work. With it came the startling announcement that heaven's Kingdom and its King were at hand. They could not meet him on the ground of Scripture or of fact. It was easier to question his personal right to the privilege he claimed, since they were its recognised judges.

But John answers them in his own strange way, by attacking all ritualism at its very root. Baptize? Yes, he baptized — with water! As a symbol, water might carry the deepest meaning. Otherwise it could only wash dirt from the body. Water does water's work, the work its Maker appointed for it. Why make much of this, while One stood in the middle of them, unknown and unnoticed? He was so great that the Baptist declares he was unworthy to do a servant's task for Him, and had received from Him all the significance he had.

The religious Jew had no appreciation of Christ. He was standing among them, but as One unknown. Not only was He unknown by the world, but unknown by the priests and Levites of Jerusalem. Yet so great is this unknown One that John can say His "sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."

So the more this dear servant of Christ is forced to speak of himself or of his work, the more he withdraws into the shade. When asked about himself, he says "I am a voice." Then asked about his work, he says, "I am not worthy to untie my Master's sandal strap." There is no swelling or exalting of self, no fuss about his service, no parading of his work.

He makes no effort to defend himself... His single-heartedness in testimony is an example for every servant of Christ.

Honesty would have admitted that John's authority came from heaven. But they had not accepted his testimony, and admitting the truth would have embarrassed them badly. On the other hand, saying John's baptism was from men would have angered the common people they wanted as followers. The people knew that John was a prophet. And what men could they point to who had given John such authority? No Jewish authorities had done this (compare John 1:19-27). They answer, "We cannot tell."

In the other Gospels, John gave his testimony about the Lord before the Lord was baptized, and so before John knew Him. In this Gospel, John, the son of Zechariah, speaks after the baptism of Christ. That is why his language differs. He could now say that One stands among them. In Matthew, Mark and Luke he always speaks of the coming One. Here he speaks of Him as come, and in the middle of the people.

"Stands." This does not mean the Lord was in the crowd in front of John at that moment (compare verse 29). The word means "there has stood." Bengel renders it: "has taken his stand."

In his reply John admits that he baptizes with water. This implies that to gather around Christ you must separate from the corrupt religious system of that day. The religious Jew had no appreciation of Christ. He was standing among them, but as One unknown. The world did not know Him, and neither did the priests and Levites of Jerusalem. Yet this unknown One is so great that John can say His "sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."

They were a generation without faith. They could not even see behind John's message, and they continued to ask him about himself. They were ritualists. They cared a great deal about the outward form of baptism and about who had the right to perform it. But they had no ears and no hearts for the word of God that John spoke among them.

"And I did not know Him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel." There you have John's part. All he could do was to baptize with water. That was a kind of token or sign to Israel that the Christ was about to be revealed.

Scripture is just as plain that it is quite distinct from Christian baptism. It is so distinct that disciples who had already been baptized with John's baptism had to be baptized to Christ when they received the full truth of the gospel (Acts 19). Confessing a coming Messiah is very different from confessing His death and resurrection. This is the root of differences that carry weighty consequences.

The more this dear servant of Christ has to speak of himself or of his work, the more he steps back into the shade. Asked about himself, he says, "I am a voice." Asked about his work, he says, "I am not worthy to untie my Master's sandal strap." There is no puffing up or exalting of self. He makes nothing of his service and does not parade his work. The greatest of prophets was, in his own eyes, only a voice. The most honoured of servants thought himself unworthy to touch his Master's shoe.

In his witness to the truth he witnesses to the greatness of Jesus, and to his own unworthiness next to Him. It was a wonderful testimony to the Son of God. He was there among the men the Pharisees had sent, and the testimony left them without excuse. They did not know Jesus, but John's testimony should have led them to seek Him and to accept Him.

In his reply John admits that he baptises with water. This implies that to gather round Christ, you must separate from the corrupt religious system of that day. He then shows that this separation is necessary. The religious Jew had no appreciation of Christ. He was standing among them, but as One they did not know. He was unknown not only by the world, but by the priests and Levites of Jerusalem. Yet this unknown One is so great that John can say, "I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal."

Archaic, 61-word sentence at grade 29; split and modernised

He is the voice Isaiah spoke of, the one who was to prepare the way of the Lord before Him. He does not go exactly before the Messiah, though the Lord was the Messiah. Nor is he Elijah going before the day of Jehovah. He is the voice in the wilderness, going before the Lord (Jehovah) Himself. Jehovah was coming. So this is what John speaks about. John's baptism was indeed a baptism of repentance. But One was already among them, unknown, who came after him and yet was greater than he was — the One whose sandal strap he was not worthy to untie.

If He were only a man, John would certainly have been worthy to be His servant, however great that man might be. But He was God, come among His people with good news.

But there was one moment in John's life that all four Gospels record, and the book of Acts records it again. In it John confesses that he is completely unworthy in the presence of this glorious Man — so unworthy that he is not fit to untie the sandals of Jesus. By pointing to these words five times, the Holy Spirit seems to be underlining the greatness of Christ as Man.

How wonderful it is to read of Him in this same Gospel washing the feet of His disciples. No one greater than John was ever born of women. Yet John was not worthy to untie this One's sandal strap — and this same One tied a towel round Himself and washed His disciples' feet.

Here was a man of real power and dignity, one of Christ's most famous servants, holding the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels had announced his birth, and prophets had foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet when this remarkable man was pressed to speak about himself, all he would say was, "I am a voice."

The oldest authorities give the best reading as Bethany, not Bethabara or Betharabah. This was not the well-known village near Jerusalem. It was another district of the same name beyond the Jordan.

One critic accused the writer of this Gospel of not knowing the geography of Palestine. The charge was that he had confused the place spoken of here with the village he himself says is near Jerusalem. But the country holds other place-names that each cover more than one location. For example, the Emmaus of Luke 24:13 could not be the same as the one mentioned in 1 Maccabees 3:40. Besides, places can change their names.

He is not only unknown. He is also in the outside place, "beyond Jordan." So from the very start, this Gospel shows Christ as rejected by the nation, and in the outside place of reproach.

We can name the place, but can we fix the spot? We all know Bethany, the village east of the Mount of Olives, where the family Jesus loved had their home. But there was another Bethany, east of the Jordan. It is unknown today, yet it had a history then. It is memorable for what happened on the first three of the six days we are reading about. It was there that the Lamb of God was first pointed out. It was there, too, that John's testimony sent Andrew and his companion after Christ. And it was there that the Lord withdrew, as chapter 10:40 of this Gospel relates. He stayed a short while, before offering up Himself as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for sins. It seems fitting that He returned to the very place where John first proclaimed Him as the Lamb. From there He went up to Jerusalem to make that title good.

So the Lord withdraws until the moment God has appointed. Meanwhile He goes to the place where John worked at first, and stays there. Grace wins many a soul there, and they recognise in Him the truth of John's testimony.

We left John at Bethany, east of the Jordan. We now meet him on the west of that river, at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. So it was not far from Bethany beyond Jordan, where John first proclaimed the Lord as the Lamb of God. People had begun gathering to Him east of the Jordan, and now that gathering was going on in the west.

There is very little doubt that there is a quiet reference to Genesis 22. Abraham was on his way to Mount Moriah to offer up Isaac, obeying God's command. Isaac said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." And this is the point here. The Lamb of God is the Lamb of God's own providing, and now to deal once and for ever with the question of sin.

God has provided a lamb, a victim for sin — a lamb for our need, but it is God's Lamb for Himself. We do not have to find a lamb; God has found it and set it before us. We do not bring a lamb to God; He brings His to us. What grace!

There was no image more familiar to a Jew's mind than that of the lamb. It was the daily sacrifice of Israel, morning and evening. Besides, the Passover lamb was the pledge of the basic peace of the year. It was first set up at the very time the sons of Israel left the house of bondage. We can understand, then, what thoughts and feelings must have crowded into the hearts of those who were looking for a Saviour. His forerunner had just pointed them to Jesus in this way.

The first error consists in the simple addition of a letter, making it "sins" instead of sin... The question of a letter may seem small. But if Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world, universal salvation apart from faith would be the necessary consequence. That teaching undermines the foundations of Christianity. So we must insist on this: the verse speaks of the sin of the world, not the sins.

Where Jesus is spoken of as the propitiation, there it is for the world. The blood is on the mercy seat, and so mercy and forgiveness are proclaimed to all. But where Jesus is spoken of as the Substitute, actually bearing and taking away sins, it is always limited to believers.

This brings before us two parts of Christ's work. First, as the Lamb of God He dealt with sin as a sacrifice, being made sin at the cross. Second, He will take the principle of sin out of the world in a day to come.

Only the new heavens and new earth will see the final fulfilment. Then indeed it will be clear how truly Jesus was "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." For then, and not till then, sin will have disappeared completely, along with all its active consequences.

The testimony looks onward to the effects of the death of Christ as a whole, but these were not to appear all at once. The first result was to be the gospel, the message of forgiveness of sins to every believer. Now the blood of the Lamb stands before God, and not the sin of the world alone. So God could meet the world in grace, not in judgment.

In a moment Luther saw the personal application implied in the question. The light broke into his soul. He replied, "I believe in this forgiveness of my sins." So if the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, He may well take away my sins.

Then John witnesses to the greatness of the One Who, as the Lamb of God, will do this work. He says, "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who ranks before me, because He was before me.'" In time, Christ came after John. In position, He stands far above John, because He existed in eternity before John.

The words "because He was before me" could only be used of a Divine Person. In fact John the Baptist was a few months older than the Lord in human birth. So it is clear that when he said the Lord was before him, he meant His Deity. In short, Jesus was Jehovah.

John the Baptist (who came on earth six months before Jesus) said again, "A MAN comes after me," but One who, in honour and dignity, "ranks before me," because, in His eternal existence, "He was before me." We can understand and rejoice in what is said about His exalted place. But who can explain how a "MAN" — the Word become flesh — who came "after" John was also "before" him? Yet we know this is a fact God has revealed.

His divine glory was essential to make the work He undertook effective. He must really be before John, however much John came before Him in history. "I myself did not know Him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel." There you have John's part. All he could do was baptize with water.

The Baptist says that Jesus was truly before him, though He came after him. He repeats it as if guarding it jealously (vv. 15, 27, 30)… In this the Holy Spirit, who spoke through John, honours Jesus as the great Subject of all God's eternal purposes, God's own great appointed One, to whom all other appointed things pointed. So, though He came after them, He was before them… For it was the Son alone whom God had set up from everlasting, the great first Object of all His purposes. Every prophet and every appointed thing was only His servant, to bear witness to Him.

It is interesting and instructive to note that to the Pharisees John says nothing (verse 27) about Christ's eternal existence before him. Yet that is the ground of Christ taking first place over him, though He was born after him. Compare verses 15, 30.

No one could have given a bolder witness than John the Baptist on the day at Bethabara. In front of the whole crowd he cries, "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who ranks before me, because He was before me.'" But when John finds himself inside the prison walls, when the crowds have gone, when the witnessing time is over and the waiting time has come, then under the stress of this new trial he cries, "Are You the one who is to come?"

"Knew Him not." Some cite Matthew 3:14 as contradicting this. But the comparison seems to show that the Greek here can hardly mean John knew nothing of our Lord at all, which in itself is very unlikely — though we must allow that they grew up in different parts of the land. John did not know Him as Messiah before this.

When Jesus was here, though truly Man, visible to mortal eyes, faith alone could really grasp who He was. Without some communication from God, no human heart was ready to receive Him. That communication came either direct or in the written Word, which they had, so they were responsible. Even John the Baptist had twice to say, "I did not know Him." He was the greatest born of women, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, and the same is said of no other man.

Because the Baptist had not known Jesus before, his testimony was all the more solemn and clearly from God. Whatever inward conviction he had as the Lord came for baptism, it did not stop the outward sign. Nor did it stop the witness he bears to His Person and His work, as he had borne before it.

John is careful to show that his knowledge of the glory of the Person of the Christ lay completely outside the flesh. He did not get it from any natural knowledge of the Lord, or from being connected with Him by family ties.

There you have John's part. All he could do was to baptise with water. That was a kind of token or sign to Israel that the Christ was about to be revealed.

This was the basis of John's baptizing. It put Jews in the place of death, owning their total ruin under law. That was the only proper moral preparation, since the Lord of glory was present.

He answers the question of the Pharisees, "Why do you baptize?" He was closing up the old order by baptism, to reveal Christ to Israel as the great Centre of the new order of blessing. He was not there to reveal himself. He hid himself so that Christ "might be revealed".

Its true force is that what existed but was hidden has come into view. Faith of course gains by it, and in some cases it becomes a testimony to others. But the revealing is complete whatever its effects. This is true even where the verse names the people to whom the revealing was made, as John 1:31 makes certain. For our Lord was revealed to Israel; yet they, His own, did not receive Him. God brought Him to light for the very people that refused Him.

He adds also that he had been blind as to His glory, as the world itself was. Divine love and power alone brought us out of the state we were in. Being aware of that will make us rely on the same grace for others, and on nothing else but grace.

It is not merely the record of the event, but the witness of John concerning it: he tells us what he saw. Here also are added the words "it remained on Him." In the Son of God there was a dwelling place for the Spirit of God. One upon whom He could rest with deepest pleasure, and remain for the carrying out of all God's will.

Ravens might have been used in God's wisdom to feed the starving prophet in another dark day; but that was not the appearance of the Spirit descending from heaven to remain on Jesus. The dove alone could be the proper form, a picture of the spotless purity of Him on whom He came. Yet He did come upon Him as man. Jesus was man without sin — as truly man as any other, yet how different from all before or after! He was the second Man in bright contrast with the first.

Noah then sent out a dove. There was nothing to attract it: "the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot." It shows the condition of the world before Christ came. When He was here, the holy dove could remain upon Him. But before that, there was no man on whom the Holy Spirit could rest. He came upon certain men and gave them power for service. But there were none on whom He could rest.

Notice that word, "it remained on Him." In former days the Spirit had come "upon" men, but often He had left them. Moses partly lost it. Balaam lost it. Saul lost it. And David feared to lose it. But here is the only sinless Man, outside of Eden, that the world or God has seen. He received the Spirit, and "it remained on Him." The Spirit remaining is the Father's testimony to His delight and joy in that perfect Man. There and then, by this act, He owns Him as His Son.

He was sealed as Son of man, and as Son of man on earth before redemption. That needed no shedding of blood, because He knew no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. He was absolutely sinless. He could have the Holy Spirit remaining on Him apart from blood, because He was the Holy One — the Saviour. He needed no work, no blood, no redemption. Yet He died, shedding His blood and accomplishing redemption. Why? So that we might be sealed. We had no natural right to be brought near. The Holy Spirit could never have made His home in us. Now we may have that same Holy Spirit who dwelt in Him remaining in us.

The Spirit's descent, and His remaining on Jesus, was God's sign to John the Baptist about who Jesus was. Through it John saw the Son of God in His glory and bore witness to Him. The One on whom the Spirit came and remained was to baptize with the Holy Spirit. From this John saw the divine glory of Jesus. Who else but a divine Person could be the resting place of the Holy Spirit? Who but a divine Person could baptize with the Holy Spirit?

John 1:32 contradicts the theory that the Being who descended on Jesus was "the Christ," and declares that it was the "Spirit."

We may note the great care taken that John the Baptist should not have known Jesus beforehand. Luke 1 shows a remarkable link between the mothers of the two babies. That makes the Baptist's repeated statement, "I knew him not," all the more startling. God is setting out a knowledge that is infinitely above nature. It comes from His own teaching and the direct testimony of the Holy Spirit.

He does not deny that he had met Jesus before. But he does deny that his declaration came from conclusions he himself had drawn, or from any estimate of His Person he himself had formed. It rested on a revelation from heaven that he himself had received.

Notice that word: the Spirit "remained on him." In earlier days the Spirit came on men, but often He left them. Moses partly lost Him. Balaam lost Him. Saul lost Him. David feared to lose Him. But here is the only sinless Man, outside Eden, that the world or God has seen. He received the Spirit, and the Spirit "remained on him." That abiding Spirit is the Father's testimony to His delight and joy in that perfect Man. By that very act the Father owns Him as His Son.

But if the Spirit stayed on Him as man, this is He that baptizes with the Holy Spirit. None could so baptize but God. It would be blasphemy to say otherwise. It is the fullest prerogative of a divine Person to act in this way. So John the Baptist disclaimed it altogether. In every Gospel he points to Jesus alone as the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, while he himself had come baptizing with water. It is the mighty work of Jesus from heaven, as He was the Lamb of God on the cross.

While giving this bright testimony to Jesus, the Baptist could not know all that lay before Jesus before He would baptize men with His Spirit. The Lord would not do this on earth. He would do it from His place of exaltation at the Father's right hand, after He had finished the great work of redemption on the cross.

It is evident that our Lord is applying these words when He says to the disciples after His resurrection, "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). Here is the same contrast of water with Spirit, yet the same term, "baptism," applied to each. On the day of Pentecost, when these words were fulfilled, the Spirit did not connect Himself with water. It is certain, too, that these disciples were born again before Pentecost, so this baptism was not their new birth. The baptism of the Spirit is not what makes men new-born. It is what makes those already new-born members of the body of Christ.

That is, in John 1:32 you have the personal seal of the Holy Spirit given to Christ. "God the Father has set His seal on Him." The Holy Spirit came and stayed on Him. But a most blessed truth is brought out in the next verse. The same blessed Person, who was Himself sealed in this way, was also to baptize others with the Holy Spirit. There you have the two great divisions of our Lord's work. First, the Lamb bearing away the sin of the world, the crowning work of Christ on earth. Then His great heavenly work, founded on what He did on earth.

Even John the Baptist was the greatest born of women. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, and the same is said of no other man. Yet twice he had to declare, "I myself did not know Him" (John 1:31, 33). By himself he could not define anything about His Person apart from the revelation made to him... The testimony he heard carried what John saw deep down into his soul. It made it a matter of faith, and so of power in his heart, so that he "bore witness."

There was one, but only one, of all who came to John, on whom the Holy Spirit could find a resting-place. All the others confessed their sins as John baptised them. They had all failed, and so were sinners in themselves. He alone was holy, for He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. On Him the Spirit descended, and remained. And John saw that, though probably no one else witnessed it.

John's conclusion, stated in verse 34, is of much importance... The Holy Spirit is a Person in the Godhead. And here is a Man who has this Divine Person at His disposal, to pour Him out as a baptism. Who can this Man be? No one less than the Son of God, another Person in the Godhead. So we are at once brought to the point which is the main aim of this Gospel (see 20:31). The Son was here in Manhood; that is why such a thing could be.

As the Lamb of God He accomplishes redemption. But that is not all. As the Son of God He gives the Holy Spirit, so that He may lead the redeemed into the blessedness of their place as sons. John bears witness that the One who gives the Holy Spirit is the Son of God. Who but a divine Person could give a divine Person? These titles given to the Lord by John go far beyond what Christ is in relation to Israel.

When the angel Gabriel announced the birth, he told the virgin that her child would be called the Son of God. So He is Son of God by incarnation. But He is Son of God as well by eternal generation... And how did John the Baptist learn that He was the Son of God? For revelation alone teaches that. Had he not heard the Father's voice addressing His Son, when He was baptised in the Jordan? "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." That heavenly message was addressed to the Son, but surely John heard it. So John could declare with certainty that He would baptise with the Holy Spirit, learning that by special revelation. And with the same certainty he could proclaim the Sonship, hearing it in the Father's words to His Son.

This was the sign given to John the Baptist that opened his mouth to bear witness that Jesus was the Son of God... The descent of the Spirit on Jesus is the clear, heavenly testimony showing who Jesus was in His Person, as Son of God. John saw and bore witness that He was the Son of God Himself in this world. This is very precious for us to think about. With us it is no question of our persons, but of sovereign grace. He has ascended into glory and has baptised us with the Holy Spirit. And He, the eternal Son, first received this same testimony Himself as Man down here.