THE BOOK OF JOHN CHAPTER 1:15-23

VERSES: Daniel 9:20-27; Luke 1:80; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mathew 3:2,4:17, 10:7

This lesson lays down the foundational understanding that we will build upon as we look at the rest of the Book of John.

VERSE 15 “John (the Baptist) bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.”  [Read Luke 3:1-18] John the Baptist came in answer to God’s timeline. His ‘Calling’ was to His elect people of Israel, to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was to herald the “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…”  in view of the fact that the promised Messianic Kingdom of God was drawing nigh. The Kingdom of Israel’s prophesied restoration was thought to be manifested soon; in that the Messiah was being declared to be now alive and living among them. John the Baptist’s exhorting and warning message answered to the prophetic clock of Israel’s promised kingdom restoration in accordance with what God had told the Prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:20-27.

“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.”

These preceding verses were in response to Daniel’s inquiry as to when Israel’s promised Kingdom would come to fruition. Israel was to be punished for 70 years for not living to the calling/standard that God had called them to. They were to “finish the transgression” or pay the penalty for a specific amount of time before they would be able to return to the Land according to prophecy. However, they had the punishment increased to 70×7 years. This equals 490 years before the prophecy could be fulfilled about the Messiah coming in to make an end of sins and (eventually) set up His Kingdom. John the Baptist’s ministry and public pronouncement of Jesus as the Lamb of God came at this time, at the end of the 490 years.

John the Baptist “… waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel”. [Luke 1:80] John had spent many years as he wandered in the deserts learning to to hear from the Spirit of the Lord. Jesus was living at home in Nazareth with His parents when John the Baptist begins to present himself to Israel. John’s ministry was to prepare the hearts of the people for their long-awaited Messiah. Though John was 30 years old, and 6 months older than Jesus, he yet understood His pre-existence and declared “He was before me.”  John perceived what the Pharisees had not… “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto Him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord… If David then call him Lord: how is he his son?”  [Matthew 22-43, 45]

John the Baptist, in one aspect, was to call Israelites to repentance/a change of mind from their callous unrighteous deeds in anticipatory faith of forgiveness of sins; a forgiveness of sins discovered in a new way outside the traditional means by way of the Mosaic Law. And in another aspect, he pointed them to the soon Coming Christ; to their Messiah/King anointed by God to rule over Israel, admonishing them to turn their mind and hearts towards Him in repentant anticipation with sincere works of righteous behavior. [Matthew 3:8-9] John heralded Him Who would fulfill all aspects of Israel’s prophesied Kingdom’s realization. Together, the two aspects constituted understanding and submitting to the new symbolic rite of John’s water baptism.

The overall burden of John the Baptist’s message to the Jews was: to announce the approach of the Messiah/King and the proffering to them of the Kingdom of heavens (in their understanding, the Kingdom of heavens is the same as the ‘Kingdom of God’ for which they had always been looking; that of the Jews prophesied preeminence in the Earth over the Gentile Nations in a theocratic government). This was to be the great work of the Messiah Himself; to establish a Kingdom in Everlasting righteousness, wherein their Messiah/King would bring God’s Kingdom to Earth as it is in Heaven. This was the desire of Israel for thousands of years, that which the entire Old Testament was preparatory for. It was/is the great hope of Israel. But how imperfectly did the Jews understand the Kingdom Word… having somewhat the religious form and limited vision of a kingdom coming but all together being self-righteously excluded for being without the heart or mind of clear understanding. (Just as many Israelites (then and now) thought they’d be part of the kingdom of heavens by trusting in their heritage/physical lineage as sons of Abraham. In the same way, Christians who want to be a part of that Kingdom of heavens cannot have a false security of having been regenerated and having become a child of God by faith. We need to have Repentance with WORKS, not just repentance with WORDS in order to inherit.)

The political and religious conditions of that era fit prophetically in that it constituted the time of Israel’s greatest need. (Rome being a very oppressive government made them even more desirable of the Messianic kingdom.) It was in these volatile circumstances that the cry of ‘the Kingdom of God/the Kingdom of heavens was near at hand’ went forth from John the Baptist, that they should ‘prepare for it’. The anointed Message must have startled the careless yet religious Nation [Matthew 3:9-10] and awakened many of them [John 8:30] from their prideful presumption.

In light of John’s dedicated life and sincere heartfelt Message (in that he urged for repentance and forgiveness of sins, in preparation of the King and of the Kingdom of heavens) it is no wonder that some would think him possibly to be that Messiah. But John the Baptist here pointed them to the vast difference between himself, and his minor work, and the Christ Person and His major mission. Humbly, John the Baptist declared himself not worthy to do Him the service of being His slave (unlatching His sandals). He made it clear that his work of repentance and water baptism was not effective in qualifying a person for the ‘Kingdom of heavens’ …but it was the Divine Baptism in the Holy Spirit and sanctifying fire which purified unto the Kingdom of heavens’ inheritance. John made these contrasts emphasizing that his work was to be seen as but preparation of the soil, whereas Christ’s work was that of sowing, judging, and having the final decision of who is ripened and fit (or not) for harvest. His is the Harvester, and His is the garner (storehouse typically seen as the kingdom of heavens), and so it is, His is the fan, with which He will sift the wheat from the straw and chaff — the one to be gathered in the Kingdom, the other burned in judgment fire.

What John the Baptist preached and symbolized by a rite; although the rite was not new in itself, but new in its application; that of ‘baptism of repentance and remission of sins’ was in preparation of their taking on a newness of life provision of grace unto ruling with the Messiah in His coming Kingdom. This baptism was completely new. It was possibly so readily accepted by the Israelites of that day, looking for their emancipation as was prophesied by Ezekiel 36:25. Or possibly generally viewed as that seen typically in Exodus 19:10; which was that washing preceding the giving of the first Covenant before; this baptism then being in anticipation of the Messiah and the glorious Kingdom. Additionally, John’s baptism or immersion would have brought into their view the Red Sea crossing and deliverance from Egypt (Rome).

Baptism is considered one of the essential observances by which Israel was admitted into the Mosaic Covenant. HAD IT PRIMARILY BEEN A ‘BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE’, CHRIST COULD NOT HAVE SUBMITTED TO IT. See Exodus 29:19 and 40:12 and Leviticus 8:6-12… These may help us to understand Christ’s response to John the Baptist’s reluctance in baptizing Him “…it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness”. Baptism would represent in type His Death unto Resurrection and being the giver of newness of life [John 12:24], and to some extent the High Priest’s anointing. [Exodus 29:4,7] Just as Aaron and his sons were ritually immersed and anointed with oil in preparation to become ministers, Christ’s baptism and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon Him was the anti-type. His public baptism by John the Baptist was the last act of His private life, from then on, His public ministry began. John the Baptist was a herald of the coming Messiah; Jesus was the propitiatory offering and the Mediator. Christ fulfilled or filled up with meaning the Mosaic Covenant. This helps explain why after the presenting and water baptism of Christ, the baptism of John lost its importance. [Acts 19:3-5, John 3:30]

VERSE 16 It is John the Apostle who speaks here… “And of his fullness (this relates back to the eternal aspect of His existence and prior Divine planning for man’s creation purpose-Verse 15) have all we received, and grace for grace.”

In a nutshell, the Bible is a Book about Redemption and Restoration through Atonement (the word “Atonement” being broken down into 5 words: propitiation, redemption, ransom, reconciliation and restoration) and involves much more than fallen man’s rescue from eternal death.

Redemption encompasses the purposes for which Man was created by GOD; to have willing sons, who are tried and tested through sufferings, who love and serve Him faithfully (in contrast to those who by free will chose or choose not to). Who at His appointed time, take dominion/control (over any contrary force) first in the Millennial Kingdom of the heavens [1st Corinthians 15:22-28, Revelation 2:27] and afterwards rule forever in an eternal theocratic government (as kings and priests) throughout His great and vast Creation. [Revelation 20:4-6 with Revelation 22:5b]

Receiving His fullness speaks to the enormity of the impact of the Atonement of Jesus Christ on mankind, beyond redemption of the eternal kind, unto the fullness of the Salvation Plan revealed to those who have hearts to be conformed into sons of God. To that end, it encompasses the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the Church-wide call to the Kingdom of heavens and its attainability, and the sealing of satan’s fate who yet rules from the his throne from the heavens above.

The Father, in answer to the design of His Salvation Plan, at the most perfect time, added the abundant major ‘saving’ grace to the minor ‘saving’ grace of the Covenant of Moses. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” [Ephesians 1:3-14]

VERSE 17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”  John the Evangelist here sets the New Testament in great contrast with the Mosaic Covenant. The Messiah’s ‘calling’ (in further light and life unto a heavenly theocratic government) with accompanying power, grace, and mercy has vastly superseded Moses ‘calling’ (into further light and life unto and earthly theocratic government ) obtainable only by keeping the Law in its entirety. Moses was the intermediary of the Covenant of Law and because of the weakness of the flesh, came its unavoidable condemnation and death. “Resurrection Life’ unto the prize of the High Calling is unobtainable through the Law. The Law is righteous and holy and came first… to bear upon the unsaved and saved person’s conscience the disqualifying and condemning wages of sin, to show the critical need for Christ to all and point us towards Him for the attaining of inheritance in the promises of God. [Galatians 3&4]

God revealed Himself as gracious and merciful to Moses. [Exodus 34:6-7] But these Attributes of God were greatly limited and not to be manifest under the days of the Law given by Moses but under the days of the Law of the Messiah in the Gospel of greater grace, mercy, and truth. In the Age of the Law of Justice, He smote those (like Korah and others) who came against Him and His anointed; Moses and Aaron. And when Aaron’s sons failed to follow the letter of the Law, they were slain before the Lord. But when Christ was being ridiculed, slandered, and crucified, He prayed; ‘Father forgive them’. Scripture, taken all together in the revelation of the Holy Spirit, points to the only Way, Truth, and life unto overcoming holiness unto the Father’s declared sonship unto ruling. [Hebrews 12:4, Romans 8:13-18] Jesus Christ is the personification of the word of truth. (“I am the …Truth”– John 14:6 and 17:17) We look no further for Truth than the Written Word of God.

His incarnation, life, and death were the supreme manifestations of loving grace as the Lamb of God. The lost soul is naturally in the World of satan’s lies; and then upon hearing and believing in Jesus’ selfless Atonement Sacrifice for saving any person from the curse of eternal death, they acknowledge and repent of their sinfulness. They recognize the impossibility of ever making themselves worthy of His redemptive grace, but accept Him by faith in all their un-deservedness. Having the assurance then of being forgiven, they are redeemed and received as a child of the Father and granted the gift of eternal life by the impartation of the Divine Nature. Once it is received, it is forever possessed. This then, every Christian should know is but the starting point from which we are to proceed to fulfill the purpose of God for creating man. Being justified/regenerated is the first ‘level’ of being saved.

VERSE 18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” HOW BLESSED WE ARE to be in this Dispensation under the saving Atonement of Christ with its mercy and grace calling unto transfiguration in Glory; under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit that we might have the revealing of the “deep things of God” [1st Corinthians 2:10] which leads us unto the realization of the fullness of the Salvation Plan of God in Christ! [1st Peter 2:9-10]

JOHN’S TESTIMONY OF WHO HE HIMSELF WAS

VERSE 19-23 “And this is the record (testimony) of John (the Baptist) And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.”  What John began to preach in preparation for the coming Messiah was the very same message that Christ began to preach and what the 12 and 70 disciples preached… “Repent ye: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” [Compare Matthew 3:2 with 4:17;10:7 ]

What does it mean to repent because the Kingdom of heavens was at hand?

Now here is the crux of the matter which we cannot overlook without further comment. Though it be a vast subject, we will attempt to be clear but briefly summarize as to what John the Baptist preached and what Christ first began to preach to Israel, which was validated with ‘signs’. It being the Kingdom of heavens’ calling to Israel, after which Christ then sent the 12 and then the 70 in the power of signs following to validate the calling Word. This calling being only to the House of Israel, (as Jews were the only qualified/saved on the Earth to be called unto the Kingdom of heavens). That which John the Apostle wrote and presented to Israel sometime before Acts 28:28’s declaration (of taking the message to the Gentiles), is what he is now shedding more light upon in his account of the Gospel. The calling to the Jews unto the Kingdom of heavens has little to nothing to do with being ‘saved’, but has to do with getting the ‘saved’ saved.

Christians in general have been taught that both John the Baptist and John the Apostle’s Gospel was centered around getting Israel and the Gentiles ‘saved’ by accepting Jesus as the Messiah Savior, thereby redeeming them from Eternal Death into Eternal Life. Whereas the Gospels declare and reveal that the God-appointed Message of all four was/is that of the required personal preparation necessary in the bringing forth of qualifying good fruits unto an inheritance to rule in Christ’s Kingdom of heavens …a work that can only be brought forth from the already ‘saved’. Qualifying Fruit must be accompanying the saved in order to be found worthy of the inheritance of the Kingdom of the heavens! Today (as it has for centuries past) to speak authoritatively of redemption unto eternal life as God’s Salvation plan; apart from God’s original purpose for creating Man (which was for man to be found a faithful overcomer worthy to rule in glory over this Earth, as stated above) would fall sadly and destructively far short of Biblical understanding of God’s Redemption and Restoration Plan.

Now these statements naturally pose two questions for the sincere Modern-Day Christian who has ‘ears’ and has never heard the Truth of the Redemption and Salvation Plan of God.

• What does the inheritance of the Kingdom of the heavens mean if it doesn’t mean that after I am ‘saved /redeemed’ by the Blood of the Lamb and die I will go to Heaven?
• Where is it and how is it that Scripture presents the Israelites being already redeemed /saved before the Messiah was Manifest, Crucified and Resurrected?

God appointed two realms ‘In the beginning…”; that of the heavenly spiritual realm and that of the earthly or material realm. In the beginning is to say from the time of His making them, which is an unstated time in the past. These two dimensions, and their spiritual and physical beings that would then occupy them, are the way God ordered things from His time of Creation. Neither the two realms or their order will He change His mind about, and Scripture says that two realms will continue forever. [Genesis 1 with Revelation 21-22]

God has declared that between the two realms, the “the heavens do rule”. [Daniel 4:26] And to that end, in the beginning He appointed myriads of Angels in different capacities to rule over the Earth and the material physical creation from the heavens. Of which Lucifer was chief with these myriads of Angels ruling in various capacities under him. Lucifer later became prideful and attempted to extend his rule beyond that which God had appointed. To this end, he rebelled along with 1/3 of the governing Angels. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” [Isaiah 14:13-14]

Lucifer and his angels failed in their attempt to ascend above God and lost their magnificent coverings. “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” [Ezekiel 28] He defiled God’s sanctuaries and lost the privilege of the holy mountain of God. Barred from the 3rd Heaven of God, he was then relegated to the heavens from where he had once ruled over the vast perfectly conceived and perfectly designed two realms of God’s original Creation; over an area that included the Earth “in the beginning”. The ancient and mysterious material world over which he ruled, after he rebelled, fell into chaos and was ruined. Losing it’s light, it fell into darkness and was flooded with water; becoming void of life. [Genesis 1:2]

Scripture does not give us the amount of time that passes between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 when God begins His 7-day restoration in the Biblically described re-creation of the Earthly realm, wherein the 6^th Day He created Man. Satan became aware of God’s Plan to set Man over that which he once had ruled, and to a certain extent still occupied. God made man after His image and gave him dominion over the redesigned and revived Earth, with the original authority over the Earth having been taken from satan. Determined to cause the failure of Adam, he tempted Eve and she was deceived, but Adam was not, but yet followed her into death. Satan, by stealth and trickery, usurped man’s authority that God had granted Man. And thereby took authority over the now God cursed and fallen state of the Earth. Scripture declares him the god of this present World (both realms of this province of God), ruling over the Gentile Nations of Men on the Earth from the unseen first heaven associated with this Earth as the prince of the power of the air [Ephesians 2:2; 3:10; 6:12, Luke 4:6] It could not be any other than this kingdom of heavens that John and Christ were referring to that Israel should have been aware of.

It was at his creation and yet is God’s intent that ‘Man’ would rule over both realms of His universe. The Anointed Son of Man by God came to take back the right of the authority that Adam lost to satan (typed in anointed king David and anointed but later rejected king Saul; there are two anointed kings, one is away gathering His brethren unto Himself who once having gathered will come to claim is right to rule, and having forcefully removed satan from that heavenly realm; the first heaven associated with this earth. [Revelation 12:7-9] He will then set up His Kingdom from the heavens associated with this World, that being a theocratic government in the Name of God for a thousand years). To this end, the Messiah King came forth always with glory in view. And to this end did those words to His saved Israel relate and point: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” It was not the message of ‘saving’ unto eternal life…but the message of eternal glory unto the saved elect! It is the return of lost glory to man.

Which brings us to the second question: How is it that Israel was already ‘saved’? How were they already possessors of the gift of eternal life? It was by the same saving grace, by the means of shed blood of an animal (a lamb), that God had first set forth redemption from eternal death for Adam and Eve from the Garden [Genesis 3:21]. That which their faithful observant seed also obtained unto. [Genesis 4:2-5… Christ was Crucified from before the foundation of the World [Revelation 13:8, Isaiah 48:3, Ecclesiastes 3:14-15] for God had foreordained that Salvation would come through Christ. It was with that in view that God established the animal sacrifices (effectively even before the fall). Israel was the first-born of God and subject to judgment’s death as was Egypt. Life was a result of the blood sacrifice of the paschal lamb, lest the first born die. In that the blood of the Passover lamb obediently applied to the door of the house bore the judgment in that when the Lord saw the blood, He passed over the house of Israel. Israel experienced its death vicariously in Egypt and being dead was translated out of Egypt, passing through the waters of death unto the East side, representative of an already saved soul ordained to walk in resurrection life unto attaining now their calling unto a promised land. These being a nation of priests who would be God’s appointed theocratic government on the Earth, who were then to be the light of God’s saving grace unto the Gentile Nations. Their call was not a call to the ‘lost’, but a call to the saved to rule on the Earth. Only the saved could be called to theocratically rule in the Name of God from the place and in the way He designated.

Israel was/is the first born of God, the inheritors of the Covenant with Abraham, and to be preeminent in the Earth, a blessing to the Gentiles. They, like their Covenant father, were to receive the gift of rebirth of the spirit and eternal life through the their offering the propitiatory blood of the lamb accompanied by faith with a contrite heart. 4000 years of sacrifices effected the saving of many of the seed of Abraham. Generation after Generation of faithful Israel were ‘saved’ even unto the time of John the Baptist who then declared the Kingdom of heavens was drawing nigh. It was that which their father Abram, having already been ‘saved’ and brought out of Ur, was later offered. And in accordance to obtaining the Kingdom of heavens, he brought forth acceptable fruits in faithful sufferings for the remainder of his life on the earth, and was by his faithfulness assured of its inheritance. [Hebrews 11:16]

Abram had to be saved before the call of the Kingdom of heavens could be offered. [Hebrews 11:8] Israel would have to be in the state and status of ‘saved’ before the call of the Kingdom of heavens could be advanced. The call to rule with Christ from the heavens cannot be made to the lost; only to the ‘saved’. Being ‘saved’ by blood sacrifice of certain animals was set forth by God unto Adam and Eve. Being ‘saved’ 6000 years ago or today is by the same means: BY DEATH AND SHED BLOOD. ANY WHO AVAILED THEMSELVES OF GOD’S PROVISION OVER THE ENTIRE PERIOD ARE ‘SAVED’ and are His children. Those Jews of Christ’s First Coming were nationally partaking of the paschal lamb sacrifices, daily sacrifices, and Yom Kippur. How could these not be effective for saving, as God established them with Christ in view? And with that in mind, how could that which was given without any merit on man’s part, that represents Christ’s Atonement sacrifice, then somehow be lost? God’s judgments on saved Israel started with Israel’s stubborn refusal to go on and bring forth fruits worthy of ruling in His glorious theocracy to be realized in Israel by His chosen people. In this realization; that of saved Israel’s proffering of ruling in the kingdom of heavens, and their rejecting it, do all the Gospels and the Book of Acts up to Chapter 28 verse 28 point towards. Not to ‘saving’ Israel (nor the unsaved)… but as to realizing what God’s ancient intent was; that which was to be built on by man’s faithfulness and fruitfulness upon what had been gifted, culminating in a worthiness to rule in His theocracy.

To this then John the Baptist was called; to prepare the way for Christ to bring the Israelites into repentance and to direct their hearts and minds rightly to receive their Coming Messiah and His Kingdom of heavens’ calling. He would set forth for their acceptance or rejection that which was their rightful inheritance. [Matthew 3:1-2] The “fruits” to accompany the call were expected by God and to be in accord with that saving nature previously imparted and to be exercised as required to attain an inheritance in the Coming Kingdom of heavens. And having rejected John’s and Christ’s testimony, their opportunity for the inheritance of the Kingdom of heavens was taken from them [Matthew 21:43 and Matthew 21:18-19 only the heavenly portion of the Kingdom of heavens, not the promised Earthly kingdom promised to David which can never be taken from the Nation of Israel].