John 1:19-51

Written By Ryan Lovett

Introduction

Faith grows when we follow before we fully understand.

  • Faith is not just being able to see what God is doing, but the choice step out and participate in what He is doing

    • We must being willing to go and see before we understand and see

The One Who Is to Come

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 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?” 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 1:19-23

  • John was an Essene

  • There was an anticipation from hundreds of years before that was now being fulfilled

3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 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. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 40:3-5

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

  • John is illustrating for us the honor for Jesus and the humility that our posture should be before Him

Behold Him

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! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” - John 1:29-34

  • John 1:29

    • For John to declare this, it would have been a radical thing

    • But it would have in a way made sense for them

      • The sacrificial lamb was the most prominent of the animal sacrifices

      • This was the animal used for the passover sacrifice (Exodus 12:3-6)

    • Not just the sins of the Jews, but the sins of the entire world

  • John the Baptizer’s life pointed to Jesus

    • Again, this should be our aim

    • John said behold

      • Are we looking at Jesus?

      • Our life is a reflection of what we look at

      • Do we reflect Jesus

        • Do our ambitions, desires, goals, reflect Jesus?

        • Does the fruit of our lives manifest our gaze upon Jesus?

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” - John 1:35

  • Behold

    • The call is to fix our eyes on Christ

    • Behold, means to call attention to what follows from it

      • So don’t just look up and see, pay attention to what follows from Jesus

        • In this particular case, there’s a connection of this word in the Greek in an association with the OT Greek, in which John would be saying, behold, see what follows Jesus - the prophecies of which you have heard coming to pass

      • He’s calling people to pay attention to this man Who is the fulfillment of the prophecies

Come and See

Became Flesh

37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” - John 1:37-38

  • Two disciples

    • This is Andrew and John, who were first disciples of John the Baptizer

  • There’s a natural curiosity these two men have

    • There needs to be a curiosity in our pursuit of Jesus

      • Where are we going? What are we doing?

      • Then a trust to follow

39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. - John 1:39

  • A trust because God doesn’t always lay it out so plainly

    • Where are you going, where are you staying?

    • He simply says come and you will see

  • There is a next step after behold

    • Behold is the first step, but it should provoke something so profound that it causes you to stop what you’re doing and follow

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). - John 1:40-42

  • We see here a hint at an identity change

    • First in name, and the character of Christ would follow once Peter followed Jesus

      • This is how it is when we come to Christ

        • We have an identity transformed

        • Name at first - Christ follower

        • Character to follow as by the working of sanctification in our life we are becoming more and more holy in our character

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” - John 1:43-45

  • Let’s note that these are ordinary men who are meeting Jesus

  • Who did Philip say they found?

    • The one whom Moses in the law and the OT prophets wrote

      • Behold, to call attention to what follows from it

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  - John 1:46

  • Nathanael was skeptical

    • Sometimes we’re skeptical of Jesus

    • Once again, we are invited to come and see

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” - John 1:47-48

  • While we are invited to come and see, Jesus already sees you

    • He knows all your thoughts, where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing 

    • He invites you to follow Him

49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” - John 1:49-51

  • You will see greater

    • This is the wonder of following Jesus

    • There is a greater ahead of you when you come and see

  • The reference to Jacob’s dream of the ladder (Genesis 28:11-13)

    • Jesus is the connector of heaven and earth

    • He brings heaven to earth by coming to redeem us

Ryan Lovett
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John 1:1-18