29 The next day John
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
is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know
Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with
water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know
Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the
Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of
God.”
Commentary
Vs. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This then is John the Baptists first encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, for though John was baptizing people in preparation of His Coming, John had not yet encountered Him. And so, when John saw Jesus coming towards him, he could not contain himself and cried out saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Now that is an incredible statement by John, but in order to understand the implications of it one must first know that under the Old Covenant God required that a sacrificial lamb be slain, so that its shed blood would provide an atonement for one’s sins and transgressions, so they could be forgiven (Heb. 9:22). Now this was not God’s permeant solution for our sins and transgressions, it was merely pointing to the day when God Himself would provide a Sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world! And that Sacrificial Lamb for us is His Son who Himself would bear all our sins and transgressions on the Cross, thus providing an everlasting Atonement for us all who believe in Him (John 3:6). For that is step one in God’s redeeming of our believing persons, step two is His “baptizing” us with His Holy Spirit which brings about the washing and renewal and regeneration of our persons, which happens the moment we believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves (Titus 3:4-7). Therefore, that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is not saying that He takes away everyone’s sins, for only those who believe in Him have their sins atoned for, and thus removed forever. Rather it is stating that through His Son Jesus Christ God has provided the Atonement for sin which entered the world when Adam, the first man sinned, and thus he and all of creation fell with him and came under sins condemnation.
Vs. 30-31 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
And so once again John makes it clear to everybody that he is not the one they should be looking too, rather it is Jesus Christ alone, who is preferred before him, for He was before him! Now John did not know Jesus Christ before His Manifestation to the nation of Israel, only that God told him to go and prepare the people for Him, and so John came telling all people to repent and be baptized in water symbolizing their washing themselves of their sins and thus their preparing their hearts and lives for Him (Acts 10:37-43; 13:24; 18:25; 19:3-4). Now when believers get baptized in water the symbolizing changes, for through it we are identifying ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection and thus our rising to new and everlasting life with Him (Rom.6).
Vs. 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
John himself not only preached to the people to repent in preparation of Jesus Christ’s Coming, but he also saw the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus and remain upon Him when he baptized Him! (see Matt. 3:14-17).
Vs. 33-34 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Again, John tells everyone that He did not know who the Christ was until he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain upon Him when he baptized Him. For God told him ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And having seen the Holy Spirit descend and remain upon Jesus Christ, John now boldly declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God! For it is Christ alone who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, not John, nor anyone else.
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson.
Commentary
Vs. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This then is John the Baptists first encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, for though John was baptizing people in preparation of His Coming, John had not yet encountered Him. And so, when John saw Jesus coming towards him, he could not contain himself and cried out saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Now that is an incredible statement by John, but in order to understand the implications of it one must first know that under the Old Covenant God required that a sacrificial lamb be slain, so that its shed blood would provide an atonement for one’s sins and transgressions, so they could be forgiven (Heb. 9:22). Now this was not God’s permeant solution for our sins and transgressions, it was merely pointing to the day when God Himself would provide a Sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world! And that Sacrificial Lamb for us is His Son who Himself would bear all our sins and transgressions on the Cross, thus providing an everlasting Atonement for us all who believe in Him (John 3:6). For that is step one in God’s redeeming of our believing persons, step two is His “baptizing” us with His Holy Spirit which brings about the washing and renewal and regeneration of our persons, which happens the moment we believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves (Titus 3:4-7). Therefore, that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is not saying that He takes away everyone’s sins, for only those who believe in Him have their sins atoned for, and thus removed forever. Rather it is stating that through His Son Jesus Christ God has provided the Atonement for sin which entered the world when Adam, the first man sinned, and thus he and all of creation fell with him and came under sins condemnation.
Vs. 30-31 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
And so once again John makes it clear to everybody that he is not the one they should be looking too, rather it is Jesus Christ alone, who is preferred before him, for He was before him! Now John did not know Jesus Christ before His Manifestation to the nation of Israel, only that God told him to go and prepare the people for Him, and so John came telling all people to repent and be baptized in water symbolizing their washing themselves of their sins and thus their preparing their hearts and lives for Him (Acts 10:37-43; 13:24; 18:25; 19:3-4). Now when believers get baptized in water the symbolizing changes, for through it we are identifying ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection and thus our rising to new and everlasting life with Him (Rom.6).
Vs. 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
John himself not only preached to the people to repent in preparation of Jesus Christ’s Coming, but he also saw the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus and remain upon Him when he baptized Him! (see Matt. 3:14-17).
Vs. 33-34 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Again, John tells everyone that He did not know who the Christ was until he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain upon Him when he baptized Him. For God told him ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And having seen the Holy Spirit descend and remain upon Jesus Christ, John now boldly declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God! For it is Christ alone who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, not John, nor anyone else.
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson.
No comments:
Post a Comment