I'm sorry. I'm going to look at verses maybe
19 down through 34. I think I'll read through this
before we start trying to comment on it. I was thinking of when
Terrence was talking about our pastor being gone. We're so thankful for pastors. You know, I really appreciate
in a time like this when I have to stand here where he does week
after week and try to comfort the Lord's people. And one reason
we ought to be thankful for him, because the Lord said he's the
one that gave him to us. He gives us pastors, faithful pastors,
faithful men that are faithful to declare Christ That's what
this book is about. It's not about me. It's not about
you. It's not about John here, as
these men were seemingly trying to make it about. But it's about
Jesus Christ. This book is a H-I-M book. Jesus Christ. So that being said,
let's begin at verse 19 here in the Gospel of John chapter
1. And we'll read down through,
I think it is verse 30, 34. 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's? 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 saith the prophet Elias. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said
unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ,
nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, I baptize
with water, but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not.
He it is whose coming after me is preferred before me, whose
shoes latch it I am not worthy to unloose. These things were
done in Beth-Avara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is
he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before
me, for he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should
be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John by record saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and hit a
boat upon him, and I knew him not. But he that sent me to baptize
with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which
baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that
this is the Son of God. I guess if I had a title this
morning, it would be, Behold God's Lamb. Behold God's Lamb. We look at these verses and we
know right away, John is speaking here, but he's talking about
Christ. He's not talking about himself.
He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. And really this man here,
one man said that this John here, he's one of the most remarkable
characters in the Word of God. Why is that? His life and his
ministry were prophesied in the Old Testament, in Isaiah chapter
40. His birth came about and was
due to a direct and miraculous power of God. as we can see in
Luke 1. His mother was without children. She couldn't bear no children.
So He had a miraculous birth. And we see in Luke 1 15 that
He was filled with the Holy Ghost from His mother's womb. And in
John, this chapter here, verse 6, the scripture tells us that
he was sent from God. That's a real good point, isn't
it? For a man to stand and tell of God to people to be sent from
God. In Matthew 11, of him the Lord
said among John the Baptist, that among those that are born
of women There was not a greater one risen than John the Baptist. This man was a pretty remarkable
character, and yet my lesson is not about him. I'm just commenting
a few things about him. And yet the Jews, of all that
they knew about John, heard about him. Yet the Jews sent priests and
Levites to ask him, Who are you? Who are you? And for these men to ask such
a question of such a remarkable man, it wasn't saying much about
their understanding. The Lord's forerunner had appeared
in the wilderness in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, and yet
these leaders did not know who he was. Multitudes were hearing
this man. Many had been baptized by him.
And much had been made about him, so much, that many wondered
if he were not the Christ. They came and said, Are you the
Christ? Are you the Christ? But look at what John tells them
in verse 20. I am not the Christ. I am not
the Christ. No, be far from it. And in verse
21 they asked him, said, Are thou Elijah? Are thou Elijah? No? Well, they probably had a good
reason, at this time, to ask such a question. Because they
expected, the Jews expected one of Elijah, that the scripture
spoke of, that would appear again on the earth. And then they asked him, are
thou that prophet? If you're not the Christ, are
you the prophet? No, I'm not the prophet. In Deuteronomy
18, 15, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet. That's what they were referred
to. They had no doubt read the scriptures many, many times.
In Deuteronomy 18, the Lord said, I will raise up a prophet from
among their brethren. So that's who they thought John
the Baptist was. But each time, what did John
say? No. No, I'm not. I'm not. And verses 22 through 23. Then said they unto him, who
art thou? That we may give an answer to them. The Jews had
sent them and they said, when you return, we want an answer
from you to who this man is. Who art thou that we may give
an answer to them that sin 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.
If you're not Elijah, you're not that prophet they're saying,
then who are you? Who are you? We've got some men we've got
to give an account to. We want to know who you are. John could have said these things.
He could have. I am the son of Zechariah, the
priest. I'm one that was filled with
the Spirit from my mother's womb. I am a remarkable man raised
up by God and sent to Israel. All of these things would have
been true if John would have once said that. But what did
he reply instead? He replied, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. What an answer to give to these
men that had came and asked him this. John answering the way he did,
no doubt he sought no glory for himself. How could he? When he would answer these men
and say, I'm just a voice, just a voice then. He wasn't trying
to exalt himself, was he? Men who are sent of God, and that's the key word, men
that are sent of God, own that they are at best unprofitable
servants. They all, they all, God's men
all acknowledge this. I know they do, I've heard them
from time to time. And when John referred to himself as the voice,
he used the very term, This was used before John ever appeared
on the scene in Isaiah 40. He used the very term, the Holy
Ghost inspired Isaiah to write hundreds of years ago that he's
just a voice. There's a man that's just a voice
that's coming before the Lord. John's mission was to bear witness
of Christ and not of himself. verses 24 and 25. And they which
were sent were the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said
unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not the Christ,
nor Elias, neither that prophet? What were they doing? They were
challenging. John had baptized. Many people,
no doubt, the scripture tells us that he baptized. They challenged
John's authority to preach or to baptize? Why baptize the Southern,
or by what authority do you do it? They just wouldn't take no for
an answer, would they? I'm just a voice. Crying. Just a voice. John himself was
outside the religious system of these Pharisees and Sadducees. He had not went to their school.
They didn't know nothing about him, did they? He was not identified
with the Pharisees or the Sadducees. I'm just a voice. Who had sent
him to go forth, bidding men to repent? Where did you get
your authority? Well, what they were really asking
him. trying to make John the object
of what they were saying. But John wouldn't have it, would
he? No. No, I'm not that prophet. I'm
not the Christ. I'm not Elijah. I'm a voice. I'm just a voice. In verses 26
through 28, John answered them saying, I baptize with water. but there standeth one among
you whom you know not. He it is whose coming after me
is prepared before me, whose shoelatches I am not worthy to
unloose." These things were done in Beth-Abraham,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. John did not deny
that he baptized with water. or in water, but he sought to occupy them
with his true mission and that was to point them to this Lamb
of God, this Lamb of God. These men were raising the question
about authority and baptism and were strangers to Jesus Christ
himself. Had they known Christ? Had they
known Christ, they would have not asked John, are thou the
Christ? No. John said, I'm not. But it's no different in our
day, is it? Men want to discuss and argue about side issues when
the vital issue is, what think you of Christ? Well, thank you,
Christ. John told them, said, there's
one that stands among you whom you know not. That's what the Holy Spirit said
back in the 10th verse of this chapter. The world knew him not,
and his own received him not. John said, there's one that standeth
among you that you know not. Here stands the seed of the woman,
here stands Abraham's seed, David's son, the fulfillment of all promises,
prophecies, and pictures of the Messiah, and yet they did not
know him. What an embarrassment it ought
to have been to these men. They did not know him. and yet
the scripture says that he was a man that was sent from God.
The Lord Jesus in God's own time came in God's own time to this
earth, but He is eternal, has all preeminence, and He is before
all. And John John seemingly could not find
words strong enough to express the difference that separated
him and the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said these words, I am
not worthy to stoop down and to loose the shoe latches of
this man. That's how much more higher the
Lord Jesus Christ is than I am. And then in verse 29, here John said, get the right
place. The next day, John said, Jesus
coming unto him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God. Why? He takes away the sin of the
world. I was thinking of Abraham, when the Lord appeared to him,
and I think it's Genesis 22, and told him to take his son,
his only son, to where I will show you. And he took him up
on, I think it was Mount Moriah, to offer his son there. And on the way up there, Isaac
said, Father, we have the wood and we have the fire, but where's
the sacrifice? We've got to have a sacrifice.
We're going to worship. We've got to have a sacrifice.
And God said, My son, God will prepare Himself a lamb. And right here He is in our lesson.
John says, Behold God's Lamb. Behold God's Lamb. These Jews
were looking for the Messiah to come, not as a lamb, evidently,
but as a prophet or king. But John said, Behold, behold
the Lamb of God. I hope that with all of my heart,
that that's my desire, that's your desire, to behold The Lamb
of God. Why? He's the one that came and
put away sin, isn't He? For God's elect. This is God's Lamb. This Lamb
is very God. And He's from God, isn't He?
This Lamb is from above. All other lambs were from beneath. This lamb is appointed by God,
Romans 3.25, whom God has set forth, talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in His blood. And He was accepted with Him. In Matthew 3.17, God Himself
told us, this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It would do us good to listen
to this man, wouldn't it? And verse 30, This is he of whom
I said, After me cometh a man who is preferred before me, for
he was before me. When John the Baptist said, This
is he, He was referring to the Lord Jesus Christ again. In verse
15, John said, This is He of whom I spake. Talking about Christ. In verse 27, John said, It is
He, the Lamb of God. And in verse 30, John said, This
is He of whom I said. God's Lamb. And this was the
third time that John had declared that Christ is preferred before
me. The eternity, deity, and pre-existence
of the Lord Jesus Christ is what John was telling these people. In John 17, verse 5, the Lord
Jesus speaking here, And now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thy own self, with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was." Something else John said here,
after me cometh a man. Some may say, I thought you said
he was God. He is. He is. He's God and he's
man. the God-man. John said, His coming is after
me, but He is preferred before me because He was before me. He existed, or was long before
I was. He's eternal, and He is God. Verse 31, and John says, I knew
Him not. but that he should be made manifest
to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing
with water." Here John tells the purpose of his baptism. It
was to make Christ known to Israel. And in Mark 1 verse 5 we find
this, And there went out unto him, talking about John the Baptist,
all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and are all baptized
in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." John baptized with water, and in Romans 6, chapter 6, verses
3 and 4, we see these words, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death. Therefore, we
are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we should also walk in newness of life. In verses 32 and 33,
And John bare record, and said, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and had abode upon him. And I knew him not. But he that sent me, but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou seest the Spirit descending, remaining on him, the same is
he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. This is how John knew
who the Lord was. He wasn't a man in the crowd
that you could just pick out and identify and say, there's
the Lord Jesus Christ. God told him that the one you
see the Spirit descending on and remaining, that's Him. That's
the Christ. That's my Lamb. I'm forgetting where I'm at.
I guess that's all right. Nobody here, but that's all right. But this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, there was no sin in him. The Spirit came, descended, the
Scripture says, like a dove. And it did not come upon him
and then leave again. But it came, the Scripture says,
it came and abode in him. He abode on Christ. The Spirit
descended and remained on Him. He it is that baptizes. That
one that the Holy Spirit comes down, the dove comes down and
abides on, He's the one that baptizes His people with the
Holy Ghost. In John 22, 20, 22, the Lord speaking here, He said,
And he breathed on them and said unto him, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost. And then John said here in verse
34, I saw and bear record. I saw and bear record. What did
John bear record of here? Four, five, six things I'd like
to mention. In verse 16, John, by a record of this, verse 15
of John 1, he is pre-existence, that is, he was before me. And in verse 23, we see his lordship
make straight the way of the Lord. And in verse 27, we see
his immeasurable superiority. John says, I am not worthy to
unlatch his shoes. And in verse 29 of this chapter,
John declares his sacrificial work, the Lamb of God. He's God's Lamb. And in verse 33, his divine right. He baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And then in verse 34, we see
His divine Sonship. The Scripture says, the Son of
God, God's Son. Well, I hope that was a blessing
to you. Hope I didn't make the water too muddy for you. A stand will be dismissed and
a word of prayer. Our tender and faithful Heavenly
Father, we come to Thee this morning
with thankful in our hearts that You're the Almighty God,
You're the Everlasting One, You have no beginning of days,
no ending of days, but you're from eternity to eternity. You're
the God-man. You're God's Lamb. You came and did that which always
pleased your Father, satisfied all of His justice
for all the people that You gave Him before the world began. Oh, we bless You for Him. Thank
You for Him loving us, giving Himself for us. We ask You to keep us, we pray. Keep Your hand
upon us. Forgive us of our sins. Cause
us to ever look to Christ not to look within, but to look
without. Behold this Lamb of God that
we've tried to set forth this morning. Bless, we pray. Use this for your own glory and
praise. We ask it in our Savior's dear
name. Amen. Our pastor will be back Wednesday
night, I reckon. Hope. Hope. Oh.