NIV Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 20
J ohn 1 : 2 2
•
page 1796
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to t hose who sent
us. What do you say about yourself ?”
23 John replied in the w
ords of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the v
oice of one calling in the
wilderness, f ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” a g
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with b water,” John replied, “but a
mong you s tands one you do not know.
27 He is the one who comes after me, h the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to
untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, i where John was bap
tizing.
a
1:23
fMt 3:1
gIsa 40:3
1:27
hver
15,30
1:28
iJn 3:26; 10:40
23 Isaiah 40:3 b 26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)
weight to his further revelation about Jesus. But he may also have been
reflecting on how that witness had revealed itself when he, Peter, and
James had seen Jesus in shining splendor at the Transfiguration (see
Matthew 17:1-13). The concept of glory does not impress people today,
but to John’s readers it stood for God himself. Jesus was a real expression
of God’s overwhelming presence and power.
1:14 “The one and only Son, who came from the Father” emphasizes the
uniqueness of Jesus. All believers are called “children of God,” but Jesus
is one of a kind and enjoys a perfect relationship with God the Father.
1:17 God’s law in the Old Testament revealed his nature and showed
people how to live his way. God’s unfailing love and faithfulness also
reveal his nature to us. Moses emphasized God’s law and justice, while
Jesus Christ came to highlight God’s mercy, love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. Moses could only be the giver of the law, while Christ came to
fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). Previously, the law revealed God’s nature
and his will; now Jesus Christ reveals the nature and will of God. Rather
than coming through impersonal stone tablets, God’s revelation (truth)
now comes through a dynamic, living person. As we get to know Jesus
better in John’s Gospel, our understanding of God will greatly increase.
1:18 God communicated through various people in the Old Testament,
usually prophets who were told to give specific messages (Hebrews 1:1-2).
But no one ever saw God. They saw his glory but not his form. Jesus is
both God and the Father’s unique Son. In him God revealed his nature
and essence in a way that could be seen and touched. In Jesus, God
became a man who lived on earth.
1:19 The priests and Levites were respected religious leaders in Jerusalem. Priests served in the temple, and Levites assisted them. The
Mediterranean
Sea
N
GALILEE
Cana
Nazareth
SAMARIA
Jerusalem
JUDEA
IDUMEA
Capernaum
Sea of
Galilee
Jordan River
JESUS’ FIRST
TRAVELS
After his baptism
by John in the
Jordan River and
the temptation
by Satan in the
wilderness (see
the map in Mark 1
on page 1660),
Jesus returned to
Galilee. He visited
Nazareth, Cana,
and Capernaum,
and then he
returned to
Jerusalem for
the Passover.
DECAPOLIS
PE
(Ten Cities)
RE
A
Dead
Sea
0
0
20 mi
20 km
Pharisees (1:24) were a group that both John the Baptist and Jesus often
denounced. Many of them outwardly obeyed God’s laws in order to look
pious, while inwardly their hearts were filled with pride and greed. The
Pharisees believed that their oral traditions were just as important as
God’s inspired Word. (For more information on the Pharisees, see the
charts on pages 1586 and 1664.)
These leaders came to see John the Baptist for several reasons: (1) Their
duty as guardians of the faith included investigating any new teaching
or movement (Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 18:20-22). (2) They wanted to find
out if John had the credentials of a true prophet. (3) John had quite a
following, and it was growing; they were probably jealous and wanted
to see why this man was so popular.
1:21-23 In the religious leaders’ minds, there were four options regarding John the Baptist’s identity: He was either (1) the prophet foretold by
Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), (2) Elijah (Malachi 4:5), (3) the Messiah, or
(4) a false prophet. John denied being the first three personages. Instead,
he identified himself with the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah,
“a voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord’”
(Isaiah 40:3). The leaders kept pressing John to say who he was because
people were expecting the Messiah to come (Luke 3:15). But John emphasized only why he had c ome—to prepare the way for the Messiah.
The Pharisees missed the point. They wanted to know who John was, but
John wanted to prepare them to recognize who Jesus was.
1:25-26 John was baptizing Jews. The Essenes (a strict, monastic sect
of Judaism) practiced baptism for purification, but normally only Gentiles
(non-Jews) would be baptized when they converted to Judaism. When
the Pharisees questioned John’s authority to baptize, they were asking
who gave John the right to treat God’s chosen people like Gentiles. John
said, “I baptize with water”—he was merely helping the people perform a
symbolic act of repentance. But soon one would come who would truly
forgive sins, something only the Son of God—the Messiah—could do.
1:27 John the Baptist said he was not even worthy to be Jesus’ slave, to
perform the humble task of unfastening his sandals. But Jesus said that
John was the greatest person who had ever lived (Luke 7:28). If such a
great person felt inadequate even to be Jesus’ slave, how much more
should we lay aside our pride to serve him! When we truly understand
who Jesus is, our pride and self-importance melt away.
1:29 Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple,
symbolizing that the sins of the people were forgiven (Exodus 29:38-42).
Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah, God’s Servant, would be led to
the slaughter like a lamb. To pay the penalty for sin, a life had to be given
and blood shed. In the Old Testament, it was the blood of an animal, but
with the coming of Jesus, God’s Son, God chose to provide the sacrifice
himself. The sins of the world were removed when Jesus died as the
perfect sacrifice. This is the way our sins are forgiven (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The “sin of the world” means everyone’s sin, the sin of each individual.
Jesus paid the price for your sin by his death. If you confess your sin to
him and ask for his forgiveness, you will receive it.
1:30 Although John the Baptist was a well-known preacher who attracted large crowds, he was content for Jesus to take the higher place.
This is true humility, the basis for greatness in preaching, teaching, or
any other work we do for Christ. When you are content to do what God