wednesDAY

John 1:19-28
What is the writer saying?

18

How can I apply this to my life?

PRAY

Bahrain Bahrain has more social freedom than most other Arab states. Pray that there would be even more political and religious freedom to help spread the Gospel.

John 1:1-18 can be considered the Theological Introduction to Jesus Christ. Verse 19 begins the next section of Johns presentation, a list of witnesses to the life of Christ. The word for record in verse 19 is the same Greek word translated witness in 1:7-8 and15. It is the word martureo, from which we get our English word, martyr. John the Baptist was making waves. He was getting peoples attention. The Jewish authorities sent a delegation to investigate who he was and what he was doing (vv.19, 24). John explained his ministry in verses 20-23. He told the religious examiners that he was not the Messiah, neither was he Elijah (Malachi 4:5), or the Prophet predicted to be greater than and coming to replace Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15. John simply referred to himself as the voice (see Isaiah 40:3). Notice that John the Baptist was increasingly terse with his questioners, answering in five words in verse 20, three words in verse 21a and only one word in 21b!

John informs us that the Jews (v. 19) who sent these men were from the sect known as the Pharisees (v. 24). The Pharisees were more conservative theologically than the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the pastors in the local synagogues and therefore would be more concerned about the pastoral nature of Johns baptizing ministry. Notice that the author includes somewhat unnecessary details in verse 28. This is a mark of authenticity because writers who invent stories would not naturally include such details whereas an eyewitness just shares what he knows to have been the case. Bethabara means the House of the Ford and elsewhere is also called Bethany. Baptism by immersion would be the reason for baptizing in such a place with much water.

LIFE
STEP

John the Baptist was a great promoter for his cousin Jesus. He is gone. Who takes his place today? Are we up to the task?

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thursDAY
John 1:29-34
What is the writer saying?

18

How can I apply this to my life?

PRAY

Pray for opportunities to witness to your unsaved friends and loved ones.

Another marker of authenticity in this account is the noting of days in which certain events occur (29, 35, 43 and 2:1). In verse 29 John announces that Jesus is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The Jewish people knew a lot about animal sacrifice. Adam and Eve had their fig leaves replaced by sacrificed animal skins. Abel brought a bloody sacrifice. God provided Abraham a ram to kill in place of his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:13). At the Exodus from Egypt God spared the children of Israel from the death angel by having them sacrifice a spotless lamb (Exodus 12:46; 1 Corinthians 5:7). Isaiah 53:10-12 anticipated that the Messiah would be a trespass offering. In Revelation 5:5-6, as we get ready for eternal life in heaven, we see Jesus as both a lion and a lamb,

in fact, a lamb as it had been slain. Amazingly, three and one-half years after Johns proclamation here in John 1, on the very afternoon that Jewish fathers were taking their Passover lambs to the temple to kill them for the Passover meal that night, Jesus the Lamb would be hanging on the cross! In the Garden of Eden, God killed an animal for a man. At the Exodus, an animal died for a family. On the Day of Atonement, every year an animal died for the Nation of Israel, but on the cross, Jesus died for the sins of the entire world! John explains that He knew who Jesus was because of the events that took place in His baptism. This implies that John had recently baptized Jesus, either the day before (v. 26) or this day.

LIFE
STEP

Jesus own brothers and sisters did not believe His claim to be the Son of God, but his cousin John did. What made the difference? What kind of testimony are we to our brothers, sisters and cousins?
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