John 1:29-34

THE BAPTISTS EVIDENCE FOR THE LAMB OF GOD

Text 1:29-34

29

On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!

30

This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me.

31

And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.

32

And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him.

33

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.

34

And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

Queries

a.

Why does John call Jesus the Lamb of God?

b.

Did the descending Spirit really look like a dove?

c.

Why does John emphasize I knew him not?

Paraphrase

The day following the questioning by the Jews, John sees Jesus coming toward him and says, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who is taking away the sin of the world! This is the One of Whom I said, a Man is coming on the scene after me Who outranks me because He existed in eternity before me. I did not know He was the Messiah at first; but in order that He might be made manifest unto Israel, so Israel might know Him, I purposely came immersing in water, And John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit coming down as a dove out of heaven and abiding upon Him. And I did not know Him, before this incident, as the Messiah; but the One who sent me to immerse in water, that One said to me, the One upon Whom you shall see the Spirit descending and abidingthis is the One Who immerses in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this One is The Son of God!

Summary

John the Baptist points the multitudes to Jesus of Nazareth as The Lamb of God. John then sets forth the God-given evidence for his testimony.

Comment

It would be well to remark here that the author of the Fourth Gospel bridges a gap of almost thirty years between John 1:18-19. The boyhood, baptism and temptation of Jesus in the wilderness are all omitted between the account of the Incarnation and that portion of John's ministry here recorded. Therefore, when John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him, Jesus is returning to the scene of His baptism after having been in the wilderness of Judea for the temptation. It is only natural that Jesus would come here to link up His ministry where that of John was beginning to fade, Jesus took up preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe in the gospel, (Mark 1:14-15) where John left off.

There are a number of inferences connected with John's utterance, Look, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world. (a) That John was thinking of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:1-51; Exodus 13:1-22; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19) since the Passover was near; (b) that, being the son of a priest, he thought of the daily offering of a lamb (Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:4); or (c) that the Baptist was reminded of the lamb in Isaiah 53:1-12. We must agree with Hendriksen when he says, ... why is it necessary to make a choice? Was not Christ the antitype of all three (1 Peter 1:19; Acts 8:32-35)?

In the Old Testament, the priests were to place their hands on the head of each lamb offered, thus signifying that the lamb was suffering God's penalty upon sin which the Jew had merited by his disobedience. The lamb bore the sentence of death in place of the Israelite who deserved it. Amazing grace! This was the atonement of the Old Testament. It was typical of the atonement of the Lamb of God and the New Covenant. The atonement of the Hebrew was accomplished by the grace of God and the ransom of a lamb's blood. The Hebrew, however, had to appropriate that atonement to himself. He appropriated God's mercy through faitha faith that caused him to obey God's plan of atonement. He might not understand fully the how and the why of placing his hand upon the head of the sacrificial lamb (Leviticus 1:3-5), but trusting and believing in Jehovah to fulfil His promises, the Israelite obeyed.

When John the Baptist said that Jesus was the Lamb of God that makes atonement for the sin of the world, he did not mean irresistible or universal atonement. Such assumption contradicts plain scriptural teaching (cf. Matthew 7:14; Matthew 7:20-23, etc.). When, by faith, we are obedient to the plan of atonement or salvation ordained in God's New Testament, we are promised complete and eternal atonement. When we obey Christ's commands, we, like the Israelite of old, lay our hands upon the Lamb of God signifying that He pays the ransom for usHe suffers the penalty in our stead. We may not understand all the reasons for His commands, i.e., immersion in water (Acts 2:38), but if we TRUST Him, we will OBEY Him.

The atonement is a subject of unsearchable riches. No commentator has yet fathomed its depths. As one reads the Scriptures concerning the subject, it becomes both awesome and beautiful. Christ took away our sin by bearing in His own sinless body the penalty of the Father upon sin (cf. Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1-11; Romans 6:23, Hebrews 5:7-9; Hebrews 10:1-39; Isaiah 53:1-12). Christ bears away, potentially, every sin that shall ever be committed (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

In John 1:31 John says that he did not know Jesus. Whether John knew Jesus as he would a kinsman, or whether he knew Him as a fellow Israelite, we do not know. The emphasis which the Baptist wishes to place is that he did not know Jesus as the Messiahdid not know Him thus until after the baptismal experience and the dove descending upon Him. At the baptism of Jesus the Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily form as a dove and a voice spoke from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased (cf. Luke 3:22), John really saw a dove descend upon Jesus, These (the dove and the voice) are the Divine manifestations which John saw and heard and which he now bears witness to.

John also explains in John 1:31 that one of the purposes of his baptizing was that Jesus of Nazareth should be made manifest to Israel as the Lamb of Godthe promised Messiah, That Jesus of Nazareth was the Saviour of the world was not the private idea of John the Baptist, but He who sent John to baptize gave him the signs of the dove and the voice from heaven. The testimony of John is that of an eyewitness, and rests upon miraculous revelation. The fact that John was not aware of the deity of Jesus beforehand precludes any possibility of collusion or agreement between Jesus and John to deceive the people.

Some comment is in order here regarding John's apparent contrast between his water baptism and the baptizing which the One following him shall perform. In the Synoptics, when John is preaching to the public in general and the Pharisees in particular, he says, I indeed baptize you in water. but he that cometh after me. he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire, etc., Matthew 3:11 (cf. also Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16-17). There are those today who claim John meant that he baptized only in water, but that Jesus would baptize (immerse) all believers in the Holy Spirit and in fire. We believe that the Scriptures teach a baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire, but neither one are to be administered to all believers. By reading Luke 24:49, and by further connecting it immediately with Acts 1:1-5 it becomes plain that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that which Jesus promised and administered to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). This was also administered to the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48), signifying that the Gentiles were to be accepted into the kingdom of God by the heretofore prejudiced Jews (cf. Acts 10:47; Acts 11:16-18; Acts 15:7-11). These are the only instances where the Scriptures definitely speak of immersion in the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Christ. Others received special gifts of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, but there were no other baptisms in the Holy Spirit.

As for the baptism in fire, the context demands that we interpret John the Baptist's statement as referring to eternal punishment. In both Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17 John interprets his foregoing statement concerning baptism in fire by saying, the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. This is also true of the verses preceding the mention of baptizing in fire. John first tells the Pharisees that every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire; then he goes on to tell Who is going to do the casting into the fire (cf. Matthew 3:10-11; Luke 3:9-10). John is saying, I am not the anointed One you are asking aboutI merely baptize in water. The Baptist wants it emphatically understood that the One coming after him is mightier than the forerunner, that it is He Who has authority to immerse in the Holy Spirit and in fire!

Quiz

1.

What portion of Jesus-' life is omitted between John 1:18-19?

2.

How is the atonement provided for by Christ (the Lamb of God) appropriated to our souls?

3.

Give two reasons why John came baptizing.

4.

What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit? in fire?

5.

Only ___________________ has authority to administer these two baptisms.