The Witness

"John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."' 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ.' 21 And they asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?' He said, ' I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' And he answered, 'No.' 22 Then they said to him, 'Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' 23 H said: 'I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord," as the prophet Isaiah said.' 24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, 'Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?' 26 John answered them saying, 'I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.' 28 These things were done in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing."
John 1:15-28


In chronological years, John the Baptist was 6 months older than Jesus. But Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM," (John 8:58). So John was referring here in verse 15, to the eternal nature of his cousin, who was actually, chronologically 6 months younger. John was there at the Jordan River, baptizing people and declaring that the One coming after him was the Messiah. There he was, this strange man, declaring that there was One who was coming and He would be their Messiah. And John was declaring, that in Him, we have received grace for grace. In other words, we will receive the continual grace of God, and we can never exhaust the grace of God, if we are willing to totally receive and "embrace" the Person of Jesus Christ. Just think about that, and what that means. If we can, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, embrace the person of Jesus Christ in our lives, we receive the continual grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

When John appeared on the scene, baptizing there at the Jordan River, the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, thought he was the Christ (Messiah), so they sent priests and Levites out to inquire of him if he was or not. What is tragic to me about that is, that they were so caught up in their "religion" that they didn't even know if this was their own Messiah or not, because they weren't looking for Him. They were more caught up in "keeping the rules" that they weren't looking for His coming. You know beloved, that is the way it is today. We sometimes get so caught up in "keeping the rules," that we forget to look for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. And He is coming very soon. Just read the headline of your local paper. Jesus is coming soon. Let us not be so caught up in the religion in our lives, that we forget to be looking for Him.

And let us listen to the John the Baptists in our lives telling us that He is coming. They may look a little strange, maybe even act a little strange, but they might sound like the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Amen? Amen.