None Greater than John

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx1hacEnGa4%20%20

I wanted to share some thoughts from John 1:29-34, which came from a project I had to complete last week. The written version appears below if you prefer that...

None Greater Than John

Jesus said that among those born of women, there was none greater than John, yet he who was least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matt. 11:11). Puzzling statement, don’t you think? Why did Jesus say that, and what did it mean?

While doing an in depth study of John 1:29-34 for an assignment, I found what I consider to be the answer. These few verses, written decades after the events they describe, are the words John the Baptist (real name, Yochanan) said when he presented Jesus (Yeshua) to Israel. They’re more amazing than I had ever realized.

Most commentators say Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. You’ll remember that Mary, Jesus’ mother, went to stay with Elizabeth, John’s mother, in the early days of her pregnancy. The Bible calls them “relatives” (Lu. 1:36-41). Still, the two men probably grew up without much contact, since John lived in the desert and Jesus was taken to Egypt and later lived in Nazareth.

When the word of God came to John and he started baptizing people in the Jordan, Jesus came there and was baptized too. As John baptized Him, the Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and stayed upon Him. God had revealed to John, whose main function was to prepare the way for the Messiah, that he would know who Messiah was when he saw the Spirit descend and remain upon Him. The sign would reveal God’s chosen One, “anointed,” (Hebrew = Meshiach or Messiah) by His Spirit to bring repentant humanity new life.

After this experience, Jesus went into the desert to be tempted forty days. When He returned to the Jordan, and again walked among the crowds there, John pointed to Him and said three amazing things about Him. First, John said Jesus was, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). Second, Jesus was He who “baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (vs. 33), and third, Jesus was, “the Son of God” (vs. 34).

As Christians of the 21^st century, these pronouncements are so well known to us, we take them for granted. But at that time, these words had to be absolutely shocking and perplexing, not only to all who were in John’s audience but even to John himself! I’d never realized this before! Let me share why I believe it’s true.

Let’s start with the phrase “Lamb of God.” Nowadays, we understand that Jesus came to die. He was a sacrifice for our sins. He was like the Passover Lamb whose blood protected Israel from God’s judgment upon the Egyptians. He was the Suffering Servant Isaiah spoke about, who was led as a lamb to the slaughter (Is. 53:7). Today this is common knowledge.

But for John the Baptist, this would have been totally foreign and unfathomable! After all, he preached that Messiah had laid the “axe” at the root of the tree (Matt. 3:10), and was coming to burn up the “chaff” with “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12). Messiah would be a political and military leader who would defeat the Romans and “make Israel great again!” That’s why John later had doubts and sent two of his disciples to ask if Jesus was the one to come or should they look for another? (Matt. 11:3) Think about it – not even Jesus’ closest disciples understood He was the Lamb of God until after His resurrection!! That’s why they were totally discouraged by Jesus’ death and thought everything was over. It took quite a while for them to understand Jesus came to die, even though He’d told them over and over! For John to say Jesus was the Lamb of God was beyond even his own comprehension!

So was what he said regarding Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God had shown him that the Spirit would come upon the Person he was present to Israel. Well, Messiah means “anointed one,” so that made sense. Prophets, kings, and priests had all been “anointed” by the Spirit in some sense in Old Testament times. But the Spirit never came in a visible way or stayed permanently. Not so with Jesus! The Spirit came and remained upon Him. John later said God gave Jesus the Spirit “without measure” (Jn. 3:34), something completely unheard of. Not only this, but the anointed One would actually “dispense” the Spirit, baptizing people with Him! This is so well known to us, we skip right over it. But it was astonishing in John’s day. Why?

Think about it. Israel was monotheistic, but it had taken centuries for God to break them of polytheism! They knew God was Spirit, but they certainly didn't have any concept that He was triune, one God in three divine “Persons.” Such an idea would have been absolutely crazy to them, incomprehensible and even blasphemous! It took the Christian Church three or four centuries to think these things through and come up with our understanding of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But John said Jesus was filled with the Spirit without measure, the Spirit remained upon Him, and Jesus was the One who would baptize with that same Spirit! Listen folks, the only person who can give the Spirit of God is God! In the fourth century, St. Augustine said, “How then can He who gives the Spirit not be God? Indeed, how much must He who gives God be God?” Augustine came to this understanding centuries after the ministry of John. But when John spoke these words, nobody had ever heard or thought of such a possibility! That a man (Jesus was 100% human, though also 100% God) would be able to immerse people in God’s Spirit was unthinkable, yet that’s what John declared!

He also said Jesus was the Son of God. Again, we’re used to this. But it was an astonishing revelation when John spoke it! How could a man be the Son of God?! “Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). If God is one, then how can He have a Son? How could a human being be called His Son? The religious leaders of that day certainly didn’t believe it (see Matt. 22:45). Muslims and cultists today don’t believe it. John’s declaration was beyond human comprehension and most people of his day would have thought it absolutely blasphemous!

Peter explains (1 Pet. 1:10), that prophets did not always fully understand their own prophecies. John seems to be one of the clearest examples of this! The things he declared about Jesus must have been shocking to him when they came out of his mouth, extremely difficult even for him to believe or understand!

Jesus called him the greatest born of women (Matt. 11:11). I believe that was true, precisely because no one ever pointed more clearly and correctly to the Messiah than John. He spoke forth supernatural revelation from God regarding the Lamb, the Son of God, anointed by the Spirit to baptize in the Spirit. Later on, even John doubted, and even the best of us sometimes don’t point to Jesus as well as we should.

Nevertheless, it’s precisely because we now have this greater revelation, and we can point people to Jesus with clarity and assurance, that Jesus said the least in the kingdom was greater than John. We understand what John was saying better than he himself did! The New Testament revelation makes it all so much clearer. And we have the very Spirit of God to illuminate us because, through Christ, that Spirit was made available to anyone who would believe and obey God, anyone the Lord our God would call. (Acts 2:39; 5:32)

The question is, what are we doing with this blessing? Do we appreciate what God has revealed? Do we see the great treasure we’ve been offered? God sent His Son to be our Passover Lamb and take the sin of the world upon Himself. He redeemed us from the curse of the law, so the blessing of the Spirit could come upon all who humble themselves and receive! (Gal. 3:13, 14) “The Son of God became the Son of man, so that we, the sons and daughters of men, might become sons and daughters of God!” This is really good news! So like Paul, we can say, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift”! (2 Cor. 9:15). And like John, we can (and must) present this Jesus to the world!