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“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”
John 1:24-34
Mari Ikeda
Today, we’re going to read John 1:24-34. It’s about John the Baptist’s testimony. I’d like to divide it into three parts and read accordingly. Firstly, let’s read v.24-28.
1. We cannot save ourselves (24-28)
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 water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The baptism by John the Baptist was perplexing to many Jews of the time. Ritual washing and bathing itself is a very common practice among many different cultures all over the world, like we have the practice of “Misogi” in Japan. The ancient Jewish culture also had the practice of ritual washing for gentiles when gentiles convert to the Jewish religion, along with the practice of circumcision for male converts. However, John the Baptist’s baptism was perplexing, because it was not limited to gentiles but targeted to the Jews. It was indeed a surprise for the Jews of the time. Because they believed that Jews were a pure and holy people, while gentiles are all impure as they don’t believe in God. John the Baptist taught people that both Jews and gentiles were impure and needed to repent and be baptized.
In addition, there was another reason why John’s baptism was perplexing. It was because he denied openly that he was a Messiah. It would have become reasonable for him to call on Jews for repentance if he were a Messiah, because there was a prophecy in the Old Testament which said that the Messiah would appear to cleanse sins of the whole world. But because John denied that he was, Jews naturally questioned, “Who are you then?” John says here that he has come ahead of someone special who would come after him, and he himself was not worthy to untie of the straps of that person’s sandals. As even slaves in those days did not untie their master’s sandal straps, John is implying here that he is less worthy than a slave to the one who is to come after him.
Now then, what did he want to do by calling on all people to get baptised with water, while he was well aware of his insignificance? It was to teach us that our sin is more serious than we imagine. We can’t treat it so lightly as if we say, you are holy as long as you are a Jew, or morally good. Our sin is the matter of the direction of our heart. It is the matter of whether our heart looks to the direction it should. The direction it should look to means the right direction, and it is only someone who transcends our human limits who can discern which way is right. But we often fail to look to the right way, because we think we can make a right judgment ourselves or we rely on someone else’s judgment. As a result, we keep changing our heart direction, and fail to face the fact that the way we are is only causing destructions of our own life and life of others. The state of this world is miserable, where our mistakes have piled up one after another. Our sin is the cause of most of the problems we get in this world, including problems in personal relationships, conflicts and wars among different peoples and nations, or even the environmental problems on a global scale. We all are victims and victimizers at the same time. In this way, John the Baptist was calling on us to make us aware of the fact that the weight of our sin is too heavy for us to bear and that we cannot save ourselves.
Now let’s move on to v.29-31.
2. God’s sacrifice (29-31)
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Here, Jesus appears for the first time in this book, and encountered with John the Baptist for the first time. Although John had never met Jesus before, once seeing Him, he testified, “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
I think John used the phrase “the sin of the world,” because he knew that this world is covered with people’s sin, as I said earlier. Because he said “the sin of the world” instead of “the sin of all people,” indicating he was concerned with the sin that covers the whole world.
Moreover, I’d like you to pay your attention to the phrase, “the Lamb of God.” Lamb was one of the very familiar animals for Jews in the time of the New Testament. As sheep were their livestock animal and the most used animal as a sacrifice to God. Lamb was considered as the best sacrificial animal for daily use as well as on special occasions such as the Passover and the Day of Atonement. In addition, some people must have remembered the episodes in the Old Testament, such as the story in Genesis in which God prepares a lamb for Abraham to replace his son, Issac, or the prophecy in Isaiah 53 which portrays the suffering servant of God as “a lamb led to the slaughter.” We can assume that John the baptist called Jesus as “the Lamb of God” to imply that Jesus would reflect all of these different images and meanings that lamb already had.
Jesus was the lamb that God prepared as His sacrifice, and He was God’s precious lamb who belongs only to God. It means that God made the plan to sacrifice His own life in order to save us. In other words, God Himself made the plan of salvation for us, while He was ready to give His own life to complete the plan at the same time.。It came true in the event of Jesus’s death on the cross. On the Cross, God gave Jesus’ life for us as His Lamb.
However, there still remains a question how Jesus’ death could “take away the sin of the world” and bring us salvation. It is answered in the following passage. Let’s read the last part for today, v.32-34.
3. New life through the Holy Spirit (32-34, Luke 3:21-22)
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
It is said here that Jesus is the one who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. This baptism with the Holy Spirit is the key to understand how we are set free from our sin. Although our own efforts are never enough to set ourselves free from the power of sin, the Holy Spirit has the power to set us free. The Holy Spirit, who is God’s spirit and Jesus’ spirit as well, came and dwelled among the disciples through the mystical event of Pentecost, which happened after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Pentecost is not the only occasion that the Holy Spirit came down, but rather, the disciples and we alike always need the help of the Holy Spirit.。 The Holy Spirit never reject us when we seek His help. It was testified by the event of the Cross of Jesus. Though our sin is too serious for any of us to handle, God gave His own life for us to take our place, instead of destroying us, forgave us, and made us able to start a new life that is not ruled by our sin. He did so because He did not want us to destroy each other, but start a new life by the Holy Spirit instead.
Therefore, to believe in Jesus and to seek the help of the Holy Spirit are inextricably linked together. While we cannot believe in Jesus unless we have the help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot seek the help of the Holy Spirit unless we trust in Jesus. That’s why Jesus is “the one who baptize with water,” through whom we can start a new life be being led by the Holy Spirit.
Now, what specifically is the new life led by the Holy Spirit like? It is revealed best in the word of God spoken to Jesus when He got baptized with water by John. It is not recorded in the book of John, but it is written in the other three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Let’s pick Luke today for our reference, Luke 3:21-22.
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)
It is said, a voice of God was heard, which said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” “With you I am well pleased” can be translated also as “I delight in you.” To hear this voice of God as our own everyday and trust in Jesus is the new life led by the Holy Spirit. But How often can we really believe in our daily life that God loves us and He delights in us? It becomes difficult for us to believe that this word is for everyone, particularly when we face someone who makes us suffer. However, God looks into the direction of our heart, rather than how our moral behavior might be. He knows conflicts and pains our heart carries inside. He looks through those conflicts and pains to which way we are trying to walk our life. He leaves a decision up to us, but sends us the Holy Spirit to help us at the same time. Let us make our small decisions everyday in order to treat ourselves well and care for others well together, by the help of the Holy Spirit.
（Prayer） Dear God, guide us by Your Spirit. Holy Spirit, help us to trust in you and seek your help in the midst of our troubles, so that we can trust in Jesus and be sure of God’s love. Lead us to the right path, the direction you want us to be. Make us able to trust that your way is the best way for us. Dear Jesus, help us remember the sacrifice you made for us when we lose the way we should go. Dear our Lord Jesus, we pray this in Your name, Amen.
Summary
This was John the Baptist’s testimony. Our sins are far too great for us to bear and that we cannot save ourselves. God, knowing all things, chose to sacrifice himself in order to save us. Jesus came into the world to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. If we follow Jesus and rely on the Holy Spirit, God’s words to Jesus apply to us as well: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
For Discussion
- What does it mean that Jesus is the “lamb of God”?
- What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?