Well, if you turn in your Bible again to the book of John, the gospel according to John, as I said this morning, we're going to have a little four-part miniseries here. And tonight we're looking at verses 6 through 9, but in order to unfold and flesh out verses 6 through 9, we'll also be looking at verse 15 and then 19 through 34. So let's give our attention to God's Word tonight. John chapter 1. And I'm going to begin reading in verse 6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Now let's go down to verse 15. John bore witness about Him and cried out, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me. And then verse 19, and this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. So they said to him, who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." Let's ask the Lord's blessings. Father in heaven, thank you that you have given us a testimony, a witness in John the Baptist. And Lord, give us the ability to hear it and receive it and rejoice in it and in believing in it. Lord, I have a life full of joy and peace. We thank you for that in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, boys and girls, I want to ask you a difficult question. If you had to think about your the most favorite part of Christmas, the part that you look forward to the most, what would it be? Well, if you're anything like I was when I was a little guy, the answer, of course, is presents, right? The opening of presents. But boys and girls, let's pretend that there weren't any presents at Christmas. It just wasn't something that people did. So no presents. Just Christmas, no presents. What would be your favorite thing then? Maybe you'd say the food. Maybe you'd say the parties. But let's pretend there weren't those things either. No food, no special food, no parties, Christmas parties. What would it be then? Well, maybe the Christmas tree, or all the bright lights, maybe Christmas music, you know, maybe one of those things. Well, let's pretend that none of those things exist for Christmas either. And you might be thinking, well, if there's no Christmas and no parties and no presents, well, you know, there's no Christmas at all. And that's true. There would be no American Christmas. But boys and girls, you need to understand that when the Apostle John wrote this letter, there weren't any of those things. There was nothing like what we call Christmas. There weren't any Christmas presents, no Christmas trees, no Christmas music, no Yule log right on the TV. None of those things. No parties. All there was was a glorious message about a baby that had been born in Bethlehem, and that baby grew to be a man called Jesus. And that man was the greatest gift that God ever gave this world. That man was the light of God and the life of men. That man, that little baby grew to be the Savior of sinners. And John is gonna testify, John the Baptist is gonna testify about this man. As John, the gospel writer, as he begins his gospel, his mission, as we said this morning, is to convince people about the truth of Jesus. He's desperate to convince his readers, his audience, that Jesus is not just another religious teacher. That there's something completely unique, unparalleled in this man, Jesus of Nazareth. And he wants people to be convinced of this because he wants them to believe in Jesus, to believe in the name of Jesus, so that they might have life. He wants people to escape their bondage to sin. He's got a heart for lost sinners. He wants them to come to faith in Jesus Christ, but faith requires that we know who Jesus is. We know why Jesus came. We know what Jesus accomplished. Again, John is so earnest for this. He's not just trying to talk you into a position or make a case for some pet project of his. John's convinced that this is life and death. Jesus is convinced this is life and death. In John 17, when Jesus is talking to the Father, Jesus says, this is life. This is eternal life, Father, that they, the people, might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you've sent. It's life. It's life. And so to that end, in order to convince us of these things, John the writer is going to call a man to the witness stand. If this was a courtroom, this would be the time where he says, I'd like to call John the Baptist to the stand. And that's what we have here in our text. In the culture of that day, somewhat today as well, but people understood very well the critical importance of witnesses. If you want to establish a truth, particularly in a court of law, you need a witness. You can't just go into the courtroom and say, judge, this man was throwing stones at me. You've got to have a witness. Otherwise, the story is just a story. There's no evidence to say that it's true. Witnesses are critical, but you can't just have a witness. It has to be a reliable witness. It has to be shown that you didn't pay the guy 10 bucks to make that testimony. It's got to be reliable. It's got to be credible. Well, John the writer is going to help us understand the credibility, the reliability of John the Baptist as a witness. And so tonight we're going to look at four things. First, John the Baptist, his credentials. his identity, his testimony, and then his purpose, his desire. Let's start with his credentials. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. John, the writer, wants us to know that this isn't just a man he's presenting, but it's a man sent from God. That's a title. The significance of that title is seen that in the Old Testament, it's just men like Moses or the prophets who receive that title. Moses was a man sent from God. The prophets were men sent from God. And that means that these are men who are divinely commissioned by God to deliver a message from God. to the people of God. They're divinely appointed spokesmen. They say what God wants them to say. And so that means that when we listen to the testimony of John the Baptist, we're not just hearing John's thoughts, his reflections on who he thinks Jesus might be. We're listening to what God Himself thinks about Jesus. John's testimony is as a man sent from God. It's God's testimony being spoken through John. In other words, this is a very reliable witness. God does not lie. And it would be abject folly to ignore or reject the testimony of this man. We can have absolute confidence his testimony is irrefutable and perfectly true. The closest that we get to an irrefutable testimony today is in the use of video evidence in the courtroom. Eyewitness testimonies have proven to be remarkably unreliable. But even video evidence, you know, it can be inconclusive. You don't have to watch too much football, and there's slow motion, frame by frame, and it's inconclusive. We can't really tell. Well, John the Baptist, you see, is better than video witness. His testimony is more reliable than that, because it comes from God, who is truth itself. And John's commission, then, is to bear witness, to testify. to the identity of Jesus. Notice the repetition of the word witness in verses 7 and 8. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. Do you want to know what John was sent to do? He's bear witness. He comes as a witness and he comes to bear witness about Jesus. The living God has sent John the Baptist into the courtroom of this world to give irrefutable testimony about the identity of his son. Now, one of the reasons that John the writer needs to spend a little time about the identity of John the Baptist, notice he says, he was not the light. Well, the reason he needs to say that is because people were confused about John the Baptist's identity. And so let's look at that next. Who was John? It was a topic of great debate in John's day because John the Baptist was universally acclaimed as a great man. The crowds rushed out to see him. Remember, there had been no prophet in Israel for 400 years. For us, that would be 1622. No prophet. No man who came and in truth and with authority said, listen, God has a message for you. This is what God wants you to know. No prophet for 400 years, just silence. And now suddenly John the Baptist appears and he's wearing clothing like Elijah and he's out in the wilderness eating locusts and he speaks and it's clear this is different. This is someone unique, someone special, a man sent from God. He has God-given power. People are flocking to him, and there's a revival happening, as John calls people, to repentance. But they're not quite sure who he is. And so people ask him. You can see that in verses 19. Is he the Messiah? Is he the Christ? Is he Elijah? Because Malachi had prophesied that in the last days Elijah would come. Are you Elijah? Is he the prophet? And that's a reference to a prophecy made in Deuteronomy chapter 18, where God said that He would send, again in the last days, a prophet like Moses. And so that's who they're referring to. Is that who you are, John? And John's very clear in his response, no, I am not the Christ, no, I am not Elijah, and no, I am not the prophet. Well, who are you then, right? The Pharisees have sent us, we need to go back with an answer. What do you say about yourself? And John responds by quoting from Isaiah 40, verse 3. He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord as the prophet Isaiah said. John read his calling, his identity in the pages of Scripture. He was sent to prepare the way for the Lord. And that's what he was doing in the wilderness as he was calling people, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent, the king is coming. Remember, John's a forerunner. Just like in those days when a king would travel, messengers would be sent ahead of him to go to the towns and basically say, you need to clean this place up, the king is coming. Repent, amend your ways, the king is coming. Well, that's what John was doing. He was calling people to repentance and faith. Make yourself ready, the King is coming. That was his calling. That was his self-identifying mark. That's how he saw himself. But what is his testimony about Jesus? Well, you find that in verses 15 and then 19 through 34. John testifies that Jesus is the greatest man. John bore witness about him, Jesus, and cried out, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me. There's a wonderful ministry online, you can look it up, called I Am Second. If you've never visited that, I would encourage you to do that. It's a bunch of testimonies that people give about how they were brought to Christ. And they all tell a similar story of how they were living for themselves. They were living as if they were number one. They were the king of their life, the Lord of their life. And then in one way or another, it all came crashing down. And they discovered the glory and the supremacy of Christ. And they came to faith in Christ. And every one of them ends their testimony by saying, I am second. Jesus is first, and that's John's testimony. Though he's a nationally known figure, though he's a great man in the eyes of everyone, John wants people to know someone vastly, vastly greater than I is coming. It's made perfectly clear, verses 25 to 27, they ask him, why are you baptizing if you're not the Christ or Elijah or the prophet? And he says, I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. It would be hard to find a better illustration of the supremacy of Christ in comparison to John than that. Word picture. Untying the straps of a sandal would be for the lowliest of servants. If you're untying sandals, you are at the very, very, very bottom of the social scale. Barely above, right, the dog. And in those days, dogs were not really seen as pets, but varmints. And that's about where you were. And here's this giant of a man, The most significant man in 400 years, Jesus even said the greatest of all the men of the Old Testament, so greater than Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than Isaiah. And this is His testimony, this great man. There's one coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal. That is a really profound statement. about the glory and the supremacy of Jesus. John also wants us to know that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. The next day, verse 29, he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. A commentator's debate here about whether John, how much does John really understand about the atoning nature of Christ's life and death? And many suggest that John wouldn't have known the fullness of this since even the disciples didn't get it. They didn't realize that Jesus had come to die, even though Jesus specifically told them he came to die. So all John would have known maybe is Isaiah 53. which is pretty vivid, but whatever the case, prophets of old often spoke of things moved by the Spirit of God that they didn't fully understand. Isaiah couldn't have known the full reality of what he was talking about when he talks about this suffering servant who the Father is going to crush, who's going to bear our iniquities. And yet he prophesies it moved by the Spirit of God. And I think the same is true here of John as well. Though he doesn't fully understand maybe what this means, John the writer does, right? John the writer has seen the Lamb of God sacrificed for sin. He's seen the nails go in the hands and the feet. He's seen Him hanging there on the cross. He saw Him laid in a tomb, and he saw the empty tomb. John, the writer, knows the full glory of what it means that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What a wonderful, wonderful message. He takes away the sin of every rebel, every idolater, every murderer, every adulterer, every slanderer, cheat, thief, every sinner of every stripe, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the one, the Lamb of God, who by the shedding of His blood takes away sin. Gone forever, as far as this is from the West. And John summarizes his testimony that Jesus is the Son of God. There's a phrase here in the text that maybe you noticed as we were reading. Twice, John says, I myself did not know Him. And maybe that puzzled you a bit. I myself did not know Him, John says. And I've read that before and thought, well, how could John not know Jesus? They're relatives. Undoubtedly, they'd spent time together as children, and maybe even as adults. They have to know each other. Well, the puzzle is solved, and you realize that John is not saying, I didn't know Jesus at all. What he's saying is, I did not know that Jesus was the coming one. And so as Jesus and John are growing up, John doesn't have the understanding that Jesus is the Messiah of God. So how does he figure it out? When does it fall into place for John that this is actually who Jesus is? And well, John tells us how he figured it out. Verse 32-33. I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him." And then he explains the significance of that. He who sent me to baptize, God himself, said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He's the one. And so you can imagine that day when Jesus comes and asks John to baptize him. And John protests, he senses, he knows Jesus is unique in some way, says, you ought to be baptizing me. But Jesus says, no, we need to do this to fulfill the law. And so Jesus is baptized by John. And if you remember the story, immediately the heavens open and a dove descends and there's a voice from heaven. This is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased. Listen to Him, and the Spirit descends in the form of a dove and settles on Jesus and remains on Him, and the lights go on for John. This is the One. He's standing in the presence of the Messiah of God. And so John writes in verse 34, he concludes his testimony with this majestic statement, and I have seen, this is witness testimony, I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. That's who Jesus is. D.A. Carson writes, "'The Baptist's firm I have seen and have testified underscore how for him the sight of the Spirit descending on Jesus in bodily form bore transforming significance. It enables him to point to Jesus with clarity and conviction and declare, this is the Son of God.'" Now, that's language we're used to. I just want you to imagine. the people of Jesus' day. John himself, he knows Jesus, he knows his parents, knows the family, knows where he's from. This is incredible. To say this is stunning, particularly for a Jew. But to point to Jesus, this man, and say with absolute conviction, this is not just a man. This man is the Son of God. That's his testimony. And John is convinced of it because of the testimony of God himself. When God says, when you see the Spirit descend and remain on one, that's who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And so this is John's testimony. The question then remains, what are we going to do about it? It really surprises me as, it was common for Israel of old, so it shouldn't be a surprise. It's one of the, just the inflictions, one of the problems that go along with being in the church. We get familiar with holy things. We get familiar with news like this. We get familiar with a message like this. The identity of Jesus Christ is, well, it's just infinitely significant for your life, for your eternal life, and your life here and now. It changes everything. So we have this testimony being born by John the writer and by John the Baptist. And the purpose of it is not just to inform us, but to transform us, to urge us to a decision and a life. Notice verse 7, he, John the Baptist, came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. So John the writer, his desire is that when you hear the testimony of John the Baptist, It strikes you as truth, and not just interesting truth, like a factoid, but truth that is gonna transform your life, truth that's gonna change the trajectory of your life, it's gonna change what you think and what you're pursuing, what you're living for. That was John's own experience, John the writer. In verses 35 through 37, we're told about two disciples who were standing, two of John the Baptist's disciples. Okay, so John the writer was previously a disciple of John the Baptist. And Jesus walks by. And John the Baptist said, behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And we're told there in the text, and the two disciples, we believe it's John and Andrew, heard this and they followed Jesus. They followed Jesus. They heard the testimony, they believed the message, and they immediately made a decision to dedicate themselves to following Jesus Christ. Well, that's exactly what John wants to see happen. That's exactly why this has been written. And so the question is, have you made that decision? It's possible, you see, to grow up in the church and never actually make a decision for Christ. You just grow up in the church, you believe these things, and you go about your life, what you call your Christian life, and it has many Christian things about it. But it's never really dawned on you that to believe in Jesus Christ means to be devoted to follow Christ, to be committed to Jesus Christ. No matter what, to have Jesus actually be the Lord of your life and Jesus to be your friend and companion and Savior. You see, the gospel message is that God sent Jesus for you to make you His child and a disciple. Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life, and Jesus intends us to follow Him then as the way, the truth, and the life, with the promise that as we do, Everyone who truly believes in Him will have everlasting life. And the question is, well, how do you know if you've truly believed? Because on the last day, Jesus says, many who said they believed are going to fall away. How do you know if you've truly believed? Well, the Bible would say, are you following Him? Is it making any difference? Does it make any difference that you know Jesus, you profess to believe in Jesus? Do you trust in Jesus when hard things come? Do you turn to Him and rely upon Him? Do you take His promises that I'll be with you and I'll protect you, do you take that to heart? Do you strive to obey Him? Does what He says about how you're to live in your life, how you're to deal, treat people, How you're to behave with your words, with your sexuality, your relationships, your work. Do the words of Jesus have weight? Are you striving to obey that? And do you repent when you fail? Do you go to Jesus and talk to Him? Are you seeking to abide in Him? Jesus says that's what disciples do. They abide in Jesus. They abide in His love. They abide in His Word. Do you actually have a relationship with Jesus Christ where you are seeking to do those things? Do you talk to Him? Do you know how many people who go to church who don't really pray? Maybe something very, you know, short, simple, trite, before meals, and that's all it is. Do you talk to Jesus? Do you let Him know that you love Him and that you need Him and that you want to live for Him? You can't wait to see Him? That's what disciples do. And do we testify? Are we free to talk about the One who loved us and came to rescue us? And are we free to invite others to come and know Him too? I would just encourage you tonight, as we've opened the Scriptures and we've heard the testimony about who Jesus actually is, I just encourage you tonight to think, is that who Jesus is for me? Do I know Jesus that way? And friend, if you don't, you can by making the same decision that John and Andrew made. This is who Jesus is. I believe that's true. Jesus, I want to follow you. May God grant it. Amen. Oh, Father in heaven, I thank you so much for Jesus. For His glory, His greatness, I thank you for His astonishing love as He was willing to be the Lamb sacrificed for our sin. I thank you that He is the Son of God. And I thank you, O Father, that we can know Jesus. Jesus, I thank you that you hear us right now, that you're present by your Spirit. Jesus, not be surprised at all if there are some here tonight who've been living the Christian life but have very little understanding of a Christ-centered life, a life where Jesus is truly friend and Savior and Lord, companion, so that we trust Him and we love Him and we are longing to be useful to Him. Lord, I just pray that if they're being here tonight in that place, that You would help them to understand that there's so much more that You have for them in Christ, a real life where we know about Jesus, and we get to share all the truth and all the beauty and all the grace of our Savior with those we love, with the world around us, And so Jesus, help us to be disciples. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand together. We're going to close tonight singing, Go tell it on the mountain, Jesus Christ is born. a a a ♪ And Jesus Christ is born ♪ ♪ Oh shepherds, hear their churn call ♪ ♪ When low upon the earth ♪ ♪ Rang out the angel chorus ♪ ♪ That hailed the Savior's birth ♪ ♪ Oh, tell them, children ♪ Oh salvation And now as you enter the mission field to live for the glory of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, go with his blessing. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all. Amen.