INTRODUCTION TO DECEMBER LESSONS: Life cannot exist without light, water, and food. That is true both scientifically and theologically. First in the order of creation was the creation of light (Genesis 1:3). Second was the separation of the waters (Genesis 1:6). Finally, God made food (Genesis 1:30). Everyone needs light to see (John 8:12). Everyone needs life, which God alone can provide (John 10:10). Everyone needs food (John 6:48). For three months we will study the Gospel of John, the ‘spiritual Gospel,’ as an early Christian theologian called it. In Part 1, students will learn about the themes of light and life from John the Baptist, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the apostle John, and Jesus himself.
_ _ _
Unit: Gospel of John (Part 1)
Theme: Light and Life
Lesson Text: John 1:6-8, 19-34
Supplemental Texts: John 1:35-42; John 3:22-36; Matthew 3:13-17
Aim: Live as a testimony, pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
_ _ _
Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the study by Mark Scott, the Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Doug Redford): LOOKOUT_Dec3_2023.
Send an email to [email protected] to receives PDFs of the lesson material each month.
_ _ _
By Mark Scott
When God created the universe, he caused the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night (Genesis 1:16). Spiritually speaking, John the Baptist was the lesser light. But what a light he was! He was a witness to the greater light, Jesus. Even though John the Baptist never worked a miracle (John 10:41), Jesus said he was the greatest person ever born of women (Matthew 11:11). John fulfilled his role, even though it cost him his life (Matthew 14:6-12).
God’s prophetic voice had been stilled for close to 400 years when John the Baptist began preaching in the wilderness of Judea. He was to be God’s messenger and the one who would prepare the way for the Lord. His purpose was to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents (Malachi 3:1; 4:6).
What John the Baptist Was
John 1:6-8
John the Baptist was so significant that he made it into the famous prologue of the apostle John’s Gospel. That prologue (John 1:1-18) certainly is one of the loftiest pieces of theology ever produced, and with the simplest vocabulary. In the beginning, Jesus was with God and was God. John the Baptist was sent from God to testify about Jesus. The word sent matters in John’s Gospel. It appears often and is even part of Jesus’ commission statement near the end of the Gospel (John 20:21). The word sent means that John the Baptist spoke with authority from God. The angel Gabriel provided John’s name to Zechariah, John’s father (Luke 1:13), and Zechariah later affirmed the boy’s name (1:63).
John was a witness. This is a courtroom term from which the English word martyr is derived. It means “to tell what one has seen and heard.” Witnesses testify. And so, John testified about Jesus—his identity, his character, and his mission. More than that, John’s testimony was intended to produce “belief.” This matches the purpose statement in the Gospel (John 20:30-31). John knew who he was (a witness to the light) and who he was not (John himself was not the light). But he was, as previously noted, a “martyr,” giving his life in carrying out his witness.
Who John the Baptist Was Not
John 1:19-28
The formal introduction of John’s Gospel concludes in 1:18 with an awesome claim about Jesus making God known. With the next verse, we head to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist’s solicited testimony. The Jewish leaders—priests, Levites, and Pharisees—journeyed the 17 miles downhill from Jerusalem to the Jordan River to interrogate the Baptizer (the literal meaning of his title “the Baptist”). John probably was ministering just south of Aenon near Salim, (i.e., Bethany beyond the Jordan, according to John 1:28) where there was much water (John 3:23).
The leaders asked John about his identity. John answered, “I am not the Messiah.” (At times it is helpful to recognize who we are not in addition to knowing who we are.) John also denied he was Elijah (though Gabriel told Zechariah that John would come in the spirit and power of Elijah—which no doubt was what Jesus meant in Matthew 17:10-13). The leaders then inquired whether John was the Prophet. The use of the definite article (the Prophet) referred to an individual whose coming was predicted by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15. There was a belief among the Jews that his arrival would accompany the coming of the Messiah. Peter later declared that Jesus was that promised prophet (Acts 3:19-23).
John was not any of the people the Jewish leaders suggested, but he did claim to be a voice—not an echo—but a genuine voice. John’s job was to prepare people for Jesus—thus, make straight the way for the Lord. The leaders were not satisfied with John’s answer, so they asked him why a non-messianic figure was conducting a ministry of baptism. John admitted that he was baptizing with water, but his baptism was part of his preparatory ministry for someone far greater, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. The next day John will highlight that person as one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
What John the Baptist Did
John 1:29-34
John’s responses surely left the leaders a bit frustrated; they had little new information to take back to their superiors. The next day (note the series of days in the early verses of John’s Gospel—1:29, 35, 43; 2:1), Jesus showed up. John’s record does not describe Jesus’ baptism (the Synoptic Gospels do), but he does include John the Baptist’s testimony of that event. And, importantly, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is a label with rich biblical meaning (Genesis 22:7-8; Exodus 12:3-7, 13; Isaiah 53:7; 1 Corinthians 5:7).
John knew that Jesus surpassed him, because Jesus existed before him, as the apostle John declares in the prologue to his Gospel (John 1:1-3). The Spirit’s descent on Jesus at his baptism was proof that Jesus was God’s Chosen One. Socrates said, “Know thyself.” John the Baptist said, in essence, “Know Jesus.”
0 Comments