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Daily Devotions

John

John 
Day 
Day 12

Sent by God to bear witness

Text: John 1:1-18

SENT BY GOD TO BEAR WITNESS

John the Baptiser was sent by God to bear witness concerning who Jesus really was, so maintained the author of the Gospel of John. He wrote,

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
That all through him might believe.”
John 1:7

John the Baptiser was conscious of his role in life. He knew just why God raised him up. He had a special ministry. He was given a special task in his life. He was glad to be able to do that. Thus with a great sense of destiny, he came preaching the Word of God. Through his life and ministry, he sought to be a witness for Jesus. He came to bear witness of Jesus as the True Light. He sought to help people to come to faith and to believe in Jesus.

POINTING JESUS OUT TO PEOPLE

How did John bear witness concerning Jesus? We are familiar with his other messages, where he urged people to repent and receive the baptism of repentance. Many responded to his words and were baptized.

What did he teach his disciples after they were baptized? John taught them as much as he knew about God and the Scriptures. But above all, John focused on presenting Jesus in a special way. He said,

“This was He of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me is preferred before me,
For He was before me.'”
John 1:15

These words may have sounded cryptic, but on closer examination, great thoughts are found in them. Let us take time to examine what these words really mean.

“This was He of whom I said…”

What was the most frequent theme John the Baptiser touched on? From this statement, we can surmise that he must have constantly preached about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. He proclaimed that he was the forerunner, a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Obviously, the focal point of attention ought not be he himself, the voice in the wilderness. The focal point had to be Jesus! John faithfully declared and taught people about Jesus all the time! He had come to bear witness concerning the Lord Jesus. He bore witness for Him most faithfully. He must! He did! This famous John the Baptiser, the powerful desert-preacher, was a most significant witness concerning the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth.

“He who comes after me is preferred before me…”

John must have been aware of the power and effectiveness of his ministry. It wasn’t everyday that one could see thousands of people flocking to hear a preacher proclaim God’s Word. John must have resisted the temptation of basking in the esteem and regard of the multitudes. All of them saw John as someone very special. They saw him as a prophet of God, and revered him as such.

John was indeed a special servant of God. But no matter how popular he became, John always pointed people to Jesus. He knew where he stood in comparison to Jesus. He was no rival to Jesus at all. John knew his place. He knew Jesus was “preferred before me”. What does that really mean?

Sometimes it is helpful to look at how other versions of the Bible render the Greek text. The New American Standard Bible renders this verse thus,

“This was He of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I,
for He existed before me.’ ”
John 1:15

The New International Version offered a slightly different rendering of the text.

“This was he of whom I said,
He who comes after me has surpassed me
Because He was before me.’ ”
John 1:15

Why do we have this “difficulty” in the translation of this verse? The Greek text is actually very simple and straightforward. Literally translated, without any attempt to interpret the words, the text could be rendered thus,

“This person was the one I spoke:
‘The one coming after me has come before me,
because he was first.’ ”
John 1:15 (free translation by author)

Many translators feel that they have to do more than just translate. They feel that they have to give either the dynamic equivalent of the original Greek text, or give an interpretation of the text in translation, so that the idiomatic expression in the Greek could be better understood by readers from a different era, and with a vastly different background. However you translate the text, the testimony of John was very clear. He wanted people to know that Jesus was far greater than he was, than he could ever be.

“He was before me…”

John the Baptiser knew who Jesus really was. The Gospel of Luke recorded the births of both John and Jesus. By human reckoning, Jesus was younger than John by several months, and yet John presented Jesus as “first” or as One who existed before him. John the Baptiser also believed that Jesus was Deity, for only if He were that could He be said to have existed before him. Complex thoughts, but so wonderfully profound!

“But we see Jesus!”