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"This is He of whom I said..." John 1:30

Text: John 1:19-24

“THIS IS HE OF WHOM I SAID…” JOHN 1:30

John must have preached on a number of topics in his public ministry. He preached Repentance from sin. He proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Above everything else, he prepared the multitudes for the coming of the Messiah.

The Baptizer used rather “vague terminology” to describe the coming of the Christ. One of those expressions was simply,

“There stands One among you whom you do not know.
It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me,
Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
John 1:26,27

But just who was this Person coming after him? John did not specify until Jesus came on the scene. Then he proclaimed with great conviction and awe,

“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 is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ “
John 1:29-30

The multitudes must have waited and waited as patiently as they could for John’s announcement as to who this special Person was. He did say that He was among the multitudes. Who was He? The crowds might have well looked at each other again and again to see if they could identify this Person John had been proclaiming again and again. It was all so mystifying!

Finally Jesus turned up! John identified Him immediately, without any hesitation! John could now use new words to describe Jesus! He was a Man, not an angel. But He was more than a Man, He was the Lamb of God! He had the virtue and the power within Himself to take away the sin of the world!

Just how sinful is the world? How many sins have been committed in the world? One Man can take away the sin of the world? That must have been some Man! That Man was Christ Jesus!

“I DID NOT KNOW HIM…” John 1:31

John could say these words truthfully. John may have been acquainted with Jesus, for Elizabeth, the mother of John, was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Cf. Luke 1:36). Mary spent some months visiting with Elizabeth. They might well have been quite close to each other. However, it does not follow that John and Jesus grew up together.

The little evidence that we have from the Gospels would indicate that Jesus and John grew up apart from each other. Jesus was in Egypt for a little while and then He grew up in Nazareth.

John on the other hand grew up in the wilderness. Perhaps soon after his parents’ death, and they were already quite old when they had John, he must have gone into the wilderness to prepare himself for his life’s ministry as the forerunner of Christ. Luke made this interesting note about John the Baptizer.

“So the child (John) grew and became strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation
to Israel.”
Luke 1:80

When Jesus came onto the scene, John did not even hint that Jesus was his relative. That was almost irrelevant. There was no room for personal pride that Jesus and he were related.

John understood his role very well. He was the Messiah’s forerunner. He knew his place. He was but a servant of the Lord! It was in this spirit that John proclaimed the statement that he did not know Jesus.

THE REVELATION OF JESUS

Many were the prophecies written about the Messiah. His birthplace, His life, His ministry, and even how He would die to save mankind from their sins were all carefully preserved in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament.

Jesus had come. He came to fulfill all that had been written. No one else could fit into the carefully painted portrait of The Messiah – only Jesus! John the Baptizer expressed that he knew what his life’s purpose and ministry was. The Apostle John noted what John said on the occasion of the Baptism (Anointing of Jesus).

“I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed
to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
John 1:31

The word “revealed” was used by the author John in his writings in a special way. He used it as a word that suggests an “unveiling” or a “manifestation”. It was as if Jesus was hidden and then suddenly all was made bare. Jesus was all along the Son of God, the Light, the Lamb of God. However, all these things remained a secret till He was revealed. In God’s own time, Jesus was revealed to Israel as the Messiah.

The word “revelation” was a key theological word used by both the Apostles John and Paul. In their theology, they used the word “revelation” to teach that no one could have by natural means arrived at the true knowledge of who Jesus really was. God has to reveal Jesus for who He was, or man would continue to grope in the dark. However, in God’s grace and mercy, He revealed Himself, and His message of salvation through His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How should one respond to such a great revelation from God?

John the Baptizer maintained that he was sent for a special purpose. He was baptizing people in preparation of the day when God would reveal Jesus to him. In turn, John would be the one who would manifest or reveal Jesus to Israel. God had not forgotten all His promises made to Israel. He would reveal His only begotten Son to Israel. He would be their Redeemer. He would be the One who would take their sins away. God revealed. John the Baptizer bore witness. But would Israel believe?