“Seldom was ever any knowledge given to keep, but to impart.”
–Joseph Hall
Among some of the most well-known declarations of John the Baptist (aka John the Witness) is the following, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In some of the literature of the 2nd century BC, we see a lamb that is triumphant over its enemies. For example, from a work entitled the Testament of Joseph, “And I saw that a virgin was born from Judah, wearing a linen stole; and from her was born a spotless lamb. At his left there was something like a lion, and all the wild animals rushed against him, but the lamb conquered them, and destroyed them, trampling them underfoot.” [J. H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1 (New York; London: Yale University Press, 1983), 824.] This passage describes a conquering lamb and that might have been in John’s mind. However, we know that John the beloved disciple, who was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was using terms that connected Jesus to the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 and to the lamb of the Passover Feast (see Exodus 12).
Regarding John the Baptist’s understanding of Jesus, R.C. Sproul noted:
“Despite the abundant use of significant titles for Jesus in the first chapter of John—“Lamb of God,” “Son of God,” “Messiah,” “Son of Man,” and so forth—I don’t believe that John the Baptist, Andrew, Nathanael, or any of the disciples had a comprehensive understanding of the meaning of these titles. John the Baptist, who here said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” later was thrown into prison and sent messengers to Jesus, asking, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:20). This question indicates that John had not fully understood the identity of Jesus, despite his dramatic testimony to Jesus’ identity. The problem was that he had his own expectations. He expected that the Lamb of God would come and drive the Romans out, just as everybody else did. When he saw Jesus merely going about preaching, he became confused.” [R. C. Sproul, John, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 17.]
This whole episode with John the Baptist is a nice reminder that all believers need to grow in their understanding of who Jesus is. Ask the Father today to deepen your knowledge of his Son as you read the Scriptures. Have a blessed week and we will see most of you on Sunday.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
