“When grapes come to the press they come to the proof.”
–George Swinnock
The name ‘John’ appears over 130 times in the New Testament. The next factoid is the one that surprised me. The name ‘John’ as a reference to John the Baptist comprises 91 of those appearances. Wow! I knew John the Baptist’s ministry was significant, but I did not realize how interwoven his name and narrative were into the whole fabric of the New Testament.
Here is an example. When the disciples needed to seek a replacement after the betrayal and death of Judas, one of their qualifications of apostleship was being a witness to Christ’s resurrection, of course. The other qualification was the presence of the individual in the community of disciples from the time of John the Baptist’s ministry (or at the very least, the baptism of Jesus by John) to the ascension of Christ. The book of Acts records, “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22, emphasis mine)
While the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) all attach the title ‘Baptist’ or ‘Baptizer’ to John’s name, the Fourth Gospel (the Gospel of John) simply records his name ‘John’ sans titles. Gerald Borchert noted, “Although John certainly was sent to baptize (1:31–33), if the fourth evangelist’s writing is any test, then he may have preferred another designation—John the Witness (1:7, 15, 23, 26–27, 29, 32–34, 36, 40; 3:26–30; 5:33). Given the importance of the theme “to bear witness” in this Gospel (the verb “to witness” itself appears thirty-three times), the designation of John as a witness is no small affirmation of him. (Borchert, New American Commentary, 111) What an affirmation!
John was a witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ. He acknowledged his superiority and pre-eminence and identified his atoning work—“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Have you trusted in Christ to take away your sin? Are you in agreement with John the Witness regarding the significance of Christ’s person and work?
Have a blessed week and we will see you on Sunday. D. V.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
