John the Baptist Preaching by the JordanBibleWorld
1:23John 1:23
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
When questioned by investigators from Jerusalem about his authority, John denied being the Christ, Elijah, or that prophet, and declared himself only the wilderness voice foretold by Isaiah to prepare the Lord's way. Making straight the way alludes to the custom of sending men ahead of a king to clear obstructions and fill hollows so he could travel without hindrance, for John was sent to clear the way for the heavenly King. That clearing meant calling the people to repent of sin and fearlessly reproving it, and baptizing with water to manifest Israel's Messiah. His answer directed hearers away from himself to the Lord coming after him who was greater and mightier than he, even Jesus standing unrecognized among them, whose sandal strap he was unworthy to loose. He knew himself to be only a voice and herald, not the Christ, and in complete self-abnegation sought not to attract men to himself but to lift their thoughts to the Lamb of God until Christ must increase and he must decrease.
John Answers Jerusalem's Inquiry
The inquiry came from the highest authority in Jerusalem, sent to learn by what authority John was calling whole cities and towns to listen to his warning and turning the world upside down. Though he had not sought the approval of the Sanhedrin, as a public teacher drawing eager crowds he was regarded as subject to its jurisdiction. His preaching at the Jordan stirred hope that God would again act powerfully to deliver Israel, recalling the crossing of the Jordan and the fall of Jericho nearby.
When pressed whether he was the Christ, Elijah, or that prophet, he denied each claim in turn. He refused honor that did not belong to him and declared himself only the voice of one crying in the wilderness, foretold by Isaiah, the forerunner sent to prepare the way before the Lord. His work was to direct people away from himself and toward the Lord who was coming after him and was greater and mightier than he.
By that prophet the questioners meant Moses, whom the Jews expected to be raised from the dead and taken to heaven, not knowing Moses had already been resurrected. Some wondered whether John was Moses returned because he came baptizing with water and showed thorough knowledge of the prophecies and of Israel's wilderness wanderings through unjust murmuring and continual rebellion. That wondering was strengthened by his thorough knowledge of Hebrew history and of prophecy, and by remembrance of his miraculous birth to Zacharias.
He stood as God's representative prophet to join the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. His wilderness cry pointed back to the law and the prophets and forward to Christ as Saviour of the world in the cry Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He boldly testified that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the light of men, at the first advent, which Israel in later centuries generally understood to have been foretold as giving the Messiah for a light to the Gentiles and for God's salvation unto the end of the earth, and as revealing the glory of the Lord for all flesh to see together.
Clearing the Lord's Road
The declaration about making straight the way draws on the custom of sending men ahead of a monarch or king on a journey to clear obstructions, remove obstacles and fill hollows so he could travel safely and without hindrance. John was sent in that forerunning office to clear the way for the Lord, the heavenly King, preparing the road of the Lord in the wilderness.
Clearing that way meant calling the people to repent of their sins and fearlessly reproving sin. His ministry was carried on chiefly in the wilderness, in loneliness, sorrow and self-denial, though multitudes came to hear him and his joy came from seeing his mission succeed. That preparation included baptizing with water to manifest Israel's Messiah. So when Jesus appeared unrecognized in the crowd, John could point to Him as the One standing among them, coming after him yet preferred before him, whose sandal strap he was unworthy to loose.
His work was not to gather attention to himself but to direct people away from himself and toward the Lord who was coming after him. That Lord was greater and mightier than he was, even Jesus, whose mission was far greater than his own.
Hearers keen to recognize spiritual truth would have discerned that significance and known John referred to the long-promised Christ. His answer was therefore a decided and unequivocal message to carry back to the rulers that the Messiah was already among them. The messengers from Jerusalem turned away because they expected a worldly conqueror rather than the Saviour's mission.
Pointing Beyond Himself Today
John understood himself to be only a voice, a cry in the wilderness, a herald sent before the Messiah to prepare His way, and not the Christ Himself. Though by nature he had the faults and weaknesses common to humanity, transformed by divine love and looking in faith to the Redeemer he rose to complete self-abnegation, clearly understanding his relation to Christ. He did not seek to attract men to himself but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher until they rested upon the Lamb of God, the Redeemer, the Light of life. When Christ's ministry began and all men followed the new Teacher, John gladly welcomed the One for whom he had prepared the way, and with fulfilled joy accepted silence, obscurity and decrease so that Christ must increase and the eyes of all might be turned to Him.
His mission was solely to prepare the way for Jesus by testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, including testimony of the baptism of Jesus and the manifestations of God at that time. That testimony was announced in Judea, and Jerusalem and Judea and the religious leaders heard his preaching concerning Jesus. Jesus later recalled John's witness, not because He needs human testimony to sustain His claims, but to convince His persecutors of their blindness and inconsistency, showing that in rejecting Him they reject John whom they had for a season received with joy as a burning and shining light and a prophet of God.
The preparing voice of John is a pattern now entrusted to God's servants, who must be heard with the same voice in the great tourist and seaside resorts. That means establishing health restaurants and treatment rooms in various sections of Los Angeles and in San Diego and in other tourist resorts of Southern California. Clearing the King's highway now means spiritual preparation by putting away every cherished sin and being converted, getting ready for the judgment on the borders of the eternal world. It means not carrying oneself proudly, having no other gods, fearing and honoring the one God, abolishing all plans of worldly policy and the commercial spirit, and bringing in a spiritual order of things as men are worked by the Holy Spirit, so that those sent to their fields of labor will strengthen the things ready to die instead of becoming powers of darkness, and God will help all who clear the way. As John prepared the way for Christ before Christ came, so the disciples likewise went ahead of Jesus to prepare people for His coming and work.
When questioned by investigators from Jerusalem about his authority, John denied being the Christ, Elijah, or that prophet, and declared himself only the wilderness voice foretold by Isaiah to prepare the Lord's way. Making straight the way alludes to the custom of sending men ahead of a king to clear obstructions and fill hollows so he could travel without hindrance, for John was sent to clear the way for the heavenly King. That clearing meant calling the people to repent of sin and fearlessly reproving it, and baptizing with water to manifest Israel's Messiah. His answer directed hearers away from himself to the Lord coming after him who was greater and mightier than he, even Jesus standing unrecognized among them, whose sandal strap he was unworthy to loose. He knew himself to be only a voice and herald, not the Christ, and in complete self-abnegation sought not to attract men to himself but to lift their thoughts to the Lamb of God until Christ must increase and he must decrease.
John Answers Jerusalem's Inquiry
The inquiry came from the highest authority in Jerusalem, sent to learn by what authority John was calling whole cities and towns to listen to his warning and turning the world upside down. Though he had not sought the approval of the Sanhedrin, as a public teacher drawing eager crowds he was regarded as subject to its jurisdiction. His preaching at the Jordan stirred hope that God would again act powerfully to deliver Israel, recalling the crossing of the Jordan and the fall of Jericho nearby.
When pressed whether he was the Christ, Elijah, or that prophet, he denied each claim in turn. He refused honor that did not belong to him and declared himself only the voice of one crying in the wilderness, foretold by Isaiah, the forerunner sent to prepare the way before the Lord. His work was to direct people away from himself and toward the Lord who was coming after him and was greater and mightier than he.
By that prophet the questioners meant Moses, whom the Jews expected to be raised from the dead and taken to heaven, not knowing Moses had already been resurrected. Some wondered whether John was Moses returned because he came baptizing with water and showed thorough knowledge of the prophecies and of Israel's wilderness wanderings through unjust murmuring and continual rebellion. That wondering was strengthened by his thorough knowledge of Hebrew history and of prophecy, and by remembrance of his miraculous birth to Zacharias.
He stood as God's representative prophet to join the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. His wilderness cry pointed back to the law and the prophets and forward to Christ as Saviour of the world in the cry Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He boldly testified that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the light of men, at the first advent, which Israel in later centuries generally understood to have been foretold as giving the Messiah for a light to the Gentiles and for God's salvation unto the end of the earth, and as revealing the glory of the Lord for all flesh to see together.
Clearing the Lord's Road
The declaration about making straight the way draws on the custom of sending men ahead of a monarch or king on a journey to clear obstructions, remove obstacles and fill hollows so he could travel safely and without hindrance. John was sent in that forerunning office to clear the way for the Lord, the heavenly King, preparing the road of the Lord in the wilderness.
Clearing that way meant calling the people to repent of their sins and fearlessly reproving sin. His ministry was carried on chiefly in the wilderness, in loneliness, sorrow and self-denial, though multitudes came to hear him and his joy came from seeing his mission succeed. That preparation included baptizing with water to manifest Israel's Messiah. So when Jesus appeared unrecognized in the crowd, John could point to Him as the One standing among them, coming after him yet preferred before him, whose sandal strap he was unworthy to loose.
His work was not to gather attention to himself but to direct people away from himself and toward the Lord who was coming after him. That Lord was greater and mightier than he was, even Jesus, whose mission was far greater than his own.
Hearers keen to recognize spiritual truth would have discerned that significance and known John referred to the long-promised Christ. His answer was therefore a decided and unequivocal message to carry back to the rulers that the Messiah was already among them. The messengers from Jerusalem turned away because they expected a worldly conqueror rather than the Saviour's mission.
Pointing Beyond Himself Today
John understood himself to be only a voice, a cry in the wilderness, a herald sent before the Messiah to prepare His way, and not the Christ Himself. Though by nature he had the faults and weaknesses common to humanity, transformed by divine love and looking in faith to the Redeemer he rose to complete self-abnegation, clearly understanding his relation to Christ. He did not seek to attract men to himself but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher until they rested upon the Lamb of God, the Redeemer, the Light of life. When Christ's ministry began and all men followed the new Teacher, John gladly welcomed the One for whom he had prepared the way, and with fulfilled joy accepted silence, obscurity and decrease so that Christ must increase and the eyes of all might be turned to Him.
His mission was solely to prepare the way for Jesus by testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, including testimony of the baptism of Jesus and the manifestations of God at that time. That testimony was announced in Judea, and Jerusalem and Judea and the religious leaders heard his preaching concerning Jesus. Jesus later recalled John's witness, not because He needs human testimony to sustain His claims, but to convince His persecutors of their blindness and inconsistency, showing that in rejecting Him they reject John whom they had for a season received with joy as a burning and shining light and a prophet of God.
The preparing voice of John is a pattern now entrusted to God's servants, who must be heard with the same voice in the great tourist and seaside resorts. That means establishing health restaurants and treatment rooms in various sections of Los Angeles and in San Diego and in other tourist resorts of Southern California. Clearing the King's highway now means spiritual preparation by putting away every cherished sin and being converted, getting ready for the judgment on the borders of the eternal world. It means not carrying oneself proudly, having no other gods, fearing and honoring the one God, abolishing all plans of worldly policy and the commercial spirit, and bringing in a spiritual order of things as men are worked by the Holy Spirit, so that those sent to their fields of labor will strengthen the things ready to die instead of becoming powers of darkness, and God will help all who clear the way. As John prepared the way for Christ before Christ came, so the disciples likewise went ahead of Jesus to prepare people for His coming and work.