The one you do not know

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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:29-34)

Right on cue, the next day, Jesus and John the Baptist cross paths. You get the sense that this scene takes place a few days or weeks, perhaps, after John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River. The other Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – all record the event. John’s Gospel only refers to the baptism, and instead recounts this scene of a few days or weeks later.

John exclaims when he sees Jesus, and says “I myself did not know him” twice. Once, perhaps to the few gathered near him, and then a second time in a more formal declaration to a wider audience.

The second time the writer introduces John the Baptist’s pronouncement of “I myself did not know him” with the phrase “then John gave this testimony.” He is elated that the fulfillment to his mission is within view, and that the way it was revealed to him was not only surprising to him – but delighted him.

Lamb of God
Many have commented that John is comparing Jesus to a Passover lamb, or to a sacrificial lamb for the sins of the people, or perhaps even the concept that Jesus was to be led like a lamb to the slaughter when he is crucified. These references seem plausible, but not entirely satisfactory. In fact, “Lamb of God” may not have been too compelling to most of John the Baptist’s own followers. He makes the reference twice, and only on the second occasion do a mere two of his disciples think enough of it to leave him and follow Jesus.

The rest of the first chapter indicates a small and intimate band of followers of Jesus. “Lamb of God” is curious because it is presumably the opposite description his audience is expecting.  The messiah was anticipated as a conqueror whose primary aim would be to promote Israel’s interests and sovereignty. But John goes on to say that Jesus as the “Lamb of God” was going to take away the sin of the world – not merely the sin of Israel.

In their book, Social Science Commentary on the Gospel of John, Malina and Rohrbaugh are convinced that the author is referencing what is actually the celestial star formation known to a Latin and Greek audience as Aries the Ram, and similarly to the Hebrew audience as Tale’. If they are correct, then the metaphor may not have been viewed as quite so unusual.

Perhaps all those meanings for “Lamb of God” are true in some sense. In any case, aside from the summary of the first 18 verses, this is the first of an extensive series of metaphors applied in the book of John to Jesus. In the case of most, the phrase “for the world” is added or that concept is inherent.

Testimony
The word “testimony” is very important and used often in this book. John the Baptist in this passage gives testimony a number of times. First, his testimony is “I am not the one.” Later, his testimony is “Jesus is the one.” This testimony that John gives on Jesus’ behalf is referred to later in the book. Several times indirectly, and at least once directly. The word is used in a manner to convey a solemn oath.

Along with the concept of testimony throughout, you also read that Jesus many times uses introductory phrases like “Very truly I tell you” or “I tell you the truth.” Other translations use “Verily, verily.” The phrase was literally “Amen, Amen.” You get the sense that Jesus is saying “Listen very carefully, this is supremely important.” More on that later.

Spirit
Spirit is another important word in the Gospel of John. Jesus emphasizes the importance of the Spirit over and over again throughout. Here John the Baptist announces that he saw the Spirit come down on Jesus and remain on him, and that Jesus would be the one who would baptize with the Spirit – as opposed to merely with water.

Identity
The identity of Jesus is of utmost importance to John’s Gospel. Almost every chapter or new scene introduces a new metaphor introducing another concept about who he really is. He has long-running arguments with the Jewish leaders about his true identity. You get the sense that the author believes that if you can just believe who he truly is, everything else will fall into place.

So John says “I am not the one” but Jesus is, and in his office as “God’s Chosen One” he will be taking away the sin of the entire world (not just Israel) and will be bringing God’s Spirit to those who follow him.

In the next scene, we will see his first disciples begin to follow Jesus, and yet again, their expectations of who is he is, and what his mission will be, are “adjusted.”

What do you want?

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The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. (John 1:35-39)

What do you want?
Jesus notices the two following and wants to know why. “What do you want?” puts them on the spot – and might make anyone feel awkward. And, the two disciples don’t really answer his question directly. “Where are you staying?” can’t be the real bit of information they wanted to know, can it?

But apparently it is. They wanted to “hang out” and experience a day or two (perhaps more) with this guy whom John the Baptist insists is the “Chosen One.” Somehow they knew that this may be God’s expressed idea in the flesh, ready and willing to share his dwelling – pitch his tent – with them.

What do you want?

Many times, the last thing you want is to “hang out” in the presence of God. And it’s hard to believe he wants to be in your presence. The minute you begin to contemplate it, what can follow is a rush of memories of all the mistakes that make you want to hide.

But these two guys took the chance. When faced with a direct question about what their motives were, they answered meekly with their own question – a request to spend some time together.

Come and see
We all have agendas. Some are private, some are transparent. There are no pure motives on this side of eternity. If you wait for pure motives and a cleaned up act, you will always be waiting.

What you must be, though, is willing to spend time getting to know who this man really is. In this age of information, snap judgments are the rule. You must be willing to take a second, third, and many more, looks. You mustn’t co-opt other’s opinions, or delegate the responsibility to learn who he is.

Come and see for yourself. Hang out awhile and get to know about God’s expressed idea for you. And. as you spend time listening to him – contemplating often what his message is – it’s vital to keep an open mind. It will be easy to leave when you find on occasion he doesn’t fit your mold for who you think God should be. You will need to resist that urge.

Previous: Counting the days

Wave after Wave

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Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:16-18)

Through God’s Son, you have received “grace in place of grace already given.” The Greek phrase here can be interpreted as “wave after wave” of grace. The Law (and its inherent judgement) was given through Moses, but grace and truth came in the person of God’s Son – Jesus Christ. The law is good, and serves a purpose. But the law is not what is at the heart of God. To believe that is to continue to stare at the shadow after the light has fully revealed the object casting the shadow.

Note that the language in the verse above for the law is impersonal: the context is that it was given and God kept his distance. But the language for Jesus is personal: he came and “lived for awhile among us.” (John 1:14) Others have translated that part of verse 14 as “he pitched his tent among us” – indicating intimacy and familiarity.

The good news is that everything God wants you to know about him, he revealed in Jesus. Now that light has come, you can see plainly the truth of who God is and what is really important to him.

However, there is one vital concept you cannot miss: in order to understand God and what’s important to him, you must get to know Jesus.

The writer of the Gospel of John is determined to help you see him clearly by painting a picture in vivid colors of a personal Jesus that will surely break the mold of what you might expect God to be. (Read John 1:1-18)

In the flesh

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The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

When you think about God, your tendency is to think he keeps his distance – and distance measured not by an arm’s length, but maybe light years! It’s easy, perhaps natural, to think that God’s idea for creation and man was expressed in his law – his commandments.

It’s easy to be convinced that your ability to approach God is governed by your success in keeping his commandments: his laws of right and wrong, do this and don’t do that. It’s natural to believe that at the heart of God there is a yearning to connect only with good law-keepers.

You know that his commandments are good, and that seems to be the correct approach. The commandments do give a sense of what’s important to God. He wants us to honor our parents, not to covet, murder, steal, or commit adultery, etc. Striving to do good things and not do bad things is commendable.

But this is not God’s message to us, his expressed idea, his “good news.”  When you believe it is, it’s actually bad news – because you learn that it’s impossible to keep his commandments even reasonably consistently. Read the Apostle Paul expound on this point in Romans 7.

Paul gives the analogy that laws are mere shadows, they aren’t what’s real. The writer of Hebrews provides the same example. The reality, the object that’s casting the shadow, is God’s Son. He is the perfect message to you from God. He has been with him, from the very beginning, and is the perfect representation of who God really is and what’s supremely important to him.

The good news is that while he was here in the flesh, he was known as “friend of sinners.” That was the derisive nickname his opponents – really religious people dedicated to keeping the law and all its commandments – pinned on him because he befriended everyone including the poor, the demon-possessed, tax collectors, adulterers, etc.

Imagine that! When God’s idea for man arrives on the scene, it turns out he wants to be friends with anyone who will listen to him and believe in him. At the center of God there is not law, but an enormous heart “full of grace and truth.”

Counting the Days

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The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. (John 1:35-39)

Counting the days
This “next day” in the passage above is the third day. The author is recounting the first few days, one-by-one, when he first met the man who would change the world, and his life.

As the book starts with its first scene – the first day – John the Baptist is interrogated by the delegation sent by the Sanhedrin. The second day – signaled by the first “next day” phrase in John 1:29 – John the Baptist introduces Jesus to the crowd and says he saw the Spirit descend on him as a dove. On the third day, the scene is a more intimate conversation between John the Baptist and two of his disciples. At some point during their conversation, John the Baptist again sights Jesus and yet again exclaims “Look, the Lamb of God!”

Then, the real story begins.

It begins with two disciples thinking enough of John’s testimony to make a decision that will change their lives. They decide to follow Jesus – literally! Their fateful decision will make them witnesses to – and actors with – the central character, on the main stage, for the most crucial events in human history.

We discover in the next verse that one of the two who follow is Andrew. The other remains unnamed, but is likely the author of the book, the Gospel of John. The passage above lives and breathes the vivid characteristics of eyewitness testimony. “The next day” and the “next day” and so on are retold. And then he ends the passage above with the following sentence:

It was about four in the afternoon.

It’s an odd and extraneous line for an author who is nothing if he is not succinct. But there it is. “It was about four in the afternoon” and he probably could still see, smell, and taste the details of the scenes permanently etched in his memory that he is now recounting – the day he first met Jesus.

Not the one

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To summarize previous posts, God’s Word, or expressed idea, became a man and lived for awhile among us. Everything God wanted us to know about himself and what’s important to him – he expressed in his Son. Now, in act one, the author starts not by introducing who “the Word” is – but begins with who he isn’t.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” (John 1:19-21)

The first scene in John’s Gospel starts with John the Baptist in the spotlight. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem send priests and Levites to question John.

Threat Assessment
The Jewish leaders were probably members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews in Judea. Judea at this time is a Roman province, ruled by the prefect Pontius Pilate who was appointed by the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The Sanhedrin, however, governed many of the affairs of its own people, so long as they continued to govern well in the eyes of Rome. Governing well meant, among other things, keeping peace in the province so Rome would not have to commit more troops. It was a charged political atmosphere, so the Sanhedrin needed to vet John the Baptist. They feared he might gather a critical mass of followers and lead an uprising or revolt.

The Levites were members of the tribe of Israel known for priesthood. They asked John if he was the Messiah, or Elijah, or “the Prophet.” The Prophet seems to be a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where it is prophesied that one day God will raise up another leader like Moses to lead his people. In each case John the Baptist said “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (John 1:22-23)

The delegation did not want to return to the Sanhedrin without a report, so they pressed for an answer. John replies that he is the forerunner for the Lord as prophesied in Isaiah 40. If you read the verse just after the one in Isaiah 40 he quotes, you find Isaiah announcing that the glory of the Lord is about to be revealed.

Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:24-28)

Who do you think you are?
The delegation consisted of Pharisees as well. This Jewish sect was a remarkable one. They exercised an influence at this time that far exceeded their numbers. Rome’s Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote that there were never more than 6000 or so. We will learn more about the Pharisees in Chapter 3, but suffice it to say they were a sect known for its incredible dedication to keeping the Jewish law.

John the Baptist was an extremely popular preacher whose public ministry preceded and overlapped Jesus’ ministry for a time. His popularity, as well as his habit of baptizing his followers, alarmed the Jewish leaders. Baptism was known in this time for Gentiles wanting to convert to Judaism – but that was a self-administered baptism. John the Baptist personally administering baptism of his followers was seen by the Pharisees as him presuming a prophetic right. The time was a volatile one in Judea, and the Sanhedrin could not be too careful in following up on leaders who were becoming very popular with the people.

John the Baptist responds not by answering their question, but by making a point he wanted to make – one in keeping with his mission. He announces to this delegation that the one they are looking for, the one that he is the forerunner to, is actually here now “among you” even though he is “one you do not know.”

God’s Idea

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)

Many writers begin their books by introducing their main character pivotal situation, and then gradually reveal context and details about the character over the first few chapters. The idea is to grab your attention so that as the reader you will be interested to read more about the protagonist – his history, friends, opponents, and motives – and how this intricate backdrop relates to the dramatic scene.

In this book, the author begins more boldly than any other. He fearlessly casts the lead character at the very inception of time – as the agent of creation!

Most versions translate the Greek word “logos” as “word” in this passage. But in some cases – and this is definitely one of those cases – the translation doesn’t fully reveal the meaning packed inside a word.

“Logos” or “Word” here means “expressed idea” (more). The Word is the expressed idea God has in mind for man – and for creation.

“Word” is deified in the passage above, and then immediately personified as “he.” You can’t miss the allusion to the Genesis record where God speaks the world and man into existence (Gen 1).

We love because

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“We love because…” – 1 John 4:19

Love is a response.

It’s a response to love from someone else. The response is natural. And like almost all behavior, it is learned through imitation.

In your first few years, you learn to love by watching and listening to the people who are most important to you, who first model love to you — probably your parents and relatives. You attempt to reflect similar loving behavior back, and watch eagerly for encouraging feedback. Hopefully, plenty of smiles, exclamations, and “pats on the back” are supplied.

As the first few years pass, and your brain and language develop, your discernment and other skills improve. Learning how to love becomes more sophisticated and nuanced. Hard lessons are taught: You cannot remain the center of attention. You need to share, help, and give to others.

As you grow older, you draw on the stores of love you banked from those who are most important to you, who loved you. You reflect that love back to other people, not merely your parents or family, and your group of most important people changes. You discover, however, that love isn’t always reciprocated. People you try to love sometimes, perhaps often, either ignore you, or respond negatively. It’s confusing, and it hurts.

You also discover that, unfortunately, you sometimes do the same.

As you build your independent world, you inevitably find three related axioms you must come to terms with:

  1. The people from whom you learned to love, were imperfect models. Some may have been very imperfect.
  2. You weren’t the best student.
  3. The first two axioms also apply to the people with whom you interact everyday — your spouse, your best friends, your boss, your customers, and your co-workers.

Generation after generation has repeated the cycle of imperfect modeling, and imperfect learning, of love. You are born into a broken world. You probably had your share of bad experiences. Someone you once deeply loved, respected, relied upon, and trusted has “done a number” on you. Nothing in the modeling of love you received, or learned, was able to compensate for the ensuing pain and broken trust. This consumes you because matters of love burrow deep into your core. It determines who you think you are, and what you believe you are worth, but it remains outside your immediate control. 

Your self worth, by definition, is what you think about yourself. But it’s a response. It’s a response determined by what you perceive the most important people in your life think about you. Do they love, value, and respect you? More important, do they convince you that they do?

You need the most important person in your life to be an ideal model of love, and you need to become the best student you can be, and believe them when they tell you that they love you, respect you, and forgive you.

— Perhaps place here, instead, paragraph about substitution —

Beneath the pain and layers of calloused cynicism it can cause, you remain hard-wired to love. As you search for it, you begin to notice ripples emanating from its distant wake everywhere. You’re moved by particular songs, poetry, or literature that comehow seem to hit resonant frequency down in your core. Combined with a distant memory, this moves you to lift your gaze in hope.

You notice head and keep searching. move us to begin a new search in hope… novels looking for that better model —

The more you search, the better you are able to recognize when a better love is extended to you. When you recognize it, you can respond to it. When you respond, you get to experience it. The better love has amazing healing and transforming power.

In following articles, we will be exploring the Gospel of John. The author of the book indicates that Jesus was God’s idea for man – the perfect model. In fact, the writer refers to himself in the book on a couple of occasions merely as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” There may be several reasons he does this. I can’t help but believe it’s because over the years his faith taught him that in the end – actually, in the beginning – that Jesus models God’s perfect love to us, and our job is to imitate and reflect that love to the world.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us…” – 1 John 4:10

Join me in a journey through John’s Gospel. Look for the ways God loves you, and in the end – like John – you will know yourself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

Next: God’s Idea