John 1:23-28

JOHN'S ANSWER

Text 1:23-28

23

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.

24

And they had been sent from the Pharisees.

25

And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou are not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?

26

John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not,

27

even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.

28

These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Queries

a.

What would the prophecy which John applies to himself mean to his questioners?

b.

Why do the Pharisees ask him about the fact that he is baptizing people?

c.

Why does John emphasize that he baptizes in waterdoes he imply that the one coming after him will not baptize in water?

Paraphrase

John answered his questioners by saying, I am a voice of one crying loud and forcefully in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, just as the prophet Isaiah has prophesied. Those who had been sent to question John were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, Why then are you immersing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet? John answered them, saying, I am immersing in water: in your midst is standing One Whom you have not recognized, the One coming after me, Whose sandal thongs I am not worthy to untie. These things came to pass in Bethany which is on the eastern side of the Jordan river where John was immersing.

Summary

John's answer to the Jew's question is: I am the prophesied -way-preparer-' for the Lord. Then John intimates that the Christ they seek stands unrecognized in their midst.

Comment

John takes Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 40:3-5) and applies it to himself. The prophecy is given more fully in Luke 3:4-6; in Matthew 3:3, John the Baptist shows that the prophecy definitely foretold his ministry (cf. also Mark 1:3). This committee undoubtedly interpreted Isaiah 40:3-5 as Messianic, but they would hardly accept such a religious fanatic as John for the forerunner of their ideal Messiah. Their Messianic fancy was that of a king of military, political and economic grandeur. The custom of the country at that time sheds light upon the prophecy. When a conqueror was about to travel through his province, the roads were leveled and made straight and put in order for his journey. A delegated subordinate always preceded the monarch to take care of this preliminary preparation. Thus, John the Baptist was the appointed road preparer for King Jesus. But the Jewish rulers hardly looked for either a spiritual king or a spiritual way preparer.

It is interesting to note the word used by John for one crying, It is the Greek word boao, an onomatopoeic word (a word formed by imitating the sound associated with the thing described, i.e., the name Whippoorwill to describe the bird), which came to describe the bellowing of oxen, In John's case it indicates that he was in the wilderness crying out with a strong, forceful and arresting voice, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

John was literally in the wilderness of Judea doing his preaching. But there seems to be a spiritual application to the phrase a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Especially is this true considering its prophetic background. This herald of God was also crying in a wilderness of wasted souls. The wilderness (a pathless, fruitless waste) fitly describes the spiritual condition of Jehovah's people. John sought to prepare the way by preaching, Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8).

It is still true today! All the preaching and teaching in the church must be done toward this end; that is, toward preparing the way for the Lord's entry into the heart of individuals. Genuine conviction of sin, a need for the Saviour, and a submissive will is preparing the way for the King of kings. That is what John the Baptist preached, and that is what the world needs preached today!

John 1:24 seems to be furnishing the reader the reason why the next question (John 1:25) was asked of John. It would be within the realm of the Pharisees to ask such a question. Further, it is doubtful that the Sadducees would be the least bit interested in why John was baptizing.

Most critics hold that John merely adapted the Jewish proselyte baptism to his ministry. Ecclesiastical history, however, gives no clear-cut evidence that the Jews practiced proselyte baptism. To the contrary, ancient records seem to indicate that the Jews appropriated baptism to the ceremonies of making proselytes from the practice begun by John, and later from Christian baptism (cf. Unger's Bible Dictionary, pp. 985). It lends more force to the question of the Jews to John if we assume John is doing something foreign to religious custom and practice of that day.

Here was this desert hermit attracting the whole countryside to his preaching. And he brazenly set aside all the present customs and traditions of the ecclesiastical heads and commanded, Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins (cf. Mark 1:14; Luke 3:3). Only as important a personage as the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet would dare assume such authority as to introduce a new religious doctrine.

Furthermore, the Jews expected a general purification at the coming of the Messiah. At least they were inclined to interpret some of the Old Testament prophecies in this vein (cf. Zechariah 13:1; Ezekiel 36:25). If John were not the Messiah, why then did he demand purity of life and practice baptism?

In studying John 1:26-27, one must also consider parallel passages such as Matthew 3:10-12;.Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:15-17; and the next few verses of John (John 1:29-34). John the Baptist emphasizes that he will baptize only in water because the One coming after him will have authority and power to baptize whom He will in the Holy Spirit and unquenchable fire. The Baptist does not imply that Christ will disregard water baptism. The New Testament plainly records that Jesus Himself was baptized in water, that He and his disciples taught water baptism, and that Christ commanded baptism for all subsequent believers (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:1-2; Acts 2:38).

It would be well to pause here and define the word baptize. Every Greek Lexicon of any repute defines baptizo as having a primary meaning of dip, plunge, immerse, submerge. In the Greek language (the original language of the New Testament) this word baptizo can never mean sprinkle or pour. It is to be feared that the translators of our English versions of the Bible have allowed religious prejudices to guide their translating. It is interesting to note how these translators contradict themselves. In 2 Kings 5:14 our English translators have rendered the verse thusly: Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan. (speaking of Naaman and his cure of leprosy). The amazing fact is that they interpreted the word baptizo, here used in the Septuagint, to mean dipped. When these scholars came to the New Testament they merely transliterated (change of characters of one alphabet to corresponding characters of another alphabet) the word baptizo. Consistency, thou art a gem!

When John baptized, he immersed men and women in the Jordan River, When men and women were told by the apostles that they must repent and be baptized, the apostles meant that they must repent and be immersed in water, (Cf. Acts 2:38; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:34-38; Acts 9:18; Acts 10:47-48; Acts 16:15; Acts 15:33; Acts 18:8; Acts 22:16, etc.) No man or group of men has ever had nor will ever have authority to alter the scriptural plan of salvation (cf. Galatians 1:6-10). No latter day prophet, no earthly vicar, no, not even an angel from heaven is permitted to preach a revised gospel, Everyone who names the name of Christ as Lord is committed to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all time delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3).

John the Baptist said, I immerse in water: but in your midst is standing One whom you do not recognize. In John 1:28 John humbly explains that the multitudes are recognizing and acclaiming the wrong person. The One they are not recognizing is so far above John that John is not even fit to perform the lowliest servant's task for Him. The Eastern custom of taking the sandals from a guest's feet and bathing his feet was delegated to the lowest of the servants.

No man is a fit messenger of the Lord until he is able humbly to recognize his unworthiness. Let us remember the words of the Master, Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do (Luke 17:10).

The next matter for consideration is one of geography. John 1:28 speaks of Bethany beyond the Jordan as the location for these momentous events. Almost all the ancient manuscripts have Bethany beyond the Jordan here in place of the King James translation Bethabara. One of the early Christian writers (Origen) could find no place in Palestine named Bethany when he visited there, but was directed to a village called Bethabara east of the Jordan. Origen is accused of taking the liberty of changing the original text. It is impossible, this far removed, to determine the definite geographical location. The attendant circumstances, however, point to a place on the east side of the Jordan, immediately north of the Dead Sea, in the vicinity of Jericho. There is a ford in the Jordan there, presumably the one used by Joshua and the children of Israel in their crossing (Joshua 3:16), For a more detailed presentation of this matter see Andrews, The Life of Our Lord, pages 146-151; McGarvey, Lands of the Bible pages 341-343.

Quiz

1.

What does the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3-5 indicate of the nature of John the Baptist's ministry, i.e., how John could prepare the way for the Lord?

2.

Why does John mention that it was the Pharisees that had been sent (John 1:24)?

3.

Was John's baptism an adaptation of Jewish proselyte baptism?

4.

How must the Greek word baptizo be translated?

5.

Must all who believe in Jesus be baptized? Give 3 Scripture references.

6.

How do we know the Scriptures cannot be changed?

7.

Where is the most probable location of Bethany beyond the Jordan?