Lesson 2 - John 1:29-36, 40-51 - THE LAMB OF GOD
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18, we covered the Prologue to John's gospel, which opened with a lengthy theological statement about Jesus Christ, who was with God in heaven and came down to be born in the flesh. It proclaimed that Jesus Christ was the living, breathing "Word" from God, who had been with God since the "beginning"-eternal-and had operated as the Father's agent in providing creation and salvation. When the Word became "flesh"-the incarnation of Jesus as a man-it brought spiritual "light" to a fallen world, and His light, by God's infinite grace, offers spiritual salvation to everyone who believes in His "name.
This week, in John 1:29-36, 40-42, 45-51, we will learn how the witness of John the Baptist was crucial to the launch of Jesus' ministry. We know that John was the "forerunner" of OT prophecy (Isa. 40:30) who prepared the way for the Lord. We also know that John was related to Jesus through his Mother Elizabeth, who was a distant cousin of Mary (Luke 1:39-45). We'll also see Jesus calling his first disciples as men who would ultimately take the gospel message to a lost world.
Read John 1:29-34 - AFTER ME COMES A MAN WHO HAS A HIGHER RANK
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' 31 I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." 32 John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."
v. 29a: "The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said," - This text will help us clarify the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. Earlier, in v. 20, John testified that he wasn't the Messiah but said that One was coming after him "whose sandal I am not worthy to untie" (v. 27).
v. 29b1: "Behold, the Lamb of God" - The title "Lamb of God" presents Jesus Christ as the Lamb that God would provide as a substitute for the peoples' sin; and the term "Lamb" imparts the OT imagery of innocence, voluntary sacrifice, atonement, and redemptive power like that of the Passover lamb.
v. 29b2: "who takes away the sin of the world!" - When John spoke of "sin" (singular), he referred to the totality of the world's sin rather than individual acts; and notice, he understood that Jesus' ministry would be spiritual and universal, taking away the sins of the whole world, not just the Jews.
v. 30: "This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" - Chronologically, John the Baptist had to be several months older than Jesus; however, he quite emphatically ranks Jesus above himself because He was "before me," which implies His deity-alluding to Jesus preexistence in time (see v. 2 in John's Prologue, last week.)
v. 31: "I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." - Although John the Baptist had known Jesus earlier, he did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until God revealed it to him. He began his ministry of baptism and repentance with an incomplete understanding of Jesus, but subsequently learned who Jesus truly was when he baptized Him, which happened before the events recorded in this chapter.
v. 32: "John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him." - The symbolic descent of the dove at His baptism positively identified Jesus to John the Baptist as the Messiah foretold in prophecy. Although the apostle John did not record Jesus' baptism in his gospel, it is reported in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). John the Baptist also states that the "Spirit...remained upon Him," thereby signifying it as a permanent, identifying feature of who Jesus is.
v. 33: "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'" - Once again John openly admits that he truly didn't understand Jesus' unique identity as the Messiah until he witnessed in person the Spirit descending upon Jesus at His baptism. In this verse, John contrasts himself, who baptizes only with water, with Jesus, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
v. 34: "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." - To qualify as a bonefide witness, one must have seen in person that of which he or she testifies. Thus, John the Baptist can testify as a true witness because he saw the dove descent and heard the voice (of God) from heaven. This verse forms the climax to John the Baptist's testimony and the evident conclusion he reaches: That Jesus was the unique Son of the Father having a special-i.e., divine-relationship with Him that went a quantum leap above anything an mere human being might possess.
Read John 1:40-42 - TWO DISCIPLES FOLLOWED JESUS
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter)."
v. 40a: "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him," - Here, John continues his witness of Jesus Christ, in this instance to two of his own disciples, who respond by leaving John and following Jesus.
v. 40b: "was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother." One of them is identified as Andrew, who is important for two reasons: First, he became one of the Twelve and second, he was the brother of Simon Peter.
v. 41: "He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ)." - No sooner had Andrew decided to follow Jesus, than he initiated efforts to recruit his brother, Simon Peter, to also become a follower of Jesus. Both of them obviously wanted to discover whether this man was in fact the One whom the OT prophets had predicted and were further encouraged by the prophet Daniel's timetable, which led them to think that time could be now (Dan. 9:25). Even though Andrew believed that Jesus was the Messiah, Bible scholars aren't certain whether he also realized that Jesus was God at this point. All the evidence in the gospels point to the disciples' understanding of Jesus' true deity-i.e., His equality as God-happening later in His ministry. Initially, Andrew most likely saw Jesus as a great prophet who would become the Messianic deliverer of Israel. While Andrew doen't achieve great stature among the disciples, he will bring people to Jesus on three more occasions, and later still, he will bring the boy with the fish and the loaves (John 6:8-9; 12:22). Note: The title "Messiah" (translates as "Christ" in Greek) literally means "anointed one." In Israel, an "anointed one" was originally a priest or a king who led the people, but after God prophesied a future Davidic king, became one who would liberate Israel (2 Sam. 2: Psalms 2 and 10). The concept ultimately metamorphosed into the title "Messiah."
v. 42a: "He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said," - Jesus, who is God, foreknew by God's grace the role that Peter would ultimately play in the history of the church. He might even have had previous contact with Peter and known of his reputation, since both of them only lived a few miles apart in Galilee. Simon was a common Jewish name, a shortened version of Simeon.
v. 42b: "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter)." - This kind of name change has precedent in Scripture as when God changed Abram to "Abraham" (father of nations) in Gen. 17:5 and Jacob to "Israel" (contends with God) in Gen. 32:28, and such a change generally denotes the beginning of a new life and purpose. In Aramaic, the common language of Palestine, "Cephas" was the word for 'rock' and translated to Peter in Greek. We should note that Jesus gave him a name that expressed Peter's character-not the rash and impulsive behavior we see so often in the gospels-but the rock solid leader of the early church that he would ultimately become though the empowerment of God's Holy Spirit (see, Acts 1-12 generally).
Read John 1:43-51 - YOU WILL SEE THE HEAVENS OPENED
43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip *said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael *said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He *said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
vv. 43-44: "The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter." - The "next day" appears to be the day after John the Baptist identified Jesus as the "Lamb of God" (v. 29). Jesus went into Galilee where He "found" Philip (rather than the other way around) and called him to "follow Me," and the text implies that Philip immediately accepted Jesus' invitation, and being from Bethsaida, it's likely he was already knew Andrew and Peter. The call, "follow Me," was Jesus' standard invitation to discipleship, and it's still open to those who come in faith today.
v. 45a: "Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him," - Just as Andrew witnessed to Peter, Philip witnesses to "Nathaneal" (lit. = "given of God"). Thus, the witness about Jesus continued to spread through the most normal lines of communication: friend to friend, just like it does today. You share Jesus with a friend, who shares Him with another friend, who shares Him with another friend, and on and on. This is still how disciples are made.
v. 45b: "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote" - "Moses" (i.e., the Law) and the "Prophets" constituted the most important parts of Hebrew Scripture. And Philip informed Nathanael that he has found the Messiah whom Scripture had been telling them to anticipate for centuries-that the great Day had actually come!
v. 45c: "-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." - This is how Jesus is known, insofar as "Joseph" is His 'legal' father, or how He was known before they learned that He was the Son of God (v. 34).
v. 46a: "Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?'" - Nazareth, really just a village, had an insignificant reputation, at least from the perspective of Nathaneal, who hailed from nearby Cana. Nathaneal apparently doubted that anyone of importance, let alone a Messiah, could come from a backwater like Nazareth.
v. 46b: "Philip *said to him, "Come and see." Wisely, Philip didn't argue with him but simply invited him to "Come and see" for himself. This still forms the best model for witnessing today.
v. 47: "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!'" - A disciple, out of respect, would ordinarily greet the teacher, but in this case, it's Jesus who greets the disciple. Jesus is alluding to Gen. 27:25 where Isaac told Esau "Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing." This might seem obscure to us, but it would have been obvious to someone versed in Hebrew Scripture like Nathanael. Boiling it down, Jesus is saying that Nathanael isn't a Jacob, a deceiver, but a man who searches for the truth.
v. 48a: "Nathanael *said to Him, "How do You know me?" - Nathanael, obviously taken aback by Jesus' accurate appraisal of his personal character, immediately asks Him how he could know this.
v. 48b: "Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." - This is clearly supernatural knowledge because Jesus was not present when Philip witnessed to Nathanael. But we know that Jesus is God in the flesh, with the all-seeing, omnipresent power of God. This wasn't figurative-Jesus did clearly see Nathanael under that fig tree.
v. 49: Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." - If Nathanael was taken aback by Jesus first response, he's absolutely staggered by this one. Earlier, Andrew had identified Jesus with the title Messiah, but Nathanael now identifies Jesus with three additional titles: (1) "Rabbi" - an honorable but ordinary title for a teacher of the Law; (2) "Son of God" - in this instance, most likely intended as a Messianic title, since Nathanael probably didn't comprehend Jesus' deity at this point; and (3) "King of Israel" - which is another Messianic title (2 Sam. 7:16). The Jews were expecting a Messiah-King who would restore Israel to its former glory.
v. 50: "Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." - Here, Jesus informs Nathanael that what he had just witnessed was only a minor preview-that he hadn't really seen anything yet; that if he continued to follow Jesus, he would see "greater things" that would literally boggle his mind.
v. 51a: "And He *said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you," - For the first time, Jesus makes a pronouncement using the preface, "Truly, truly, I say to you," which occurs 25 times in this gospel, an expression He will use to declare something that should be grasped as an absolute spiritual truth.
v. 51b: "you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending" - This imagery alludes back to Jacob's dream of the stairway between heaven and earth where he saw angels ascending and descending (Gen. 28:12).
v. 51c: "on the Son of Man." - This is Jesus' favorite title for himself, used 80 more times elsewhere in the NT. He used it rather than titles like "Messiah" and "Son of God" in order to avoid conflict with the local political and religious authorities. It alludes to Dan. 7:13-14, and in this context, it literally means that instead of angels ascending and descending the stairway as God's messengers, all attention will now be focused on the "Son of Man," who has descended to earth as the ultimate revelation of God to humankind.
APPLICATION-The Witness of Jesus Christ:
