The Baptist's Message
(No. 2646)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, OCTOBER 29, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JULY
2, 1882.
"The next day John saw Jesus cooing toward him and said, Behold the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29.
JOHN was the herald of Christ. He came to bear witness to Him and to
prepare the way for Him. In olden times when kings traveled, they were
accustomed to send heralds before them to announce their coming, and to
prepare the way for them. And I have read that on several occasions the
herald wore such gorgeous apparel–adorned with gold and lace–that
when he went into some of the towns and villages, the people thought
that he must be the king, himself! So they made ready to receive him
with royal honors. When he said, "No, I am not the king, I have merely
come to sound the trumpet and to say that he is coming," they wondered
what the king, himself, must be like if his herald was so
resplendent–and it is said that in several instances they refused to
receive the king when he came, for they said, "The man who told us that
he was only your servant was a far finer looking man than you are, and
much more grandly dressed." So, when the king arrived and they saw that
he was but plainly dressed, as kings usually are when not wearing their
state robes, they would not receive him.
Something like that happens with some of Christ's heralds, but it did
not occur in the case of John the Baptist. He was not arrayed in soft
raiment or rich apparel. He came straight up from the wilderness
clothed in a garment of camel's hair and with leather trousers about
his loins–and his food was locusts and wild honey. Nor was there
anything at all about John's mode of speech which was likely to attract
attention to himself and make men think less of his Master when He
should come. I wish that all of us, when we go forth as Christ's
heralds, crying, "Behold the Lamb of God"–and that is our main
business here below–would take care that we were never so grand in our
style of thought or language that when the Master, Himself, comes in
all His wondrous simplicity, men would begin to despise Him because
they remembered the fine tones of His pretended herald! No, let us be
simple and plain whenever we have to speak of Christ and when our King,
Himself, comes, let us step back and get out of sight, that He, alone,
may be seen, and that all the people's hearts may be won to Him.
I have plunged into the middle of my subject at the very beginning of
my sermon, for that is the theme on which I want to speak to you.
First, I am going to describe the true messenger, John the Baptist, or
anyone else who is like he. Then, secondly, I hope to talk about the
true message–"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world." And then, thirdly, I must say a little upon the true reception
of this message, telling what they do who really hear and believe the
true messenger of God.
I. First, then, let us think of THE TRUE MESSENGER and, as I know that
there are many here who try to do good by speaking for the Lord to
their fellow men, let this first part of my subject be a lesson in
self-examination–not by way of discouragement, but rather of
encouragement, I hope, to those whom I am addressing. Who are they who
will be acknowledged by Christ, at the Last Great Day, as the true
messengers of God? What are the special characteristics by which they
may be known?
Well, first, the true messenger is one who sees the Lord Jesus for
himself'"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him." To be His
herald and witness, John must see Jesus and he must see Jesus coming to
him. Those Prophets who lived a long while before the coming of Christ
were but dim seers compared with John the Baptist. He was like the
morning star which is so near the sun that it is the brightest of the
stars. We see it shining almost like a little sun and then, when the
sun rises in all its brightness, the star disappears. John was "a
burning and a shining light" and all who came before him were, in
Christ's judgment, inferior to him. He said to the multitudes
concerning John, "What did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say to
you, and more than a Prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written,
Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your
way before You. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of
women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist." This was
the difference between John and the Prophets– his sight of Christ was
clearer than theirs because he was nearer to Christ. And his view of
Christ was brighter, fuller and clearer than that of all who had gone
before.
Yet they were also true witnesses to Christ, according to the light
they had. Our Savior said to the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see My day: he saw it and was glad." And if he had not seen Christ by
faith, he could not have been one of the witnesses who testified
beforehand concerning Him. All the Prophets looked through the haze of
the ages and, by faith, perceived their Lord. And then they wrote of
Him and spoke of Him to the people. The ancient name for a Prophet was
a very instructive one–he was called a seer–and you and I, Beloved,
must see Christ or else we cannot bear witness to Him. As the Prophets
saw Christ by faith and as John actually looked upon Him and then bore
witness to Him, so must you and I see Him. Not with these eyes–that
sight is reserved until the Resurrection–but with the eyes of our
spirit, with the eyes of our mind and heart we must see Jesus before we
can rightly speak of Him.
Are you anxious, my Brother, to go and preach? Have you seen Jesus? If
not, what can you say when people ask you, "What is He like? Who is He
that we should believe in Him?" You must look unto Him before you can
speak of Him and, the more steadfastly you gaze upon Him, His work, His
offices, His humiliation, His glorification, the better will you be
able to bear your witness concerning Him. You will then speak more
surely and confidently for your God if you can testify concerning that
which your heart knows to be true because you have perceived and
enjoyed it yourself!
Yes, and if you have seen Him in the past, try to see Him, again, and
to be continually "looking unto Jesus." Let not any of us go and talk
to our Sunday school class, or preach from the pulpit, or write a
letter about our Lord until we have had a fresh glimpse of Him. It is
wonderful how nimbly the pen or the tongue moves when the eye has just
feasted itself upon Christ! The Psalmist said, "My heart is overflowing
with a good theme: I speak of the things which I have made touching the
king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." When you have, yourself,
been with Christ. When you have just come forth from the ivory palaces
of communion and fellowship with the Lord Jesus, all your garments will
smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia! And your words will have some of the
precious savor clinging to them. So again I say that we must see Christ
or else we cannot be witnesses to Him.
And, therefore, let us fix our hearts, our thoughts and our meditations
so completely upon Christ that when we cry to other men, "Behold the
Lamb of God," it will be because we have just beheld Him ourselves! If
a man who is blind were to stand up in the street and cry, "Behold,"
people would be apt to ask, "What can a poor blind man bid us look at?
He cannot see anything himself." If you say to the people, "Behold
Christ," yet all the while your eyes are turned toward yourselfand you
are wondering whether you will get through the sermon all
right–whether you will have a fine conclusion at the end and what the
congregation will think of it when you have done–that will be like
saying, "Behold!" while you, yourself, are looking the other way! And
other people will look in the same direction! They will be sure to do
as you do and not as you say. And if you do not behold Christ, neither
will they! Our inward thought, conviction and belief must be in strict
accordance with our outward speech, or else we shall misrepresent
ourselves–and our message will be poorly delivered and will fall
without power upon our hearers.
I also remind you that we must preach Christ as coming. "Why," says
one, "He hascome!" I know that He has, but He is coming again. It is a
blessed thing that, whereas the Prophets saw Him as coming, they only
differed from us in this respect–that we can look back to His first
coming, as they looked forward to it. And we can also look onward to
His coming a second time, "without sin unto salvation"–and so we are
to speak of Him as coming. It is grand preaching when the preacher can
see Christ coming, when he can behold the Throne of Judgment set and
can gaze upon the King in His beauty sitting upon it, and see Him
reigning over all, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! It is glorious when
he hears the hallelujahs of the approaching millennial age even while
he is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ! "Lo, He comes," he says,
and he sees Him coming, for he is not like the virgins who had fallen
asleep and so did not watch for the bridegroom's appearing. Oh, for
open eyes, expectant hearts and earnest tongues to see, and long for,
and tell of our coming Lord! This is the way the faithful witness
preaches Him to the people.
But, next, the true messenger calls upon men to see Jesus. He calls
them away from seeing other things and bids them look, and, "behold the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" God-sent servants do
not say, "Look to the priest! Look to the altar! Look to the
sacraments! Look to yourself–come and confess your sins and I will
give you absolution!" No, no, no, no! Forever and forever NO! They do
nothing of that sort. The priests of Antichrist do that, but the
servants of Christ cry, "Behold the Lamb of God." Our great difficulty
is to get men's eyes off themselves, off their works, off their forms
and ceremonies, off mere creed-religion and to get them to look at the
living Christ who is still among us bearing the sin of all who truly
seek His face!
O dear Hearers, I know that I am, in this respect, a faithful witness.
Wherever else I fail in my testimony, for my soul's labor and travail,
even unto anguish, is to get you away from depending even in the
slightest degree upon anything else but what Christ has done! I would
not wish you to have the shadow of a shade of a ghost of a pretense of
a confidence anywhere out of Christ! Jesus is the only hope of sinners!
Let Him be A to you, and Z, and all the letters between–the beginning
and the end–and the middle and everything else! Take your eyes off all
ministers, all books, all feelings and even all believing! Do not even
fix your gaze on your own faith. You know that the eye cannot see
itself. Did you ever see your own eye? In a mirror, perhaps, you may
have done so, but that was only the reflection of it and you may, in
like manner, see the evidence of your faith, but you cannot look at the
faith itself. Faith looks away from itself to the Object of faith, even
to Christ! And this is what the true witness desires. He will, if he
can, keep men from looking anywhere but on his Master!
Some look at their repentance, but if you cannot keep your eyes on
Christ, then away with your repentance! Some are always looking to
their faith, but if there is a faith that hides Christ, away with it!
Some need feelings and right feelings we may wish to have–but as for
those feelings which come between us and Christ, away with them! It is
not fit that they should live. Our one business is to get men away from
anything and from everything, however good it is, that they may look
alone to Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God!
The third mark of a true witness is that he leads his own disciples to
Jesus. It is generally thought to be a good thing to lead another man's
disciples beyond their master, but it is not always so easy to lead our
own disciples beyond ourselves. The preacher is often conscious that
there are many weak persons who stop short at what he says. To them it
is a great help to faith that their pastor or their minister says
such-and-such. Well, for lame people, we do not object to crutches for
a time, but we always anxiously pray that the faith of these poor
cripples may not stand–at least, for any length of time–in the power
of man, but in Christ alone! I would say to you what the Apostle Paul
wrote to the Gala-tians, though I wish I could say something that would
be worthy to be placed beneath what he said, and so be more suitable
for one so much inferior to him. He says, "Though we, or an angel from
Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed." That is, "Let us, ourselves,
be accursed if we ever dare to lead you away from Christ. It is an
imprecation upon our own souls if we dare to make ourselves your
masters instead of your servantsfor Jesus' sake!"
It was a beautiful trait in the character of John the Baptist that he
was so ready to pass on to Christ his own disciples–he did not want to
keep them merely to swell the number of his own followers, but only
kept them with him until he could point them to his Master. When we try
to win souls, if we find that people have confidence in us and
affection for us, let us use that influence not to attach them to
ourselves except with the earnest desire to pass them on to
Christ–that they may become disciples of the Savior for themselves and
grow up from being babes who have to be nursed to become strong men in
Christ Jesus.
One more thing about John the Baptist which is also a characteristic of
the true witness for Christ is that he lost himself in his Master
Without a single atom of regret he said, "He must increase, but I must
decrease." Oh, how grandly he witnessed for Christ by sinking himself
until he was lost in Christ! And my Brother, it must be the same with
you–if you would be a true witness for Christ, you must say that which
glorifies Him, even though it dishonors yourself! Perhaps there is a
very learned man sitting over yonder and the temptation to the preacher
is to say something that shall make him feel that the minister to whom
he is listening is not so ignorant as some people suppose. But if there
is an unlearned, simple sinner anywhere in the place, the preacher's
business is just to chop his words down to that poor man's condition
and let the learned hearer receive the same message if he will!
Luther said, "When I am preaching, I see Dr. Jonas sitting there, and
Oecolampadius, and Melanchthon and I say to myself, 'Those learned
doctors know enough already, so I need not trouble about them. I shall
fire at the poor people in the aisles.'" That is the way Luther
preached and God richly blessed his ministry because he did it. Though
he was a truly learned man, he was willing to be reckoned as knowing
nothing at all if by that means he could the better serve his Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. Dear Brothers and Sisters, when you are serving
Christ, do not also seek to serve yourself in a sneaking kind of way.
It is easily done–under the appearance of glorifying Christ, you may
really be extolling yourself. You may even seek to win souls with the
view of having the credit of doing it–and if you do, you will spoil
the whole work! It must not be so with you. This royal crown must be
touched by none but Christ. You and I cannot really put the crown on
His head, though we may wish to do so. Christ is greater than that
monarch who, when the Pope was about to crown him, took the crown out
of his hands and said, "I won it myself, so I will put it on my own
head." And Christ must crown Himself! The words we sometimes sing–
"Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all,"
are very good and right, but, after all, Christ is His own Glory and
the Holy Spirit truly glorifies Him. How can we be worthy to put the
crown on His head when we are not worthy to unloose the laces of His
shoes! Oh, what poor things we are! We are not fit to be the dust under
His feet! Glory, glory, glory be unto Him and unto Him alone!
Thus I think I have said enough about the true messenger. Aim at being
like John the Baptist in these respects, Brothers and Sisters, as God
shall help you.
II. But now, secondly, we are to consider THE TRUE MESSAGE which is
this–"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
In these few words we have the substance of the message to be delivered
by God's faithful ministers. First, John declared that God had sent His
Son into the world that men might live through Him. He taught that
Jesus of Nazareth is the eternal Son of God, appointed by Him to redeem
mankind and that He came into the world on purpose that He might save
His people from their sins. Oh, tell this wondrous story! Tell it till
every wave bears onward the message and every wind moves it till all
born of woman have heard the glad tidings that "God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life." All our hopes spring from
Christ and Him crucified! They begin with Him and they end with Him.
And whoever believes on Him has everlasting life! But whoever rejects
Him by not believing Him, there remains no hope for him–he must be
lost forever! There is but one way to Heaven, and that one way is
marked by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Further, in telling the true message, we must go on to explain that
Jesus Christ is thus the Savior because He is the one Sacrifice for
sin. This verse reads, in the margin, "Behold the Lamb of God, who
bears the sin of the world." And in that rendering there is a great
Truth of God which is not to be kept back. Christ Jesus did actually
bear the sin of His people in His own body on the tree. It was lifted
bodily off those whom it would have crushed forever–and it was laid on
Him. He was, indeed, the great Sin-Bearer–He who knew no sin was made
sin for us, "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Now here is a point at which some are always sticking. Robertson, of
Brighton, with his magnificent genius, practically taught the Atonement
in some such fashion as Dr. Duncan used to say, that Jesus Christ did
something or other which, in some way or other, in some degree or
other, made it possible for men to be forgiven! That was Robertson's
notion of the Atonement, but we say not so! We say that He really took
the sin of men upon Himself and who can read that marvelous 53rd
Chapter of Isaiah without seeing that this is no figure, no metaphor,
but literal Truth of God–"the Lord has made to meet upon Him the
iniquity of us all"! So says the Prophet. But what says the Apostle?
"Who His own Self bore our sins in His own body on the tree." And I
cannot preach the Gospel without proclaiming this great Truth of
Christ's atoning Sacrifice and I do not mean to try to do so! I know of
no way by which sin can be taken off us except by laying it on Him who
was our Surety and our Substitute. And He did take it and He did bear
it–and the true messenger, sent from God, tells you that–whatever
else he may say or may not say.
And he tells you more than that, namely, what the text says in our
Authorized Version. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away"–as well
as takes upon Himself–"the sin of the world." Oh, blessed word–takes
it away! Where did
He take it! I will tell you–"As far as the east is from the west, so
far has He removed our transgressions from us." He took the sin of all
Believers away so completely that it sank into the bottom of the sea!
God has cast it behind His back and it shall not be mentioned against
them any more forever. There is no such thing, now, as the sin of the
saints, for Christ has utterly annihilated it. He came to finish
transgression and to make an end of sins–and if He made an end of
them, there is an end of them–they are gone forever and those who
believe in Jesus are washed white as the driven snow and clothed in His
matchless righteousness! This is what the true messenger has to tell,
that Jesus bore the sin of His people and that He took it right away.
Oh, what joyous work is ours!
This is to be our message–we are to set Christ forth as the Object of
faith. We are to say to men, "Behold the Lamb of God." Is that all the
sinner has to do? Yes, behold Him! Never was there another Savior like
Christ Jesus our Lord. The mere looking at Him saves the soul! Whoever
looks to Christ lives by that look and shall live forever. There is not
a sinner in Hell who ever looked on Christ with the eyes of faith–and
there never shall be such a soul! And all who are in Heaven entered
there simply through beholding the slain Lamb who takes away the sin of
the world. Would you get there, young man? Then behold the Lamb of God
and you shall get there! There is life in a look at the Lamb of God.
Would you get there, poor sinner, driven and hunted about by the devil?
Then behold the Lamb of God! Do but look out of the corner of your eye,
if that is all that you can do. Look through your blinding tears. Look
through the mists and clouds that surround you. Do but look unto Jesus
and, as every bitten one who looked at the bronze serpent, lived, so
every sick soul that looks to Christ shall live–and live forever!
That is the Gospel, and it is a blessed Gospel to have to preach! And
blessed is the messenger who proclaims boldly and plainly, in the name
of Jesus, saying on Christ's behalf, "Look unto Him, and be you saved,
all you ends of the earth. Look and live." May many do so at this very
moment!
III. Now I close by turning to the third head of my discourse which is
THE TRUE RECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE. How can I truly receive this true
message of the true messenger? Well, Brothers and Sisters, if we, by
faith, "behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,"
observe what we shall do.
First, we shall follow Jesus. Read from the 35th verse to the 37th
–"Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And
looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God! The two
disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus." That is to say,
they did behold the Lamb of God and, believing in Him, they followed
Him. And if you have really believed in Christ, you will try to walk in
His footprints. You will call Him Master and Lord. He will be your
Leader and Commander and you will willingly follow where He leads and
cheerfully do what He commands. Christ has not come to give you license
to sin, but He has brought you to liberty from sin. Blessed liberty! If
you do, indeed, thus look to Christ, follow Him at once! Become His
disciple, do what He bids you, feeling that it is–
"Yours not to reason why, Yours not to make reply"
but just to do as He commands–and believe what He teaches by the
implicit faith which yields itself up entirely to Him. This is the test
of real faith in Jesus, that the man is no more his own master, but
takes Jesus to be his Master and follows wherever He leads.
The next thing that happens with those who give a true reception to the
message is that they want to abide with Christ. The two disciples
followed Jesus and, "They said unto Him, Master, where do You dwell?'
He said unto them, "Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt and
remained with Him that day." I do not know where He dwelt. I am sure
that it was not a very luxurious mansion and, in later days, he had
nowhere to lay His head. But as soon as ever these men had looked to
Him and followed Him, they wanted to live with Him! Oh, that is the
highest joy of a Christian, to live with Christ! A look of faith saves
the soul because it is the beginning of a life of living with Christ
forever and ever! I am afraid that some of God's people fail to realize
this blessed living with Christ. They get a little joy and they seem
very pleased with it, but in a little time they lose it. Why is that?
Because they rejoiced merely in their own joy and when a man does that,
he will soon lose it. It is as old Master Brooks says, "If a loving
husband were to give his wife earrings, bracelets, jewels and then,
instead of loving him for his gifts, she began to be in love with his
presents and cared little for him, he would be inclined to take them
away from her so as to have all her love for himself."
And surely it is so with Christ. He puts the earring of holy joy in His
bride's ears and she begins to say, "Oh, how joyful I am!" No, no, do
not talk like that! I heard one, the other day, bragging about his own
holiness and I thought to myself, "That holiness which talks about
itself is an unholy holiness." Do you think that holiness is a thing to
be proclaimed about the streets, or set up for a show? Oh, no! As I
think of the thrice-holy God, I lay my face in the very dust before
Him. O Brothers and Sisters, true holiness is something very different
from this tinsel stuff that men, in these days, boast about as they
beat their drums! True holiness beats on its breast and gets away into
its place of secret communion–and if it has any beauties, it shows
them only to the Lord in secret, with many a blush and many a lament
that it is not much more nearly what it ought to be. O Beloved, may God
grant us Grace to follow Jesus and to live with Jesus!
I said that some of God's people do not seem to understand this living
with Jesus, but why should not we? Why need we have doubts and fears?
Why need we get away from Christ? Had we but the faith He deserves and
believed in Him as He ought to be believed in, we might go from joy to
joy and so ascend to Heaven as on a ladder of light! God give us this
Grace of living with Christ! It is to be had by those who seek it
aright.
Then, lastly, the proof which these people, who had seen Christ and
followed Him, gave that they had really found Him was that they went
and tried to bring others to Him. They said to their kinsfolk and
acquaintances, "We have found the Messiah!" "We have found Jesus!" Ah,
you have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him!
You know how children act–we ought to be children in all things before
God. If a little child, in its rambles, were to find honey and its
brothers and sisters were all around, I feel certain that it would give
such a cry after it had first sucked its own fingers, that all of them
would soon be plunging their hands into the honey, too! You have never
tasted its sweetness if it has not made you cry, "Come here! Was there
ever such joy as this? Was there ever such delight, such rapture as
this?" It is the instinct of true children of God to desire to fetch
others in to taste and see that the Lord is good–to share the
unspeakable bliss which is already their own!
Many of you are coming to the Lord's Table. As you come to it, I would
whisper in your ear, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world!" Never mind that bread and wine unless you can use them as
poor old folks often use their spectacles. What do they use them for?
To look at? No, to look through them. So, use the bread and wine as a
pair of spectacles–look through them and do not be satisfied until you
can say, "Yes, yes, I can see the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin
of the world!" Then shall the Communion be really what it ought to be
to you. God make it so, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN 1:19-51; MATTHEW 4:12-24.
John 1:19, 20. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent
priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? And he
confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ ' 'I am
not the One anointed of God to save mankind."
21. And they asked him, Who then? Are you Elijah?' 'Are you Elijah come
back to earth?" 21. And he said, I am not For, though indeed he was the
true piritualElijah who was to come as the forerunner of the Messiah,
yet, in the sense in which they asked the question, the only truthful
answer was, "I am not." 21. Are you that Prophet?The long-expected
prophet foretold by Moses?
21-23. And he answered, No. Then they said unto him, Who are you, that
we may give an answer to them that sent us? What do you say of
yourself? He said, I am the voice. That is all. A voice and nothing
more. John did not profess to be the Word–he was only the voice which
vocalized that Word and made it audible to human ears. He came to bear
witness to the Christ, but he was not, himself, the Christ. "I am the
voice"
23-27. Of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the Prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were of the
Pharisees. and they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptize you then,
if you are not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that Prophet? John
answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there stands One among
you, whom you know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred
before me, whose shoe laces I am not worthy to unloose. How wisely does
God always choose and fashion His servants! John is evidently just the
man for his place–he bears testimony to Christ very clearly. He
earnestly turns away all attention from himself to his Master and he
has such a reverent esteem for Him of whom he is the herald that he
puts all honor and glory upon Him.
28-30. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John
was baptizing, The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He
of whom I said, after me comes a Man which is preferred before me: for
He was before me. You know, dear Friends, that Christ existed from all
eternity, so, in very truth, He wasbefore John. You know, too, the
glory and the excellency of our Divine Master, so that, in another
sense, He was and is before John and all other creatures whom He has
made.
31-34. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to
Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bore record,
saying, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it
abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with
water, the same said unto me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit
descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with
the Holy Spirit. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of
God. The secret sign of the descent of the Spirit, in dove-like form,
upon our Lord, was given to John. And as soon as he saw it, he knew for
sure that Jesus was the Sent One, the Messiah, and that he must point
Him out to the people.
35, 36. Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And
looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!This was
the same text from which he had preached the day before and it was the
same sermon, somewhat shortened. So should it be with us–
"His only righteousness I show,
His saving truth proclaim
'Tis all my business here below
To cry, 'Behold the Lamb!'"
37. The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Thus
John was losing his own disciples. By his testimony to the Truth of
God, he was sending them to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And he did it
well and gracefully. There are many who would find it a hard task to
reduce the number of their disciples, but it was not so with John.
38-46. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, What
do you seek? They said unto Him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being
interpreted, Master) where do You dwell? He said unto them, Come and
see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and remained with Him that day
(now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two which heard John
speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first
found his own brother, Simon, and said unto him, We have found the
Messiah, (which is, being interpreted, the Christ). And he brought him
to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, You are Simon the son of
Jonah: you shall be called Cephas, (which is by interpretation, A
Stone). The following day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and found
Philip, and said unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Beth-saida, the
city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said unto him, We
have found Him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can
there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come
and see. I t was all a seeing Gospel John said, "Behold the Lamb of
God!" Then Jesus said, "Come and see." And now Philip says the same.
Faith is that blessed sight by which we discern the Savior! Whoever
looks to Christ by faith shall live!
47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said of him, Behold an
Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile!' 'There is no craft or
deception in this man, as there was in Jacob; he is a true Israelite,
like Israel at his best."
48. Nathanael said unto Him, How do You know me? Jesus answered and
said unto him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig
tree, I saw you. What Nathanael had been doing there, we do not know.
Probably he had been meditating, or he may have been engaged in prayer.
But this announcement was proof to Nathanael that Jesus could see all
things and read men's hearts–and know what they were doing in their
chosen retreats. "When you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Christ
knows all of you who came in here tonight, in a prayerful spirit,
seeking Him! And whenever men are seeking Him, you can be sure that He
is also seeking them!
49. Nathanael answered and said unto Him, Rabbi, You are the Son of
God; You are the King of Israel' 'You saw what I was doing in secret
and by that token I perceive that You are God's own Son."
50. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto you, I saw
you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things
than these. Those who are ready to believe Christ, on what may be
thought to be slender evidence, shall "see greater things than these."
"Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." They
shall gaze upon a wonderful sight, by-and-by!
51. And He said unto hiim, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter
you shall see Heaven open, and thee angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man. ' 'You are a true Israelite, and you
shall have Israel's vision. You shall see the same sight as your
father, Jacob, saw when he fell asleep with a stone for his pillow!
Only your vision shall be far grander than his." Christ always knows
how to meet the needs of our hearts and to give us something in
accordance with our own expressions, and to make His answers fit our
requests–only He always far exceeds all that we ask or even think,
blessed be His holy name!
Matthew 4:12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison,
He departed into Galilee. Notice that there were at that time only two
great ministers of God, John the Baptist, he must go to prison and to
death–Jesus, the Son of God, He must go to the desert to be tempted of
the devil. If any Christians escape temptation, they will not be the
leaders of the hosts of God! Those who stand in the van must bear the
brunt of the battle. Oh, that all who are called to such responsible
positions might be as prepared to occupy them as John was and as Jesus
was!
13-16. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is
upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebu-lun and Naphtali: that it
might he fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, saying, The
land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which eat in
darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and
shadow of death light is sprung up. Oh, the tender mercy of our God!
Where the darkness is the deepest, there the Light of God shines the
brightest! Christ selects such dark regions as Naphtali and Zebulun
that He may dwell there and shine in all His Glory.
17. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of Heaven is at hand. He was not afraid to give an earnest
exhortation to sinners and to bid men repent. He knew better than we do
the inability of men concerning all that is good, yet He bade them
repent!
18-23. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers,
Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the
sea: for they were fishers. And He said unto them, Follow Me and I will
make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and
followed Him. And going on from there, He saw two more brothers, James
the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their
father, mending their nets. And He called them. And they immediately
left the ship and their father, and followed Him. And Jesus went about
all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of
the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease among the people. I like those words, "all manner"–that is,
Christ met every kind and every sort of sickness and disease. Perhaps
you, dear Friend, are afflicted in your soul after a very peculiar
fashion. Yes, but this great Physician heals all manner of diseases!
None are excluded from the list of patients whom He can cure! Twice the
words, "all manner," are used–"Healing all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease among the people."
24. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him
all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and
those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatics
and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. Our Lord Jesus lived
as in a hospital while He was on earth! Wherever He went, the sins and
sorrows of men were all open before His sympathetic gaze. But oh, what
joy it must have been to Him to be able to deal so well with them all!
Am I addressing any who are sick in soul? Our Master is used to cases
just like yours! Your malady is not new to Him. He has healed many like
you–of all that were brought to Him, it is written, "He healed them."
Lie before Him, now, in all your sin and misery, and breathe the
prayer, "Son of David, have mercy on me," and He will surely hear you
and heal you, for He delights to bless and save all who trust Him!