John 1:6-8,15

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ¹⁵John testifies concerning Him. He cries out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.' "

John the Baptist: A Witness to the Light

God’s way of letting the light of Christ shine in the world and pushing back the darkness is by human witnesses. We’ll hear more of John the Baptist in the next portion of chapter 1 and through to the end of chapter 3. In the meantime, John is introduced as a witness sent by God who testifies concerning Jesus. John 5:34 tells us that Jesus did not require nor seek the testimony of others. His testimony – in agreement with that of the Father – was enough. Thus, John the Baptist’s ministry was not for Jesus but for us. We are the ones who require signs and wonders and witnesses and testimonies, not Jesus. And when we read that “all men might believe” as the purpose for which John testified about Christ, we are introduced to the first Greek “hina” clause. A more literal reading of this in v7 would be, “in order that all [kinds of men] would certainly believe.” We’ll see many examples of John’s use of this Greek literary device in his gospel, but the point I’d make in introducing it here is that there is a potentially vast difference in reading the English translation and studying the Greek. We’re better off to study the Greek to get the intended meaning of the author. Do you see the difference?

John was not the light. The Gospel writer includes this statement, probably because John’s own light was indeed bright, and many failed to see the light of Christ because their vision was blurred by John’s light. We are the light of the world, and our light is meant to turn others to the source of our light, the True Light in its fullness – Jesus Christ. Yet, as was the case for the miracle-performing apostles, many bowed to worship them, rather than be directed to Jesus. Even our writer, John, bowed in Revelation 22:8-9 to worship an angel, who was bright with light, but the angel corrected him, saying, “No! Worship God.” Thus both Johns tell us that the Baptist was not the Christ, just a light pointing to the brighter light.

God says about John the Baptist in Malachi 3:1, “See, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.” And in Malachi 4:5, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” We’ll talk more about these passages next time, as we get a more detailed view of John’s testimony.

Notice in v15 that John said that Jesus, who would come after him, has surpassed him, because He came before him. John the Baptist was a little older than Jesus, and his public ministry began a little before that of Jesus, and we all know that Jesus was truly existent before John the Baptist, yet the intent here is that Christ was justly preferred to John, because He was more excellent. John, wholeheartedly devoted to the preaching of the Kingdom of God coming with Jesus Christ, therefore surrenders his office to Christ. That is why Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 (Luke 7:28), “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”