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Scripture Reading: John 1:19-51
We will now look at John 1:19-51, beginning with the matter of the Lamb and the dove.
From the introduction of the Gospel of John we know that the Lord Jesus is the Word of God. Before the beginning of time in eternity past, the Word of God, the explanation of God, existed. At the beginning of time He created all things, and then at a certain point in time He came among men to be life to man. His life is the light of men, and this light shines in the darkness. Although some reject the light, others receive it, obtaining God Himself and being given the authority to become children of God. Those who receive Him are not only created by God but also born of God. As such, they can receive God as grace, touch God as reality, and enjoy God’s fullness. The unfathomable and unapproachable God has been declared to man through the Word in order to be received, mingled, enjoyed, and experienced practically.
God created man and came to be man’s life so that man may be born of God to enjoy Him as grace and reality and also to enjoy His fullness. The end result of this enjoyment is His tabernacling in man and among man. Thus, the unfathomable and unapproachable God can dwell among man and in man. This dwelling also speaks of God and man being mingled together; that is, of the Word becoming flesh and tabernacling among men.
This revelation is not according to man’s natural concept, and it is apart from revelation. This is something that has not come up in man’s heart (1 Cor. 2:9). This is also not a matter that man can easily receive because the thought of God being the Word not only to create all things but also to enter into created man is not something that has ever come up in our natural thought. The matters of being mingled with God by receiving Him, of enjoying His fullness, and of becoming the tabernacle of God on earth also have not come up in our heart. Nevertheless, these matters are presented in the introduction to the Gospel of John. The introduction is an outline, a brief explanation, of the entire book. We need to speak of these matters repeatedly because they are not according to our human concepts.
After the introduction John presents many details that support these points. The first detail relates to the testimony of John the Baptist concerning the Lord Jesus; his description of the Lord is unique, and it matches the unique writing style of John.
Careful readers of the Bible all acknowledge that the Gospel of John is written in a unique way. Whenever John speaks of a particular incident, he presents the background and context of the case before he introduces the central figure. For example, in chapter 4 the Lord Jesus and His disciples were wearied from their journey, and they were hungry and thirsty. With this as the background, the Lord stopped at a well, met a woman who had come to draw water, and asked the woman for a drink. The background is one of hunger and thirst, and the context is entirely about water. With this background and context, John portrays the Lord Jesus as the One who is able to supply living water to quench people’s thirst forever.
In chapter 5 the Lord Jesus caused a weak and dying person to be enlivened and strengthened. In order to describe this incident, John presents a background that references many elements in Judaism, including feasts, the city of Jerusalem, angels, and the Sabbath (vv. 1-4, 9). In such a religious atmosphere, the immediate context included a multitude of sick people. This multitude was not a group of happy people who were walking, standing, and singing; rather, they were dying. Consequently, they were lying and waiting for an angel to come and stir up the water in the pool in the hope that they could be the first to step into the pool and be healed (v. 4). Even though they adhered to the letter of religion, their weaknesses could not be healed. This is a sign of death. When the Lord Jesus saw a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years lying by the pool, He asked, “Do you want to get well?” (v. 6). The man said, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me” (v. 7). Religion seemingly has a means to heal, but he did not have the strength to receive any healing. In such a situation of despair the Lord Jesus manifested Himself as the Lord who can turn weakness to strength and death to life.
In every case in the Gospel of John, there is always a description of the background and then a specific context related to the background in order to show what the Lord is and how His life can overcome the background and subdue the environment. His ability to overcome the background and subdue the environment shows how His life, which cannot be limited or restrained, meets every need and solves every problem. This is the unique writing style of the Gospel of John.
The first incident that John describes using this style of writing occurs in the second half of chapter 1. In verses 19 through 51 he presents a background involving the Jewish religion and the context of John the Baptist’s testimony. The background and the context show that the expectations, focus, and speaking of those in religion do not correspond to God’s intention in the universe.
John’s presentation of the background of religion involves Judaism, which is not an ordinary heathen religion. Judaism is a true religion, and it is based on God’s revelation in the age of the Old Testament. Verse 19 says that the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John the Baptist. Priests and Levites are the main figures in Judaism. The priests are in the central position, and the Levites are in a supporting position. These religious people came to ask John the Baptist, “Who are you?” (vv. 19, 22). They had studied the Old Testament thoroughly and understood it well, and they knew of God’s promise in the Old Testament of a coming Messiah. Messiah is a Hebrew word, and when it is translated into Greek, it is “Christ” (v. 41). In their reading of the Old Testament, these priests and Levites knew that Elijah was coming and that God would raise up a Prophet, just as He had raised up Moses (Mal. 4:5; Deut. 18:15, 18). When John the Baptist came, his clothes and food were quite different; nevertheless, he spoke with much power and authority (Matt. 3:1-12). Consequently, these religious people wanted to know if he was the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet (John 1:20-21).
When they came to ask John the Baptist, he told them clearly, “I am not the Christ” (v. 20). They then asked, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” They asked again, “Are you the Prophet?” John answered, “No” (v. 21). Then they became confused and asked, “Who are you?” (v. 22). He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!’ as Isaiah the prophet said” (v. 23). John the Baptist acknowledged that he was only the voice that Isaiah had prophesied would come and cry out in the wilderness (Isa. 40:3). He said that he was only a voice crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” Then they asked, “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet?” (John 1:25). John answered them saying, “I baptize in water; but among you stands One whom you do not know” (v. 26). John’s word was a recommendation of Christ, but they did not recognize Christ or even understand John’s word.
After describing this religious background in verses 19 through 28, the apostle John continued to describe the immediate context of John the Baptist’s speaking. Verse 29 says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John the Baptist did not refer to the Lord as Christ, the Prophet, or Elijah. Although the Lord Jesus was the Christ and also the Prophet, John the Baptist did not refer to Him in this way. He spoke of the Lord in a way that was contrary to the religious background presented in this chapter. John said that the Lord Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist even acknowledged that this was contrary to his understanding, saying, “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water, He said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, this is He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (v. 33). When John baptized the Lord Jesus in water, he saw the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him as a dove (v. 32; Matt. 3:13-17). This is the reason that John did not refer to the Lord Jesus as the Christ or the Prophet. Rather, he referred to the Lord as “He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). John the Baptist’s special reference to introduce Christ was in contrast to the Jewish religion.
John the Baptist spoke of two things in contrast to the background of Judaism: “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” and “He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” Christ is the Lamb, and the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove. Consequently, John did not speak of Him as the Christ or the Prophet but as the Lamb with the Spirit as a dove. According to the background of Judaism, people discussed the coming of the Messiah, the appearance of the Prophet, and the coming of Elijah (Mal. 4:5). However, when John the Baptist began to testify of the coming Lord, he did not speak of Him as the Christ, the Prophet, or Elijah. In contrast to these concepts, he spoke of the Lamb of God upon whom the Spirit descended and abided as a dove. The testimony of John the Baptist was completely contrary to the background of Judaism.
The testimony of John the Baptist was very powerful. When two of his disciples heard these words, they immediately followed the Lord Jesus (John 1:37). Verse 38 says, “Jesus, turning and beholding them following, said to them, What are you seeking? And they said to Him, Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” The way they addressed the Lord Jesus shows that their religious concepts were quite strong. Nevertheless, they did not dare to call Him the Christ, the Prophet, or Elijah, because they were not sure who He was. However, they also realized that He was worthy of respect; hence, they addressed Him as “Rabbi.” Although John the Baptist testified of Him, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” the two disciples addressed Him as “Rabbi.” These two titles — the Lamb of God and Rabbi — are altogether different.
From these verses we can see the influence of the background of Judaism on the disciples’ religious concepts. Under the influence of Judaism, people were looking for the Messiah, the Prophet, or Elijah, and in an environment filled with such religious concepts, the disciples could address the Lord Jesus only as Rabbi. No one recognized Him as the Lamb of God, as the One upon whom the Spirit descended and abided as a dove, or as the One who would baptize people in the Holy Spirit. Without revelation the disciples were limited by their religious background and could focus only on the Messiah, the Prophet, or Elijah, and based on these religious concepts they could address the Lord only as Rabbi.
Nevertheless, when the two disciples heard the testimony of John the Baptist, they followed the Lord Jesus and asked where He was staying. Our Lord’s response shows that He truly is the Lord. He replied, “Come, and you will see” (v. 39). He did not correct their understanding of Him as being only a Rabbi, nor did He answer their question. He simply asked them to come and see. The Lord was not asking them to come and see His dwelling place but to come with Him in order to see the Lord Himself. Only the Lord Himself matters, not the place where He stays. If a robber dwells in a palace, the palace is still a robber’s den. If a king dwells in a thatched shed, the shed is a palace. No dwelling place is more important than the dweller. Therefore, the Lord Jesus simply said, “Come, and you will see.” The Lord did not want them to see a dwelling place but to see the Lord Himself.
In order to know a person, we must see that he is more than what he says. What a person is counts more than what he speaks. Everyone in the world is afraid of being seen for who they are, but the Lord Jesus is not. He is not afraid of detailed scrutiny. He even desires that we see Him, because He can bear any amount of scrutiny. He is the same in every situation.
When the two disciples heard the Lord’s words, they followed Him and stayed with Him that day (v. 39). The place where the Lord stayed must have been quite simple and primitive; however, when the two disciples stayed with Him, they discovered that He was quite extraordinary and altogether different. They were captured by Him. One of the two disciples was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He went to look for his brother Peter and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (v. 41). He did not say, “We have found the Lamb,” or “We have found the One who will baptize people in the Holy Spirit.” On the contrary, he said, “We have found the Messiah.” Again, this word was based on his religious concepts, but Andrew still led Peter to the Lord Jesus. As soon as the Lord Jesus saw Peter, He said, “You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which John says is interpreted, Peter) (v. 42). With this simple contact Peter was gained by the Lord Jesus.
The next day the Lord Jesus went forth into Galilee. When the Lord found Philip, He said to him, “Follow Me” (v. 43). Philip was probably influenced by Andrew and Peter, so when the Lord called Philip, he followed the Lord. When Philip found Nathanael, he said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth” (v. 45). Philip’s words again show the strong religious background at that time. Nathanael rebuked him, saying, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” (v. 46). Nathanael said this because he understood from the Old Testament that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, not from Nazareth. Philip, however, was very quick, and he immediately said, “Come and see” (v. 46). He could not speak clearly about the Lord, so he asked Nathanael to come and see for himself. When the Lord Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He said, “Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile!” (v. 47). Greatly surprised, Nathanael said to the Lord, “How do You know me?” Then the Lord Jesus said more clearly, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (v. 48). As soon as the Lord said this, Nathanael was subdued, and he said to the Lord, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (v. 49). Although Nathanael confessed that the Lord was the Son of God, he was still influenced by his strong religious background because he also addressed the Lord as Rabbi and as the King of Israel.
John the Baptist said, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, this is He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God” (vv. 33-34). John did not say that the Lord Jesus was the Christ or even that He was a Rabbi; he only spoke of Him as the Son of God. John spoke according to revelation, not religious concepts. The use of titles such as Rabbi, King of Israel, and Messiah all indicate the influence of religious concepts.
John the Baptist was a forerunner, and he spoke according to revelation in the midst of the background of Judaism. The Messiah, the Prophet, or Elijah are not more significant than the Lamb and the dove. Today both Christians and Gentiles pay more attention to religious concepts involving the Messiah, the Prophet, and Elijah than they do to the revelation of the Lord as the Lamb and as the One upon whom the Spirit descends and abides as a dove. On one hand, He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world; on the other hand, the Spirit abides on Him as a dove so that people may receive the Holy Spirit. This is not a religious concept; it is a revelation of God.
The Lord as the Word became flesh in order to enter into us as life so that we may receive God, experience God, and enjoy God fully. Moreover, He wants us to enjoy God to the extent that we are mingled with God as one and built up by God as His dwelling place. The fulfillment of this desire depends upon the Lamb and the dove. The religious background and environment of the Messiah, the Prophet, and Elijah do not matter; only the Lamb and the dove matter. The Word, who was in the beginning, became a lowly man, grew up in a despised place, and as the Lamb of God, took away the sin of the world. Furthermore, the dove, signifying the Spirit, is upon Him for the purpose of imparting the Spirit of God to man. As the Lamb of God, He solves man’s problem of sin before God. The Lamb has taken away the sin of man before God. As the One who has the dove, the Holy Spirit, He can supply all the fullness of God to man.
God’s purpose in this universe is not merely that man would draw near and contact Him but that man would receive Him as grace and reality. God desires to enter into man to be life, to live in man, to mingle Himself with man, and to become one with man. This is God’s desire. God created man as a vessel to contain God Himself. However, before God could enter into man, sin entered into man, and man was filled with sins. God’s intention that we be filled with grace and reality was hindered by our being filled with vanity and refuse related to our fleshly lusts, covetousness, preferences, and perverseness. These problems had to be solved before God could enter into us.
The Lord Jesus came to solve these problems, but He did not come as the Messiah or the Prophet, much less as Elijah; He came as the Lamb of God. According to the righteousness of God, He took away our defilement related to sin and sins. On the cross He solved the problem of sin. When John the Baptist testified, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (v. 29), he was implying that our relationship with the Lord is not based on His being the Messiah, the Prophet, or Elijah but rather on His being the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. He came to be the Lamb of God because of our need for redemption. The Lamb of God, not the Messiah, is needed for redemption. Man’s problem before God is sin, but the Messiah cannot solve the problem of sin; only the Lamb of God can solve this problem. The Lord came to be the Lamb of God to solve man’s problem and to remove the barrier of sin between man and God.
Furthermore, the Spirit was upon the Lord Jesus as a dove. The Lord has the Holy Spirit, and He even is the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). He is in the Holy Spirit, and He gives the Holy Spirit to man. When the hidden Triune God is manifested among men, He is expressed through the Son. When the Triune God enters into man and mingles Himself with man, He is experienced as the Spirit. The Spirit is the transfiguration of God, and as the Spirit, God enters into man and mingles Himself with man. As the Lamb, He removed man’s sin on the negative side, and through Him as the One who has the dove, man can receive God on the positive side. When a person receives Him as the Lamb of God, his sins are taken away before God, and when a person receives Him as the One who has the dove, he can receive God, experience God, and be filled with God as his enjoyment.
