The Witness

John 1:19-34

Main Idea: A faithful witness of Jesus knows who they are because they know who Jesus is.

I. Know Who You Aren’t (1:19-21)

“He was so great that people could make this mistake. They wondered whether he was himself the Christ, and they wondered about it seriously enough to question him. Now if he had been a son of pride, not a teacher of humility, he would not have taken steps to make them think that, but he would simply have accepted what they were already thinking.”
~ Augustine, Works of St. Augustine

II. Know Who You Are (1:22-28)

“There’s no power in John’s baptism, no force or capacity of its own. The content of his baptism is simply this: ‘Among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me’ (John 1:26–27). John’s baptism is testimony, a pointing to the coming Messiah who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
- John Webster, Christ Our Salvation: Expositions and Proclamations

III. Know Who Jesus Is (1:29-34)

Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice to which all other sacrifices point, and he accomplishes what no other sacrifice could by dealing with sin once and for all (Heb. 9:25-10:18).

Isaiah 53:7: The Suffering Servant (Lamb)
Leviticus 16: The Day of Atonement
Exodus 12:6: The Passover Lamb
Genesis 4:4: The Greater Offering
Genesis 3:21: The First Sacrifice

Genesis 22:7: And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:8: Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.”