The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4472

My Hi-lite: John 1:29  ¶The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34  And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John the Baptist obviously knew the Oracles of God, the scriptures, very well. He quoted from Isaiah to the Pharisees and now declares Jesus as the Lamb of God, even the Passover Lamb, the sacrifice of which is for the remission of sins. This comes directly from Isaiah 53:7.

So did John know that Christ would not be accepted and that He would be the Lamb Slain? Of course he did!

 
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not his mouth.
And what did Jesus have to say for Himself at His midnight trial? He fulfilled this verse!
 
John 1:30
This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for He was before me.
When a true prophet says so, it happens! John already documented the Word was from before the foundation of this earth in the beginning of this chapter.
 
[31] And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin, remember? However, there is no Biblical record of where Jesus was from age 12 until this verse where He is age 30.  We'll read later in chapter 6 of this book that even the townspeople said "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?"

So here in verse 31 John says, as Dr. Moffat better translates it, "I myself did not recognize Him." (Moffat) Why didn't John and the people recognize Him? Because He had been away! History records that Jesus traveled abroad with His mother and His very wealthy uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea, back and forth to Glastonbury, England, and other diverse locations.

Note: If you haven't read the booklet "The Traditions of Glastonbury", by E. Raymond Capt, then you are in for a real treat should you decide to get a copy and read it. We have copies available here at the Chapel.

So we read in verse 31 that John's mission was to preach repentance, baptizing with water, and making known to ISRAEL that He was coming.

 
John 1:32
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
[33] And I knew him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
John was named by God, and sent by God, and told by God, Who gave him his commission, that he would know Him when he saw the Spirit "descending" and "remaining" on Him.
34] And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
[35] Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
Andrew and John, the writer of this Gospel, were these two disciples of John the Baptist. I'm sure he had more. So in other words, they were students of the Word, taught by John the Baptist, who documented in scripture that the Lamb of God was coming. I'm sure that was exciting!
John 1:36
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
Wow! That had to be an awesome experience.
[37] And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
They heard John the Baptist speaking, not Jesus. Verse 40 documents it.
[38] Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
Jesus turned and asked them what they wanted. They opened their mouths to say "ARE YOU REALLY THE MESSIAH?" and out came "Uh, hi Rabbi, where are you from?"

Since it was about 4 PM Jesus figured He'd invite them over for dinner.

[39] He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
[40] One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
Andrew means "manly", Peter means "rock".
[41] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Andrew, all excited no doubt, went and found Peter, his brother, and said, "Peter, He's here! We have found the Messiah that John's been teaching us about in God's Word. You've got to come meet Him."
[42] And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.


To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

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