John 1:15-28 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. 19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God. He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. He said “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” Last time we saw that Jesus was with God in the beginning, so he was before John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus also said:before Abraham was born, I am. He was also saying that he was with God in the beginning. John the Baptist went on to say that the laws of the Old Testament were given through the prophet Moses, while the grace and truth of the New Testament were from Jesus Christ. Both John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciple John testified that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, has revealed the Father. Jesus also said that when people see him, they see the Father, The Son Jesus revealed the Father.
When someone asked John the Baptist who he was, he said that he was not the Christ, nor the Old Testament prophet Elijah, nor the Prophet. Who is the Prophet? In the Old Testament it was prophesied that the Prophet would come, the Prophet is Jesus. Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesied the coming of John the Baptist. John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord Jesus, and John the Baptist baptized with water, asking people to repent so that their sins would be forgiven. This is also the message that the Lord Jesus wants his disciples to preach, that is, the repentance and forgiveness of sins. When a person confesses his sins and repents, God will forgive his sins. John the Baptist testified that Jesus who came after him, the straps of whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. The Lord Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. When people believe in the Lord and be baptized. They are baptized with the Holy Spirit, they receive the Holy Spirit, and be born again and be saved.
May God bless you and your family. 😊
