Art thou "that" prophet? Elias? Christ? the Messias? Behold, The Lamb Of God Which Takes Away The Sin Of The World - Part 2320

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who art thou?" And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Art thou Elias?" And he saith, "I am not." Art thou that prophet? And he answered, "No."

Then said they unto him, "Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?" ... he said, "I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. [Isaiah]" And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked John [the baptizer], "Why baptize thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water: but there stands One among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose." (John 1:19-23)

This is written as the record of John -- so that we who believe would understand what was happening during that historic moment in time. Remember, up until this moment there had been over 400 years of darkness over the land, wherein the people did not hear from the Lord God. A couple of points worth noting, before we continue on. 

First, these were the Pharisees (the religious community) who had sent the scribes and the Levites to John -- to question John's identity. Second, from the scriptures, the Pharisees should have known that John was not the Christ, but the forerunner sent ahead to announce the coming of the King. 

But sadly, as we witness here, the religious community did not know who John was, even though John cited scripture from the very scrolls they were supposed to know. 

From the last book of the Old Testament -- Malachi 3:1-7 -- the Lord saith: 

"Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come," saith the Lord of hosts. "But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me," saith the Lord of hosts. "For I AM -- the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you," saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, "Wherein shall we return?" (Malachi 3:1-7)

From the prophet Isaiah: 

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3)

"As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (Mark 1:2-3)

The religious community of that day should have known that the Lord of hosts was going to send His messenger, announcing His arrival to the temple He had created, before it would occur. The message in Malachi was so the people would know that the God in whom they delighted was to come -- the Lord God Himself coming forth as a mighty man. (Isaiah 42:13) 

"To wit, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." (II Corinthians 5:19)

Do we see similar parallels within the modern day religious culture, wherein there is little understanding of who the Lord God is (even when we have immediate access to the scriptures), or why He would come to His temple to take away the sins of the world? Are we witnessing the repetition of man-made creeds and the traditions of men within church environments -- that have no scriptural basis? In our busy-ness, have we succumbed to the voices of the world around us, and not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, who loved us enough to shed His precious holy blood on a cross so that we might have life? (Acts 20:28)

These are the questions that emerge from the record of John when the religious system wanted to know his identity. Still, moving forward, we see that there were still those who came to be baptized in Bethabara beyond Jordan. Not Pharisees or Levites but ordinary people who hearkened unto the call of the Lord through John. These willingly entered the water to be baptized (under John's baptism which we know to be repentance, wherein under Jewish custom they were cleansed).

Concerning John, Jesus said, "What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is [he], of whom it is written, "Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, "Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard [him], and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

And the Lord said, "Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept." For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say -- he hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, "Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" But wisdom is justified of all her children." (Luke 7:24-35)

Note that in many ways this same darkness that overshadowed the world in that 400 years plus  of silence -- before the Lord Jesus -- the Light that shines brighter than the noonday sun came into the world, is very similar to what is happening in the western world today. That is, the famine is not of water or of bread but the famine is the Word of the Lord, wherein even the religious leaders are unaware of the Lord's counsel and wisdom -- proclaimed for one and all to see in the scriptures.

Thus, as in the days of John, the Pharisees -- the modern day religious who proclaim to know the Word -- reject the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized unto repentance. Further, as Peter (standing with the eleven) declared on the day of Pentecost, we who believe are to repent and be water baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we could receive the Comforter -- the Holy Ghost -- the Lord Jesus dwelling within our hearts. (Acts 2:36-41)

But I digress. Going back to the first chapter of John:

"The next day, John sees Jesus coming unto him, and saith, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, "After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. 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 baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."

Again, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, "Behold the Lamb of God!" And the two disciples heard Him speak, and they followed Jesus. 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?" 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. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."

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." (John 1:24-42)

Note that the disciples which formerly followed John were transformed when they heard Jesus, and desired in their hearts to follow Him. This is where we who believe are supposed to be this day -- following Jesus as both our Lord and Christ, the Rabbi being interpreted Master. And as we now know, the Lord Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. (I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6) 

Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world!

Stand in the offering plate.