#1459 John 1 Part 5 There Was A Man

 

6 There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.

9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1: 6-13 LSB

John 1: 6-13

V. 6 There was a man having been sent from God - John the Apostle is referring to John, the herald of Jesus Christ, the one also known as John the Baptist. His position and ministry were prophesied in the OT. John the disciple is recognizing the Baptist as a true prophet of God. 

1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” 3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.…

…4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40: 1-5

V. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light - Jesus is the light, and like the heralds of old, John was the man who went before the King. He preached repentance, this would be the making of the way straight, removing the obstacles to the procession. Sin is in the way of our relationship with God and it keeps us in the dark. John is preaching repentance, which first acknowledges sin, acknowledges it's need, he is calling to reform, for the way of salvation, the way to be right with God is approaching. John's baptism was an acknowledgment of the need and desire to be made clean.

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, 2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, 3to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.… Isaiah 61: 1-3

V. 8 He was not the Light - He was not the Messiah, the Christ, not God, but the one who pointed to Him.

1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. 2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.… Malachi 3: 1-3

…26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. 27He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.… John 1: 26-28

V. 9 There was the true Light - The One Who John pointed to was none other than the Creator, God the Son. 

4We write these things so that our joy may be complete. 5And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.… 1 John 1: 4-6

V. 10 The World did not know Him - We have seen already in the prior verses and posts, that nothing was made that was not made through Jesus. He is now in the world that He made, has taken on human flesh, will perform miracles the likes of which could not be confused with slight of hand, but point directly to His sovereignty over that which He has called into being. The response of the world to the Light is that it is blind, cannot see the light, though it shines so bright before us. Everyone is right in their own eyes, thinks things must be their fault if all goes well, but if things go wrong there is neither a God, or there is a God which we want nothing to do with. There's no participation trophy, God provides one way, everyone is owed His just wrath against sin, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus is the way provided to escape the eternal wrath of the offended Infinite Being, and He is the way that no one naturally wants. They can't even see Who He is. Evidence is not a problem, read everything the OT says about Him. Read what His enemies said about Him, the accounts of His miracles from eye witnesses, people even got mad at Him for healing on the Sabbath. It's not skepticism, there is an answer for that, the problem is we want something else. The prosperity teachers know this and offer you the enticement of riches in this life. The cults pose as moral citizens but offer men the way that their lust leads them. 

He came to what was His own - He came to the Jewish people, born under the laws given to them by Moses. He followed the law as God intended and corrected them as they had blundered the interpretations. He came as a baby to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus is the promised Son of David, the rightful heir to the throne, and we know from Isaiah that He will come to rule, but He must first purchase back the elect by way of the cross, by His stripes we are healed. 

. He came to His own: “We might translate the opening words, ‘he came home’. It is the exact expression used of the beloved disciple when, in response to Jesus’ word from the cross, he took Mary ‘unto his own home’ (John 19:27; cf. 16:32). When the Word came to this world He did not come as an alien. He came home.” (Morris)

ii. “It is said of ‘His own’ that they did not ‘know’ Him, but that they did not receive Him. And in the parable of the Wicked Husbandman our Lord represents them as killing the heir not in ignorance but because they knew him.” (Dods)

iii. “This little world knew not Christ, for God had hid him under the carpenter’s son; his glory was inward, his kingdom came not by observation.” (Trapp)

But Yahweh was pleased

To crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If You would place His soul as a guilt offering,

He will see His seed,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many,

And He will divide the spoil with the strong;

Because He poured out His soul to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53: 10-12

V. 12 But as many as received Him - Not everyone rejected Him. God retains a remnant in every age, and it is not a thing of family name, ethnicity or merit. It is a work of the Spirit inside of a man's heart, opening the eyes of the soul to see the desperateness of their situation, and the Savior who is the only solution.

…8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.… Romans 10: 8-10

V. 13 Who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God - John introduces an old doctrine here, not a new one, but that of God's eternal decree, the quickening of the Spirit, and it will continue to be brought more and more into light as we approach John 3. This was no invention of John Calvin, no, the writing of this book is by the Apostle John's in the first century A.D., Calvin pointed backwards to these great truths, they were not his invention. As Spurgeon once stated, "a Calvinist is the man who says that 'salvation is of the Lord.' " People refer to me as a Calvinist, and where the reformers went back to sola Scriptura, where they found doctrines that were already held by the Scripture, taught by the Apostles, like the 5 points of Calvinism, there I agree with them. But, none of the Reformers is God, none of what they wrote is equal to Holy Scripture. You may say that I sit at the same table as them in accordance with the Doctrines of Grace, but I don't agree with them in all things, for example, their eschatology, in my novice mind theirs is a departure from Sola Scriptura, from rightly dividing the Word of Truth in these matters. As far as election, they are spot on, Jesus even had to correct His own disciples as to the reason they did receive Him when others did not. It is humbling to say the least.

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

…15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will remain— so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 17This is My command to you: Love one another.… John 15: 15-17

…43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied. 44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—… John 6: 43-45