John 1:6–8 (Reading from verse 1–8)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.

Opening Prayer

Let’s seek the Lord’s blessing on this word.

Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we do praise you and thank you once again for just your word and the great gift that your word is to us and how it reveals your will to us, what we’re to believe about you and how we’re to live. And so we just pray, Father, that as we come to this particular passage this morning, We pray that you would give us, by your Spirit, the insight to see what it is you would have us to believe here about who you are and how you would call us to live as your servants, as your people, even as your witnesses. And so we pray, Father, for your blessing upon your Holy Word. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

The Rich Theology of John’s Prologue

The prologue of the Gospel of John is perhaps one of the most theologically rich passages of the scriptures. In these opening 18 verses, the Apostle John asserts that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who is fully divine and fully man, that all creation was created by and through him as the Word of God, who in time would come in the flesh and dwell among us, to secure our salvation, that Jesus is the one who brings life in a general way to all creatures and mankind, but then in a special way, he brings eternal life to those who are born of God and believe on him.

Jesus is the light of the world, not only the unique imprint upon all humanity who have been created in the image of God, but the true spiritual light that’s come to shine in the darkness of this world. The light shines to brighten the hearts and minds of God’s people.

All this, and certainly much more, is all jam-packed in these opening verses.

And it’s because of this, as we noted before, that John, in comparison with the other gospel writers, seems to emphasize theological truth over historical and factual truth. But this, of course, doesn’t mean that John ignores history and facts, or, for that matter, that the other gospel writers ignore theology. Certainly not.

Historical Anchor: Introducing John the Baptist

In fact, in our passage this morning, we see that John’s flow of theological thought is suddenly interrupted by the insertion of a historical reference.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

And so here, John the apostle is providing a historical anchor for the truth that he is asserting.

We know that the ministry of John the Baptist was widespread and well known because that’s the John that John the Apostle is referring to here is John the Baptist. And that John the Baptist created quite a stir in his ministry out in the wilderness. And that even caught the attention of the religious leaders who were in Jerusalem so that they actually went out to hear him. John didn’t go to them, but they went out to hear John out in the wilderness to hear what he had to say. And so we’re given there just a picture of how influential John’s ministry was.

But the mention of the baptizer at this point in the prologue seems to serve another purpose, not just as a historical anchor. Because John, not just in his prologue, John the Apostle, not just in his prologue, but throughout his gospel account, has this key emphasis on witness-bearing — that is giving testimony about the life and ministry of Jesus to serve his overall purpose, which we’ve considered before in chapter 20, verse 31:

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

In fact, as we’ll soon see, the apostle summarizes this purpose in relation to the baptizer’s ministry and witness in verse seven. And so this morning, as we consider these few verses, we’re going to examine

• the importance of John the Baptist’s ministry of witness bearing,
• the importance of this witness bearing for John’s gospel,
• as well as the example that the baptizer gives, which ought to challenge us to be faithful witnesses to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, even today.

John the Baptist as Introduced in Verses 6–8

And so first we consider John the Baptist as John the Apostle introduces him here in verses six through eight.

And the first thing we wanted to take note of is the very clear distinction that the Apostle is making between the Word, who is the light, right? That’s how he began his book, is talking about the Word. But John the Apostle is making this distinction between the Word and the baptizer. John the Baptist isn’t the Word. John the Baptist isn’t the life, nor is he the light that’s mentioned in the first five verses. Now, the apostle makes this distinction purposely in several ways.

Distinction 1: Different Verbs for “Was”

And first, we remember how the Word was introduced, right? In verse one, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now compare that with verse six. There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

Now in most of our English translations, we see that the word was is used three times in verse one and actually, well, I had one time here, but it’s actually two times in verse six, but it’s that first mention in verse six that we are focusing on. But in Greek, verse six, uses in that first mention of was, it’s a different word than what’s used in verse one.

See, verse one uses the simple verb to be, right, and refers to existence. We noted the significance of this for what John was saying about the Word, not only that the Word exists, but that the Word was actually pre-existent before all creation, as it was in the beginning, existing with God and indeed existing as God.

And so it’s a declaration of the divinity of the Word. Again, echoing the double use of the first person singular form of the verb to be, I am that I am, which was the covenant name God ascribed to himself, simply stating that he is the God who exists.

But though the word translated was, in verse 6, is a fair translation, the Greek word used there has more of a sense of to become. And so, for example, the New American Standard translates this verse as, there came a man sent from God. Now the difference may seem insignificant until we realize that this same word in verse 6 was used in verse 3 of the creation. All things were made through Him. That is, through the Word. All creation came into existence through the Word, whereas the Word eternally existed. And so the distinction that the Apostle is making in verse 6 is that John came into being. That is, he was made, he was created by God. Indeed, even by the Word. That is, Jesus, the Son of God. And so what we’re seeing emphasized here is that Jesus is the Creator. He is the God who exists.

But John is a creature who was made. And so John is not the Word.

Distinction 2: A Mere Man in Time

The Apostle makes this distinction even clearer by identifying John as a mere man who came into being at a certain point in time in human history. And while the Word at a certain point in time in human history became flesh and dwelt among us, as we see in verse 14, the Apostle has already established that the Word existed as an eternal being before the incarnation of Christ. so that the Word became flesh. Jesus, the Son of God, was both God and man.

Distinction 3: Sent by God vs. Being God

A third way the apostle makes this distinction is that the baptizer was sent by God. That is, he was commissioned by God to serve a particular purpose, whereas the Word was God. John, like the prophet Jeremiah, was set apart by the eternal decree of God even before being formed in the womb. And this truth was testified of through the prophecies of the forerunner of the Messiah over 400 years before John was even born.

And next we note in verse 8 that John the Baptist wasn’t the light, but he was sent to bear witness to the light. And as a witness to the light, verse 7, John is merely a means or an agent which God uses to point others to the light, to the Word. That is, to Jesus, who is to be the one true object of our faith. Our faith isn’t to be in John. Our faith is to be in Jesus, in the Word.

Now, we may wonder, why does John the Apostle, why is he emphasizing this distinction? I mean, who’s going to mistake John for Jesus?

Well, many people did. The religious leaders did. And many of the people who gathered around wondered whether John was the promised Messiah. And even Herod believed that when he heard about all that Jesus was doing, Herod believed that Jesus was simply John who had come back from the dead to haunt him. Because Herod had put John to death.

But as we’ll see shortly, the Apostle seems to be emphasizing this distinction even for some other polemical reasons. And so that John the Baptist, who Jesus declares as there being none greater born of women, John wants to make sure that he’s given due honor, but at the same time, that he isn’t the one to be exalted above Jesus, who is the Word, who is God, who is the One through whom all things were created. And so John is making a very clear point that John, John the Apostle is making a clear point. John the Baptist isn’t the Word. He’s important. He’s a critical piece. He was prophesied about. He was sent by God. But He is not the Word. He is not the Light. He is not the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

Who Was John the Baptist?

So who is He?

Well, we know from Luke’s Gospel account that John was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. And Zacharias, we know, was a priest serving in the temple. And as Zacharias was there in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him regarding John’s purpose and calling. And he says there in Luke chapter 1,

And he will turn many of the children. This is Gabriel telling Zacharias about what John’s going to do. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And so here the angel recalls the prophecy of the prophet Malachi, who was the last of the Old Testament prophets that prophesied some over 400 years before. And there was that 400 years of silence. After Malachi was done, there was no prophetic word from God. And the people waited anxiously for the coming of the Messiah. But Malachi said that before the Messiah would come, There was going to be one like Elijah who would come to prepare the hearts of the people for the Lord’s anointed.

John wasn’t the Lord’s anointed. But as Gabriel confirms to Zacharias, John, whose name means the Lord has been gracious, John would be the forerunner. He’s the one prepared or he is the one sent to prepare the way. And this we know John did. John came on the scene, he began his ministry, he called people to repent, to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Because the one true perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God was coming to secure forgiveness and salvation for his people. And John preached and he baptized to prepare people for the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

But here again, John the Apostle is making a significant point about John and his ministry.

Because it’s interesting, and we’ve been calling him John the Baptist, but it’s interesting that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all refer to John as John the Baptist, or literally it’s the baptizer, or the one who baptizes. But John the Apostle only ever refers to him simply as John. Right? The Apostle doesn’t even mention his own name, but he’s setting himself apart, he’s setting John apart, but he never identifies John as John the Baptist. In fact, the Gospel of John is the only Gospel which doesn’t explicitly record Jesus’ baptism by John. Now, John records John the Baptist’s testimony about what he witnessed when he baptized Jesus, but it’s never mentioned that he actually baptized Jesus.

Chapter 1, verse 32,

John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.

That’s what John said.

And we know from the other gospel accounts, well, this is what happened when John baptized Jesus. But we’re never told here. John doesn’t tell us that, the Apostle doesn’t tell us that John actually baptized him. He’s just describing what happened and the testimony about him. And so for the Apostle John, he never identifies John as a Baptist.

Likely because he knew he was a Presbyterian.

Now because the Apostle’s purpose in writing his account is to emphasize and set forth that John was a witness. And so for the Apostle, the ministry of John the Baptist was to be highlighted and remembered not for the baptisms that he performed, and surely there were thousands, but that John was sent by God to be a witness to the light that was soon to come into the world.

And by that witness, all might believe in God.” And it’s being a witness or testifying of the truth of who Jesus is and what he accomplished is of most importance to the apostle to achieve his stated purpose. Again, chapter 20, verse 31,

that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

And so the apostle, we know who according to tradition was the last living apostle, is committed to presenting current and future generations with a witness to the truth of the gospel. The apostle knows and understands the legal requirements to establish truth, that you need evidence, you need witnesses to testify of what they’ve seen and heard so that truth can be established. And this is exactly what John is doing.

The Theme of Witness in John’s Gospel

We consider this in our introduction to John’s gospel that there were, in the apostles’ latter days, there were those who were denying that Jesus was truly God come in the flesh. They rejected Christ’s divinity as well even as his humanity. And so John is looking to set the record straight by marching out a variety of witnesses testifying of the truth of who Jesus is. And of course we know that even today, These kinds of heretics and critics persist, even among so-called Bible scholars that appear on social media. They’re out there, they look to distort the truth that was first delivered, casting aside the historical testimonies and making broad claims without no foundation.

And so the witness and testimony that John records is just as important for us today as it was in the time that He wrote. Which is why we must know these testimonies. To know the truth given to us in God’s Word so that we can continue to bear witness as John the Apostle and John the Baptist did. And as the Apostle writes here, John the Baptist was set apart by God to be really the first witness. to be the herald who goes before the royal processional and announces, the king is coming, the king is coming.

That is what John’s purpose was. And this is what he did. And this is what puts him in a place of honor, even as Jesus himself would affirm. But the baptizer is but one of several witnesses that the apostle will highlight in his gospel account. John, as the one called upon to repair the way, of course, stands on his own as an important witness.

But there were other human witnesses, including the other apostles, including John the Beloved, who’s writing this. And we think about the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, that Jesus met her at the well, and she went back to her own village and bore witness that she had met the Messiah. And we’re told there that many believed on Christ because of her witness. But there are other witnesses that the apostle specifically highlights.

Each person of the triune God has witnessed and bears testimony to the light of the gospel come into the world. And so we have

• God the Father as a witness. In John 5, 37, Jesus says, and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me.
• God the Son, Jesus, says of himself in John 8, verse 18, I am one who bears witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me.
• And of course, God the Holy Spirit. John 15, 26, but when the Holy Spirit, excuse me, when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me.

And then finally, there is the testimony of the Old Testament scriptures. Again, chapter 5, verse 39,

you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life. These are they which testify of me.

And, of course, the very works that Jesus did, of the signs, the wonders, the miracles that He performed. Again, chapter 5, verse 36,

But I have a greater witness than John’s. For the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me.

And so all these witnesses, John, the apostles, gathering together to testify of one glorious truth. that Jesus was the Word, who was with God in the beginning, who was God, who came in the flesh to dwell among us, who was the light coming to the world, shining in the darkness of sin and misery, and bringing new and everlasting life to those who would believe on Him.

The witnesses are many, and they all agree, and they all establish the undeniable truth. And John the Baptist is one who stands among them as the first of these witnesses.

Witness as Martyrdom and Commitment

But there’s something else that we need to consider regarding this idea of witnessing and testifying. And especially it would apply to John the Baptizer as a witness and even many of the apostles. Because they were witnesses not only in order to help to establish the truth, You see, by being a witness, by going to the stand, so to speak, and testifying, they were taking a stand. They were making a commitment before others, publicly, staking their very lives on the truth to which they were testifying.

And the word the apostle uses for witness here in John 1, and really throughout his gospel, is the Greek word that we get our English word martyr. What’s a martyr? A martyr is one who gives testimony or bears witness to something and he pays for it with his life.

John was called and appointed by God to be the forerunner to the Messiah. He was sent by God to be a witness to the light in whom was life, even life everlasting. And the first witness, and as that first witness to Christ, John would also become the first martyr at the hands of Herod. And as many martyrs would come after John, they all sat before us, even those of us here today, an example to follow and imitate. And it’s this example, especially set by John, that we want to now consider.

We noted that John was a man sent by God to be a witness to the light, to testify that the Word of God had come in the flesh.

John were witness to this truth as he spent his ministry pointing people to the light. The apostle makes clear in verse 8, John himself wasn’t the light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. He bore witness and testified to the light by confronting people with a call to repent and turn away from their sins.

For the true light, God’s anointed one, the Messiah, was soon coming. And at that time, the people had grown dull in their faith, and they had forgotten how the Lord had called them to live just and holy lives that were separate from the ways of the world. And so John was charged to challenge them, that the day of reckoning was drawing near because the anointed Messiah, King and Judge was soon coming. And so the people ought to be ready for the King when He comes. In this way, John was to prepare the way before the coming of Christ, just as the prophet Malachi had foretold.

So that again, when the Messiah does come, when the light does shine in the darkness, the people will see it. They’ll comprehend it. And they’ll embrace it as they believe in Him, even through the witness of John the Baptist.

John’s Example: Pointing to and Exalting the Light

And so John gives us an example of what it means to point people to the light of Christ, who has now come into the world, accomplished salvation through his death on the cross, and secured deliverance from the curse of sin by his resurrection from the dead on the third day, that those who believe on him will have eternal life.

But John, through his witness and ministry, also gives an example of what it means to exalt the light even far above himself.

We know John had a very prominent ministry. In fact, we know John had many followers. He had many disciples of his own. In fact, John the Apostle, writing this, was likely one of them, as well as we know Andrew, the brother of Peter, was originally a disciple of John the Baptist.

But of course, when Jesus arrived on the scene and entered into his public ministry, well, things shifted. At first, slowly, but then much more dramatically. So that Jesus became more popular than John. Even the religious leaders were made aware of this in John 4, verse 1. And many of John’s disciples, again, like John the Apostle and Andrew, became disciples and followers of Jesus. But John never worried, he never panicked, he never complained, because he was self-aware that this is precisely what needed to happen.

John would declare in chapter 3, verse 30,

he must increase, but I must decrease.

And what’s interesting here is that John says this in part as a response to a controversy that erupted among his own disciples. Earlier in chapter 3 verse 25, there arose a dispute among some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.

And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the Jordan to whom you testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. And so it seems as though many of John’s disciples, they were worried, they were panicked. But John himself was focused on the mission God had sent him to accomplish, pointing people to the light. and exalting that light.

Now this is worthy of mention because even after John was put to death by Herod, we know that his disciples remained active and diligently went forth, even going to far distant places to proclaim his message.

And so that much later, we find Apollos in Acts chapter 18. Apollos was a disciple of John. And he boldly declared the things of the Lord. Yet he only knew the baptism of John. And so he needed to be instructed by Aquila and Priscilla. He taught him more accurately so that he could then go forth and declare from the Scriptures that it was Jesus who was the Christ. And then the Apostle Paul had a similar encounter with other disciples of John in Ephesus. And these men had repented.

They were baptized and they believed in John’s message But they didn’t have the fullness of understanding of what Jesus Christ had now accomplished. And they didn’t even know that the Holy Spirit had now been sent to dwell with believers. And so Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus. No longer the baptism of John, but it’s now baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus they were baptized, and they received the Holy Spirit. So their salvation was fulfilled and complete.

Now some contend that many of these followers of John persisted. Some even perhaps up through the Apostle John’s later days as they had exalted John over Jesus. And so this became a problem. Perhaps there were some of those who panicked about Jesus. These are some of those who panicked about Jesus having more disciples. That’s certainly possible. That is, John is writing this many years later, that there’s still some of the disciples of John who are going around and preaching, and they’ve started their own little group.

It certainly would explain why John the Apostle, himself a former disciple of John, why he’s emphasizing the distinction between Jesus and John, even more so than any of the other Gospel writers. The Apostle, in a sense, is issuing a warning. that the herald of the light isn’t to be exalted over the light itself. And this is a warning, of course, that’s needed even in our own day of all these celebrity preachers, teachers, and pastors. And many are truly gifted in ministering the Word, but their followers can easily lose sight of who they’re to be serving and exalting. And they can do this even when those same teachers and preachers themselves, like John, present a very clear message of exalting the light over themselves. But their followers take it in a very different direction.

And so John is giving us a good example to take note of. So John pointed to the light. John exalted the light.

John’s Example: Faithfully Proclaiming the Light

But we also want to consider John’s example of faithfully going forth and proclaiming the light. We’ll consider in more detail the content of John’s gospel message about Jesus later as we press on in our study of John’s gospel. But the key proclamation that we’ll highlight at this point, is that twice, 1 to verse 29 and then again to verse 36, John the Baptist bears witness of the light most directly when he refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, indicating that Jesus would be the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin. John preached repentance, calling people to turn away from sin and look forward to the forgiveness and mercy of forgiveness that God’s precious Lamb would provide.

So John, as a witness to the light, sets for us an example to go boldly and do the same.

To proclaim the light. Because we now can proclaim that Christ has come. And all that he has accomplished. As believers in Christ, we’re called to be witnesses. Whether privately or publicly, we’re called to testify to those who will hear, not only of the facts of the gospel, and all that Jesus did and accomplished, but how faith in Christ can change and transform lives to the glory of God.

Yet you ought to keep in mind that if you would be as John and faithfully bear witness to these things, committing yourself to this truth, you may be doing so with your very life at stake. Yet the faithful martyrs who’ve gone before us, and there have been thousands, millions maybe, I don’t know, they’ve done so with joy. They’ve done so with the joy of knowing that a greater eternal life was still yet to come for them.

And so this is the challenge that John the Baptist sets before us. The light has come in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word. He is the light of the world. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world, even your sins and my sins. He has come that by believing in Him, you might have forgiveness and the blessing of an abundant life, even life everlasting. all to the praise and glory of God alone.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray.

O gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks for your word given to us this morning. And as we’re mindful of our calling in Christ to follow, to imitate the example of John, who boldly went forth to proclaim your truth, pointing people to Christ, to the Word become flesh, to the light that came into the world and exalting the light even over above himself. And we do pray, Lord, that not one of us would ever be so prideful as we would puff up ourselves or some other mere man above the precious Savior, the Lord Jesus. That we are to look upon him that our eyes are fixed upon Him alone. For He is our Savior and our Redeemer. And so we just pray, Lord, that You would help us to be these faithful witnesses.

Not fearing what may come, not fearing the mocking, the scorn, the persecution, even death that might come. But that we would look forward to the glorious prize which You have set before us. which you set before your son and has now guaranteed for us that we should be with him in everlasting glory. And so we just pray, Lord, that you would be with us, that you would impress these great truths upon each and every one of our hearts, drawing us all closer to yourself and that you would truly embolden us, empower us to be witnesses to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. that through our witness, many would come to believe and have life in Christ. All to the praise of your glorious name. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.