Musings on the Book of John

written by Connie Hecker

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.'

John 1:29-31 (NIV)

CHANGE

Matthew 3:5-6 (GW) adds details to what is going on with the baptizing. “Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole Jordan Valley went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.” “Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2 GW)

John did not find this detail necessary for what he was trying to show as John’s book is about the signs we are given in the life of Christ so that we can be certain and choose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. I am grateful for the added context Matthew gives. Why were people flocking to the Jordan? John the Baptizer was giving people a hope for freedom from their sins. He was sharing a message of change that starts with a change of mind and is followed by a change of behavior. When you turn to God, when you put your trust in Him, you will know this is so and you will seek to change your thinking and line it up with truth. This will affect how you act. The confirmation and declaration of this in one’s life is the act of baptism. That is the accountability factor that is talked about so much today. That this hope was calling so many into the river to declare their faith and hopeful expectation, choosing to turn away from their sin, is the reason the authorities came and took the journey to the river. John thinks it’s important to know they were there. Now that we, the reader of John’s writings, have this piece of information in our minds eye, John gets specific.

The next day is when Jesus walks into the river and John the Baptist fulfills his purpose, calling out for all to hear - and we the reader know that even the religious leaders are now represented in the crowd, that here is THE ONE, THE ONE WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!

Baptizing has a root word that refers to the pickling process. Pickling brings about a permanent change, and this word is a good representation of the permanent change in a person when they receive by faith in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection that took away our sin. The “dip” is our public statement today of that fact in our lives. In the Old Testament sin was covered temporarily by a sacrificial lamb. It was never permanently taken away. Now Jesus, He is The One that makes removal of sin possible for us all.

The hard work is done - salvation is won. I can live in redemption here and now.

Do I forget that Jesus has taken away my sin? Do I struggle to rid myself of sin, and after repeated failure, give up? But this walk is a new one. The hard work is done - salvation is won. I can live in redemption here and now. Lord, recreate my thought life in me today so that I think with Your thoughts and my actions reflect You and not my self-centered and low ways. Your ways are higher than mine, Your thoughts are higher thoughts. For You existed before all. Romans 4:17b GW says, “Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t exist.” John the Baptist knew where he stood when he was in the presence of Jesus. Do I? Remind me again, Lord, and let it change how I think and act.