"John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
In today's quote, John drew a clear distinction between himself and Jesus in that he (John) was sent only to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, whereas Jesus had come to remit the sins of the world and to grant a means by which one could attain eternal life.
John's message, and the water baptisms he performed, were only to prepare the Jews for the eternal redemption that would be made possible by Jesus.
As was noted in an earlier lesson; "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" (Matthew 3:11) This quote clearly demonstrates that the "baptism of John" was purely a precursor to the soul redeeming baptism Jesus had come to provide, and not an actual requirement of it after the Law of Moses had been fulfulled.
It's also important to note that John clearly said; "I indeed baptize you with water UNTO (Toward) REPENTANCE:" Water baptism only ritually prepared those Jews for disavowing the failed traditions of the Law.
In the latter part of today's lesson, John knowing that Jesus was indeed the Son of God said, "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all." This statement tells us that the things that John did were "earthly" things, and that they were NOT done with the Godly power with which Jesus was endowed. "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." This meant that the power to save was delivered into the hands of Jesus, not John the Baptist.
The very last verse of today's quote makes it vividly clear that eternal life comes from "believing", nothing else us required. ~
NOTE: It is historic fact that from the beginning of the Law, before practicing Jews could undertake any religious experience such as praying or offering sacrifices, they were required by that law to undergo a water "baptism" (or bath) in running water. This was done in order to ritually cleanse their bodies of the unclean things with which they may have come in contact during the course of their everyday lives.
The practice of water baptism was, and still is, a Hebrew ritual that originated with ancient Hebrew las and was never imposed upon Christians at any point in the ministry of Jesus. The process was not referred to as a water "baptism" until the New Testament text was transliterated from the Greek.
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