Lesson 3501

 (Lesson 3501)(08-04-21) John 1:19-28

    “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. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth 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. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

    Today’s quote relates John the Baptist identifying himself to the Pharisees as a man sent from God the pave the way for the coming of the Messiah. 

    John said, in no uncertain terms, that he had come to, first, advise the Jews of the coming of the Messiah, and, to immerse the willing in water as a preparatory ritual toward repentance as was required by the old Jewish laws. 

    The phrase, “the baptism of John, as it is often applied in the New Testament, refers to the water immersion ritual John the Baptist administered, as well as the message he brought concerning the coming of Jesus. 

    The two parts of “the baptism of John” are not always mutually inclusive. That phrase, “the baptism of John, is used in many New Testament passages to simply define the message John brought without consideration for the water immersions he oversaw: Further, the phrase can, in some applications, only be in reference to the water immersions that John administered.

    Knowing where to apply this distinction is paramount to a complete and accurate bible study.~