|
We are
going to continue our study of Sepher Yochanan,
by considering an important interaction between
an official delegation of Jewish leaders sent
from Jerusalem, to Yochanan - John, who was at
Bethany, east of the Jordan river, at least 15
or 20 miles from Jerusalem - at least a day's
journey away.
Remember
that Yochanan was the first prophet that God sent
to the Jewish people in 400 years. 400 years is
a long time, and this long period between prophets
made John's arrival on the scene even more powerful
and dramatic.
We know
that Yochanan was sent by God on a very special
mission - to prepare the Jewish people for the
immediate arrival of the Messiah. He was the Messiah's
'advance man,' His herald, His forerunner. He
was to have the same kind of service to the Lord
as did the great prophet Eliyahu - Elijah, turning
back many of the Jewish people to God.
Remember
that John's birth was miraculous. Zechariah and
Elizabeth were both advanced in years, and Elizabeth
was barren and couldn't have any children. On
his father's side, John was a Priest through his
father Zachariah, and that would have been known
to this special delegation sent to him.
We know
that Yochanan was a Nazarite, especially devoted
God's service. He didn't drink wine or any liquor
made from grapes. In addition, he lived a very
austere life, spending much time in the wilderness,
clothed in camel's hair garments and eating a
diet of grasshoppers and honey.
We know
that John was filled with God's Spirit even before
he was born, while he was still in Elizabeth's
womb. That helped to make Yochanan the greatest
man to ever have lived - greater than Noah, greater
than the Avot - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, greater
than David or Solomon, Daniel or Joseph or Moses.
Huge numbers
of Jewish people listened to John, and he was
making an impact on all of Israel, and its political
leaders. Thousands came to him to be immersed.
And so the Pharisees, the forerunners of present
day Judaism, sent a delegation to John to find
out more about him.
Let's
see what happen, beginning with verses 19-21:
This
is the testimony of John, when the Jews (meaning
Jewish leaders, in this case the Pharisees)
sent to him Priests and Levites from Jerusalem
to ask him, 'Who are you?' And he confessed
and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the
Messiah.' They asked him, 'What then? Are you
Elijah?' And he said, 'I am not.' 'Are you the
Prophet?' And he answered, 'No.'
It was
obvious to the leaders of the Pharisees who were
in Jerusalem, that something powerful, something
supernatural was happening in John's life and
service. We can tell by the questions his fellow
Priests and Levites ask: Who are you? If you are
not the long awaited Messiah, are you Elijah?
We believe God's promise to send Elijah, the great
prophet who lived 800 years ago, who never died,
back to us, to prepare us for the coming of the
Messiah. So, if you are not Elijah, are you the
great Prophet like Moses, that the Torah refers
to in Deuteronomy 18? You see, the categories
that John is being compared to are all supernatural
- the Messiah, Eliyahu, and the great Prophet
like Moses.
John knew
that he was not the Messiah. He knew that he was
not Elijah, nor the great prophet like Moses,
so he testified. 'Testify' is a legal term, used
in courts of law and other important situations,
to attest to the truth. John testified what he
knew was true, by confessing what he knew.
Now, let
me interject something here. Some people think
that John was Elijah, or even the reincarnation
of Elijah. You've heard people say that? But that's
not true. Remember the Mountain of Transformation,
when Yeshua was transformed and changed in front
of some of His disciples, and suddenly His face
shone like the Sun, and His clothing became like
white radiating light? Moses and Elijah were also
there.
Coming
down from the mountain, Yeshua's transformation,
along with the presence of Moses and Elijah, left
the disciples with some questions like, 'Is what
we just witnessed the long awaited coming of Elijah?'
So Peter, James and John asked their Rabbi, 'Why
do the Torah teachers say that Elijah must come
first? Yeshua answered, 'On the one hand, Elijah
is coming and will restore all things (that's
in the future - there is a future coming of the
prophet Elijah); on the other hand, I tell you
that Eliyahu has come already, and people did
not recognize him but did whatever they pleased
to him (that's in the past). In the same way,
the Son of Man too is about to suffer at their
hands. Then the disciples understood that he was
talking to them about John the Baptist.
Yeshua
tells Peter, James and John that two forerunners
are to be expected. Eliyahu is coming and will
restore all things. Eliyahu has come already.
There are two forerunners for His two separate
comings. Yochanan was the forerunner for the first
coming who suffered and died, and likewise, the
Messiah will suffer and die as did His forerunner
at the First Coming.
But the
Second Coming will be different. Messiah will
come like a lion, not like a lamb, and the prophet
Elijah will come with power and authority to prepare
the Jewish people for the Second Coming of King
Messiah. John the Baptist is definitely not Elijah,
but they provide similar service to the Lord as
His forerunners. So, keep putting out your cup
at Passover for Elijah, and open the door for
him, and even set him a place at your Seder table,
because he will definitely come one day my friends.
Now, back
to this delegation of Priests and Levites sent
from the leaders of the Pharisees - verse 22:
'OK John, now we know the negatives - you are
not the Messiah. You are not Elijah. You are not
the Prophet.' Then they said to him, 'Who are
you, so that we may give an answer to those who
sent us? What do you say about yourself?'
You've told us who you aren't. Is there anything
positive that you can say about yourself? And
so he said, 'I am a voice of one crying in
the wilderness, 'make straight the way of the
Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said.'Now they had
been sent from the Pharisees.
'Yes'
Yochanan said in response. I can positively identify
myself to you and those who sent you. I am the
one mentioned 700 years ago by the prophet Isaiah
- not 'Second Isaiah' - but Isaiah, who wrote
chapters 40-66, as he did 1-39. In fact, I can
be found in Isaiah 40:3-5. God told the great
prophet Isaiah that I would come as the forerunner
of the Messiah, and what I would do:
A voice
is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in
the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway
for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and
every mountain and hill be made low; and let the
rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain
a broad valley; then the glory of the Lord will
be revealed, and all flesh will see it together;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
'I am
that voice in the wilderness, and I am lifting
up my voice, calling out and crying out to my
Jewish people. I am boldly proclaiming that Adonai
- the Lord Himself, will shortly be arriving.
The Lord of glory will shortly and publicly be
revealed to humanity. He's coming soon! I am here
to clear away every obstacle, every impediment,
that might hinder His arrival once He gets here.
My responsibility is to lift up the valleys of
ignorance and apathy, and tear down the mountains
of human pride and arrogance. My strong messages
about the need for repentance and turning to God,
and turning away from sin, will help smooth out
the rough places, so that the Lord will have an
easier time reaching, teaching, and leading the
nation of Israel, and eventually the whole world.
John's
response didn't seem to satisfy this delegation
of Priests and Levites. They either didn't understand
or believe what John had just said, and so they
asked him, and said to him, 'Why then are you
baptizing, if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah,
nor the Prophet?'
John,
what you are doing is radical. We Jews have been
baptizing Gentiles who want to become Jews, and
many of us immerse ourselves as part of our own
ritual cleansing, but you are immersing other
Jewish people as you call on them to turn away
from their sins, and turn to God. Why are you
making this change in our religion, since you
are not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet, since
you have no authority to make changes?
John tells
them why he is baptizing Jewish people in verses
26-28: John answered them saying, 'I baptize
in water, but among you stands One whom you do
not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong
of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.' These
things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
Yes, what
I am doing is radical, but I am only immersing
our Jewish people in water. I am dipping people
in water in order to introduce Israel to the One
who will immerse people with the true immersion,
when the Messiah gives the Spirit of God to the
righteous, and that person is spiritually washed
and cleansed, indwelt by the Spirit of God Himself,
and given new spiritual life and the new birth,
and is forever joined to God.
I immerse
our people in water so that the Messiah, the Lord,
who is already here, who has already come, who
already stands among you, but you don't know Him,
who comes after me, although He existed before
me, and is infinitely greater and holier than
I, since He is the Lord, will be revealed, will
become known to all. That is why I am immersing
our nation. That's what you can go back and say
to the leaders of the Pharisees who sent you.'
Wow. That's a testimony my friends. That's being
a witness. And that's what we need to tell people
too.
In verses
29 34, we get the first interaction between John,
this great prophet, this herald sent to prepare
Israel for the arrival of the Son of God, and
Messiah Yeshua Himself. Let's see what happens:
The
next day he saw Yeshua coming to him and said,
'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom
I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher
rank than I, for He existed before me.' I did
not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested
to Israel, I came baptizing in water.' 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.'
The very
next day after this delegation came from Jerusalem,
John was still by the Jordan river and he saw
his own cousin Yeshua, the son of Miriam of Nazareth,
coming to him. And John, operating in the Spirit
of Truth said, 'Behold - this is very important,
so pay very careful attention - behold, this is
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world! My cousin Yeshua, the son of Mary and Joseph,
is God's Lamb. Yeshua is the One who will be the
Final Sacrifice, the One who will make full atonement
for the sin not only of Israel, but He will also
atone for all the sin of the entire world, starting
with Adam, to the last man who is born in this
world, at the end of that age. Yeshua is the Lamb
- close to God, gentle, humble, sacrificial.
This is
the One I was talking about when I said, 'After
me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for
He existed before me.' This Man - my cousin Yeshua,
standing right over there, who was born six months
after I was, is far greater than I am; He has
a much higher place in God's hierarchy, because
Yeshua existed before I did. You see, I know about
Yeshua's pre existence, that B're-sheet - In The
Beginning, Yeshua forever and always existed.
This is the promised Messiah who comes to us from
eternity.
And even
though He is my cousin, I didn't know that He
was the Messiah. I didn't recognize Him on my
own. But God told me that I should immerse all
the righteous in Israel in water, and the Lord
would reveal to me who the Messiah was when I
saw the Holy Spirit coming down and remaining
on that One special individual. That's one of
the main reasons why I am immersing you, my people.
And I'm
declaring to you what I have seen, and what I
know to be true. 'I saw with my own eyes the Spirit
of God descending on Yeshua, coming down and resting
on Him, like a dove sent from Heaven, like a dove
which is a symbol of peace, because this One will
bring us peace; like a dove which is a symbol
of innocence - (be wise as serpent, but innocent
as a dove), because Yeshua is perfectly pure and
innocent; like a dove which is a symbol of that
which we love. Yeshua is our beloved, loved by
God, and loved by all those who love God; like
a dove which was used for sacrifices in the Temple
for the poor. Yeshua is the Final Sacrifice for
every human being, even the poorest of the poor.
This is
the One who will immerse people with the true
immersion, when the Spirit of God is given, poured
out like a Jordan river full of water, and that
person is spiritually washed, cleansed, indwelt
by the Spirit of God, and given spiritual life,
the life of God, and a new birth, and forever
joined to God.
I myself
have seen it, with my own eyes, and I now testify
because I know it's true, that Yeshua is the Son
of God. That does not mean that God created Him,
or that He is younger than God. It means that
Yeshua shares the very same nature as God. He
is deity, divine, eternal, uncreated, with life
within Himself, sharing all the attributes of
God. Wow!
Next,
in verses 35-52, we are introduced to Yeshua's
first disciples. These will be His specially chosen
men, who will be with Him, and study with Him,
and learn from Him, for the next three or four
years. They will learn His teachings, witness
His miracles, especially His death and resurrection,
and then be sent by God to carry on His work of
redemption, as the leaders of Messiah's Holy Community
of Jews and Gentiles.
Let's
start with the very first disciples - Andrew and
John.
Again
the next day John was standing with two of his
disciples (one was Andrew, and the other was
very likely John, the author of this book. These
were Yeshua's first disciples, some of the very
first Believers), and he looked at Yeshua as
He walked, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'
Pay very careful attention my two disciples -
because this is God's Lamb, the One who will make
Final Atonement for us. The two disciples heard
him speak, and they followed Yeshua. And that
was the right response. They heard their rabbi
and prophet John tell them that Yeshua was the
Atonement Bringer, and so they started to follow
Yeshua. That's faith - hearing the truth about
Yeshua, and then acting on it, following Him,
finding out more about Him. And you know what?
Their following, their drawing nearing to Yeshua,
caused Yeshua to take an interest in them! I like
that, that what I do can influence God!
And
Yeshua turned and saw them following, and said
to them, 'What do you seek?' What are you
looking for? Why are you following Me? What is
it that you want? They said to Him, 'Rabbi
(which translated means Teacher), where are You
staying?' Rabbi, we heard something about
you from John, whom we highly respect - we've
been his students. We might not know all the reasons
why we want to follow You, but we want to know
more about You, and know where you are staying,
and go with You. We know enough to want to find
out more.
Yeshua
must have liked their response, because He invited
them to join Him. He said to them, 'Come, and
you will see.' John testifies about Yeshua. These
two men heard something about Yeshua, and they
started following Him, getting closer to Him.
It took them over three years to finally figure
out fully who He was. It was a growing revelation
as they stayed close to Him. This is the pattern
- people hear some testimony about Yeshua, they
investigate by getting closer to Him, learning
about Him, and they believe or disbelieve.
So
they came and saw where He was staying; and they
stayed with Him that day, for it was about the
tenth hour. The tenth hour is 4:00 PM Jewish
time - not Roman time. The author, who was probably
the second, unnamed disciple here, remembers when
he first personally encountered Yeshua, down to
the exact day and hour. The other one is identified
for us: One of the two who heard John speak
and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
That brings
us to verses 41 42, where we are introduced to
one of the greatest of the Emissaries - Peter
- the Rock.
He
- Andrew - found first his own brother Simon and
said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which
translated means Anointed One - that special
human being destined to rule on the throne of
King David, bringing peace, righteousness and
salvation to Israel and the world ). Andrew obviously
believed his rabbi and teacher, the great prophet
John, who declared that his cousin Yeshua was
the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would atone for
the sins of the world, who was greater than John,
who existed before John did, upon whom the Spirit
of God descended and remained, the One who immerses
with the Holy Spirit, the Son of God walking among
us.
Andrew
listened to John, and believed what he heard about
Yeshua, and so naturally, he went to share this
incredibly good and exciting news with his brother
Simon, who was also there, at Bethany, east of
the Jordan, interested in the teachings of the
Immerser. And so Andrew brought him to Yeshua.
I like
that - he brought him to Yeshua. It's so simple.
He brought him to Yeshua. It's so simple, and
yet so profound, since this is so much what we
are to be about - hearing about Yeshua, then going
to those we love, and trying to bring them closer
to Yeshua, so they can find out about Him too.
Each one of us needs to be an "Andrew." Are you?
Yeshua
looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son
of John; you shall be called Kefa' (which is translated
Rock). Yeshua looks him over and knows that
this one needs some major changes. He needs a
transformation, which is summarized by Shimon
being given a new name, a new identity - Kefa
- Rock. As Shimon learns about Yeshua, and stays
close to Yeshua, and believes in Yeshua, and follows
Yeshua, he will become more and more a Rock -
strong, reliable, trustworthy, a good foundation.
And what Yeshua will do for Simon, He will do
for you. He will look at you and size up your
life, and know what you need to become more reliable,
more stable, more trustworthy, more capable of
having something weighty being built upon you,
but only as you learn, stay close to Him, believe
in Him and follow Him.
That brings
us to the last group of these earliest disciples
- Philip and Nathan'el (and Nathan'el is probably
another name for Bartholomew, who is mentioned
elsewhere in the lists of the Apostles). Let's
look at verses 43 51:
The
next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He
found Philip. And Yeshua said to him, 'Follow
Me.' Now Philip was from Beth-Tzaidah, of the
city of Andrew and Peter. This time, Yeshua
seeks out a man - Philip - and commands him to
follow. I find that interesting and comforting,
because that tells me that God won't always wait
for us to seek Him, but He will often take the
initiative and go seeking for us. But the result
must be the same - we must follow Yeshua - go
where He goes, and be led where He leads.
Philip
was excited to have encountered Yeshua, and knew
that He was the long awaited Messiah. And when
you are truly excited about something, you naturally
want to tell others. And so, Philip found Nathan'el
and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses
in the Torah and also the Prophets wrote, Yeshua
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' This is He
Nathan'el! The Messiah has finally come! The one
who Moses predicted in the Torah, and all the
prophets prophesied would come, has finally arrive!
He's right here! It's Yeshua, who is from the
Galil, like us, the son of Joseph. You know, the
carpenter from Nazareth!
Now, Nathan'el
may not have been from the capital city, from
Jerusalem, but he was no country bumpkin. He was
somewhat skeptical about Philip's astounding claim,
for Nazareth hadn't supplied any prophets, and
I don't think many great sages, let alone the
Messiah. And so Nathan'el said to him, 'Can
any good thing come out of Nazareth?' The Messiah?
From Nazareth? That doesn't sound right Philip.
I seem to recall something about Bethlehem and
Jerusalem being connected with the Messiah. Little
Nazareth? The Messiah?
So Philip
said to him, 'Come and see.' I understand
your skepticism Nathan'el, but all you need to
do is come and see. Investigate further.
And isn't
that what we need to do when we are met by the
skeptical responses of the people that we share
the Good News about the Messiah with? 'You believe
in the Bible, that it is the Word of God? You
believe in Yeshua? Miracles? His resurrection?
I don't think so.'
What should
be our response? 'Come and see! Won't you find
out more about Him? Won't you read the Bible for
yourself before you make up your mind and dismiss
it? Read the Torah and the Prophets and see how
they amazingly predict many of the events and
the circumstances surrounding Yeshua the Messiah,
and they were written centuries before He came.
Surely God gave us those prophecies. Read the
New Testament with an open mind, and pray that
God would show you the truth about Yeshua. Come,
and see!'
Yeshua
saw Nathan'el coming to Him, and said of him,
'Behold, an Israeli indeed, in whom there is no
deceit!' Yeshua, before He had ever met Nathan'el,
knew that he was a good and honest man. So, Nathan'el
said to Him, 'How do You know me?' We've never
met. How do you know anything about me. But Yeshua
answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called
you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'
Nathan'el, I do know you! I have supernatural
knowledge about you. I was able to see you and
know you while you were over there, under the
fig tree, that you are a good and honest man.
And Nathan'el
was under the fig tree, and he was a good and
honest man, and he knew it. And so, Nathan'el
answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God;
You are the King of Israel.' Teacher, You
are from God. You are God's Son. You are Israel's
King - the long awaited Messiah, the Savior, the
Redeemer, the Deliverer. I believe!' Bingo! Amayn!
That's faith! That's belief; that's confidence.
That's receiving Yeshua, and believing in His
name, that results in life - eternal life.
Yeshua
answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you
that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?
You will see greater things than these.' O
Nathan'el, that little display of supernatural
foreknowledge, that word of knowledge, impresses
you? That's small potatoes Nathan'el. On a scale
of 1 to 10, Nathan'el, that was a 1. Wait to you
see what I've got in store for you!
And
He said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you
will see the Heavens opened and the angels of
God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'
Nathan'el, you keep on following Me, and believing
in Me, and you will see a glimpse of Heaven. God's
Heavens will become visible to you, and you will
see and understand that I am Jacob's ladder, that
reconnects Heaven and Earth. I am the bridge,
the link between Heaven and Earth, between God
and man, the one and only mediator, the High Priest.
God's blessed messengers will be able to bring
the blessing of Heaven to Earth through Me, and
then return back to God to bring some more. Through
faith in Me, the way to Heaven will be made available
to the sons of Earth.
In closing,
allow me to observe that Yeshua's early disciples
were all Galileans. They were not the leading
lights from among the Pharisees, nor Priests nor
Levites from Jerusalem. They were common, ordinary
men, not theologians or outstanding Rabbis, but
ordinary men who had some genuine interest in
God. They had been prepared by John, and had reverence
for the Torah and the Prophets, and were ready
to follow. And that's very exciting, because that
means that there is great hope for each one of
us.
|
