John 1:15-28
John the Baptist indicates that he understands the divinity of Jesus when he says Jesus pre-existed him, even though by human birth John was the older. Also, John testifies that Jesus is before, preferred, of higher rank, surpassing, so much so that John feels unworthy to be Jesus’ lowest servant.
Jesus is full of life. He is the author of life, the Creator. We have all received creation from him. But God did not create and then abandon us but rather he gave the grace of the law to show how man should live. What is worse than a strict, overbearing parent? A parent that gives no direction, shows no interest in the progress of the child, gives no indication of caring at all. God is not like that. He gave us his standard and he gave us himself in Jesus Christ so that with God we receive one sign of grace after another.
God dwells in unapproachable light, no one can see him. Jesus is unique in being begotten of God, not made by God. As the creed says, “True God from True God.” Jesus is God made visible. In Jesus we have our clearest vision of God, full of grace and truth.
These truths are hard to grasp. We have the advantages of Christian tradition and instruction and the witness of the Holy Spirit to confirm these things. The religious leaders that came to question John the Baptist had the tradition of Moses but no way to understand the divinity of Jesus or the Kingdom of God. The ministry of John the Baptist was something slightly out of keeping with what they knew.
They needed a way to envelop John’s ministry into their religious control but John denies being the Christ, denies being Elijah, denies being the prophet. In fact he insists on reducing himself to a voice in the wilderness with the simple yet profound message, “get ready, God is coming upon you.”
Washing in water was common enough for the Jews so, why was John’s baptism unusual? It was, as John explained, just preparing people for the real thing. The Pharisees didn’t like it because they had a monopoly on religion and were not prepared to share.
John told them that his point was to point away from himself and lead them to Jesus.
brotherpayne 