In view of John the Baptist's tremendous influence, the Jewish leadership council could no longer ignore the spiritual revival under John's ministry. They "sent priests and Levites" to question John. Those Jewish leaders asked five questions based on Old Testament prophecies and related traditions. John the Baptist "confessed freely", told truth plainly in answering their questions.
First, John claimed clearly himself not the Messiah, Elijah, or any other Old Testament prophet. However, Zachariah, who is John the Baptist's father and also a priest, received a prophecy that his son would come "in the spirit and power of Elijah." (Luke 1:16-17) The New Testament prophet John the Baptist did come with the spirit and power of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. This explained why Jesus referred to Malachi's prophecy to talk about John the Baptist and said, " I tell you, Elijah has already come." (Matthew 7:11,12) John the Baptist was sent from God in spirit and power of Elijah. He identified himself as "the voice of one calling in the desert" to ask the people to " make straight the way for the Lord."
The Lord, God Almighty, doesn't need a smooth way to reach any place. He doesn't need a red carpet to walk on. He can reach whatever place He want to be without using route. Here the "straight way" people need to make for the Lord is in their heart. People's heart need to be prepared for the Lord to reach there and work on it. The "valley", "mountain", "rough ground" and "rugged places" are in our desert like or wilderness like heart, (Isaiah 40) a picture of our sinful heart. John the Baptist, in Spirit, calls people to confess their heart condition, makes them realize that their heart problem need to be solved.
Sadly, "the Pharisees who had been sent questioned" John, "why then do you baptize?" The Pharisees failed to realize their their sinful heart condition. They saw no need of repentance so they felt no need of the Savior. The Pharisees who were so familiar with the Old Testament were blind to the main character of the Scripture, who is Jesus Christ, the Lord and the Savior.
In answering their questions, John the Baptist says clearly that all he did was helping his listeners to see their sin in God's sight and stirring up hope of Messiah's coming. John himself offers no cure for their heart problem. The One who is able to cure or replace their heart is Messiah Himself. John testifies, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the throngs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." John is a son of priest and a priest himself. He regards so highly "the One who comes after" him that he says he is unworthy to serve "the One" as a lowest servant, to untie "the One"'s sandals. John sees the matchless worth of the Lord and grasps hisv own unworthiness. John made bold proclamation with deep personal humility. John sees that it totally pointless to cling to position or pride in the presence of Jesus. John wants the spotlight on "the One" only. He doesn't want any attention on himself. He wants to direct the crowd including the leaders to "the One".
The good news is "the One" is "among you". Apparently, Jesus stood unrecognized in the crowd as John the Baptist answered the questions. But none of the Jewish leaders' representatives showed any interest to ask John to point out the unimaginable worthy One. After traveling from Jerusalem to confront John, they left without even asking this most important question! They were so lost because they refused to admit they had heart problem.
Today, the Lord is also near us. There are countless ways we can be pointed to Him if we are willing to see our sick heart under the Light. Under beautiful sunshine, I saw the air I breath in is full of dust, so gross. I do not dare to tell you what I see in my heart under the most brilliant Light from above.
The next day, after the delegation had departed, 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.'" The Lord Jesus, though younger than John the Baptist by six months, have always existed in eternal past. From the terrible moment sin entered the world, God used several thousands of year to prepare humanity to grasp that we cannot save ourselves from the deadly effects of sin. We need a perfect sin offering to atone us, to pay the price for sinful people to be made right with God. The One is the perfect sin offering, the atonement Lamb for us. The Lamb was prepared ready for us long before we are prepared to recognize Him.
John the Baptist gave this testimony, "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." God Himself sent John to baptize with water. God Himself revealed the true identity of the Son. When the great moment came, John saw the Spirit descend from heaven in the form of a dove and remain on Jesus. John got the confirmation from God to give the testimony. John also told us that Jesus "will baptize with the Holy Spirit." Jesus' baptism is the one and only cure for sinful people's heart problem.
The following day, Jesus was near, "passing by" the crowd. John the Baptist directed two of his own disciples to the Lord Jesus by proclaimed, "Look, the Lamb of God!" John the Baptist had no intention to hold his disciples as his own followers, he was happy to see his disciples to follow Jesus. One of those two disciples was Andrew. The other was most likely the Apostle John himself.
The two disciples followed behind Jesus, hesitant to speak. The Lord is merciful and kind. He turned and started the conversation by asking, "what do you want?" Jesus doesn't need to ask any question to get the answer. He knows. But Jesus wanted His disciples to know exactly what they wanted and what they were doing. Honestly speaking, the two disciples might not know what they wanted at the time. They asked, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" They called Jesus "Rabbi" which means teacher to show their respect, to show their desire to learn from Him all that God had for them. More than that, they wanted to stay with Jesus, to know the person of Jesus by asking His staying place.
I pictured that Jesus smiled and replied, "Come, and you will see." The Lord's invitation to the disciples are available to us all the time as we can come to see Him through Bible. The whole book tells one grand story of Him.
The disciples went and saw where Jesus was staying and spent that day with Him. The time and the day were remembered by John the Apostle as he wrote down, "It was about the tenth hour." The moment he came to know Jesus.
I can not imagine how many questions they asked Jesus and how much they got out from Him. But the next day, Andrew addressed Jesus as "Messiah" instead of "Rabbi". The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus by telling him, "We have found the Messiah." Jesus tooked Simon as a disciple and gave him a new name Caphas or Peter. A change of name usually points to a new or transformed relationship with the Lord.
"The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, 'Follow me.'" Philip did. And Philip soon found his friend Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophet also wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Philip seemed vary familiar with the Old Testament prophecies indicated by his talking. Nathanael was also a learned man in Scripture, he questioned Philip, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?", probably he had Bethlehem which supposed to be Messiah's birth place in his mind. Philip didn't argue, he simply extended the invitation the Lord gave to all His followers, "Come and see." Nathanael was a thinker, that is why he had questions to ask. But he didn't use his doubts to mask his unbelief. He had honest doubts and his mind was open to the evidence. He followed Philip to see Jesus for himself whether Philip's words were true.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." A true Israelite is the one who anticipates Messiah wholeheartly. Nathanael was truly anticipating. He chose to prove he was anticipating by personally coming to check or see any evidence about Messiah. He was sincere in his desire for God at any cost, he had no deceit to hide. Astonished by Jesus praising him but not satisfied by the praising itself, he boldly asked, "How do you know me?" He was not skeptical, he simply could not understand how anyone could truly know him without even had a conversation with him, he spoke his doubts. I prayed that the ones I love and care , may the Lord give them a willingness to come to see Him, simply tell Him their doubts, and open their eyes to see what the Lord shows them, and open their ears to hear what the Lord answers them.
Jesus answered Nathanael, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Possibly, Nathanael had been deep in prayer while he was under that tree. A prayer between him and God was known by him and God only! Suddenly, Nathanael knew Jesus had intimate knowledge of his heart. Such insight could only come from God. Enlightened, Nathanael confessed greater faith than any of the others who were first to follow Jesus Christ. He declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." The "Rabbi" of his is the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the true king of Israel!
Jesus rewards Nathanael, the honest truth seeker, by promising him, "You shall see greater things than that,...I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angles of God ascending and descenting on the Son of Man." Nathanael must knew Jacob's dream. Now he saw the stairway in reality. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true and only stairway to connect sinful men and the Sovereign God. He knows Nathanael since He is his maker. He offers Himself as the only way for Nathanael to come near, and near Him since He is his Savior. Jesus Christ has been doing the same things for all true seekers.
