A Witness to the Light

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:6-8,19-28)
A little boy wanted to land a part in the school play. He was so excited that his parents were concerned how he would handle it if he didn't get a part. So when he came home from school they quickly asked him how the auditions went. The boy was ecstatic. He joyfully told his parents that his teacher had picked him out of all of the other kids to sit in the audience and clap as loud as he could.
I think that John the Baptist would have been wanted to land a part in his school play like that one too.
John was "supporting cast" and definitely not the "lead role." He was the announcer who was to announce that the time had fully come and the curtain was about to rise. He was the light man, not worthy to tie the shoes of the lead man. His part was to shine the light on the main character when He came onto the stage. John's big line in the divine drama was, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
Artwork from the early Church depicts John the Baptist with an overly large mouth and a hyper-extended index finger pointing to Jesus. John was perfectly content to be known as the "big mouth with the big finger."
John was born to be a witness. "He came as a WITNESS to bear WITNESS about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear WITNESS about the light."
At his birth, his Father's sealed lips burst open with prophetic words. "You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways…" (Luke 1:76).
John prepared the way for the Lord by witnessing. "Witnessing" is a legal word and we're used to hearing it a courtroom. "Witnesses" sit on a "witness stand" and with hand on the bible they swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
What a 'witness' says is his testimony. While he's under oath, it's his sworn testimony. To bear false testimony against ones neighbor is worse than saying nothing at all.
No sooner does John come onto the stage than he is put on the 'witness stand' and asked to give his sworn testimony.
A contingent of fellows came from the city out to the wilderness where John was baptizing. They were not the "hospitality committee" come to welcome John with a coffee mug and church pamphlet. They were not sent from God. They were sent by the Sanhedrin – the ruling council of the Jews.
Hiking out into the desert they asked John, "Who are you?" What they really meant of course was, "Who do you think you are?" And John gave his personal testimony. "He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ.'" Evidently there was some scuttlebutt going around that this strange man with his strange clothes and strange diet may be the long awaited Messiah.
"What then, are you Elijah?" 400 years before John, another witness sent by God to be a witness whose name was Malachi said that the prophet Elijah would come before the Messiah appeared. Everyone was looking for Elijah. John certainly looked and dressed like he could be Elijah come back from the dead. In truth, John came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. Jesus would later say that John was the Elijah that Malachi had spoke of, "if you can believe it." But John would not apply the honor to himself. "I am not," he said.
"Are you the Prophet?" Emphasis here on the definite article "the." The Old Testament witness named Moses had given his testimony to Israel. He testified that God "would raise up a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him." (Deut. 18:18). Are you "the" prophet John? And John's testimony is short and sweet, "no."
"So they said to him, 'who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us." "We're on an expense account and we've got to justify this trip to the management back at the home office." "What do you say about yourself?"
To which John simply recited the Bible verses he knew so well and understood had been written about him. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'make straight the way for the Lord."
Psychologists talk about the importance of knowing yourself. You can't be whole unless you know yourself. You can't be content unless you know who you are. People spend a lot of time and money trying to get in touch with themselves and discover their true identity. Not John. He new who he was not alright. He was not the Christ, or Elijah or the Prophet. All that John seemed to really know about himself was that he was a voice and a finger. "I am nothing, Jesus is everything." "I must decrease, He must increase." And for John, that was just fine.
It's a shame we're told just what kind of report these fellows return with. What we do know however is that the very next day, another One would come into the wilderness where John was baptizing. And John would extend that boney finger of his and point it at Him and deliver that one line that Isaiah the prophet had assigned to him so long before, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world."
The Church's Witness That was then but this is now. And now, you and I are the witnesses who are to bear witness to the light. We are to give our testimony and testify to the truth.
Following the lead and example of John the Baptist, we are to be witnesses and testify as he did.
First, we bear witness and testify about ourselves. Under oath, "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" we confess and do not deny but confess what is most true about ourselves.
The evidence for such a personal testimony does not come from looking inside ourselves or examining our heart or by pointing to our works and accomplishments. None of these things will hold up in the courtroom where God sits on the throne and is the judge.
The only reliable evidence comes from outside of us. God knows you better than you know yourself. Better than you will ever know yourself. The Word of God comes down from heaven, not from within us or from any human being for that matter. You will never really know yourself until you know what God's Word says about you. The surest and truest personal testimony we can ever make about ourselves, is simply to say what the Bible says about us. "We are by nature sinful and unclean." And because we are sinful, "we have sinned against God in thought, word and deed."
Second, we bear witness and testify about Jesus. We confess and do not deny but confess that Jesus Christ has come into the world to save sinners. Sinners love to hear the testimony of a witness who points to Jesus. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" is the good news that we came to hear. We are anxious to hear the voice that announces that God has come down to dwell among us in human flesh. We intently follow the boney finger that points to His cross where He has taken our place as the sinner of all sinners, getting what all sinners deserve. And follow the spotlight that shines on the tomb where He was buried, which is now empty because He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. All of this is music to a sinners ear.
So, sinners just naturally love to be witnesses. They just love to share the love by confessing and not denying what is most true about ourselves and about Jesus Christ. Pointing people to Jesus and not ourselves, we say, 'there is your forgiveness, your life, your salvation.'
That's what being a witness to Jesus Christ means. It's not pointing to me and saying "be religious like me." It's not about what God has done for me, but what God has done in Jesus Christ for you. True witnessing is pointing to Jesus who takes away the sin of the world, and your sin in particular. It's mouthing off about Jesus who died bearing your sin, who rose holding your life in His.
Yet, we sometimes wonder why those to whom we witness and give our testimony don't appreciate all of this as much as we do and as much as we know that they should. We know how sick we are and what good news it is the good doctor has arrived.
But healthy people don't need a doctor. People who don't know who they really are and who honestly think that they are 'basically a good person,' have little use for a Savior. To them, Jesus may be a good person and sure, we should all try to be more like Him, but that's about as far as it goes. That's why when you witness about Jesus to your friends and co-workers who don't know who they are, they tend to say things like, "oh, that's nice," or "that's good. We all need to have something to believe in."
So to those who think that they are rich in their own righteousness, your testimony about Jesus who comes to make us rich with His righteousness is no great news at all. But to the one who knows how poor he is in what God demands, will declare your testimony about Jesus to be the "good news" that it is.
Only those who are brokenhearted will be relieved to hear your testimony about the One who comes to bind up their broken heart.
Men and woman who think that they are free from sin's power have no real interest in someone who comes to set them free. But those who know they are captives to sin and unable to free ourselves, are all ears when they hear that One has come to set them free.
How do you comfort someone who is perfectly comfortable in the sins. But to the sinner who mourns his deadly condition, Jesus Christ is the oil of gladness and the garment of praise.
So, just like John the Baptist, sometimes we too need to bear witness to the Law of God, which shows us who we really are before God before we bear witness to grace of God in Jesus Christ who redeems us from sin, death and the devil.
Before I close, a word of warning is only fair here. The word for "witness" in the Greek New Testament is marterejw. It's the word we say in English, "martyr." A witness is a martyr. You could lose your head by witnessing to Jesus like this – as John is my witness you can.
But don't be afraid. It really is okay. Just like John, you've been given a new head. Jesus is your head and you are His body. Just like John, you have already died and been buried with Christ. And just as Christ has been raised from the dead, you too will live a new life. ML