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The Lamb of God - A Voice In The Wilderness
by Ralph Bouma
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world," John 1:29.
John has just confessed in verse 20 that he was not the Christ. I want you to
see why. Christ is the Word; John is but a voice.
Notice the beginning of John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God." The Lord Jesus Christ was the Word. John was
only a voice that proclaimed the Word. In verse 4 we read: "And in him was
life, and the life was the light of men." Jesus was also referred to as the
light.
The object of John's mission and the purpose of his ministry was to bear witness
to the Word. We see in John 1:6-7: "There was a man sent from God, whose name
was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all
men through him might believe."
The Lord Jesus Christ was the light, and that was the condemnation of the Jews
and of the Pharisees. The light was their condemnation. Why? Because their deeds
were evil, and they did not come to the Light, lest their deeds would be made
manifest.
John taught the baptism of repentance. He was identifying their sins, and he was
telling them that they must confess their sins, and this was such an offense to
the Jews and the scribes and Pharisees, who were the doctors of the law. They
thought they were the ones who should be deciding who was sinning and who was
not. That's why they asked: Why are you preaching? Why are you baptizing, if you
are not the Christ or Elias? They were offended by his doctrine and unwilling to
follow.
The voice is to be heard but not seen! I remember my parents telling us when we
were little children: "You are to be seen but not heard." With John it was the
other way. He was to be heard but he was not to be seen. He was not to become
the object of our attention.
This is what is wrong in so many ministries today. The pastor becomes the object
of our attention. Well, he has such and such degree, and he has such and such
education, and now he has become such and such an authority. Now, when he
speaks...
John the Baptist was sent as the forerunner of Christ, but he was not to be
seen. He did not use credentials to establish the truth of what he said, but the
Holy Spirit witnessed with the word spoken. That was the witness and the
evidence, the epistle of Christ written on the heart.
John's heart's desire was to take men's eyes off from himself that they might
listen to his God-given message, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world."
Don't look at me. Don't worry about who I am. Don't make me some big prophet or
object of your attention. He focused his listeners on the Lamb of God.
When the apostle Peter ventured out to walk on the water, he could stay afloat
until he looked at the boisterous waves. When he took his eyes off the Lord
Jesus Christ, he began to sink. When you and I take our eyes off the Lamb of
God, which takes away the sins of the world, we begin to sink. We start to sink
into human reasoning. We start to sink into manmade traditions, and we start
sinking away from the truth of the gospel. This is what John was so cognizant
of, and that is why he did not own his office as a great prophet or as that
great Elias. He referred his questioners to Isaiah and described himself as the
"voice of him that crieth in the wilderness."
This was the title he was willing to accept, something that had nothing to do
with exalting the flesh. The Pharisees were blinded by this humility. They
wanted someone who would come and stand in the pulpit in the Temple and would
make great professions and that they could roll out the red carpet for him, and
that he could walk in long robes like they walked in. They wanted someone to
gratify the eye, but John the Baptist said, I am but a voice. Amen.
May the power that brings salvation,
Now exerted in the Word,
By its quickening operation,
Life impart and joy afford!
Joy to those who know the Lord.Hark, the voice of love, proclaiming
Mercy through a Saviour's blood;
Vain the schemes of human framing,
'Tis the gospel
Points to heaven, and shows the road.
Gadsby selection, 1838
See Also:
Sermons and Bible Commentaries on the Birth of John, The Baptist
Sermons and Bible Commentaries on the Annunciation to Zechariah
Sermons and Bible Commentaries on the Life and Death of John, The Baptist
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