What John Saw That Made Him Know Jesus Was THE GUY

John 1: 29-34                                      February 24, 2021

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ ³²And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” ³⁴And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

            John saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.  Did anybody else?  The rule of oppositions.  If the text tells us one thing, does it rule something else out?  Why is this important?  In the celebration of Jesus’ baptism, I have always considered it a miracle in front of the crowd.  There were all the people coming to John to be baptized, then, in a Hollywood move, the crowds part and there is Jesus.

            Knowing Jesus, I am certain he would have waited his turn, but when he got down to the water, as he was baptized, the heavens opened (although Mark says they were torn apart) and down comes the Spirit in the form of a dove.  Then John and the crowd are dumbfounded because they know they have seen something special. 

            But this is not a record of that scene.  This is a record after the fact of the baptism of Jesus.  It is the recollection of John the baptizer, who is recognizing that this particular baptism was unique.  It was the reason for his ministry.  He, John, was the one who would recognize the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world.  He is apparently in Bethany, where the Jewish leadership had come to grill him and, just walking down the street, he saw Jesus coming and he shared what he knew to be the truth.  If Bethany was a typical town of the era, very small, it was probably the equivalent of a ‘one horse’ town today, a main street, grocery store, gas station, and post office.

            What John the baptizer is recounting is the historic moment of when he knew he had achieved the prophecy of being one who cried out in the wilderness, “Make straight the Way of the Lord.”  His entire testimony hinges on this particular event. 

             “Like a dove” has led to that image being the metaphoric representation of the Spirit in art down through the ages.  We have stained glass windows in our church with the dove in a few places.  There are also birds that could be the dove in others.  Makes one wonder when a dove is just a dove and when it is the Spirit.

            It seems that this was a private event, the way John the baptizer describes it.  He saw the Spirit come down in the form of a dove.  Jesus, as the recipient, probably saw it too.  

            The coming of the Spirit upon Jesus marks the beginning of his public ministry.  It came when he was baptized by John at the River Jordan.  The Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove.  What is missing from John’s gospel is God the Father’s statement of approval of the Son to “seal the deal”.  But tomorrow, in the next verse, we will have the fuller background that John the baptizer received for this event.

SIDEBAR: Did you know that in the gospels it is explicit that Jesus never baptized, only his disciples?

Pastor Pete