John the
Baptist
When apostle John wrote his record of the story of
Jesus, he said this: “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the
Light, so that all might believe through him.
He was not the Light, but he
came to testify about the Light; this was the true Light which, coming
into the world, enlightens every man.”
That man John was Jesus’ cousin, who was commonly
known as John the Baptist because he spent a lot of his time proclaiming
repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins and baptising many in the
river Jordan. The Light John the Baptist was referring to was this Jesus, known as
“the light of the world”.
Apostle John also said of Jesus;
þ that he was the word (Greek: logos) of God; that he has been with God from the very beginning; that he created all things; that in him was Life that was the light
of mankind; and that light shines in the darkness and the darkness doesn’t
overpower it.
þ that he came into the world and lived here – in
the world he had made – but the world didn’t know him. He came to his own kin and they did not
welcome him, but those who did welcome him and believe in him were given the
right to become children of God and were re-born – not of blood; not of bodily
desires; not of the will of man; but of God Himself.
þ that he, the word (logos) of God, became flesh and dwelt among the people of the world
and those people saw his glory, the glory of the One who would be the
first-born and once-born son (not needing to be re-born like the rest of
mankind) of his Father God; and full of grace and truth. John said of Jesus: “The law was given
through Moses; grace and truth were realised through Jesus Christ.”
According to the gospel of Mark, John the Baptist “was clothed with camel’s hair with a
leather belt around his waist and his diet was locusts and wild honey.” He was preaching and baptising and “all the
country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem, and
they were being baptised by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
(Mark 1)
According to the gospel of Matthew, the story is basically the same but Matthew also refers to
the Isaiah prophecy concerning one who was “crying out in the wilderness” about
the coming Messiah. (Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:3)
The
Pharisees
Apostle John testifies concerning John the Baptist
that while he was out and about doing this, the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him ‘Who are you?’
He replied emphatically, ‘well I’m not the Christ’. ‘So, are you Elijah?’ they asked. The Jews mistakenly expected a re-born Elijah
the prophet to come to Israel to announce the coming of the Messiah as they
thought was fore-told by Isaiah. John
insists he is not Elijah come back to life, but when they ask him again, “who
are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us – what do you say
about yourself?” he replies with the very reference from Isaiah that they use
to teach that Elijah will come back from the dead to announce the presence of
the Messiah. John the Baptist says, in
effect, ‘I am not Elijah come back to life, but I am announcing and hailing the
presence of the Messiah.
Sadly, the Pharisees’ messengers are not done
yet. They press John the Baptist: “Why
then are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ (the Messiah), nor Elijah,
nor the expected Prophet?” In other
words, the Pharisees see themselves as the gate-keepers and exclusive
custodians of the spiritual life of the Jews, so John had better have a good
explanation of why he is baptizing. It
all sounds terribly familiar to me really!
Two thousand years does not seem to have dulled the impulses of the
Pharisee sect.
However, John doesn’t appear phased by the Pharisees’
messengers – he replies to them, “I baptize in water; among you stands One whom
you do not know – he who comes after me, as I said, whose sandal I am not
worthy to untie.”
Matthew’s account of the same thing has John the
Baptist replying to the Pharisees: “As for me, I baptize with water for
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not fit
to remove his sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)
Who can
forgive sins?
The Pharisees have long held the view that no-one can
forgive sins but God. And here is John
the Baptist inferring in his preaching that:
C Jesus is the Messiah;
C Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit and with
fire;
C Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who carries away
the sin of the world;
C Jesus is the unique first-born and once-born Son
of God;
C Jesus is the creator of all things;
C Jesus is the very word of God;
C Jesus is the light of the world.
In fact, it would have been difficult for anyone to
miss the point he was making: Jesus is God in human flesh.
Now turn to Matthew 8 and 9, the story I referred to
earlier. At this point, Jesus is in his
home region of Galilee, visiting the villages and towns around where he grew
up. He crosses over Lake Galilee to the
area of Gadara where he meets two demon-possessed men. According to Matthew’s record, the only word
Jesus uttered in this encounter was, “Begone!”
The demons exited the men and fled into a herd of swine and the whole
herd rushed down the steep bank and into the water. The herdsmen ran off into town and reported
what had just happened and the whole town came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to
leave the area. Somebody just lost a
whole herd and a livelihood.
Jesus now
returns to his own city to find people bringing to him a man paralysed and
lying on a bed. Matthew records, “And
seeing their faith, [Jesus] said to the paralysed man ‘take courage, your sins are forgiven.’” Clearly he did this in the hearing of “some
of the scribes”, Jewish religious leaders, for they responded, “This fellow
blasphemes”. To us in the West, the
words of Jesus are not blasphemy. But
they were blasphemy to the Jewish leaders because, as I pointed out above, they
believe that no-one but God can forgive sins, so Jesus must believe he is God
and he is acting out his belief.
The paralysed
man is still there – in the middle of this conversation. Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus asked
the scribes, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For which is easier: to say ‘your sins are forgiven’; or to say ‘rise and walk’? What matters is that you know that the son of
man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
With that, Jesus spoke to the paralysed man and said, “Rise, take up
your bed and go home.” The man rose and
went home – the paralysed man no longer payralysed!
Matthew
records that “when the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified
God who had given such authority to men.”
Let me repeat that for emphasis: God
has given the authority to forgive sins to men – not uniquely to Jesus because
he was special, but to humankind.
That is what Jesus meant when he said, “What matters is that you
understand that the son of man – ordinary people – has authority to forgive
sins.”
But if you
think about it, this makes plain sense. Jesus taught that his followers are to
forgive each other’s sins. He taught (Matthew
6:14-15) that if you don’t forgive, God doesn’t forgive you. Such a teaching implies that you have the
authority to forgive sins.
Later on,
after Jesus’ resurrection, apostle John’s record says, “Jesus therefore said to
them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on
them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’
(John 20:21-23)
At this point,
the Jewish leaders must have been having conniptions. Jesus is saying that not only does he have
authority on earth to forgive sins, so too do his disciples. To the Jewish theologians, only God can
forgive sins. No wonder they were saying
“This fellow blasphemes”. It was
blasphemy to infer or pretend that you are God.
Blasphemy was worthy of the death penalty. Even at this very early stage, Jesus was on
the Scribes and Pharisees’ hit-list.
But let’s be
clear here. The Jewish theologians of
Jesus’ day got it wrong. Their theology
[theos + logos = ‘the word of God’] said only God can forgive sins. Jesus, who was actually ‘the word of God’ [theos + logos] – God in visible human form standing amongst them – was saying
God Himself has given man (redeemed, twice-born man) the authority to forgive
sins.
Forgiveness of sins is a 3-part
harmony
The gift of
God to those who turn in true repentance and faith to Jesus is not just “your
sins are forgiven” (as glorious as that is), but also “if you forgive the sins
of any, they have been forgiven.” In
addition, Matthew twice quotes Jesus as saying, “whatever you shall bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 and 18:18)
I have taken
the time to go into some detail on this because it is absolutely vital that we
understand the truth here. Once again,
there are three parts to this matter of forgiveness of sins: receiving forgiveness of sins, forgiving
others’ sins, and releasing people from their bondages. Most Jews, from the time of Job to the time
of Jesus at least, believed that if you were ill or disabled or struck down by
something, it was because you or your parents had sinned. Jesus made it clear that he did not follow
that view (John 9:1-3) and the Kingdom of God did not work that way. And that was the message God personally had
for Job in the Old Testament – contrary to the thoughts of Job’s friends.
The first gift
of God in response to faith is: your sins are forgiven; you have authority to
forgive sins; you unbind people by disconnecting sin from illness, disability
and calamity.
Our sin offering
Now, before we
move on to the next of the three gifts, I want to make a very important connection. John the Baptist said in reference to Jesus:
“Behold the Lamb of God who bears away the sins of the world.” This idea of Jesus as “the Lamb of God” is a
link that goes all the way back to the sacrificial laws given by God to Israel as
recorded in Leviticus 16. The sin
offering in this account comprised two goats, presented before the Lord at the
tent of meeting. One was killed as an
offering “for the Lord”; the other was presented to God alive. The live goat was ‘loaded up’ with the sins
of the Israelites and then sent out into the wilderness as a scape-goat. In this ritual, the goat “bears away the
sins” of Israel.
Jesus, as the
Lamb of God, stands – once and for all – as the two goats did annually for
ancient Israel: an offering for the Lord, well pleasing to Him; and carrying
away the sins of the world. In Christ,
people no longer carry their sins. Even
way back in the Old Testament, God’s profound love says, “as far as the east is
from the west, so far have I removed their sins from them” and “I will remember
their sins no more.”
Forgiveness of sins in scripture
Below is a
selection of scriptures concerning this subject of forgiveness as one of the
gifts God gives to His sons – both His first-born once-born son and His many
twice-born sons. Interestingly, both for
Jesus and for his disciples, the authority to forgive sins followed baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit.
First from the Old Testament:
Psalm 130:3-4: If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could
stand? But with you there is
forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
2 Chronicles 7:14: If My
people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive
their sin and will heal their land.
Jeremiah 36:3: Perhaps
the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in
order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their
iniquity and their sin.
Isaiah 33:24: And no resident
will say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell there will be forgiven
their iniquity.
Jeremiah 31:31-34: “The
time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with
their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because
they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with
the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and
write it on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people. No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least
of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I
will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”.
Jeremiah 33:8: I will
cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive
all their sins of rebellion against me.
John the Baptist heralded the transition
from the old covenant to the new:
Luke 1:77: [Part
of Zechariah’s prophecy concerning John the Baptist] And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you
will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways; to give to His people knowledge
of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of
our God.
Mark 1:4: John
the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins.
In Jesus, that new covenant is established,
and these are some of the words of that covenant:
Matthew 26:28: [Jesus with his disciples just before his
crucifixion] And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it,
all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many
for forgiveness of sins.”
Luke 24:47: [Jesus with his disciples just after his
resurrection] Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to
them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the
dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are
witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My
Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with
power from on high.”
Acts 2:38: Now
when they heard [Peter’s message] they
were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
“Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:43: Opening
his mouth, Peter said … Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His
name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
Acts 13:38: Therefore
let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you
could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Acts 26:18: [Part of Jesus’ commission to Paul] To open
their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion
of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance
among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.
Colossians 1:13-14 For He
rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of
His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 1:7: In Him
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace.
Romans 4:7: Blessed
are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Ephesians 4:32: Be kind
to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ
also has forgiven you.
Colossians 2:13: When
you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He
made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.
1 John 2:12: I am
writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for
His name's sake.
And a final reminder to us
Matthew 6:14-15: For if
you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. But if you do not forgive
others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Conclusion
Forgiveness of sins is about
three things: having our own sins forgiven; forgiving other people’s sins; and releasing
people from the old covenant connection between sin, and illness, disability
and calamity.
And forgiveness of sins is
experienced as several different things.
First, it is experienced as what theologians call expiation. This is the idea of covering sin or wiping
sin away. According to Apostle John, God
so loved the world that He gave his first-born son (John 3:16); and Apostle
Peter said that love covers a multitude of sins. The love of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
covers and wipes away sin.
Second, it is experienced as what theologians call
propitiation. This is the idea of
appeasing a holy God, bringing reconciliation and satisfaction. Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians that it
“was the Father’s good pleasure, through [Jesus],
to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His
cross.” (Colossians 1:20). And to the
Corinthians he wrote, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Jesus’ sacrifice
reconciles us to God and appeases God’s hatred of sin.
Third,
it is experienced as excision – the surgical removal of diseased or infected
parts. Our sin is removed from us, and,
like bio-waste from a hospital, transported away and destroyed. Alternatively, it is experienced as washing
away dirt or infection. Apostle Paul
wrote to his disciple Titus on Crete: “But when the kindness of God our Savior
and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by
the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus
3:5) Apostle John called this being
“born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5)
And finally, in the New
Testament, forgiveness is not just about sins
(the wrong things we do) but also about sin
– the systemic disease we all inherited from the first Adam, which produces the
sins. Consider it a little like a tree
and the fruit on the tree. Religious
removal of sins cannot prevent the sin tree from producing more fruit. However, the full application of the
sacrifice of Jesus – once for all – kills
the tree, root and branch. Over time,
the tree withers and dies because it has been ring-barked and starved of
nutrients and water. No more fruit –
permanently.
Forgiveness of sins is the first of three gifts God
gives His children. Next we discuss
adoption as sons.
Next: Adoption as sons
Cheers,
Kevin.
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