John 1:35-37

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

It seems that John spoke just what was filling his thoughts and with a quiet voice, but it caused these two to become Yeshu’s first disciples.

One of them was Andrew. The other may have been John the writer of this Gospel story; but we do not know this.

There were other disciples too who wrote down Yeshu’s story. One of these was a man called Mark. If you wished you could read his fast-moving story before returning to read the rest of John’s Gospel.

Mark’s Gospel will be introduced in the next post. For the rest of John’s Gospel see www.gsungrab.org/Bible books

John 1:29-31

The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him, and said,”Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

See John’s instant recognition. ‘He’s the One! God’s sacrificial lamb.'(1)

Why did it happen now? Because John had no foreknowledge that Yeshu was the One; he was not a ‘revealer of secret treasure’.

Why did it happen on the steppe? In the place of repentance people would surely be ready to receive the Saviour.

Why at a time of washing by baptism? Because baptism in water was an explanatory picture of the clearing away of sin.

[1.  Yeshu’s death would be like the sacrifice of an animal to save the whole world. From then onward there would be no further need for any more sacrifice of animals to bear the sins of men as the Jews had done.]

John 1:32-34

And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have bore witness that this is the Son of God.”

Like a dove fluttering down to enter a dovecot, the Holy Spirit came down and took residence in a man. ‘I saw him,’ said John. ‘I saw what God had told me to look out for. I saw who was the Messiah Christ (ma-shi-ka khi-ri’i- si-tho); it was the man called Yeshu.’

For the Spirit did not depart, but Yeshu remained filled with the Spirit. Then He in turn would wash repentant men, not just with water, but by pouring the Spirit upon them.

John 1:24-27

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

They, ‘If you are not a lama, why are you baptizing?’

John, ‘Yes; I do perform baptism. But He, the Coming One, is so great, that I am not worthy even to be His slave.’

It was the next day that Yeshu came.

John 1:28

These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

It all happened in a deep valley where there was water.  It was a location with

“The mountain rock behind,

the mountain lake in front”

Here John lived as a hermit, but he could not live in seclusion (ri-khrod), because great crowds of people assembled having walked for several days. Earlier John had been preaching, ‘Repent of your sins’, and they came to be washed with the water of baptism – embezzlers, evil tax officials, shamelessly-stealing soldiers, all who were convicted of their sin; and a few lharampas and priests too, but they came insincerely; it was only to look.