So that He might be manifested...

John 1:29-51 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” ³² John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

John makes an interesting statement, he says:  I did not recognize Him(Jesus, the Lamb of God), but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”…  I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’  

In Matthew 3:13-17 we read the account of Jesus baptism:  Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. ¹⁶ After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”     In today’s text, John says: “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him…I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

John’s entire ministry, his life was focused on Jesus. In yesterday’s text John said: “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” The interesting thing that John says in today’s text is:  so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water    John’s ministry, John’s message, John’s baptism all to point and prepare the way for the Lord, to prepare people for the Lord. What was John’s message? What was his baptism?  Matthew 3:1-5 describes John’s message:       Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”…⁵ Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.    Matthew 3 continues with John speaking of baptism:     “As for me, I baptize you 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. ¹² His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

In Matthew 4:12-17 we read of the beginning of Jesus earthly ministry:    Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali…¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”     It would seem then, according to the words and ministries of both John and Jesus Himself that there is a place and a purpose for the preaching of repentance.  People need to turn from their sin so that the Savior can be manifested to them. Those who remain in darkness will not respond to the Light, as we saw yesterday in John 1:4-5(Amp)     In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

What the church and believers need to understand,  is that repentance is not turning to religion. Much of the harshest criticism of both John and Jesus was directed toward the church and human traditions and regulations. Repentance is to turn from a life of sin and darkness toward a life of righteousness and Light. We tend to get far too caught up in process rather than purpose. We debate and argue whether repentance will come through love or through the Word of truth. It is not an either or, it is both. We are to love others with a Godly unconditional love. We are also to follow the call, the commission and the example of Jesus who says:   “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.(Mark 16:15-16)

In Ephesians 4:11-17 Paul says:   And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴  As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

There are various gifts, callings and ministries, but regardless of which of them we are given to relate to others, all have to things in common. We are to love and to speak the truth in love. The psalmist rightly says: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.(Psalm 89:14) They are in separable attributes of God. In order that Jesus be manifested to the world, in order that there be a revelation of Christ there must be lovingkindness and truth, there must be righteousness and justice.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit in truth there is only one way that I can live as You call me to live, that I can be a representative of both Your love and Your righteousness. I must say as John the Baptist said:  He must increase, but I must decrease.(John 3:30) Increase in me Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that there would be nothing of me for the world to see, but only more of You.     Amen.