Our story finally begins NOT with Jesus but John (the Witness). In [Bethany-beyond-the Jordan] [28]. Not the village where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived, a couple of miles from Jerusalem. John is out in the middle of nowhere, Transjordan [If you were gonna launch a ministry - would you do it 30km from Jerusalem? That's an all-day trip - like launching an East Texas ministry way out in West Texas?]. Bethany-beyond the Jordan. This is a now-unknown village, somewhere near the Jordan river. And that’s where we find John the Witness, baptizing people [in the shadow of Machaerus, the fortress prison where he would later be beheaded].
[19 This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”] THIS is the witness of John. This is why he came! To be a witness. Here’s his testimony. He knew something, AND was willing to testify. He was available. And what did he say? Well, we begin with an interrogation. And John our author gives us a very detailed description - it suggests that he was there for this questioning. He was already following John the Witness. And the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem - the Pharisees - send a delegation out to John the Witness. They ask him, “Who are you?” But that’s not their REAL question.
At this time, early 1st cent AD, what every Jew really wants to know is, Are you Him? Are you the One, the One we’ve been waiting for? John, are you the Messiah? I think at first even author John was wondering if maybe John the Witness was the Messiah. So John answers their REAL question in the next verse: [20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”] Notice: author John triple records (3x!) that John the Witness answers emphatically, “I am definitely not the Christ.” I’m not the One you’re looking for.
They were looking for the Messiah. Christ is the Greek equivalent of that Hebrew word, Messiah [=mashiach]. It means, anointed. You took a moshchah (consecrated portion) of the meshach (anointing oil) and you would mashach (anoint, smear/spread it on) someone and then they were God’s Mashiach. Someone whom God has anointed, set apart for a special purpose. At first in the OT it refers to [Aaron], the high priest. After Israel insists they want a human king, it mostly refers to their [king]: Saul, David, Solomon, etc. Those men who were anointed by God to lead His people. Mashiach.
But there’s one passage in the OT where God promises to one day send this other [Mashiach]. And it is one of the most amazing prophecies in the entire Bible, found in Daniel [9.24-27]. At that time Daniel and his people are in captivity, in [Babylon]. It’s around 539BC. Daniel has been in captivity in Babylon for some 65 years. They have been there almost their entire lives. Jerusalem, its walls, and the temple, the house of the Lord - all lies in ruins. Nebuchadnezzar is long gone, and is there any hope for the Jewish people? They are still looking forward to, longing for a day not only when they will be able to return to Jerusalem ["Next year in Jerusalem!" - it's a thing for Jews still today...], but they also long for this time when they will no longer be ruled by ANY foreign king. Unfortunately, in 539BC, NOW the [Medes and the Persians] have come to power, and they’re even more powerful than the Babylonians.
But Daniel, having a QT, sees a promise from God to Jeremiah [29.10], that the Jewish people will be in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Those 70 years are just about up! So Daniel is praying and seeking the Lord [Dan. 9:19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”]. And God sends a messenger. The [angel Gabriel]. [Dan. 9:25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.] [7+62=69 weeks, 69 sevens, 7yr periods = 483 yrs]. There are different ideas as to which “decree” Gabriel is referring:
-Cyrus/Zerubbabel, 538 BC [Ezra 1.1-4] - TEMPLE
-Darius/Haggai&Zechariah, 520 BC [Ezra 6.1-7] - TEMPLE
-Artaxerxes/Ezra, 457 BC [Ezra 7.11,18,9.9] - WALLS = CITY
[Ezra 7:11,18 Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest: “Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God…9:9 “For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.]
[Using that 2nd Ezra date, 457BC —> 483 yrs = 27AD] What does Gabriel say will happen right around year 27AD? Mashiach. Messiah the Prince. This prophecy is so amazing! Look at the next verse in Daniel: [26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off…] Are you kidding me? This long awaited Anointed One, Mashiach, will come, after 483 years - but then He’ll be “cut off”? What is Gabriel talking about? Daniel is receiving this prophecy almost 600 years before it happens. What are the chances of this? A lucky guess? But so fast-forward back to John the Witness and here are the Jewish people, right around 27AD, and these are heady times, cuz anyone who is familiar with Daniel’s prophecy AND who is NOT prone to unbelief knows that pretty much, any day now… Mashiach! Messiah the Prince is going to come! They come to ask John, Who are you? And he has to three-peat it: I myself am NOT the Messiah.
Then “who are you?”, they ask. [21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ] Why would they ask if he was Elijah? It’s another promise: [Mal. 3:1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple. 4:5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.] Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets ever. His exploits were the stuff of legend. He also held the distinction of being one of only two people who the Lord took straight up to heaven. Most Jews believed that Elijah himself was going to show up right before Messiah came. But nope, John is not Elijah. So they ask, are you “The Prophet”. Who was that? It’s another promise: [Deut. 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.]. In other words, not just any prophet. Someone like Moses. [Moses and Elijah - what do they have in common?] And again John says, no. But Jesus will later confirm: [Matt. 11:7,9-10,14 Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.]. So why does John flat out say, “I am not Elijah, NOT the Prophet”? That's a legit question...
[22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”] You’re for sure somebody special - so who? [23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”]. That verse in Isaiah actually says, clear the way for the Lord. Clear the way. Prepare the way. I think he’s saying, you’re trying to make this about ME. This is NOT about me. John knew that it was all about Messiah. Christ the Lord. 100s & 100s of years of Jewish prophecy, fulfilled in Jesus. Messiah. John says, I am NOT Him. I’m here to clear the way, to point you people TO Him. To Jesus. And that’s our job - point ourselves and others to Him. HE is The Messiah. Anointed by God to lead His people. Out of slavery. Out of death. And into eternal life. Into this place where we can make it all about Him...
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