(29) The next day
John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away
the sin of the world.
(30) This is he of whom I said,
After me cometh a man
which is preferred before me:
for he was before me.
Even though John the Baptist was born before Jesus was born, John knew that Jesus had existed from the beginning.
(31) And I knew him not:
but that he should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore am I come
baptizing with water.
(32) And John bare record, saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove,
and it abode upon him.
Did they all see a literal dove with feathers literally descend from heaven?
John said that the Spirit was "like a dove" or functioned like a dove.
(33) And I knew him not:
but that he that sent me
to baptize with water,
the same said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending,
and remaining on him,
the same is he which
baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
(13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
(14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
(John 16:13-14)
(14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
(John 16:13-14)
Another reason Jesus came was to give us the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit to:
- teach us (help us see life's experiences through the perspective of the Word of God)
- comfort/vindicate us
- convict us of sin
- empower us to overcome
- lead us into all truth (balance/correctly interpret the Word of God)
(34) And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.
John now identifies Jesus as the "Lamb of God."
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
John now identifies Jesus as the "Lamb of God."
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
What is the two-fold function of Jesus as the Lamb of God?
1) As the Lamb of God, Jesus would serve as the sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.
2) As the Lamb of God, He would be the only one worthy to open the Book.
(1) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
(2) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
(3) And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
(4) And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
(5) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
(6) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Rev. 5:1-6)
Rev. 4:5 = Seven lamps are seven spirits (which contain fire burning before the throne of God).
Ps. 119:105 = "Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet."
A lamp contains the fire of the Spirit of God. It is His Spirit which resides in His Word, because His Word is the Lamp that contains His Spirit.
John 6:63 = "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
Again, the Word of God is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God resides in His Word. It is this Spirit of God that brings life to us--physical life and eternal life.
It is the Lamb of God who is the Living Word of God, worthy to open the Book because He is the Word and therefore the only one who can rightly interpret the Word.
Thus we have the Living Word which is Jesus in the flesh and the Written Word of the Bible. Both are vessels that contain the Spirit of God.
Revelation 5:7-12 says:
(7) And he [Jesus] came and took the book out of the right hand of him [God the Father] that sat upon the throne.
(8) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb [Jesus], having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
(9) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
(10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on earth.
(11) And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
(12) Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive [1] power, and [2] riches, and [3] wisdom, and [4] strength, and [5] honour, and [6] glory, and [7] blessing.
(Rev. 5:7-12)
The Lamb is worthy to receive the above (7) attributes of God because He was slain as the only appropriate sacrifice for our sin. Could these attributes or characteristics of God be the characteristics of His Spirit--or actually be the (7) Spirits spoken of in Rev. 4:6 that He imparts (through His Word) to those who belong to Him, since the seven lamps are the seven spirits?
Let's look at Revelation 4:6 again:
(6) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Horns always symbolize "authority" and eyes symbolize "spiritual vision/discernment." These are also said to have the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
In other words, the Word of God carries the authority and spiritual discernment to the inhabitants of earth to correctly interpret His Word. . .or the Word of God interprets the Word of God.
No human can correctly interpret the Word of God for us. Only the Lamb, Himself is qualified to do that through the power of His Spirit which indwells His people.
Only Jesus, the Lamb of God is worthy to open, read, or even look upon the precious Book of Seven Seals because it was given by God the Father, Himself.
What about the other 66 books of the Bible?
Who is worthy to open, read, or even look upon those precious Books that also proceeded out of the mouth of God?
(37) And the two disciples
heard him speak,
and they followed Jesus.
(38) Then Jesus turned,
and saw them following and saith unto them,
What seek ye?
They said unto him, Rabbi,
(which is to say, being interpreted, Master,)
where dwellest thou?
(39) He saith unto them,
Come and see.
They came and saw where he dwelt,
and abode with him that day:
for it was about the tenth hour.
(40) One of the two
which heard John speak, and followed him,
was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother.
(41) He first findeth his own brother Simon,
and saith unto him,
We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted,
the Christ.
(42) And he brought him to Jesus.
And when Jesus beheld him, he said,
Thou art Simon the son of Jona:
thou shalt be called Cephas,
which is by interpretation,
a stone.
Does John, the writer of this passage, say that Peter is a "stone" or a "rock?"
He says "by interpretation, a stone." Why insert "by interpretation?"
Could the Spirit of God have impressed upon John the importance of using the word, "interpretation" to alert the readers of this passage that a correct interpretation would be required to keep Peter's name/function in its equal and rightful position among the disciples of Christ and under the exclusive authority of Christ?
The original translators agreed that Jesus was referring to a "stone" because the word from the Greek used here is #4074, which also may refer to a rock but only in the reference to its unique physical characteristic of being "a very hard substance," not in regard to its size. By referring to Peter, via the use of this word, Jesus was confronting him about his character weaknesses, not Peter's authority.
Peter was a stubborn, unyielding, hard-headed fisherman. He was hard, like the substance of a stone.
To examine this verse further, we need to go to Matthew's account.
(18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, [Peter = #G4074 = a stone - soul hard - unyielding] and upon this rock [i.e. "this other substance"] [#G4073 = Now referring to preeminence - large solid rock, Jesus Himself - firm strength of soul] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
At the time Jesus said these words, He already knew that in the future this issue of rock vs. stone was going to cause confusion in the Church. But not even the gates of hell, much less any verbal gymnastics, were going to prevail against the preeminence of Jesus Christ and the Church He, Himself, would build.
Those who belonged to Christ would have the Holy Spirit to correctly interpret His Word and they would know that He alone was "the Rock of their salvation" --the Preeminent One who exclusively held the power to ransom sinners and build His Church Himself through faith alone in His Word and His sacrifice on the cross.
If we examine this issue very closely, we will see that there is a slight, yet very significant difference in the two types of rock mention in the above verses. They come from two slightly different Greek words. The true Rock [#G4073] of our salvation is Jesus Christ. Then there is the smaller rock or stone [#G4074] that is Peter.
As previously stated, Peter was a tough, hard-headed fisherman, yet he would deny Christ three times by yielding to fear. Jesus knew this so in their initial meeting, He wanted Peter to know that He would not expect him to do something he was not equipped to do. The Church of Jesus Christ was not going to be built on the efforts of a mere man, but on the superior strength of Christ Himself, the Solid Rock.
The Church which is made up of the fellowship of true believers cannot have any other foundation but Christ. Therefore the real Church of Jesus Christ cannot be built with human hands or independent good works. Christ is the Creator and Leader of His Church, which is His true bride. She loves Jesus as her Husband and is committed to following Him and His specific will alone.
(43) The day following
Jesus would go forth into Galilee,
and findeth Philip, and saith unto him,
Follow me.
(44) Now Philip was of Bethsaida,
the city of Andrew and Peter.
(45) Philip findeth Nathanael,
and saith unto him,
We have found him,
of whom Moses in the law,
and the prophets,
did write
[in the already existing portion of the Word of God]
(46) And Nathanael said unto him,
Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
(47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him,
and saith of him,
Behold an Israelite indeed,
in whom is no guile!
(48) Nathanael saith unto him,
Whence knowest thou me?
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Before that Philip called thee,
I saw thee.
(49) Nathanael answered and saith unto him,
Rabbi, thou art the Son of God;
thou art the King of Israel.
(50) Jesus answered and said unto him,
Because I said unto thee
I saw thee under the fig tree,
believest thou?
thou shalt see greater things than these.
(51) And he saith unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open,
and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of man.
So it is with us.
Even before Jesus calls us, He sees us and is watching over us--carefully drawing us to Himself through the power of His Word and His Spirit.
This is an amazing thing, but when we believe, we also will begin to see even greater things than this.
(50) . . .believest thou?
thou shalt see greater things than these.
(51) And he saith unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open,
and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of man.
