John bear witness of Him and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, He
that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me
John 1:15
The large Place Witnessing Has in Scripture
The thought of witness-bearing finds ample expression in the Bible. “Witness
is one” of `the key words of Scripture, occurring in the early records of
Genesis and in the writings of prophets and apostles. It makes an
interesting study to collect the passages in which the word “Witness is
found. Sometimes it is God who is the witness; at other times it is the
arching heaven above us. Then we read that Joshua had made a covenant with
the people, he took a great stone and set it up under an oak tree, and said,
“Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us” (Josh.24:26-27). Christ
Himself is spoken of as a witness—“Behold I have given him for a witness to
the people”(Isa.55:4).Paul tells us that God had never left Himself without
a witness (Acts 14:17); and it was at the feet of that same Paul that the
witnesses laid down their clothes in the hour when Stephen cried “Lord Jesus
receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Let us remember too, that when we believe on
Jesus, there is a witness which we have in ourselves (1 John 1:5). Such
passages as these help to make plain to us what a large place witness has in
Scripture. The Baptist is not isolated in his witness-bearing; he is one of
a great and evergrowing company. Let us try, then, to gather up some things
to which John bore witness. It may be that we also, like the Baptist, may be
sent to be the witness-bearers of Christ Jesus..
Witness to the Presence of Christ
First, then, John bore witness to the presence of Christ. The Jews were
eagerly expecting the Messiah. They were thrilled with the hope that He was
coming. God had awakened such a longing in their hearts that they knew the
advent was not far away. .So were they straining their eyes to the east and
to the south; so were they anxiously awaiting some splendor of arrival; and
John bore witness that the Christ they looked for was standing
Among them even while he spoke.(John 1:26). He was not hidden in the clouds
of heaven. He was not lurking in some far consealment; He would not burst on
them in any visible glory , nor with any credentials that would be instantly
accepted. Even while John spoke Christ was there, moving among them as a man
unknown—John bore witness to a present Lord. Now that is a witness which we
may all share in. We may show our neighbors that Jesus is among them.. We
may make it plain to our visitors, as John did, that Jesus of Nazareth is
not far away. And we do this not so much by speech or by having the name of
Jesus on our lips as by revealing His love and power and patience in our
lives. There are some men who immediately impress us with the fact that they
walk in the company of Christ. There is no explaining the impression that
they make unless it be that they are living with Jesus—their secret is, they
have a Friend. That is true witness-bearing, and it is like the Baptist’s..
It is a witness to the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ..
Witness to the Greatness of Christ
Again, John bore witness to the greatness of Christ. Of course, the Jews
were expecting a great Savior; all their long history made them sure of
that. The threefold dignities of king and priest and prophet were to mingle
in the person of the Messiah. But greatness has diverse meanings; it is
touched with a thousand differences on a thousand lips, and when a nation
falls from its high ideals, as the Jews had fallen in the time of John, the
great man of the popular imagination is not the great man in the eyes of
God. Now this was part of the witness-bearing of the Baptist, to reveal the
true greatness and glory of Messiah; to single Him out as He moved amid the
people, and proclaim that He was greater than them all. There were no
insignia on Jesus’ breast; he was not clothed in any robes of state; there
was nothing in His adornment or His retinue to mark Him off as one who was
truly great. And it was John’s work to pierce through all disguise and see
the grace and glory of the Man and cry that though He had no beauty that men
should desire Him, yet none was worthy to unloose His shoe latchet (John
1:27).In different ways, and yet in the same spirit, we should all be
witness-bearers to Christ’s greatness. It is always possible to so think and
act and live that men will feel that we serve a great Commander. He who
thinks meanly and does petty and foolish deeds and has no lofty ideals
clearly before him is not commending an exalted Savior. It is in a spirit
that is so touched to reveal spiritual greatness, however humble the
believer’s daily round, that greatness is borne to the greatness of the
Lord..
Witness to the Lowliness and Gentleness of Christ
Once more John bears witness to the lowliness and gentleness of Christ. I
think that if John had been a time-server, and had cared only to flatter
Jewish prejudice, but would have told his audience that the Spirit had
descended not like a dove, but like an eagle. It was not a dove for which
the Jews were looking. They wanted a power to expel the Romans. What a
chance for a false prophet this would have been considering the symbolism of
the Roman eagles. But John could only tell what he had seen—a faithful
witness will not lie (Proverbs 14:5)-and he bare record saying, “I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.” (John 1:32). That means that
almost in the teeth of his own stern heart that John bore witness to a
dovelike Savior. There was a brooding peace about Messiah, a lowly
gentleness, a still small voice. And when we remember what John’s own nature
was and think of the Christ of common expectation, we see how true and
faithful was this witness-bearing. May not we, too, bear witness in our
lives to the lowly tenderness of our Redeemer? Ma we not make it plain, as
John did, that the Lord whom we know is filled with the dovelike Spirit? We
do that whenever we mater temper or check the bitter word or take the lowest
place. We do that when our unforgiving hearts and our stubborn and proud and
selfish wills become imbued with that love and thoughtful tenderness which
is the very spirit of Christ Jesus..
Witness to the Sacrifice of Christ
Lastly, John bore witness to the sacrifice of Christ. “Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John had roused
the conscience of the people; he had awakened in them the sleeping sense of
sin. Jewish missionaries today will tell you that it is still the first
thing they strive to do. But when the sense of guilt was roused in them—what
then? Then John’s great work of witness bearing reached its peak. So it may
be with every one of us. We too, may be witness-bearers of the sacrifice. We
may so hate and abhor and shun all sin, we may so feel the price of our
redemption, we may so live in the sense of pardon, we may be so hopeful for
the lowest and worst men, that our life (unknown to us perhaps) shall be a
witness-bearing to Christ crucified..
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr.Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
