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THE KING’ S BUSINESS
the Johnnine authorship o f the fourth gospel. John the Baptist’s Witness to Christ—His Person and Work is Summed Up as Follows : .Christ is to be preferred before him, for He existed before him (1:15, 27, 30). He is not worthy to unloose the latchet o f Christ’s shoes (1:27). He is sent to prepare the way o f Christ, the Lord (1:23). Christ is the only-begotten Son (G od), who is in the bosom o f the Father (1:18), and the dispenser o f grace and truth M i Christ is the Lamb o f God that taketh away the sin o f the world ( 1 :29, 36). Christ is the One upon Whom the Spirit rests and abides, the One in Whom thp sign, - which had been given to John by God as a means of recognizing the Christ when He should come, was fulfilled ( 1 :32, 33). Christ is the Son o f God ( 1 :34). Christ cometh from above, from heaven, and so is above all (3:31). .Christ speaks on earth what He has seen and heard with His Father in heaven ; He speaketh the very words o f God; He pos sesses the fulness o f the omniscient Spirit (3:34). Christ is the special object o f the Father’s love, and the One to Whom the Father hath committed all things (3:36). The relation which men voluntarily sus tain to Christ determines their future des tiny to glory or despair (3:36). “All things that John spake o f this Man were true’’ ( 10:41). II. The Witness of the Works of Jesus. These works are called “ signs/’ because they have a significance reaching far beyond the work or miracle itself. Refer ence is made to these “ signs” fifteen times in the first twelve chapters. The word occurs but once (20:30) from the twelfth chapter on, for there Christ is no longer presenting Himself to the world for its acceptance o f His claims—that presenta tion was finished in chapter twelve. “ His
ovCn” do not need signs to convince them; His person is sufficient, Look up the fifteen places in which reference is made to the “ signs” which were credentials o f the divin ity o f Christ’s mission: 2:11; 2:18, 23; 3 :2 ; 4:48, 54 ; 6:2, 14, 26; 7:31; 9:16; 10:41; 11:47; 12:18, 37. The Seven Great “Signs” of John’s Gospel. 1. The changing o f water into wine, 2 : 1 - 11 . 2. The healing o f the nobleman’s son at a _distance, 4 :46-54. 3. The healing o f the impotent man at Bethesda, 5 ;1-16. 4. The miraculous feeding o f the, five thousand, 6:1-14. 5. Jesus walking on the sea, 6 :15-25: 6. The healing o f the man bom blind, 9:1-41. 7. The raising o f Lazarus from the dead, 11:1-46. These facts give great weight to the evidential value o f the miracles o f Christ. Jesus appeals to the testimony o f His works as furnishing evidence enough to lead men to believe in His claims and His deity (cf. 5:36; 10:35). (See Notes on Matthew). III. The Witness of the Father. Reference is made to the witness o f the Father touching the claims and works o f Jesus in the following passages: 5:32, 37; 8:18, cf. 16, 26; 12:28; 14:10, 11. It was the claim o f Jesus constantly throughout His ministry that the words He spoke and the works He wrought were all done by the Father who dwelt within Him, and who Himself uttered the words and per formed the works. Jesus asserted again and again that if He were left alone He could not do the mighty works which He did. His works were an indication o f the pres- enee o f God with Him in a special sense (Acts 10:3#). God would not thus grant His aid and presence to an impostor. IV. The Witness of the Scriptures. When Jesus, in His controversy with the Pharisees, said, “ Search the Scriptures . . for they are they which testify o f me,” He referred to thè Old Testament.
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