John's Story 1:19-51

What makes for a good testimony? What are the qualities of a good witness, someone sharing their account of an event, like a witness on the stand.

Google 'How to be a good witness' and you'll find many courthouse pages dedicated to tips on testifying: tell the truth (I suppose it's worth stating) - be calm and take your time - be clear and concise - provide the facts - be yourself etc.

The above having mainly to do with presentation there are other qualities in the make-up of a witness: first hand experience (see, feel, hear) - a willing participant of the event (personal investment) - a real-time antagonist to the event - multiple interactions / opportunities to witness - nature of the circumstances (stressful, threatening, fast-paced, inviting) - familiarity with surroundings, culture, time and space, language etc. - corroboration with another source (person, history, like events, character etc).


Text / John 1:19-51

Johns Story begins with a series of testimonials about Jesus:

1. John the Baptizer - :23, 26-27 one coming after / :29-31, 36 Lamb of God to be revealed / :32 Spirit descends on Jesus / :34 I have seen and I testify
2. Holy Spirit - :32-34 Holy Spirit displays Jesus' divine role
3. OT Prophecy - Isaiah 40 along with other passages and types there was a general anticipation for the return of a mighty king, a Savior
4. Jesus - :51 regarding Himself as the very Son of Man (a title after that of the prophets like Jeremiah)
5. Andrew - :39 spent time with Jesus / :41 'We have found the Messiah'
6. Philip - :45 'We have found the Moses wrote about...whom the prophets also wrote...' - recalling OT expectations from reliable men / :45 'Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph' - lineage and hometown, verifiable information
7. Nathaniel - skeptical at first (what divine being could come from such a depressed town?) / :49 Rabbi (teacher), Son of God, King of Israel.
8. Priests and Levites - :19-25 these men confirmed John the Baptists anointing though didn't know how to title him (later they will do the same to Jesus)
9. John the Apostle / Author - believed to be one of John the Baptists disciples and then Jesus' disciple / :35 he is one of the two disciples with John / he is both an eyewitness over the span of Jesus' and John's ministries as well as one with personal resources and relationships to account for his Gospel.

Look at that list! If you had been a part of the original audience of John's letter you would have been left without doubt about his testimony of Christ through the words and actions of all these characters and sources. His clarity about the events, his trustworthy character, his experience, his articulation etc. Everything accepted as true and genuine good news (Gospel).

Do we now doubt simply because of the span of time and culture from the original writing? NO, but we will have to work harder to understand the cultural, spiritual and language differences - we have to investigate just as the 12 did! Just as we all do with anything that's important to us or to those we care about, or even to our pesonal well being politically, socially and economically. We investigate.


Key Points

Investigation: 'Come and see' was the approach of Jesus before the eventual call to follow as a steadfast disciple. Jesus invited them to investigate His reality - this is a great model for us as disciplemakers in His image. Personal invitations to others to come and investigate Jesus through our own lives.

Notice two key aspects of Andrews investigation:

• first follows (invited to come and see)
• then invites (shares his findings with those close to him, Cephas)

Q. What did / does your Gospel investigation look like? Are you seeking Christ directly or are you seeking around Christ?

Our culture is enamored with mysterious Eastern religions which appear culturally pure (un-Westernized / commercialized), sexy, personal etc. Simultaneously we tend to think we know about Christianity, we know who Christ is and so the mystery is gone, the apparent sexiness of Christianity is lost in all the American tradition, hymns, cheesy road signs and bake sales.

Where has the investigation gone in evangelism / discipleship? The personal 'come and see'? The follow me as I follow Christ and see for yourself.

Exodus: Note the 'Lamb of God' reference to Exodus 12 - the role of the Messiah coming to eliminate sin / Savior freeing the people from their bondage to sin (world)

John / Elijah: There was an expectation that Elijah would return pre-Christ (since he did not die 2 Kings 2:11) and so many assumed John the Baptist was this Elijah though he denied it:

• Matthew 11:14 / Jesus note John as one like Elijah or is 'the' Elijah of this time and place
• Luke 1:17 / John came in the spirit and power of Elijah

Humility: John was amazingly humble for a man with such divine and social power.

Titles: In this chapter we see many titles of Jesus introduced.

1. Lamb of God
2. Son of God
3. Son of Man
4. Rabbi
5. Messiah
6. Prophet (of Moses)
7. Jesus of Nazareth / son of Joseph

Question
Is Jesus who he claimed to be? Is He whom his contemporaries claimed Him to be?

So what does your testimony look, sound and feel like? How are you confessing, testifying and modelling an actual witness to the power of the Christ?

• are we confident and calm in our gracious proclamation?
• do we know the Scriptures, the very source of our ongoing witness?
• how does the Spirit interact with you and about you in real time?
• how does your present walk with Christ testify against your past? Is there a difference?
• who are you inviting to 'come and see'?
• who is in your inner circle of friends, family, neighbors and co-workers that you might invite to investigate alongside you and your local Body?
• are you a disciple or part of the questioning crowd?