Comments
on John 1:6-11
From
John: The book
about Life, by
Matthew R. Freije
Scripture taken
from the NEW
AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, ©
Copyright The
Lockman Foundation
1960, 1962, 1963,
1968, 1971, 1972,
1973, 1975, 1977,
1995. Used by
permission.
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to John 1:11
1:6-8
These verses
refer to John the
Baptist, not the
John who wrote John.
John the Baptist
proclaimed that the
Christ would be
coming. Similar to a
prerequisite course,
John's message
prepared the people
to understand and
believe in Jesus.
About 700 years
before Jesus came to
earth, Isaiah
prophesied that a
messenger would
precede the Christ:
Isa 40:3 A
voice is
calling,
"Clear the
way for the LORD
in the
wilderness; Make
smooth in the
desert a highway
for our God.
John the Baptist
claimed to be that
messenger:
John 1:23 "I am A
VOICE OF ONE
CRYING IN THE
WILDERNESS,
'MAKE STRAIGHT
THE WAY OF THE
LORD,' as Isaiah
the prophet
said."
John had never
even seen Jesus when
he started
preaching; he was
simply preaching
what God had
revealed to him.
John, the writer of
the book, emphasizes
that John the
Baptist was not the
Christ, but the
messenger whom God
had chosen to
announce that the
Christ was coming.
For more on John
the Baptist, see the
comments
on 1:19-34
and comments
on 3:22-35.
1:9
Jesus is again
described as the
light—the true
light.
1:10
Jesus created the
world and all that
is in it (as stated
also in 1:3), yet
most of the people
in the world did not
recognize Him as God
and entrust their
lives to Him.
1:11
Jesus' own
people, the Jews,
did not receive Him,
even though His life
matched the
description of the
Messiah given in
great detail through
the Old Testament
prophets. This may
be due partly to the
humble life that
Jesus led. The Jews
expected the Messiah
to restore power to
the nation of
Israel, but Jesus
did not seek power
and position in the
world in His first
coming--this was not
His mission. Jesus
did not fit the
image of the worldly
king that the Jews
were looking for.
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to John 1:11
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