The Vision of John

ARE of the supreme glories of the Hebrew nation was its long line of prophets. The function of the prophet may be gathered from the varied names by which these men were

called. One or two instances will suffice. The prophet was

called “a seer,”! that is, simply, one who sees. He was also called

“man of God,”2 that is, a man wholly devoted to God, and therefore speaking with authority the messages of God. And yet again,

he was called “man of the Spirit,”3 that is, one through whom the

Spirit declared the will and purpose of Jehovah. The prophetical

order commenced with Samuel, and in the marvellous succession

were such men as Elijah, and Elisha, and Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Splendid as was this succession, none among them was greater than the

last of the long line, John the Baptist, who was also the immediate

forerunner of Jesus.

In common with all his predecessors in the prophetic office, John’s message resulted from his vision. He saw clearly, and therefore spoke with authority. The message which aroused the whole nation was the outcome of the clear seeing of this man, wholly devoted to the will of God. Undeceived by the accidental and external in the condition of his nation, his vision was of the true moral condition, and gave birth to his message. When his work was approaching its termination, a new vision, that of the Saviour, was granted to him, and his last and mightiest utterances were concerning the Christ. It is of deep interest and undoubted value to consider his view of Christ, at this crisis in his work.

How important this vision is, may be argued from the manner in which Luke introduces him, ‘Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judza, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturzea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of

1z Sam. 9. 9. 217 Sam. 9. 6. 5Hosea 9. 7 (A.V., margin).

Abilene, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John.”! One Roman emperor, one Roman governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests are all made use of, to mark the hour in which the word came to John.

Incidentally this is an illuminative illustration of the Divine perspective in human history. To the men of the day, any one of the great men named would have counted for far more than the man of the wilderness; but in the economy of God, they are simply used to mark the hour in which the most important event of the period happened, that namely of the coming to a man of the word of God, which announced the advent of His Son. The greatness of John in the estimate of heaven, is revealed by the fact that the word of God passed emperor, governor, tétrarchs, and high priests, and came to him; and the mention of these facts proves how important was the message of this man, to whom was given the high honour of uttering the word which announced the fulfilment of the aspirations of the past, and the merging of one dispensation of government into a new and a better.

The subject is divided into two parts, first, John’s preliminary vision and burden; and secondly, the greater vision that broke upon

him and closed his work.

I. The preliminary vision was a twofold one. First a great consciousness of the sin of the people, and secondly an overwhelming sense of an approaching crisis. These were the two great facts that made the ministry of John powerful, his sense of sin, and his sense of the imminence of Divine interposition. His vision of the people as they really were, instead of as they thought they were, and his understanding of the signs of the times were so perfect, that he knew that he stood on the eve of a new departure.

His consciousness of the sin of the people is evidenced first by the words addressed to them, especially by that stinging and terrible description, “Ye offspring of vipers.”2 Perhaps the best way to have any correct idea of how these words sounded in the ears of the listeners is to imagine that a prophet to-day should use them in addressing a promiscuous congregation. John looked into the faces of the multitudes and deliberately called them “offspring of

ILuke 3. 1, 2. 2Luke 3. 7.

vipers.” These multitudes were not made up exclusively of one class of people. All Judzea went out to hear him. Among the rest there is very little doubt that Herod at times was an attentive listener. Royalty mingled with the masses, all sorts and conditions of men stood together, and listened to the burning words that fell from the lips of the prophet; and looking out over the sea of upturned faces, and knowing their true moral condition, he called them “offspring of vipers.” Matthew says that these words were specially addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Luke tells us that they were spoken to the whole multitudes, and undoubtedly both are correct. Luke gives his declamation against the nation, while Matthew records the special address of John, in which he put his finger upon the heart of the sore, showing that he understood the process of the nation’s corruption. Said he to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?! These men were the ritualists and the rationalists of the day, the men under whose influence religion was evaporating in mere outward form and ceremony, and men who were sapping the very life essence of religion by denying the spiritual realm. The Pharisees were ritualists, having form without power. The Sadducees were rationalists, denying power, and holding even the form in contempt. Between them, they had undermined the whole religious fabric, which still stood, a vast and gaudy pile, covering untold corruption, and liable at any moment to fall in utter ruin.

John looking at these men and at the people whom they had influenced said, “Ye offspring of vipers.” It was forceful and terrible language, indicative of the prophet’s righteous indignation, born of his keen understanding of the true condition of affairs.

His sense of sin is also proved by the varied answers he gave to different people who questioned him. To the common multitudes he cried, “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father.”2 In these last words he indicated the characteristic sin of the people, that namely, of satisfaction in blood relationship to Abraham, despite the fact that the material corruption of their life contradicted the first essential greatness of Abraham, that of his faith in God and obedience to the Divine will.

*Matt. 3. 7 2Luke 3. 8,

I0oO THE (CRISES (Of THB CHORES

When the publicans came to him, and asked him what they were to do, he replied, “Extort no more than that which is appointed you.”! From this answer is seen how accurately he understood the dishonesty of these men, who under the egis of their influential position were robbing the people, and enriching themselves.

When the soldiers came to him and asked, What are we to do, he replied, “Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse any one wrongfully; and be content with your wages.”2

Here again is seen how keen was his consciousness of the sin of the alien armies, the tyranny of the conquerors. These men were exacting that which was not their due, and this by violence, creating false charges against men, in order that they might enrich themselves by the fines imposed. All these replies show how accurate a knowledge the prophet had of the true condition of affairs, and that was the first part of his burden.

This sense of sin had given birth to another, that of an approaching crisis. Listen to his words, “And even now the axe also lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”3 The axe is laid at the root of the trees. That is a figure of coming and swift destruction, not the pruning of the knife, but the destruction of the axe. It is not an occasional branch in which the signs of decay are ‘manifest. The tree is diseased, and the axe is laid at its root. Outwardly fair, but inwardly decayed, the tree is doomed to an immediate destruction.

But the vision was clearer than this alone would indicate. It was not an undefined crisis that was approaching, but the definite coming of One, for hear his language, “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptise you in the Holy Spirit and in fire.”4 This One was to be active, and mark well the characteristics of His activity as John foresaw them, “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the garner, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.”5 Note the twofold fact, the destructive side as symbolised by the fan and the fire; and the constructive aspect, as seen in the cleansing by fire and the gathering into the garner of precious things.

ILuke 3. 13. ®Luke 3. 14. 5Luke 3. 9.
4Matt. 3. 11. 5Matt. 3. 12,

John had a sense of the sin of the people, a consciousness of a coming crisis, a clear vision of the Deliverer, Whose work was to be destructive and constructive. With this double consciousness, he preached with overwhelming force to the vast multitudes that flocked to the valley of the Jordan to hear him.

Il. It is probable that John had never seen Jesus, or if they had known each other in boyhood’s days, long years had elapsed since their last meeting. John having turned his back upon the priesthood, had gone to the splendid isolation of the wilderness in preparation for the great work that lay before him; while Jesus had remained in the midst of the commonplaces of every-day life, in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. At last the moment came when the forerunner was to look upon the face of the King, and it was a wonderful vision that broke upon this stern and burdened soul, when for the first time he looked into the face of Him, Whose advent he had so magnificently foretold.

The story is chronicled in detail by the Apostle John, and in eleven verses are the doings of three distinct days, the vision of the first day;1 that of the second, beginning with the words, “On the morrow, 2 and that of the third commencing “Again on the morrow.”3

On the first day there is the speech of John declaring the presence of Christ in the crowd, but in all probability he did not point Him out to the people. Said he, “In the midst of you standeth One Whom ye know not.”4 The emphasis is on the “ye,” for John certainly knew Him. Let it be borne in mind that about six weeks had passed since the day of the baptism of Jesus. He had been hidden in the wilderness, passing through the forty days or temptation, and had now returned, and was mingling with the crowds just upon the eve of commencing His own public ministry.5

Mark the prophet’s sense of the dignity of the One Who as yet had not chosen to manifest Himself openly to men. “He that

John 1. 26-28. 2John 1. 29-34. 3John I. 35, 36. 4John 1. 26.

5A careful study of the context will prove that this statement of John was made after the baptism, for immediately after the three days’ events here recorded, Jesus began the gathering of His disciples, and His public work. It would seem therefore as if this study of the vision of John should come after the chapters on the temptation. It is taken here, however, as the pronouncement which John made, as the one direct outcome of the vision of Christ, which he had received on the occasion of the baptism, as he himself distinctly declared (John 1. 33, 34).

cometh after me is become before me: for He was before me... the latchet of Whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.”! That was the statement of the first day.

It would appear as though on the second day Jesus no longer merely stood among the crowd as a spectator, but approached John. As He approached, John made his greatest pronouncement, “Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.”2 First his vision of the Person; secondly, a declaration concerning His work. The phrase which describes the Person as John saw Him, at once arrests attention. It declares the character of the Christ, and suggests, moreover, the character of His work. “The Lamb of God” indicates meekness, gentleness, forbearance. May it not — have been that John was surprised, when first he looked into the face of Him Whose coming he had foretold. All the language in which he had predicted the advent of the Deliverer suggested strength, force, authority, and administration, “One mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear... Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing-floor; and He will gather the wheat, but shall burn the chaff.” This Man was of quiet demeanour, and restful eyes, and calm countenance, with no lurking suspicion of vindictiveness, nothing of the lion in His fair face. Purity even to innocence was the impression produced by the presence of the King, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

And yet there was more than this in the phrase as it fell from the lips of John, and that which was more, was emphasized by this first impression. “The Lamb of God” suggests the thought of sacrifice, and this very meekness of demeanour, and purity of impression, but adds weight to this conception of the meaning of the phrase. Had John, looking into the face of Jesus had to say, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” no thought of sacrifice could have been connected therewith, but the very submissive beauty, so evident in the personality of Christ, merged the thought of the forerunner from the majesty of the work soon to be accomplished, into the mercy of the method.

We are in great danger to-day of losing sight of that second suggestion of the great phrase. To interpret Scripture aright, it is necessary to find the way back into the temper and tone, into the

ohn 1. 15, 27. John 1. 29.

THE VISION OF jJOHN 103

habit of thought of the people to whom the words were addressed. To the Jewish mind there was no other meaning in this phrase than that of sacrifice. The season at which these words were spoken lent weight to this view of the meaning. The Passover was approaching, and along that very highway droves of sheep and cattle were in all probability being driven towards Jerusalem for sacrifice. The thought of sacrifice was subconsciously present amid the crowds, and the. prophet, who had seen the sin of the people, now looking into the face of this strange new King, beholds in Him God’s perfect Lamb, the One final Sacrifice for sin. The first time in the Bible where thé word “Lamb” occurs is in connection with the sacrifice of Isaac. Coming up from the long gone centuries is heard the plaintive cry of the lad, about to be bound upon the altar, “My father... behold, the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”1 The first time that the word occurs in the New Testament, is where the last messenger of the great nation that had sprung from the loins of Abraham through Isaac, announced to the multitudes of the children of Abraham, “Behold, the Lamb of God.’”’2 This is no mere accident. It is a part of the great proof of the unity of the Book. The Old Testament asks the question, “Where is the lamb?” The New Testament answers, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The old economy was able to produce the fire and the wood, symbols of judgment, but nothing more. The new produces the perfect sacrifice by the offering of which Isaac and his seed in faith might go free.

No one will dispute that the question asked by Isaac concerning the lamb, is a question having reference to sacrifice. All through the Old Testament, the lamb is distinctly connected with the thought of sacrifice — the lamb of the atonement, the morning and evening lambs of sacrifice. John, knowing the meaning that gathered around the word in the mind of the people he addressed, declared that here at last had appeared upon the scene of human action the Lamb of God, that is, One Who should fulfil all the promises and suggestions concerning sacrifice in the old economy.

To dwell for a moment longer upon this aspect, let it be remembered that the word “lamb” only occurs four times in the New Testament, until the book of Revelation is reached, twice in

1Gen. 22. 7. 2John 1. 29.

the passage now under consideration, once in the Acts, where —

Philip read from the prophecy of Isaiah,

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,”*

and once in the First Epistle of Peter, -where the Apostle speaks of “the precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ.”2 These are the only occasions where the word “lamb” is used, and they all refer to Christ. The last two most evidently have reference to His sacrificial and atoning work, and so also without any doubt have the statements of John. The language of Scripture is not contradictory, but unified in its symbolism, in both these cases, as it ever is.

The words following place this beyond the possibility of contradiction, “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” The meaning of the phrase “taketh away” is that of bearing or carrying. That is to say, the prophet declared that there stood before them the Lamb of God Who had become responsible for the sin of the world. He taketh it away, He carries it, He bears it, He has made it His own, He has become responsible for it. What a radiant vision of love ineffable was this that broke upon the soul of John, and what a vision for the world! The spotless Lamb of God laden with the sin of the race. Men had been asking for Him from the days of Isaac. Behold Him! He stands before the crowds in quiet, submissive splendour, and yet He is burdened, as man was never burdened. He carries the sin of the world. Not the sins, but the principle of sin. He has gathered into His own perfect personality, and has made Himself responsible for all that sin means as to guilt and penalty. That is the very heart of the atonement, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

Thus John who had been heavily burdened with a sense of sin, and out of that sense had spoken words that had scorched the consciences of the listening multitudes, at last found the burden lifted from his shoulders, and carried in a way he never could have carried it, by the meek and gentle Lamb of God.

He then proceeded to tell the crowds that his knowledge of Jesus was the result of the Divine sign, of which he had received

1Acts 8. 32. 21 Peter 1. 19.

previous notice, the sign of the descending Spirit; ending his whole declaration with the words, “I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”1 What a thrill of satisfaction there seems to be in the words “I have seen.” The eyes of men had wearied looking, and the hearts of a few faithful souls had almost sickened with hope deferred; but at last the prophet had seen.

And then notice how carefully he announces another fact concerning this Person, this Lamb of God. He is the Son of God. John had recognised the mystery of the personality of Jesus. He was the God-man, the Lamb of God, the Son of God. Two facts in one personality, and in the union of these two facts, in the one Person lay the possibility of His doing the mighty work of bearing away the sin of the world.

Now lastly, there is the account of the vision of the third day. Jesus is leaving John and the crowds. He is going to His work, and as He leaves, John points his disciples towards Him, and cries, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”2 These were in reality the final words of John’s message. They have in them the tone of a great conviction. It is the crowning climax of all his marvellous message. The herald of the King, the forerunner of the Christ, one of the greatest born of women outside the Kingdom of God, had carried on his heart, as perhaps no other man apart from Jesus, the burden of human sin. This is proven by the force and solemnity of his preaching. But at last he has looked into the face of the Saviour, and when presently men came to him, and told him of the successful preaching of Jesus, and of His growing fame, this great soul was able to say, “This my joy therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”3 Mark well the quiet calm dignity of the satisfied heart, able to say with perfect acquiescence, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John I. 34. John I. 36. 3John 3. 29, 30.

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild,
Forty days and nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.

Sunbeams scorching all the day,
Chilly dewdrops nightly shed,

Prowling beasts about Thy way,
Stones Thy pillow, earth Thy bed.

Let us Thy endurance share
And from earthly greed abstain;
With Thee watching unto prayer,
With Thee strong to suffer pain.

And if Satan, vexing sore,

Flesh or spirit should assail,
Thou, his vanquisher before,

Grant we may not faint nor fail.

So shall we have peace divine;
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.
GerorcE Hunt SMYTTAN.