'.' God se~ding Elij~b the prophet before the great and terrible dl\y of the Lord" (?!fol, II'. 5). 1 he depunes thought, " If this is not tbe Christ, perhl\ps he iA his forerunner Elijah." How could he say be was not Elias when c'i1rist himself BI\YR elMwlwre' "This is EliRs" (Matt. xi. 14)? The answer 'or John is," I l\lll not the Elias wh~ ,rns pers0nally t~ke!-1 up to heaven, and whose return to earth is expected by you." Bnt Jo_hn ~·as El~as lil the sense of being clothed "with the spirit and power of EliM" (Luke 1. 1,). Elias was th~ antitype of John. The typical resemblance between the t 11·0 1s rem_~~kahle. (3) He 1s not the prophet-neither the prophet spoken of by Moses (De'.1~. Hill. 15\ 18), ~or "Jeremiah, or one of the prophets" (Matt. xiv, 14). 2. Pos1f11•ely. He 1s & VOJCI"--" The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight t.he way _of the Lord." He points to Isaiah's prophecy concerning himself. He wns but a v01ce to be hen,rd, not a great personage to receive the homage of men, II. THE. OFFICE OF THE BAPTIST. It was simply to baptize as a preparation for the recogmt10n of Christ. The deputies questioned his authority to baptize. "Why ?~pt1zes~ thou, then, if thou be not that Christ, or Elias, or one of the prophets?" (1) 1 hey !'Vidently expected. the Messiah or his forerunner to baptize, probably from the language of Ezek. xxxvi. 24, " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you." (2) Besides, the baptism of John was an innovation. The Gentiles had hitherto been bap- tiz<:<l on their acceptance of Juda.ism, but it had been unusual to baptize Jews. The action of John, therefore, had the appearance of inaugurating a new religion. There- fore they dem1mded his authority. (3) His answer was practically, "My baptism with water is subordinate to a higher baptism. I ba.ptize for another, not for myself; to make disciples for Christ, the Mighty (me, who was before me; not for myself." (4) He points to Christ as a Person standing among them whom they knew not. He him- ~elf was not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoes; but the Pharisees from Jerusa- 1<:m, so ultra-conservative of ordinances and usages, could neither see, nor acknowledge, nor believe in him. How natural it was that "they shonld reject the counsel of God, not being baptized of John" (Luke vii. 30) ! How true it still is that Christ is still 1,tanding among thousands who will neither see, nor reverence, nor trust him I
Vers. 29-34.-Third testimony borne by the Baptist to Jesus. This incident, which occurred on the following day, must have been immediately after the temptation. The Baptist identifies Christ by implication, not by name. 1. TUE REDEEMER IS IDENTIFIED BY ms WOBK. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" This title is taken from Isa. !iii., which the Jewish con;mentators themselves originally applied to the Messiah. The passage sets forth: 1. The Object offered in sacrific,e. "The Lamb of God." (1) It applies to Christ on account of his pertional character--on account of (a) the innocence and holiness of his life; (b) his meekness and lowliness; (c) his patience in suffering. (2) It applies to Christ as the great Sacrifice for sin. There is but one sacrifice that could correspond to the Paschal sacrifice, and that, as we know, was the basis of the whole sacrificial system of the Jews. (a) He is God's Lamb; (a) because God claims him as his own; (fl) because God provides him. (b) lie is "the Lamb "-the only one, not one ont of many. Many lambs were sacrificed in Old Testament times. All the shadows disappeared, when Christ, as the Substance, came. It is an advantage to have the whole attention concentrated upon one glorious spectacle-the Ll\mb of God! 2. The ob:ject or effect of the sacrijic,e. "Which ta.keth a.way the sin of the world." The word si.,nifies bearinu as well as taking away. Christ takes away sin by bearing it. (1) He b:ars sin. Th:' phrase implies the idea of a. heavy burden or of penal endurance, poiut- ing inevitably to the penal consequences inseparable from the sins of mankind. He was "made sin "-the world's sin-and bore it, thus enduring the penalty due to the sins of the world, (a) The word "bearetb sin," in the present tense, is not a mere prophecy as to what would occur at Calvary; (b) nor does it imply merely the constant efficacy of the sacrifice; (c) but the fact that he was even then the actual Bearer of the world's sin. Thus there is no foundation for the notion that he was n0t a Sin-bearer except on the cross. He bore sin all through bis life. (2) "He taketh away" sin. He does it by bearing it. "We kDow that Jesus Christ was manifested to take away our sins" (1 John iii. 5). Therefore we may say that Christ is (a) a Saviour, not a mere Prophet; (b) a perfect Saviour (Heh. vii. 25); (c) an uuwearying Saviour. 3. The burden 011. 1. 1-51.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.