Ken Fleming is faculty emeritus at Emmaus Bible College. For twenty-five years he was a missionary in South Africa among the Zulu people. From 1977 to 2002 he was head of the Missions department at Emmaus. He continues an active ministry of preaching and writing.
Part 4: John Meets The Master
Matt. 3:11-17, Mark 1:7-11, Luke 3:15-22, John 1:7-8
Introduction
John the Baptist had been preaching in the Jordan valley for perhaps two months. He boldly challenged the people to prepare for the coming of Messiah by repenting from their sinful ways, by bringing forth fruits in keeping with repentance, by confessing sins, and by being baptized to declare their readiness for the kingdom of God on earth under the rule of God’s Chosen One. John also boldly confronted the religious leaders and warned them of coming judgment.
John’s Testimony To The Coming Messiah
Was John The Messiah? (Luke 3:15)
Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not…The impact of John’s preaching stirred the entire country, so it should be no surprise to read in Luke 3:15 that the people wondered whether John himself might be the promised Christ. We have to remember that they didn’t know anything about Mary, or the shepherds, or the wise men, or the killing of infants by King Herod almost thirty years before. They knew nothing of the Carpenter in Nazareth. Even though John was announcing the kingdom of heaven, he did not yet know when the King would come and reveal who he was. So with all John’s popularity it’s not surprising that some of the waiting people wondered if he might possibly be the Christ.
The Superiority Of The Messiah To John (Matt. 3:11-12)
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”Christ Is Superior In His Personhood (Matt 3:11)
John did not allow himself to be seduced by his popularity. When the people asked him if he was the Christ, he denied it. He described the Messiah as “He who is coming after me” of whom John was unworthy to carry or untie his sandals. That was an act considered so low that even a slave would not be asked to do it. John clearly discerned the surpassing glory of the coming Christ. He was saying, “I am merely a servant. He is the King.” And we, like John, need to see ourselves as his servants who should serve people with a servant’s heart.
Christ Is Superior In His Ministry (Matt. 3:11-12; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16-18)
John went on to say that not only was the coming Christ superior to him in his person, he was superior in his ministry. John said, “I indeed baptize you with water…. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Messiah’s baptism with the Holy Spirit would take place after his resurrection, at the beginning of the church age. On the day of his ascension the risen Lord said to his disciples, “John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). He was referring to the day of Pentecost, ten days later, when the Spirit of God visibly came on the Jewish believers who were assembled together (Acts 2:1-4).
Some time later, God gave the same experience to some new Gentile believers who were with the apostle Peter in Caesarea. Peter told them that they too would be baptized by the Holy Spirit, just as the Jewish believers were at Pentecost, and he linked this Pentecost event with the prophecy of John the Baptist (Acts 11:15-16). Those two incidents were inaugural, or initial, events. Since then, every new believer is baptized or immersed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, which is the universal church (1 Cor. 12:13).
Christ Is Superior In His Power (Matt. 3:11-12)
John spoke of a third way in which Christ was superior to him: with respect to his power, particularly, as Judge. The One who was coming “after” John would be “mightier” than John and would not only baptize with the Holy Spirit but with fire. This judgment of fire will be on those who persist in evil and do not receive Messiah. It will take place at the beginning of the kingdom age when Christ comes again.
John illustrates the coming judgment with the process of winnowing wheat—separating the wheat kernels from the husks, or chaff. At harvest time they threshed, or beat, the grain until the husks fell off. They were then left with a pile of mixed chaff and grain which they then “winnowed” or separated by throwing it into the air on a windy day. The wind blew the lighter chaff aside and the wheat fell back onto the threshing floor. When there was no natural wind the farmer used a large fan to blow the chaff. The farmer then collected the wheat in his barn and burned the chaff with fire”.
Using this imagery John was saying that Messiah would separate the righteous from the unrighteous. He would bring the righteous into his kingdom and judge the unrighteous. The fan in the farmer’s hand illustrates the Lord as Judge separating the righteous from the unrighteous. The fire is the eternal judgment he inflicts on the unrighteous. This is why John appealed to the unrighteous to “flee from the wrath to come” (Luke 3:7).
The Baptism Of Jesus By John
God had promised to give John a visible sign by which he would know who the Messiah was, but John had not yet seen it. No doubt he was looking for it with growing expectation among the thousands of people coming to him for baptism. By now, a number of men had attached themselves to him as his disciples. John taught them and continued preaching repentance and baptizing those who responded in the Jordan River.
Meanwhile Jesus was in Nazareth working quietly as a carpenter. He was known locally as the “carpenter” or the “Nazarene” (Mark 6:3, 10:47). He had been content to wait in obscurity until the time for his introduction. Like John he was about thirty years old and no doubt knew of the excitement about John’s preaching of repentance and baptizing those who were preparing for the coming king. Then one day Jesus knew his time had come. He slipped away quietly alone from Nazareth for the journey to where John was preaching in the Jordan valley.
The Reluctance Of John (Matt. 3:14)
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”Matthew 3:13 simply says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.” John tried to resist baptizing Jesus, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” We know from John 1:30-34 (see below) that John did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah until Jesus rose out of the water. What then prompted John to shrink from baptizing him, to the point of reversing their roles? If we assume that the two cousins did meet as children, John would no doubt have remembered that Jesus was an unusually obedient child. Certainly, Zacharias would have told him the remarkable circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Although there is no clear explanation in the biblical text, John seems to have either known Jesus personally or discerned by talking with him that he had no sins to confess. It is not surprising, therefore, that John hesitated to fulfill Jesus’ request, especially as he was so humble by nature.
The Reason For The Baptism Of Jesus (Matt. 3:15)
But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.Jesus Was Identifying With His People
It was still not clear to John why Jesus should wish to be baptized, however. It is reasonable to conclude that although Jesus had no sin from which to repent, John’s call had gone out to all Israel, so Jesus could not remain aloof. He had come into the world to identify with his people and with all mankind. He had no sin himself, but he was to take upon himself the sin of the world. When Jesus said to John, “Permit it to be so now,” he was affirming that he had come to do the will of the Father who sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. His first recorded words in Scripture, as a twelve year old boy, had been, “I must be about My Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). Now, in being baptized, he publicly indicated he was obeying his Father and taking his place with his people.
Jesus’ Baptism Fulfilled “All Righteousness” (Matt. 3:15)
Jesus next affirmed that for John to baptize him and for him to be baptized by John was “fitting,” or necessary, to fulfill all righteousness. Notice that he said that it was fitting for both of them. Jesus fulfilled righteousness when he identified himself as an Israelite “under the law” (Gal. 4:4). He had been circumcised to signify that he was an Israelite. He became a carpenter in the ordinary course of Jewish life. He attended the feasts in Jerusalem. When he was baptized he fulfilled all righteousness in identifying with the Israelites under the covenant. He was the only righteous One and therefore qualified as a perfect sacrifice for their sins.
John as the baptizer of Jesus fulfilled righteousness by being obedient to God’s plans and purposes. Christ’s baptism would signal the beginning of his public ministry. Ultimately those who came to Jesus as Savior were baptized into the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit would empower them, “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4). Thus when we are saved by his death and resurrection we are given the power to fulfill righteousness in our lives and reflect the righteousness of Christ to the world.
Jesus’ Baptism Foreshadowed His Redeeming Work
Baptism is essentially being immersed in something. It is a picture of death. The baptism of the Lord Jesus not only identified him with his people, but symbolized his work on Calvary when he took our sins on himself and was plunged into the darkness of death as a sacrifice for sin. When he completed his redeeming work, he rose in triumph over death, sin, and Satan. In doing so he fulfilled the righteous requirement of God on our behalf by which he could judicially declare us righteous in God’s eyes (Rom. 3:24-25, 4:5). His baptism by John was a turning point in his life. The tranquility of Nazareth was behind. The sacrifice and suffering of Calvary lay ahead, followed by the glory of his resurrection. Jesus himself referred to his coming death as a “baptism” (Matt. 20:22; Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50).
The baptism of Jesus by John was a fitting climax to John’s mission of preparing the way for the coming Messiah. And for the Lord Jesus, his baptism was a fitting entrance into his ministry, identifying himself with the people he came to save. It was the beginning point in his work of reconciliation. Evidently when he was baptized, he fell to his knees in prayer (Luke 3:21). He had no sins to confess, but he had the sin of the world on his heart.
The Opened Heavens (Matt. 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32)
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:16-17)The Descent Of The Spirit Onto Jesus
While the Lord Jesus was praying, both John and John saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus to symbolize the beginning of his public ministry (Mark 1:10)—a dramatic moment indeed. Peter described that incident as God anointing Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power (Acts 10:38).
All through Old Testament times the Spirit of God came upon and empowered certain individuals to accomplish special tasks. Never once did the Spirit remain on that individual after the task was finished. But when the Holy Spirit of God came upon the Lord Jesus at the start of his earthly ministry, he “rested” on him (Matt. 3:16), or as the apostle John wrote, he “remained” or became “at home” on him (John 1:32). Jesus was the first one upon whom the Holy Spirit could remain in all his holiness and be perfectly at home. The same Spirit now dwells in every believer because of the finished work of Christ. It is helpful for us to ask ourselves to what degree the Holy Spirit may feel “at home” in our lives.
The Voice From Heaven (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11: Luke 3:22)
John then heard the voice from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mark and Luke wrote that the voice from heaven spoke to Jesus saying, “You are My beloved Son” (italics added). When John heard the voice from heaven, he became convinced that Jesus was the Son of God. This would be reinforced a short time later when he announced, “I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). But Mark and Luke both say that the voice was directed to Jesus. These words of the Father’s pleasure in his Son would be a tremendous encouragement to Jesus, who immediately went into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for forty days. It would strengthen his spirit during that most difficult time. It seems that the voice from heaven was both a revelation to John that Jesus was the Son of God, and a word of encouragement to Jesus that the Father loved him and was pleased with him.John Points To The Lamb Of God (John 1:19-34)
The Impact Of John’s Preaching
Jesus’ Baptism Was The Turning Point In John’s Ministry
John had been obedient to prepare Israel for their Messiah and to have his part in preparing Jesus for his ministry to Israel and the world—that is, by baptizing him. The life of John hinges on the day he baptized Jesus. On that day everything he learned from his youth came together.
Now he knew with certainty that Jesus was the expected Messiah-King, the Son of God, the Beloved of his Father, the Judge of all the earth, the Savior of sinners. He saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus and heard the voice from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” From that day forward he refocused his ministry. Instead of announcing that Messiah was coming, he announced that Messiah had come. But right after his baptism, Jesus strangely disappeared into the wilderness and no one saw him for six weeks.
The Impact On The Nation
John’s preaching and baptizing in the Jordan valley had had a striking effect on the whole nation. No prophet in Israel’s history had made such a powerful impact as he had. Although no specific numbers are given, it appears that thousands of Jews had repented, confessed their sins, and been baptized in preparation for the coming King and his kingdom. But John’s impact had not all been positive. Herod Antipas, the Roman governor in the Jordan area, was upset because John had preached against his sinful marriage to his brother’s wife. Then too the religious leaders in Jerusalem turned against John because John had separated himself from the religious system and publicly rebuked them for their sins of pride and hypocrisy.
John As A Witness To Jesus In The Gospel Of John
It is at this point that the apostle John picks up the story of John the Baptist. He began, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6). He went on to say that John’s commission from God was to be a witness of what he personally saw and heard. The purpose of a witness is to establish the truth. John bore witness that Jesus was the true light, so that “all through him [John] might believe” in Jesus as the Christ (John 1:7-9). He was to be a witness that Jesus, whom he baptized, was the promised Messiah (John 1:15). He was a witness to the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus (John 1:32). He was a witness to the voice from heaven that confirmed Jesus to be God’s beloved Son (vv. 33-34). Notice that John is called a witness that Jesus was the Messiah five times in John chapter 1 (vv. 7, 15, 19, 32, 34).
The Witness Of John To The Jewish Delegation (John 1:19-28)
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. (John 1:19-24)John’s Testimony About Himself
There was speculation among the Jews that perhaps John was the Messiah. A delegation of priests and Levites were sent by the “Jews” in Jerusalem to ask him. They came with the question, “Who are you?”
John gave the delegation a very strong answer. He answered, “I am not the Christ.” The delegation persisted, “What then? Are you Elijah?” They knew that Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5). Again John answered, “I am not.” Actually, Elijah will come before Christ’s second coming (Revelation 11). Once again they asked, going back further into history, “Are you the Prophet?” referring to God’s promise to Moses that a prophet like him would come (Deut. 18:15). John simply answered, “No.” Each answer was getting shorter in length.
John Was A Voice
The visitors were not satisfied with John’s brief answers which did not give them any new information. They had been charged with bringing back more substantial information than negative answers. Again they said, “Who are you?…. What do you say about yourself?” John answered by quoting the prophecy of Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight…a highway for our God’” (Isa. 40:3). When John told them he was only a “voice” he was deliberately downplaying his own importance in comparison to that of the coming Messiah.
All three synoptic gospel writers had referred to John being the “voice” who was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Matt. 3:3; Mark. 1:3; Luke 3:4). But the purpose of the writer of the gospel of John was to show the attitude of John the Baptist about the status of his own ministry compared to that of the coming Christ. In John’s gospel alone John the Baptist speaks of himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3. Compared to the awesome presence of Christ, John said in effect, “I am merely an impersonal voice, an announcer to tell you of the coming of One who is infinitely greater than I am.” The earlier verses in the chapter have already explained that Jesus was the Word who made all things, by whom all things consist, and in whom was life (John 1:1-4). His glory matches the glory of the Father in heaven and is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). So John the Baptist was content to be only a voice to speak on behalf of Christ.
From verse 24, which says that “those who were sent were from the Pharisees,” we learn that the delegation from Jerusalem either included Pharisees as well as priests and Levites, or had been sent from the Pharisees.
The Testimony Of John To Jesus (John 1:25-34)
And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”The Authority For John To Baptize (John 1:25)
The question of the Pharisees in verse 25 is a hostile and aggressive one. They had thought, like the Levites, that the prophecy of the “voice” would be fulfilled by the return of Elijah the prophet, but John claimed not to be Elijah. So they joined the discussion by asking, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” They wanted to know what his credentials were and who gave him authority to baptize. John’s answer implied that what qualified him to baptize was his calling from God (cf. John 1:33).
The Superiority Of The Messiah (John 1:26-27)
Rather than comparing his water baptism with Messiah’s Holy Spirit baptism, he drew attention to the superiority of the Messiah himself. He considered himself an insignificant man by comparison with the Christ. In effect, he said, “Don’t bother about whether I have credentials or not. The great One I have been announcing is already among you, but you do not know him (v. 26). My job of baptizing will soon be done. My reputation won’t matter when he comes. He will come after me in time, but he comes before me in his rank and reputation—so much so, that I am not worthy to unloose his sandal strap” (John 1:27; cf. Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16).
The delegation had visited John on the first day of seven significant days at the beginning of this gospel. John was baptizing those who repented in a place called Bethabara (also called Bethany) in the Jordan valley. The significance of the seven days lies in the transition from John’s ministry to Jesus’ ministry. The first day begins with the declaration of John’s unworthiness to loosen the sandals on Messiah’s feet.
He Is The Lamb Of God (John 1:29)
The “next day,” the second day, with crowds of people standing around, John saw Jesus coming toward him. Seeing him he shouted out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” By calling Jesus “the Lamb of God,” John did not refer to any specific Scripture (as it is not a phrase found elsewhere in the Bible) but to the unfolding imagery in the Old Testament of a coming Redeemer as a sacrificial Lamb. No doubt he thought of Abel’s offering of a lamb that had shown that the Lamb must be a blood sacrifice (Genesis 4). Then there was Abraham’s lamb on Mt. Moriah that became a substitute sacrifice in the place of Isaac (Genesis 22). John would remember the Passover lamb by which the Israelites were saved from judgment when they applied its blood on their doorframes (Exodus 12). Isaiah’s lamb would remind him that the Lamb must be a person, for he was to be led as a lamb to the slaughter (Isa.53:7).
So John knew from Scripture that the Lamb furnished by God for the people would be a blood sacrifice, a substitute sacrifice for the offender, an applied sacrifice in order to be effective, and a voluntary sacrifice offered willingly for the offender. And from all this he introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Such was John’s knowledge of the Old Testament that he was one of the rare few who discerned the two comings of Christ: His first to die for sinners, and his second to reign as King.
He Takes Away The Sin Of The World
The Lamb to whom John pointed would “take away the sin of the world.” There are two ideas embedded in the original language of this verb “take away.” First, the Lamb would bear the weight, or load, of sin. And second, the Lamb would carry it away, that is, remove it. We should also note that what he would bear and carry away was the “sin” of the world. Sin (singular) refers to the root principle of sin, not sins (plural), the individual transgressions of God’s holy standards of which we are all guilty. The Lord Jesus invited his Jewish audience who were weighed down with not only their sin but with the demands of the law to come to him for rest (Matt. 11:28). In John Bunyan’s great book, Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Pilgrim, realized that he was weighed down with the load of his own sin (cf. Ps. 38:4). He found no relief until he came to the cross, where the burden fell off his back and rolled away. We too will only be free from the load of sin when we come to the cross where the Lamb bore it for us.
Another remarkable thing about John’s words is that he presented Christ in a much wider context than Isaiah did in his prophecy (Isaiah 53). Isaiah saw that Messiah would deal with what he called the transgressions of “his people,” the Jews (Isa. 53:8). But John saw that the Lamb would take away the sin of the world, meaning all people. It led to God’s good news in John 3:16 that “whoever” believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The gospel message is not just for the Jews. It is without boundaries or limits. The Lamb of God was of infinitely greater value than the total of all the thousands of lambs offered on all the altars in Israel. They could never take away sin (Heb. 10:1-4). And what the Lamb of God accomplished was greater because the sin was completely removed and would be remembered no more. His sacrifice never needs to be repeated.
John’s proclaiming Jesus as the Lamb of God brings him forward from being the last of the Old Testament prophets to being the first evangelist of the New. The message of the gospel could hardly by put more concisely than in John 1:29.
He Is The Pre-Existent One (John 1:30)
John continued with his introduction of the Messiah by saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” That means two things. First, he was of higher rank than John, so high that John was not worthy to loosen his sandal strap. Second, he existed before John, even though John was born six months before Jesus. How could that be? Because, as the Son of God, he had existed from all eternity. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). As the Living Word, he did not start to exist when he was born to Mary. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14, italics added). John had recognized his deity when the Father’s voice declared, “This is My beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17).
Jesus Is To Be Revealed To Israel (John 1:31-33)
John testified that the ultimate purpose of his baptizing ministry was that “he [Jesus] should be revealed to Israel.” John had preached and baptized faithfully until the day Jesus came to him for baptism. John could not identify Jesus with certainty as the Messiah until he saw the sign that God had told him he would see (of the Spirit descending and remaining on him). It was only after Jesus returned from spending forty days in the wilderness that John publicly introduced him as the Lamb of God. Thus these events recorded in John’s gospel must have taken place between four and six months after John the Baptist began his work.
Jesus Is The Son Of God (John 1:34)
John then finished his introduction of the Christ with the declaration, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” It was the climax of John’s ministry. He said in effect, “This man before you is not only God’s Lamb, but eternal in his existence—he is God’s Son.” Think of the theological depth of these statements—the Lamb, the Eternal One, and the Son of God! Through him we can know God. Christ is the foundation of our theology, our salvation, our hope, and our worship. If Christ is not both deity and the Lamb, we have no salvation from the effects of sin.
John had predicted Messiah’s coming, prepared Messiah’s way, presented Messiah’s purpose to his generation, and baptized the Messiah to mark the beginning of his public ministry. His job was done. The only thing for John to do now was to step aside in terms of being in the limelight. He did not call people to himself, but until God took him to heaven, he would keep pointing people to Jesus.
John’s Last Sight Of Jesus (Vv. 35-37)
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.The biblical record cites just two brief occasions on which John had any interaction with Jesus. The first time was when Jesus came to him to be baptized and God showed John who he was. The second time was more than forty days later when he introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. That had been a great day.
Now, on the very next day, the third day of the seven, “John stood with two of his disciples.” One of them was Andrew (v. 40). The other, though unnamed, was almost certainly the apostle John who wrote this gospel. Notice carefully what he does.
As John the Baptist looked at Jesus walking by he said simply, “Behold the Lamb of God!” This time it was not so much an announcement as an expression of worship. He recognized in him the meaning of his name, Jesus, which is Jehovah Savior. His two disciples, Andrew and John, who were listening, realized that this was a crisis moment. They were John’s disciples, but when they heard him speak like that of Jesus, they left John and “followed Jesus” (v. 36). John did not call them back, because this was why he had come. John had done his work well and he had no regrets, only the satisfaction that the purpose of his vocation was being fulfilled. For the men who now followed Jesus, it was just the beginning of theirs.
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