The Thursday after Gaudete Sunday, The Third Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 19, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:24-34 (NKJV)
1:24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 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.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Devotion
Those who questioned John were sent from the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a more ‘conservative’ religious party of the Jews. The statement about “the Christ” indicates that they are asking John if he professes himself to be the promised Messiah. Verses 26 and 27 demonstrate that John does not see himself as, nor claim to be, any of the individuals they listed—but instead declares there is One who comes after him who is far greater than he.
The title of “Lamb of God” used by the Baptizer, when coupled with the book of Revelation, indicates that John the Baptizer does see Jesus as the promised “Messiah”, even though the One who is unknown by the questioners stands among them. This seems to be the general situation for the vast majority of the people, and certainly for the Jewish religious leaders of the time period. This is not so different from our own time when so many within popular Christianity (both laity and clergy) appear grossly ignorant of who Jesus truly is and what He truly brings.
At the conclusion of today’s text, John the Baptizer gives a bold confession of the divinity of Jesus as “the Christ,” the “Son of God.” This section of the Gospel according to Saint John can be confusing for some because they forget that you have two men with the name “John” related to this text: John the Baptizer, who is being quoted by the author, John the Apostle.
Collect: Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayers, and lighten the darkness of our hearts, by Thy gracious visitation; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Advent
Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
