An Excellent Witness
By Paul Robison

     We all know how important a witness can be in a court of law.  We are trying to better understand Jesus’ life and ministry by looking at His world and culture as seen in the four Gospels.  The following thoughts are based on John 1:6-9.  This passage tells us that John the Baptizer was a prophet sent from God.  In fact, this prophet’s birth was foretold hundreds of years earlier by another prophet (see Malachi 4:5)!  For 430 years, God had sent no prophet to Israel, so John the Baptizer’s birth was indeed an astounding event signifying that a special individual was among the Jews!  John was anti-ritual, anti-nationalism, and anti-traditional, so his preaching of authentic love for God, of repentance, and of righteous behavior was very unsettling to the Jewish leaders.  His practice of immersion was especially annoying since it meant that the Jews had to begin their relationship with God at the same starting point as those Gentiles who chose to adopt the Jewish religion (how humiliating)!  Although John was shattering enough, the text above states that John was a witness to another person who the gospel writer calls “the Real Light”.  John’s witnessing and teaching was only a candle in comparison to the floodlight that Jesus’ teaching would provide to all people!  The Real Light would expose humanity’s dark hearts, the Real Light would enlighten all men to see God’s will, the Real Light would point to an even more Glorious Light whom He warmly called “Our Father”!  John was like a herald who went before a king to announce his coming to the people.  John effectively discharged his role as a witness to point others to the long awaited Messiah that the prophets had promised—Jesus, the Real Light!  John the Baptizer was an excellent witness to Jesus!  Are we?