12 Days of Christmas at Ararat 2024 Day 7: God provided witness to Jesus being the Christ.

12 “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.”

John‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

On “Day 4” we saw that Jesus referenced Himself as “the Light.” In that same discourse, Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders who were questioning by what authority He made the claims concerning Himself. Basically, they were accusing Him of being His own witness. This was Jesus’ answer:

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The law Jesus employed in his rebuttal, is found in Deuteronomy 17:6 and Deuteronomy 19:15, the former referencing when someone commits something worthy of death, the latter referencing any crime a person is accused of committing.

Jesus specifically references the same law, in terms of dealing with someone who has done you wrong.

“But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Paul references this law when addressing the church at Corinth.

“This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.””

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

[Paul is apparently not referencing that he is addressing the issue three times per se, but that his response to them is based on the accounts of the behavior (immorality, and division) continuing. Therefore the offense has been established.]

In our portion of John 1 being considered today, we see that John was sent from God to be a witness to the Light, a witness that Jesus was the Christ.

So, we see that the Lord honors His own law. That is, in addition to the myriad witnesses of prophecies pointing to the appearance of the Messiah, the Lord also provided “a voice crying in the wilderness,” witnessing to Jesus’ Identity.

The prophecy we considered yesterday in Malachi 3, should have served as another sure sign of who John was: the witness, the messenger, as well as that Jesus was the Christ. But, as we know, not only was the witness rejected, indeed killed, so also the One he introduced was crucified.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!