February 2025: The Logical Allegiance

Published on 02/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"

This is the message that John the Baptizer proclaimed as he baptized the repentant in the Jordan River. While many civilians flocked to him in contriteness, the religious leaders scoffed at him. Yet, instead of turning the other way in indifference, they faced him with hostility, and this animosity foreshadows the animosity they would later show toward the King of the Jews. Indeed, John was the forerunner of Christ in multiple ways--in birth, in ministry, in the face of opposition and in innocent suffering for the sake of righteousness.

Inquiry into the Forerunner's Identity

"As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ..." (Luke 3:15, WEB)

In those days, the Jews were in great expectation for the arrival of the Messiah. According to the prophecy of Daniel 9:25 which was given in 536 BC, the Messiah should be arriving any day in John's day. Seeing the ministry of John and his preaching of the Kingdom of God, many thought that he must be the Christ, or in the very least, Elijah whom Malachi prophesied would come prior to the day of Yahweh.

Hearing the chatter of the people regarding John, the Jews of Judea wanted to get to the bottom of it, to ascertain who John really was. They sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" (John 1:19)

Knowing their thoughts, John flatly declared, "I am not the Christ." (John 1:2) When they asked him if he were Elijah or any other prophet from of old, he gave them a negative reply. Though John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he was not Elijah himself. The Jews had apparently and incorrectly thought that Elijah himself would come, perhaps as a resurrected being.

Annoyed, the priests and Levites demanded, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" to which John answered, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said." (John 1:22-23) He correctly identified himself as the forerunner of Yahweh in the Person of the Christ; the One who came after him was the Christ, not he.

The delegation asked, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" (John 1:25) If John was not the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet, then what reason did he have for baptizing the Jews? By "the prophet," they were probably thinking of the prophet whom Moses prophesied would be coming, a prophet who would be like him (Deuteronomy 18:18). However, that prophet is speaking of the Messiah; but the Jews evidently thought that "the prophet" and the Christ were different people, not one and the same.

John didn't answer the delegation's question but simply said, "I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don't know. He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen." (John 1:26-27) Shortly, the people would see the Christ whose way he was preparing. Though the Christ was then living among the people, they didn't recognize him. Though Jesus' baptism had already taken place by now, John did not yet identify him as the Christ to the delegation. Perhaps, God told him not to.

The Rebuke by the Forerunner

"You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance! Don't think to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." (Matthew 3:7-9)

When many of the Pharisees and Sadducees went to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan, John rebuked them with these words. As the mighty prophet of Yahweh, John could see through the self-righteousness and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were offspring of poisonous snakes, not repentant children of God. They didn't display any repentance in their life, yet they wanted to be baptized by John to escape God's coming wrath. Though they might fool the crowd by their "repentance," they couldn't fool God or John.

The Pharisees and Sadducees trusted in their national identity as God's chosen people of Abraham's seed, but John pointed out to them that such trust was vain. They thought that being the seed of Abraham automatically guaranteed their right standing with Yahweh and their inheritance in His Kingdom regardless how they lived before Him. They trusted in their title as Abraham's seed rather than in Yahweh. John told these spiritually blind people that being the children of Abraham meant nothing. God could even raise up children for Abraham from the rocks that lay on the ground before John. It was obedience to Yahweh that mattered (and still matters), not one's heritage or bloodline.

The Hostility Toward the Forerunner

Did the religious leaders hate John because he rebuked them for their hypocrisy or were they jealous of his popularity with the masses? It was both.

From John 1:24, we learn that the particular Jews who sent the delegation of priests and Levites to John were Pharisees. Upon hearing that John was not the Christ or a prominent prophet from the past, the delegation became irritated, and asked John, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" (John 1:24)

Oddly, these people did not feel that the forerunner whom Isaiah prophesied had the authority to baptize people as a show of repentance. They failed to understand the important role of the forerunner. They didn't understand that the forerunner was the same "Elijah" whom Malachi prophesied (John initially fulfilled the Elijah prophecy) because they apparently believed that Elijah would appear in person and John denied that he was the actual Elijah.

Pharisees were spiritual leaders of the Jews. As such, they felt that their leadership was challenged when John baptized people without their permission. If they themselves did not receive God's order to baptize fellow Jews, then how could this man who came from the wilderness baptize the Jews? Why would the Jews need to be baptized anyway since they were already the chosen of God, being the seed of Abraham? What did this man know that they didn't know? Where did he get his authorization to baptize? In short, what John was doing was offending them.

Moreover, the Pharisees were ruffled by John's ministry since they were the object of his rebuke where he called them and the Sadducees "the offspring of vipers." No, they didn't like John one bit.

The Forerunner Ministering to the King

John the forerunner of the King baptized many, many people prior to the ministry of the King, and it culminated with the baptism of the King himself.

As John was baptizing people in Bethany on the east bank of the Jordan, Jesus went to him from Nazareth of Galilee, requesting to be baptized by him. Shocked, John protested, "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?" (Matthew 3:14) Though at this moment John didn't receive divine confirmation that Jesus was the Christ, he nevertheless felt that Jesus was much more superior than he. He apparently witnessed the righteous life that Jesus had lived, being a relative of his. To John, Jesus didn't need to be baptized to show that he was repentant, for Jesus didn't seem to have committed any sins that required repentance in the first place, as far as John could see.

Jesus answered, "Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:15) Jesus explained that this was the right thing to do in accordance with all righteousness. In other words, this was what God wanted, and so it should be done. The principle is: We must do whatever is right despite how we feel about it. Though Jesus was absolutely sinless and thus did not need to repent of anything, it was God's will for him to be baptized by John. This act validated John's ministry as a divine calling, as well as identified Jesus as a brother of Israel whom he was representing to God as the Mediator.

John submitted to God's will and baptized Jesus in the Jordan. As soon as Jesus rose from under the water and was praying to his Father in heaven (Luke 3:21), the heavens opened (perhaps the clouds parted), and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Jesus, and the voice of Yahweh rang out from the heavens, declaring, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

This divine proclamation validated Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah of God. This revelation was meant to make John pay utmost close attention to Jesus. If he rejected him, it would amount to rejecting God since it was God Himself who revealed Jesus to him. This revelation seemed to have been visible and audible to only John and Jesus. If others had also witnessed it, then there would have been a great stir among the crowds, and there didn't seem to be one, as the Scriptures show that people came to know Jesus as the Messiah personally and individually, not corporately.

The Spirit of God coming upon Jesus was Jesus' anointing by God. This made Jesus the "Messiah," which means "Anointed One." This affirmed God's election of him as His Messiah. The anointing of the Spirit was also to endow Jesus with power to accomplish what he was set to do. Though Jesus is the Son of God, he needed divine empowerment as a flesh-and-blood human being. From then onward, the Holy Spirit remained in Jesus, enabling him to perform miracles and teach God's truths.

Realization of the King

John realized that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah only upon Jesus' baptism; before that, he didn't have a clue who the Messiah was. Prior to Jesus' baptism, Yahweh said to John, "On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit." (John 1:33) Thus, when John saw the Spirit descending and remaining upon Jesus at Jesus' baptism, he realized that he's the One whom Yahweh chose as His Messiah, the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. This was divine confirmation of Jesus' appointment and anointing.

The Lamb of God

The day following his interrogation by the Pharisee delegation of priests and Levites, John saw Jesus walking toward him, and pointing to him, he said to others, "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.’" (John 1:29-30) John aptly called Jesus the "Lamb of God" because Jesus is the perfect substitutionary sacrifice that takes away the sins of anyone who believes in him. He takes away the sin or general rebellion of the world. Like an innocent lamb, he never sinned, yet he died in our place to give us atonement and eternal life.

John explained that he didn't know Jesus was the Lamb of God until God revealed it to him, saying, "I didn't know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel. I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn't recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." (John 1:31-34)

John didn't realize that Jesus is the Son of God until he saw the Spirit alighting upon him just as God foretold. Yahweh openly declared that Jesus is His beloved Son, hence John rightly called Jesus the Son of God. Now that he saw the confirmation, he was proclaiming the good news of salvation through the Lamb of God. He was doing just what a forerunner should: announcing the arrival of his Master and preparing people to embrace him.

The End of the Forerunner's Life and Ministry

Being a faithful servant of God that he was, John rebuked Herod Antipas for marrying his brother Philip's ex-wife and for his other wickedness. John paid a hefty price for it--his freedom, and later his life (Luke 3:19-20).

Herodias ("Herodias" is the female form of "Herod") was formerly the wife of Philip, but after she was divorced from Philip, Herod Antipas married her. Apart from the required levirate marriage where a man should marry the sonless widow of his brother to perpetuate his brother's name and bloodline, marrying one's sister-in-law is forbidden by God, even if she were divorced, as it amounts to incest. Moreover, both Herod Antipas and Philip were Herodias' uncles, so her marriages to them were double incest.

Though he likely knew that he would be persecuted, John nevertheless spoke out against Herod for his sins. His is the obedience we should all model after; we must rebuke anyone who does wrong, even if it would cost us dearly. Our allegiance should be foremost to God.

To whom do you give your allegiance foremost? What do you trust in most for God's favor upon you--is it your pedigree, perfect church attendance, tithing, or the person of Christ? I hope "the person of Christ" is your answer!

Know that apart from Christ and your faith in him, you'd have nothing of lasting value. So if you haven't yet, make him the Lord of your life today! Full allegiance to him is only logical and reasonable; Christ deserves nothing less, and you'd do yourself the greatest service when you put your full trust in him.


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: Do I have to learn Biblical Hebrew and Greek in order to understand the Bible?

Answer: Learning Hebrew and Greek will help us understand the Bible better, but that "better" does not mean necessary.

It is better because we'll get a fuller sense of the word's meaning, but it will not improve our understanding of the actual teaching because our translation is good enough for the actual teaching.

I'll give you an example. "Peace" is translated from the Hebrew word "shalom" that has a much richer meaning than just peace. Shalom means wellness in multiple facets including peace. So by knowing this word, we can better appreciate the Bible text. However, knowing the fuller meaning does not really affect the essential teaching of the Bible. It does not necessarily improve our obedience or our spiritual growth.

Since God is the one who divided our language into many and would have foreseen the need to translate His Word, He apparently deemed it good enough that we know His Word in various translations.

So I would not worry about learning Hebrew or Greek. In my lessons, I just teach a word here or there so you can better appreciate the text but it does not affect the Biblical doctrine. It is not necessary to know the Biblical languages to understand the Bible and live by it.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then you may subscribe to Dr. Shirley's newsletter by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this page.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then you may subscribe to Dr. Shirley's newsletter by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this page.