When we read the 1st chapter of the gospel of saint John, we see that there is much to be said about Christ just
within this section alone. However, to help shed some light on
the birth of Christ, we are going to focus on what John the Baptist had to say
about the Messiah.
Within the following passages, the Jews
sent some priests to John to ask him questions concerning his identity, whether
he was the prophet or Elias. John was quick to deny that he was any
of these individuals. Rather, John told them that he
was the one who was prophesied by Isaiah, the one who will help prepare the
people for the coming Lord.
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[19] And this is the record of
John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art
thou?
[20] And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
[21] And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
[22] Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
[23] He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
[20] And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
[21] And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
[22] Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
[23] He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
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As a result of his denial, the
priests begin to question him on why he baptizes if he is not any of the 3 individuals which were mentioned above. John viewed this as an opportunity to talk about Jesus. Hence, he tells them that there exists one man among them whom they know not. He
then goes on to tell them that Christ is so much greater than he that he is not
even deserving to get on his knees and unloose the straps of his sandals.
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[25] And they asked him, and said
unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that
prophet?
[26] John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
[27] He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
[26] John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
[27] He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
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The day after these things had
happened, Jesus came into view and John told those who were near him that he
was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In other words, he was
telling the people that he was the coming savior. However, by using simple logic, we can come to understand the full meaning behind John's saying that Jesus was the savior of humanity. You cannot untie your brother if you yourself are
in chains. You cannot clean one who is dirty if you are also unclean. In the
same way, you cannot save one from his sins if you are also soaked in wickedness and wrongdoing. Only
the sinless can perform such a task. So when in view of this, we can see that John was telling those
who were near him that Jesus was sinless. That he was the savior.
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[28] These things were done in Bethabara
beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
[29] The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
[29] The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
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Now, the following passage is
going to give us the answer to our question. John tells the people that Jesus is
greater than he. That he is preferred before him because HE WAS BEFORE HIM. Now
for those of you who do not know, John the Baptist was born 6 months before
Jesus. So in view of this, we understandably come to ask ourselves the following question: how could Jesus have
existed before John when the gospels clearly say that John was born before
Christ? Such a saying would only make sense if Jesus was eternal. This is why John said that he was greater than he, because Jesus is indeed eternal. God
Almighty.
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[30] This is he of whom I said,
After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
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So when we read verse 30, what we come to see is that Jesus existed before John was even born,
despite John being physically born before him. This shows us that Jesus MUST
have had an existence before he entered the womb of Mary and before he exited
it. Because
of this, the virgin birth CANNOT be the beginning of Christ’s existence, but
the creation of his physical body, the way by which he entered the world to
serve the purpose of being the sinless sacrifice for the forgiveness of our
sins.
Jesus never came into existence. He has always existed.
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