Sent to Bear Witness About the Light

A study of John 1:6–8

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Sent: “apostellō”, “ἀποστέλλω”; verb — to order (one) to go to a place appointed, whence or by or from whom one is sent.

-Was John: “iōannēs”, “Ἰωάννης”; proper masculine noun — John = “Jehovah is a gracious giver”; John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ. By order of Herod Antipas he was cast into prison and afterwards beheaded.

-A Witness: “martyria”, “μαρτυρία”; feminine noun — in a predominantly dogmatic sense respecting matters relating to the truth of Christianity: of the testimony establishing the Messiahship and the divinity of Jesus (see μαρτυρέω), given by — John the Baptist.

-Bear Witness: “martyreō”, “μαρτυρέω”; verb — in general; absolutely, to give (not to keep back) testimony, to bear witness concerning one.

-Light: “phōs”, “φῶς”; neuter noun — is used to denote truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity congruous with it; especially the saving truth embodied in Christ and by his love and effort imparted to mankind; in a pre-eminent sense is Jesus the Messiah called φῶς (light).

-Might Believe: “pisteuō”, “πιστεύω”; verb — used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i. e. a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah — the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ; through one’s agency to be brought to faith.

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

God sent a man named John to bear witness about the Light. John the apostle opened this gospel by calling Jesus the “Word”, and now he calls Him the “Light”. So, God sent John to bear witness about Jesus, the Light. This man John was not himself the light, but rather, God sent him as a witness, to bear witness, or tell others about the Light so that all who heard might believe in the Light through his faithful witness.

This is not John the apostle, the writer of the gospel of John. This is John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth. The name John means “Jehovah is a gracious giver”. And Jehovah gave, or sent John the Baptist ahead of Jesus as a forerunner, to declare that He was coming, and to call the people to repent of their sins and believe in Him when He appeared.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

The fact that John the Baptist was sent to bear witness to mankind about the light illustrates the darkness mankind had fallen into. Humanity, who was created by God, the Light, and had His light in them to illuminate the soul and mind with wisdom, an understanding of moral good and evil, and an ingrained knowledge of the Creator, existed blind and in darkness under sin’s curse, and needed a witness to come and bear witness about the Light. Jesus Christ is the true Light who came to enlighten mankind with the Light of His grace, mercy, and love, and in so doing bring eternal light and life to mankind. All who reject Jesus, who is the source of Light, are doomed to an eternity of darkness. This is why we need a Messiah, a Light that the darkness cannot overcome to deliver us from darkness, death, and eternal misery. This is who John the Baptist was sent by God to bear witness about, and this commission has been extended to Christians today. We must bear witness about the Light, Jesus Christ, to a world who has been enlightened by Him with reason and conscience, but is still in desperate need of the Light of His mercy and grace for sin.

The gospel of John provides a series of witnesses beginning with the witness of John the Baptist. John the Baptist (J the B) was sent by God as a witness, to prepare the hearts and minds of the people for the coming of Christ, the Light. Normally, no witness is needed to call attention to light in a dark space; it is usually very obvious. The need for J the B’s witness of the Light shows how darkened the minds and spiritual eyes of mankind are that a witness of the Light was needed. Although the darkness has not overcome the Light, it still persists today and we who follow Christ have also been sent as witnesses to bear witness about the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, so that, as with the witness of J the B, all might believe through our testimonies. Of course not everyone will, a person must be called by God and respond to that call. Within God’s total sovereignty we are given a choice and held responsible for our choice. Many choose to reject Christ but our mission is to deliver the message clearly and graciously, and the results are in the Lord’s hands.

In verse 8 John the apostle takes care to state J the B “was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” This was important to state because although J the B’s life ended with beheading, his ministry work had been well received by many, and was known far and wide. His birth was a miraculous one, not the miraculous virgin birth of Christ, but still miraculous. His parents were very old, and an angel told his father Zacharias, who was a Jewish priest in the temple, that he and his wife would conceive a son. When Zacharias did not believe but questioned further, his ability to speak was taken away until the birth of J the B. J the B’s ministry involved calling the people to a baptism of repentance and to believe in Jesus Christ who was coming after him. Even still, there were people who followed the teaching of J the B after the death and resurrection of Jesus, but had not yet heard of Jesus as we read in passages like Acts 18:24–25, 19:1–7. For these reasons John the apostle clearly states that J the B was a witness of the Light and not the Light himself.

And this is an echo of J the B’s words about himself as well in what is perhaps one of the most concise statements of what the Christian life should look like when he said of Jesus, “…He must increase, but I must decrease…” in John 3:30. While we know of him as John the “Baptist,” he is shown here to perhaps be better known as John the “Witness”. The focus of his life was to bear witness about Jesus Christ in the manner God had called him to. Now, his calling probably looks different than ours. We are likely not going to be called to live off of locusts and honey in the wilderness and wear animal skins like J the B, we may, but that is unlikely. But just as J the B was sent by God to bear witness about Jesus, we who are in Christ have all been sent by God to bear witness about Jesus. Whether we are at work, home, a hospital bed, the city or the rural backcountry, wherever we are, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we are never “stuck”, we are “sent” by God to a specific time and place to bear witness of Him and His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

This will often not be easy. Being a faithful witness for Christ will cost comething. J the B lived in the wilderness and his reward on earth was imprisonment and execution, but his reward in heaven is eternity with the Light, Jesus Christ, in whose presence there is fullness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm. 16:11). We must count the cost rightly when we come to Christ and pick up our cross to follow Him. Our faith will cost us temporal comforts in this world. It will cost us friends, relationships, career opportunities, it may even cost us our lives, but He is worthy, and the temporary cost we pay in this world will lead to an eternal reward.

When you feel the weight of the beam on your shoulder as you witness for Christ, the weight of the world’s derision and maybe even violence, lift your eyes to Christ and ask yourself, “Is He worthy? Is He worthy of this?” My hope is that in studying the gospel of John and learning of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would all come to the place in our hearts where we say, “Yes, He is worthy. You are worthy O Lord to receive blessing and honor and glory. You Lord Jesus are worthy of this. You carried a cross for me, please now, by the power of your Spirit, give me the strength to bear this cross for the glory of your name. You must increase, but I must decrease.”

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose”

-Jim Elliot (A martyred , faithful witness of the True Light, Jesus Christ)

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

From this passage we learn Christians are sent by God to bear witness, or in other words, tell people about Jesus Christ. For this reason, out of love for Him and a desire to see others experience His love, we should graciously tell everyone we can about Him. We should be praying for and on the lookout for opportunities to bear witness of Christ with both our words and how we live. In all this we should pray regularly for God to grant repentance and saving faith to the people we witness to, for although God uses us to witness, it is only by His power that a person believes and is rescued from slavery to sin and the Devil (2 Timothy 2:24–26). And importantly, while it may cost us something to be faithful witnesses for Christ, He is worth it. He is worth everything.

Self Reflection:

1. How can I grow in being a faithful witness of Christ to the people around me?
2. Is it worth the cost to be faithful to Jesus and bear witness about Him?
3. Is my motivation in all that I do to make the name of Jesus known or my name known?