The Life of Christ

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Jn. 1:21 And they asked him (John), “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “ No. ”

They ask John if he is Elijah and he clearly says “ no. ”

• The Jews remember that Elijah had not died (2 Ki. 2:11) and believed he would come back to earth to announce the end of time.

• Jesus will later say that John is Elijah, meaning John has the same anointing as the famous Old Testament prophet (Mt. 11:14).

• Putting both thoughts together, the revelation that John is the fulfillment of Elijah’s coming has not yet been revealed to John.

"Are you the prophet?"

• This question refers to the promise in Deut. 18:15 that a great prophet would arise from their midst, who would be the Messiah.

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Jn. 1:29 The next day he * saw Jesus coming to him, and * said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John did not make this grand statement as Jesus came up to be baptized, but rather after He had returned from the wilderness.

• We notice the asterisks (*) before the words “saw” and “said.”

• This means that in the Greek, the tense of the verb is present, but a better English translation which fits our modern minds would put it in the past tense. Page 17 in the optional Harmony of the Gospels provides a fuller explanation of this.

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Jn. 1:35-36 Ag ain the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

There are fifty titles given to Jesus in Scripture, according to Halley's Bible handbook:

The Christ, the Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, Wonderful Counselor, Faithful Witness, The Word of God, The Truth, The Light of the World, The Way, The Good Shepherd, Mediator, Deliverer, The Great High Priest, The Author and Finisher of our Faith, The Captain of Our Salvation, Our Advocate, The Son of God , The Son of Man, God, The Holy One, Only Begotten Son, Mighty God, The Image of God, Everlasting Father, Lord, Lord of All, Lord of Glory, Lord of Lords, Blessed and Only Potentate, King of Israel, King of Kings, Ruler of Kings of the Earth, Prince of Peace, The Son of David, The Branch, David, Root and Offspring of David, The Bright Morning Star, Immanuel, The Second Adam, The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Alpha & Omega, The First &the Last, The Bread of Life, The Beginning & the End, The Beginning of the Creation of God, The First-born of all Creation, The Amen, The Prophet, and finally, THE LAMB OF GOD. 9

9 Henry Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook (Zondervan Pub., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1962), p. 542.

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