Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Serie) by MacArthur John F

Author:MacArthur, John F [MacArthur, John F]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 1996-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

In Malachi 3:1 God said of him, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me.” Those prophecies were fulfilled in John the Baptist, who proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. John’s baptism was not, of course, Christian baptism, which had not yet been instituted. It was a Jewish ceremonial cleansing, symbolizing true, heartfelt repentance. John called upon all the people of Israel to repent and prepare their hearts for the coming of Messiah. Repentance has always been a necessary element of salvation.

John was not the Messiah, for while he was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ His remarkable humility, although he was the greatest man who had lived up to his time (Matt. 11:11), kept him from any such pretensions. When confronted by the Jewish authorities, John clearly distinguished himself from the yet-to-be-revealed Messiah:

And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” They said then to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? “He said,” I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” (John 1:19–23)

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