After ascending to the highest heavens, outside of time and space, to behold the eternal, divine Word who is the very Life and Light of all, the Apostle John brings us abruptly back to earth.
A man appears on the scene. This is not the Light Himself, but the first witness sent to announce His arrival. In a world of self-promotion and outward piety, John the Baptist enters the stage with a singular, God-given identity: he is a witness preparing the way of the Lord. His entire purpose is to point away from himself and toward another.
In these few verses, the Apostle John gives us an historical introduction and lays out the divinely ordained model for all true Christian witness—a mission commissioned by God, centered on Christ, and steeped in humility.
Let us turn to our passage:
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. —John 1:6–81
The main idea in this passage is this: God sends people so that others might believe.
Finally, our key verse is John 1:7: “He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”
Commission of the Witness
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. —John 1:6 (emphasis mine)
The first thing the Apostle John tells us about this man is found in a subtle hint in his choice of words. In describing the eternal Word (1:1), he used the verb ēn, meaning “was” in a timeless, continuous sense. But for John the Baptist, he uses egeneto—he “came into being” or “appeared” on the stage of history (v. 6). This deliberately marks John the Baptist as a creature, a part of the created order, in stark contrast to the uncreated, eternal Word.2
His appearance was not by his own initiative. He was “sent from God.” The Greek term here, apestalmenos, is a perfect passive participle, which suggests a permanent and settled commission.3 Functionally, John the Baptist was the final prophet of the Old Covenant, preparing the way for Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end of the New Covenant. The Baptizer’s God-sent status was the sole basis of his authority, not a priestly lineage (though his father did serve in the temple) or a rabbinic school. Unlike many of the religious elite of the day, the Baptizer’s legitimacy was unshakable because his mission originated with God Himself (cf. John 1:33, 3:28).
Finally, the apostle grounds this divine mission in the historical reality of a man “whose name was John.” This Gospel is not a myth, but an account of God intervening in human affairs through a specific man. And the Baptizer’s very name—Yochanan in Hebrew—means “Yahweh is gracious,” a fitting title for the one sent to prepare the way for the ultimate embodiment of God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mission of the Witness (1:7-8)
Having established who sent John the Baptist, the apostle now defines the precise nature of his mission. His purpose was singular:
He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. —John 1:7 (emphasis mine)
The theme of “witness” (marturia) is central to this Gospel, and the evangelist assigns this role to the Baptizer above all others.4 He is John the Witness. His task was not to offer his own philosophy or gather his own disciples, but simply to testify to what he knew to be true. And the focus of that testimony was the light—Jesus Christ. The goal was not that people might admire the witness, but that “all might believe through him.” John's proclamation of Jesus’ purpose (1:29) was the conduit, the success of which was measured only by its effectiveness in pointing others to saving faith in Jesus.
The Baptizer’s role required clarification to avoid potential confusion. The apostle makes clear the Baptizer’s role with emphatic force:
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. —John 1:8 (emphasis mine)
At the time of this Gospel’s writing, it is likely that some followers of John the Baptist had elevated him beyond his proper role, perhaps even claiming he was the promised Light of salvation himself.5 As Jesus would later say, John was a burning and shining “lamp” (lychnos, John 5:35), but he was not and could never be the Light (phos) itself. A lamp is necessary in the darkness, and its purpose is to reveal things other than itself. It illuminates the path, but it is not the destination. The Baptizer’s entire ministry was a humble, faithful reflection of the true Light who had come into the world.
For the Ploughman
John the Baptist’s identity provides the timeless model for every Christian. We live in a world that constantly asks, “Who are you?” and encourages us to build our own identity and following, essentially urging us to become our own light without need for the Light. But the Gospel frees us from this exhausting burden. Our identity is not found in who we are, but in Whose we are.
Like John, we are not the Light. Christ alone holds that title. Our God-given role is to be a witness—a mirror that reflects His glory and a voice crying out in the wilderness that testifies to His truth. The success of our lives is not measured in the attention we attract, but in how faithfully we deflect that attention to the one true Light that others might believe in Him.
Having considered this passage, at least in short, I would encourage you to do three things:
Acknowledge Your Commission
You who are Christians have been “sent from God” into the specific mission field of your daily life. See your presence in these places as a divine commission. Ask God to show you how you can be a faithful witness in the ordinary moments of your day.
Practice Humble Deflection
Taking the glory for ourselves is tempting and even addictive if you give in. When complimented for a skill, thank God for the gift. When a project succeeds, give credit to the Lord’s provision. I do not suggest false humility, but a joyful recognition that every good and perfect gift is from above. Like John, find freedom in decreasing so that He might increase.
Clarify Your Purpose
The world is spiritually blind and desperately needs to be told that the Light has come. This is the purpose of our witness. Reorient your intention around the ultimate aim of John the Baptist: that through your life and testimony, others might see their need for the Savior and “believe through you.”
Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!
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Excursus: The Nature of Prophetic Witness
NOTE: The excursus section will take a brief academic look at an aspect of the passage. Therefore, future articles will eventually implement a paywall for this section.
While modern conceptions often reduce the prophetic role to simple prediction, a biblical analysis reveals the prophet's primary function as that of a covenantal witness. This legal and theological role finds its ultimate expression and reorientation in John the Baptist, whose entire ministry is defined not by what he foretells but by the Person to whom he testifies.
The Prophet as Covenant Witness in the Old Testament
The Old Testament prophet frequently acted as Yahweh’s prosecuting attorney in a covenant lawsuit against Israel. In this legal drama, the prophet would call heaven and earth as witnesses (cf. Isaiah 1:2) and bring a case against the nation for breaching the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant. The prophet’s testimony was based on the existing standard of God’s revealed Law. They testified to Israel’s idolatry, injustice, and unfaithfulness, calling the people to account before their sovereign King (cf. Micah 6:1-2; Jeremiah 2:4-5). Beyond this prosecutorial function, the prophet also bore witness to the character and acts of God. They reminded Israel of Yahweh’s holiness, justice, and steadfast love, recounting His mighty acts in their history—most notably the Exodus—as the basis for their calls to repentance and pronouncements of judgment or hope.
John the Baptist: The Hinge and Culmination of Prophetic Witness
John the Baptist stands as the hinge between the Old and New Covenants, fulfilling and culminating this prophetic model. While many Old Testament prophets pointed to a distant “Day of the Lord,” John’s testimony is marked by its radical immediacy. His witness is not primarily to a future event but to a present reality: a Person standing among them. “Behold,” he declares, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He transitions the prophetic function from primarily foretelling to forth-telling about the arrival of the Messiah.
The Apostle John underscores this by deliberately and repeatedly using the Greek legal term for witness, marturia. John the Baptist’s role is presented as that of giving sworn testimony in a cosmic courtroom. He testifies not to speculation, but to what he has personally seen and heard—the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining on Jesus (John 1:32-34). This is eyewitness testimony, the highest form of evidence, confirming Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
The Christocentric Reorientation: Humility as the Mark of True Witness
What truly reorients the prophetic office in John the Baptist is the Christocentric nature of his witness. His identity is defined as much by who he is not as by who he is. His emphatic, repeated denial, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20), is central to his prophetic authenticity. In a world where the religious elite seek to draw followers to themselves and maintain their position and power, John’s mission is one of radical self-negation.
The measure of a true prophet, in this ultimate sense, is not charisma or power, but effectiveness in making himself unnecessary by pointing people directly to Christ. His statement, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), is the thesis statement for this new, Christocentric model of witness.
Conclusion
John the Baptist crystallizes the prophetic office into its essential function: bearing witness. He fulfills the Old Testament model by calling people to account, but he elevates it by testifying not to a covenant written on stone, but to the living Mediator of the New Covenant Himself. In doing so, he establishes the paradigm for all subsequent Christian ministry, which is, at its core, a call to bear witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Unless otherwise stated, all references to or quotations of Scripture come from the English Standard Version (ESV).
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John (I–XII): Introduction, Translation, and Notes, vol. 29, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 8.
Murray J. Harris, John, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (B&H Academic, 2015), 27.
Ibid., 26.
During the Second Temple Period, there were many who claimed to be the Messiah, sent from God, but only one actually fit the bill, and He was the one about whom the Baptizer bore witness.
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