John
3:22-25 A
Question about Purification
Introduction: When something is pure it is clean and free
of contamination. A person who is pure
is one who is clean and free from contaminants.
In the context of religion one who is pure is one who has been made
clean ceremonially. Jews had to be clean
or pure before they could come before God to worship. The process of purification involved the
shedding of the blood of an animal. To
be made clean they had to be sprinkled with the water of cleansing which was water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer. To purify themselves before eating they would
wash themselves in a ceremonial way from the tip of the fingers to the
elbows. Jews were very concerned about
purity. They also were very much into
ceremonies. In our text a question or
debate arises concerning purification. The details of this debate are kept from
us. This debate came about when the Jews
saw both John the Baptist and Jesus baptizing their followers. We will notice in these verses that there were
many who were being baptized. John had
baptized many and Jesus was baptizing even more than John, though Jesus did not
personally baptize anyone. This debate
did not arise while it was just John baptizing in the
I. What brought about this question or debate?
John
1. “These things” brought up the question of how
one is pure in God’s sight. Jesus came
not to bring peace but a sword. Mat
a. John’s
announcement of Jesus. This caused the
Jewish leaders to send men to John to see who he was. Though he preformed no miracles he was
considered by all the people as a prophet of God. John tells them that he is the voice of one
crying in the wilderness. He has come to
prepare the way for the Messiah.
b. Men begin to
follow Jesus as recorded in chapter one.
Instead of following the Jewish leaders men began to follow Jesus. This would seem to be bad for to follow
anyone other than the Priests and Levites would seem to go against the command
of God. Remember what happened to those
who followed after Korah in Moses’ day. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew
23:2-3 “…The
scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: (3) All therefore whatsoever they bid you
observe, [that] observe and do;
but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” The fact that the people were following one
who the Jewish leaders did not feel was proper caused them to fight with those
who caused this problem namely John and his disciples.
c. The works of Jesus attest to the fact
that He is who He claims to be. This is
seen in chapter one when Jesus knows all about Nathaniel.
d. The works of Jesus continue to irritate
the Jewish leaders when Jesus turns water into wine in chapter two of John’s
Gospel. This was a very public display
and it cemented His relationship with His disciples.
e. When Jesus cleanses the
f. Jesus performs miracles and many
believe Him to be the Messiah. The
Jewish leaders are loosing control of the people and even some of the leaders
are beginning to be converted.
g. In Chapter three the
master of Israel, Nicodemus, comes to Jesus admitting that Jesus must be from
God for no man can do these things except God be with him. The debate has begun to form and men must
decide what side they are on for there is no middle ground here.
2. In our text we see Jesus is with them day and
night preaching repentance. Jesus was
all over the country side in and around
3. Jesus’ disciples baptized
those who repented. The teaching of
Jesus was new. Jesus said to His
disciples that you do not put new wine into old bottles. This radical new doctrine of Jesus was not
new at all. It was the same message
preached to Adam. The whole point of the
Law was to show men there helpless, hopeless condition and cause them to throw themselves upon the mercy of God. The Jews had perverted the Law system and
begun to believe that keeping the law would save one from the condemnation of
sinners. Paul wrote by the inspiration
of God to Titus (Tit 3:5) “Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing (that is to say purifying or cleansing) of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” Paul also wrote in Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin.
The two sides of the
debate are clearly seen. The teachings
are diametrically opposed. One is made
pure before God by the works and ceremonies of the Law or he is made pure by
repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
The Jewish side of
this issue is a lost cause. Jesus well points
out in Chapter seven of this Gospel (John
John 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because
there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
John
4. John was baptizing those
who repented and refused to baptize those who would not. John turned away some of the Jewish leaders
because they were wanting to be baptized for the wrong
reason. They came to be seen of
men. The had
not repented of sin. They in effect were
trying to turn baptism into a meaningless ceremonial gesture just like they had
done to the ceremonies of the Law of Moses.
This sparked more debate and contention.
5. John was no respecter of
persons. He moves into King Harod’s territory and demands repentance even of him. I wonder if the reason John has moved his
ministry to Aenon was due to the summer drought. The river would begin to dry up and he would
have to seek a spot were the river was deeper.
This caused him to move north toward the realm of Harod. We know that nothing happens by chance. God caused John to move northward and knew
full well that Harod would kill John. Remember all things work together for good to
them that love the Lord.
II. The two involved in
the debate.
John
1. The disciples of John are the ones confronted
with the debate. Notice that they did
not confront John nor did they confront Jesus.
The devil knows where to take his fight.
The false religions of today will shun the door of the preacher but
rejoice to find a child of God who has not studied the word of God. Of the four possibilities the Jews have
chosen the weakest opponent. They would
not confront Jesus for He would tell them they must be born of water even the
Spirit. They would not confront John for
he would call them a generation of vipers and would demand repentance. They would not confront the disciples of
Jesus for these were too close to the Lord.
The disciples of John however show in the following verses traits of the
flesh such as jealousy. The child of God
who walks in the flesh is ripe for the picking by Satan and his crowd.
Let me interject here
a caution. The disciples of John were
following John. They needed to follow
Jesus. Do not follow a man. It is fine to love your pastor. It is good to like your pastor and enjoy his
sermons and personality. But your
loyalty should be to Jesus. Your pastor
may disappoint you. Your pastor may
leave you. If you come to church because
of who the pastor is you come for the wrong reason. Put Jesus first in your life. Serve Him.
Exalt His name. Follow His
commands. Seek to please Him in all that
you do.
2. The Jew or Jews are the antagonists
here. I say “Jew” singular for in the
best manuscripts of the book of John the word is singular and there is no
definite article. I makes
no difference to the story if one Jew or several Jews had come to antagonize
the disciples of John. The Jews believed
in keeping the Law of Moses. This is
admirable for surely God is pleased with obedience to His Law. The problem with them was that they believed
that they could be good enough to go to heaven.
They believe in an outward show of religion. They believed to be pure you must sacrifice,
sprinkle and wash according to the ceremonies of the Law. A Gentile had to come under the law of Moses to be saved.
They did not recognize the baptism of John or of Jesus as having power
to make one pure. In this regard they
are right for baptism does not make one pure.
Peter said of baptism
(1
Peter
The Apostle Paul, in
his letter to the Romans, explained the picture portrayed by baptism.
Rom 6:3-6 Know ye not, that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism
into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also [in
the likeness] of [his]
resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with [him],
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin.
Conclusion: Jesus called those who are pure in heart
“Blessed”. In Matthew 5:8 He said “Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Purity in heart is what men need. Jesus Christ is the only one who can
accomplish this. Paul wrote to Titus
these words:
Tit
Jesus does the
purifying. He is the only one who
can. James tells us that there must be a
Godly sorrow for sin and a desire to be purified.
Jam 4:8-10 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse [your]
hands, [ye] sinners; and purify
[your] hearts, [ye] double minded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and [your]
joy to heaviness. (10)
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you
up.”
The psalmist, David, tells
us to look into the word of God to find the way of purity.
Psa
119:9 BETH.
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by
taking heed [thereto] according
to thy word.
Ezekiel told the people of
his day that God would make them pure.
Eze
36:25 Then will
I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (water
even the spirit)
Jesus Told the Pharisees
that purity must start from within which is a place that can not be reached
with water or sprinkling with blood.
Mat
Paul expresses the fact
that Jesus purifies the church.
Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word, (27)
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
John tells us how to be
made pure in the sight of God. It begins
with an admission of guilt and will end in purity.
1
John 1:9 If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus wants to make you
pure. If you will go to Him in prayer
and ask for His forgiveness and ask Him to purify your heart He will save you
now. He will make your inward man pure
and one day, at the resurrection, He will change your body and make it pure as
well. Will you believe that Jesus is the
Christ the Son of God and by believing have life
through His name?