Shabbat Shalom everyone, God bless you. We are continuing on the study together of the Gospel of Yohanan, John. We are in the first chapter. We begin with the introduction to this beautiful gospel that presents before us the person of our Lord Jesus, our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, and presenting before us the fact that this person that we have come to trust in Him is none else but God the Son who became a man, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of this world. We are studying in the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Yohanan, and we are now in chapter 1, beginning from verse 15. We will reflect a little bit on verse 14 also, as we move along in John 1, verses 15 to 23.

please open your Bible and I would like to read verses 15 to 23 of John chapter 1 and I'm reading John this is Yohanan bear witness of him and cried saying this was he of whom I spake He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, by Moshe, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, by Yeshua HaMashiach. No man have seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are thou?

And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ, the Mashiach. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Eliyahu? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And I am stopping here. Beloved brothers and sisters, as we continue here with the study of John chapter 1, thankfully we begin in verse 15 to be introduced to john but this time again john the baptizer he is the one of whom we already read in verse 6 there was a man sent from god whose name was Yohanan John he is the one that came for witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe and so we're continuing here in this portion of scripture in John chapter 1 to see what John, the baptizer, what Yohanan Hamadbil had to say concerning the person of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

To remind you that in the first 14 verses we learn this. Number one, that the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah was one of the three persons of the Godhead.

we secondly learn for verse 1 that in the beginning was the word that he, that word that Logos that Mimra in Hebrew Logos in Greek the one that is the expression of the mind of God the one through whom God the triune God spoke he was that eternal word he was one of the persons of the Godhead he was to be distinguished from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit he was divine, he was God as it says in verse 1 of John 1 he and the word was God we learn from verse 2 also that he was the creator verses 2 and 3 that he was the creator of all things the same

was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him nothing was made which was made we also learn in verses 4 and 5 that he was the source of life in him was life and we also notice that he was the source of light the light shines in darkness and darkness comprehended it not this is verse 5 then we learn already in verses 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 that he this is the eternal word had a forerunner that his name was John Yohanan he also had those that rejected him and did not accept him he was in the world and the world was made by him and the

world knew him not we also learned that his own people did not receive him he came unto his own and his own received him not But we also did learn that those that did receive him, to them he gave the right to be called the children of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of men, but of God.

We learn how important it is to be born, born of God, born of God, not born of the blood, not born of the will of the flesh, nor born of man, but being born of God. As we will learn later on, the words in which Yeshua said to Nakdimon, that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit, you must be born again. That will be read again later on in John chapter 3 and verse 6. And now in verse 14, in which we concluded our last ministry on chapter 1, verse 14, was, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

So what we have learned so far, that God, the eternal God, in the person of the Son, have entered into this world and took union humanity with his divine nature we've learned that the person of the lord yeshua the messiah who was born in the city of bethlehem to the virgin miriam was no one else except god the son the eternal god have entered into this world no wonder no wonder the angels sang no wonder the shepherds rejoice no wonder that there was a joy on earth because now god have entered into this world in a person of the messiah the son yeshua the messiah who came into this world for the express purpose to

bring salvation for lost humanity you remember that the wise men came from the east and said where is he that was born the king of the jews in matthew 2 and verse 2 you remember that we read about that when you studied the other gospels that there was joy when the messiah was born into this world and how the wise men found him in bethlehem and gave him gifts gave to his parents the gifts and the joy that was there because they fell and worship him and they gave their treasures to him because the man christ jesus mashiach yeshua who was the eternal son of god was born into this world wonderful wonderful reality now

notice what john is continuing to say this is john the apostle yohanan hashaliach he's saying in verse 14 and the word the locust became flesh and dwelt among us and he continued to say we beheld his glory we beheld his glory you see he in the gospel of john the emphasis is on the person of god the son who entered into this world and he revealed in a measure himself to his early talmidim the disciples in the land of israel we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth now this is very interesting because that expression we beheld his glory you know the hebrew word

for glory is kavod kavod that word for glory is mentioned many times in the hebrew scriptures especially we read of that glory of the lord for example in psalm 19 and verse 1 it says the heavens declares the glory of god and the firmament showeth his handy work you look at the sky you look at the sun the moon the stars The heavens declare the kavod, the glory of God.

This is so tremendous. The word glory is simply represent the honor, the attributes of God. But even more, beloved friend, the word glory in English, which comes from the Hebrew kavod.

kavod in hebrew means come from the root word kavod and kavod is when something is heavy and something has value so when we say god has glory we mean god has value it speaks about the attributes of god it speaks about the the attributes of god he is holy he is righteous he is love he is just he is all that which scripture present him he is the creator he is the upholder of all things the glory of God is that which God is if you turn with me to Exodus chapter 32 33 and 34 you will find very interesting verses there in connection with the glory of God in Exodus chapter 33 in verse

18 we read and I just want to read this for you it's very interesting it says in verse 18 Moses asked God and he said I beseech thee show me thy glory and he that is God said I will make all my goodness pass before thee I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy you see Moses wanted to see the glory of the Lord but obviously no one can see God and live and so God in response to Moshe's request he said okay Moses okay Moshe I will make my goodness pass before

thee I will proclaim my name in the name of the Lord he said to Moses he continued he said I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy and he said thou cannot see my face for there shall no man see me and live this is verses 19 and 20 of exodus chapter 33 and the lord said unto him you remember in verse 21 he said behold there is a place by me and thou shall stand upon a rock and it shall come to pass while my glory passes by my kavod that I will put thee in the cliff of the rock and

I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by and I will take my hand and thou shalt see my back part but my face shall not be seen what an amazing what an amazing an experience God was going to allow Moshe to experience in exodus chapter 33 verses 18 to verse 23 but notice beloved brothers and sisters as we continue in chapter 34 i just want to read you these from verse 5 and you remember as moses was there placed in a cliff of the rock and the lord was passing by we read in verse 5 of exodus chapter 34 and the Lord descended in a cloud and he stood with him there

and proclaimed the name of the Lord in other words the Lord proclaimed before Moshe the name of Yehovah the name of Jehovah the name of the Lord and notice what he said the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation and notice what happened with Moshe Moshe, Moses Moshe made haste and bowed his head towards the earth and worshipped beloved friend, beloved brothers and

sisters what an amazing experience Moshe have experienced when he asked of the Lord, show me thy glory and when he actually asked God show me thy value the word kaveh the weight the value of God's glory and of course Moses desired to be close to God but because God is holy and man is sinful no one could see God and live so God graciously knew the heart of Moshe knew the heart of Moses he allowed him to be placed in a cliff of the rock and there he proclaimed the name of the Lord and that is so so precious so precious that it presents before us the beauty of the Lord you might say the

value the weight of the Lord the kavod the glory of the Lord who was the one the holy one the righteous one the gracious one and so we read how the lord presented himself before moses and he proclaimed adonai adonai el rachum vechanun that's the hebrew The Lord proclaimed the name of the Lord, so Moses could hear that the Lord is merciful.

That's his glory. His glory, he is gracious. His glory, he is long-suffering. His glory, He is abundant in goodness. His glory, He is the truth. His glory, He is keeping mercy. His glory, He is forgiving iniquity. He is forgiving transgression. He is forgiving sin. But because He is holy, He will visit the iniquity of mankind because God is just. God is holy. and Moses bowed his head towards the earth and he worshipped and can you imagine beloved friends beloved brothers and sisters when John was writing his gospel he want us to be occupied with the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah to realize that he is much more than just a man And he won't give us much more than just some events that happened here upon the face of this earth, but to reveal to those that we read this gospel that God has entered humanity and that John was so overwhelmed with the fact that we beheld his glory.

who is the we these are the early shlichim those hebrew apostles those are the early believers that have beheld the glory of the lord yeshua the messiah god the son as men who walked upon the face of the earth with them yohanan was overwhelmed and so while he's writing the gospel for the express purpose that those that will read the gospel will believe that He is that eternal Son of God. These things are reading that ye might believe that Jesus, that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name. He also wrote the epistles, the letters, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.

And there he also emphasized the divine nature of this man by the name of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah.

In 1 John 1, verse 1, we read, That which was from the beginning, speaking about the Mashiach, from the beginning of his incarnation, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled John Yohanan is saying of the word of life for the life was manifest you remember John 1 and verse 4, 5 and 6 in him was life 1 John chapter 1 and verse 1 our hands have handled of the word of life for the life was manifest and we have seen it and bear witness and show you that eternal life which was with the father and was manifested unto us john was

so overwhelmed beloved brothers and sisters with the fact that this one that he presenting before us the eternal word the eternal son the eternal mimrah the eternal god the eternal one god became a man you notice what he says in first john chapter 1 verse 3 that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ Yeshua HaMashiach so John in John 1 and verse 14 says we beheld His glory His glory the kavod His attribute here on earth as men we saw it we experienced it we have watched Him we have seen

that he is much more than just an ordinary man who is a sinner this one this yeshua this eternal word was sinless and we beheld his glory the glory known as as of the only begotten of the father listen full of grace and truth this is john 1 and verse 14 full of grace and truth this is a the hebrew word is a male chesed ve emet male full of chesed this is grace emet truth he was full of notice chesed this is grace emet this is truth In other words, here is the one that was, you might say, fully balanced.

He was 100% living in the light of the grace of God and presenting it before all. At the same time, he was 100% living in the light of God's truth and presenting it to those with whom and to whom he ministered to. And in those days, he was born in Bethlehem, ministering the word among our people of Israel. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, this is fascinating.

as we read in verse 14 and now we are moving along and we began today with the reading of verse 15 john 1 15 all the way to verse 23 and here beloved brothers and sisters john continued to emphasize in verses 15 16 17 and 18 the divine nature of yeshua hamashiach this one that became flesh and dwelt among us now we read again we are back to john the baptizer yohanan hamatbil and here we read about the witness of yohanan hamatbil it says in verse 15 that john the baptizer now of whom john the evangelist is telling us of that john yohananamadbil is now witnessing to the person of yeshua jesus the messiah and

you notice what he said verse 15 John bear witness of him this is of Yeshua Jesus and cried saying this was he of whom I spake he that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me now to remind you beloved brothers and sisters that John the baptizer was actually older than Yeshua Jesus the Messiah if you remember Zechariah was the father of John the baptizer and his mother was Elisheva or elizabeth and if you remember that six months was the difference between the pregnancy of miriam and the pregnancy of elizabeth elisheva and you remember how that elisheva she also could not bear children and god in a miraculous way have provided

for her her son yohanan john and we did read it says here in the gospel of luke and in chapter one it says notice that i'm going to read just a couple of verses and miriam arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to the city of judah this is verse 39 of luke chapter one and she entered into the house of the charia and she saluted elizabeth and it came to pass that when elizabeth heard the salutation of mary of miriam the baby lived in her womb and elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit and she spake out with a loud voice and she said blessed are thou among women

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb whence is this to me that the mother of my lord should come unto me for lo as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears the baby leaped in my womb for joy and blessed is she that believed for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord and so Elizabeth's baby Yohanan the baptizer was leaping in the belly of elizabeth when the voice of the mother of the lord jesus of the lord yeshua was saying shalom to elizabeth we read that the angel said unto zechariah the husband of elizabeth he have told him that his prayer were

heard and that his wife elizabeth will bear him a son and you will call his name a yohanan and you shall have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth for he shall be great in the sight of the lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink he shall be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother's womb and many of the children of israel shall he turn to the lord their god you see beloved brothers and sisters that yohanan was the one that was already promised before by the prophets but also by the angel to zechariah his father and he was to be the one that will turn the hearts

of many on israel back to the lord in fact in luke 1 and verse 17 it says that he will go before him before the messiah in the spirit and in the power of elihu of elijah beautiful and so now john bear witness and he cried and he said in verse 15 of john chapter 1 he said this was he of whom i have already told you he is the one that i he he's the one that came come after me but he's preferred before me because he was before me and you see john the baptizer knew by divine revelation that this yeshua this jesus that is going to come now was actually the one

that was not only a baby that was born to his relative Miriam but that he was before John even though John knew that he was older than Yeshua by six months about yet John knew that he was before him and how did he know that?

Well, that's why he wrote this gospel in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was god you see john by divine revelation understood that now he's going to give witness to the eternal son of god who came as men the mashiach the messiah and that he is going to present him before our people israel and that the whole world ultimately will hear the message of the grace of God and so John bear witness beautiful to see he was before me you remember the Lord in John 8 said to the Pharisees to the Prushim while he was ministering in Israel in John chapter 8 in verse 58 Yeshua said

to the leaders of Israel verily verily I say unto you before Abraham was I am not even I was but I am I am the one that is the God of Abraham I was always there before Abraham came into being John the baptizer says he was before me that's what the gospel of John seeks to present before us the deity of the Mashiach and the fact that he is the eternal God who became a man in order to provide redemption for mankind and so now we continue and we hear these words in verse 16 beautiful words that speaks to us and of his fullness Now, again, you'll notice that there is like an interchanging, because

John, the evangelist who wrote the Gospel of John, in the earlier portion of his Gospel also allow us to hear what John, the baptizer, two Johns here, John, the baptizer, has to say about the person of the Lord Jesus and the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, because he bear witness of him.

and he cried john the baptizer he said he was the one of whom i speak and he was the one that come after me but he's preferred before me because he was before me and of his fullness again we continue with john the baptizer who say and of his fullness the fullness of the mashiach have we all receive grace for grace or grace upon grace hesed the odd hesed grace upon grace as he mentioning here the in verse 16 in hebrew it says hesed al hesed grace and more grace grace upon grace we have received from his fullness we have received grace now this expression here from his fullness is also so important beloved friends because look once we understand that Yeshua is more than just another man we learn to appreciate his who he is, has God the Son.

And we are so thankful that he was willing to come down to this world to become a man, to be born of the Virgin, and to live a life here upon the face of this earth. And once we learned this, we discovered the reason that he came to this world. If there was no sin in this world, there was no need for him to take union humanity with his divine nature. God the Son did not need to enter into this world if there was no sin upon the face of this earth. But because there was sin here. And sin came because of disobedience. And you and I have been plunged into this condition.

And we are sinners because we were born in sin. In sin did my mother conceive me, David said. And therefore, God had to enter humanity and to show grace to sinners. Grace upon grace upon grace. Chesed ve chesed ve chesed. He had to provide grace for us because if He will deal with us according to what we deserve, where would we be?

Because all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God and God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son yeshua who became a man god the son who became a man and here notice that we read here in john 1 and verse 16 and of his fullness have all we receive grace upon grace the fullness of who he is, the fullness of his divine nature, the fullness of him being the creator of the universe, the fullness of him who is the light, the source of light, the fullness of him who is the source of life of his fullness of his fullness we all have received grace upon

grace in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 19 the apostle Paul said Shaul Paul said for it pleased the father that in him who is that him this is in the man Yeshua jesus the messiah the sinless man in him should all fullness dwell bodily in that man jesus all the fullness of the godhead dwells in him bodily why because he is the sinless one god the son who became a man and therefore all the fullness is residing in him look at chapter 2 of Colossians that the apostle Shaul Paul also learned to appreciate concerning the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah he said in to the Colossians in chapter 2 and verse 9 for

in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit Elohim HaAba, Elohim HaBen, Elohim HaRuach all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in Him this man, Yeshua, from Nazareth the holy man the sinless one, all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in Him bodily why?

Because he is the sinless one, the perfect man, the God-man who came to this world in order to take upon himself the sin of this world. This is, beloved brothers and sisters, something that naturally we will never be able to fathom unless God has showed this unto us and opened unto us his scripture. that's why by nature we are blind you remember what later on you will we will read it but in chapter 3 of the gospel of john and verse 19 it says this is the condemnation that light came into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil he came into a dark world into a sinful world and we see it we experience it within us because of our own sin nature and without us in the world in which we live in and the Messiah, Yeshua is God the Son who entered into this world for the express purpose that he will provide redemption for mankind So, of His fullness, verse 16, have we all received and grace upon grace.

Chesed al chesed. And oh, how we need grace. How we need grace, beloved friends, beloved brothers and sisters, to remind you. The Apostle Paul, Shaul, said also to the Ephesians. He reminded the Ephesians and he said to them in Ephesians 2 verse 8, for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. It is God who provided the grace that enabled you and I to turn to him by faith and receive forgiveness of sins. Not of works lest any man should boast. No, it is entirely the grace of God that we have received in order to draw us to God and to bring us into a relationship with this living God.

How wonderful to know that, beloved brothers and sisters, You know, these verses are so rich and are so profound because it reminds us how much God has done for us. This is really, really, really precious, beloved brothers and sisters. There's so much more that we can read in Scripture concerning the grace of God that had been provided for mankind. this is really fascinating and i trust today that you will recognize that in your life and you will realize that it is the grace of god that brought for you and for me salvation the apostle paul said also to titus a younger brother that was a believer in yeshua in titus chapter 3 He said to him in verse 4, but after that the kindness, this is another word for grace, after that the grace or the kindness and love of God our Savior towards men appeared, not of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

amazing and then he continued verse 7 of chapter 3 that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life it is the grace the chesed in hebrew the grace of god and that was moses asked the lord in in the book of Exodus show me thy show me thy grace show me thy glory and God when he asked him he says show me thy glory and God showed him his glory but how did he show it to him he put him in the cleft of the rock and he passed by him if you remember and he kind of covered his face and then as he moved along

he kind of let go his hand and he let him see his back part and you remember so beautiful he proclaimed the lord the lord is merciful and gracious long suffering and abundance in goodness and truth this is the God that we have and here God enters humanity in the person of the son and his name is Yeshua Jesus and John said as he present him here John the baptizer came to witness of him he said the one that come after me he is preferred before me he was before me of his fullness we all have received grace upon grace verses 15 and 16 of John chapter 1 he was so overwhelmed with the person

of Yeshua the Messiah we continue in the next verses in verse 17 for the law was given by moses but grace and truth came by jesus christ by yeshua the messiah you see john was not saying that there was something with wrong with the law or that the law was given by moses and then grace and truth came by yeshua jesus the messiah what he's really saying that god's holy law was given through a man called moshe it is god who have given that law and the very same god that have given that law have chosen a man to be used to give israel this holy law but in that law there are plenty of

grace because god's law is holy and Israel failed through sin so God provided a way of forgiveness through the sacrifices that were typifying the coming of the Messiah after this point of time when before the Messiah came the Lord, the Holy Lord the Torah Elohim, Torah Moshe that was given to our forefathers the people of Israel was given to show our forefathers that the Mashiach is coming the Mashiach is coming in fact as you read in Galatians chapter 3 Paul explained the purpose and the reason for the law that was given to Israel the holy law of God it says why then serve the law it was added because of transgression until the seed should

come to whom the promise was made and it was obtained by angels in the hand of a mediator so the law was given to Israel God's holy law was given through an angel through Moshe to our people Israel to what Moshe was given on Mount Sinai on Har Sinai but it was given to our forefathers to lead our forefathers Israel to the person of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and finally he came in the fullness of the time Galatians 4.4 God sent forth his son and you will notice how it is written in Galatians in chapter 4 it's written in such a way that it will be clear that the Messiah when he came the

son of God when he came he was himself under the law Galatians 4 and verse 4 said but when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law born of a woman born into the law he lived his life Yeshua Jesus the Messiah the only one who fulfilled the law the only one who is the one that pleased God fully have never sinned and now he was going to become the sacrifice who will become a substitute for the sin of this world and that's why the law was given through Moshe the servant of God who was blessed to receive the holy law of God

that he would give to our people of all the people of Israel to instruct them to live life here upon the face of this earth to draw them closer to the living God while the rest of the nation were far away from God worshipping idols worshipping man-made idols the law was given to Israel through Moshe but the law was given to Israel to lead Israel to the person of the Messiah Yeshua who as it says here grace and truth came by Yeshua the Messiah Jesus the Messiah this is so precious and so that's why he must be born into this world he must become a man he must take upon himself flesh and blood sin

apart why?

because the law which is holy God's law could not save anyone not Israel and not any of the Gentile nations of the world all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that's why the Mashiach had to come and grace and truth came by him in person in person there was always grace there was always truth the law is true God's law is truth God's law has grace to provide for a sinner who disobeyed the very fact that in the law God gave the sacrificial system to our forefathers to provide a way to forgive sins through the blood to atone for their sins but once the messiah came grace and truth came by the person of god the son who became a man that's what verse 17 it teaches us Beautiful.

There is a verse in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9 with Shaul. Also, you might say, build upon this truth that we learn from both John the Apostle and John the Baptizer.

Here is Paul says, 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich the grace of our lord jesus christ the chesed of our lord yeshua ha-mashiach and so in verse 18 as we continue to read in john chapter 1 we read in verse 18 no man have seen God at any time the only begotten son which is in the bosom of the father he has declared him you see you see beloved brothers and sisters you see what John is presenting here before us no man have seen

God at any time you remember we read that already in Exodus 32 and exodus 34 no man have seen god at any time no one it says in first john chapter 4 and verse 11 and 12 beloved if god so loved us we are also to love one another no man have seen god at any time if we love one another god dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us john again and again emphasizes the fact that no man can see God and no man has seen God at any time why because no man can see God and live and so you remember when we read that Moshe in Exodus chapter 33 verse

18 he said I beseech thee show me thy glory he asked from God and he said this is God said unto him I will make my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy unto whom I will show mercy and he said this is God saying thou canst not see my face for there shall no man see me and live and now we learn in John 1 and verse 18 that there was a man here that is mentioned of the person of Yeshua the Messiah that he is the only one because he is

the eternal son of God he has seen him he has declared him I am reading John 1.18 no man have seen God at any time and then he continued the only begotten son which is in the bosom of the father he has declared him you see this is so beautiful because what john present before us that yeshua the man that was born in betlechem the messiah the mashiach he's divine he's god and because he's one of the persons of the godhead of which we read in john 1 verse 1 he is god the son so he was the one that have seen god because he is god he is the only begotten son to remind

you that we have already looked upon this truth that in the godhead we have the father the son the spirit god the father elohim abba god the son elohim aben and god the spirit elohim aruach god is existing and consisting in three persons in the godhead that's where we get the hebrew word elohim plurality one god three persons in the Godhead so within the Godhead there is divine harmony there is divine joy, there is divine you might say that which is eternal, all persons of the Godhead are eternal seeing each other fellowshipping with each other it's hard for us even to express and imagine but beloved friend here is what john tells us that no

man have seen god at any time taking us to exodus chapter 33 and verse 20 but the only one who did see god is the only begotten son why because he is the only begotten son as we read in john 1 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god this person is god the son who is distinct from god the father and god the spirit and he was divine he was god and that's why he is the only begotten son that have seen god the father god the son because he is one of the persons of the godhead and now he comes down to this

world he entered into this world through the virgin miriam was born in the city of bethlehem and now he is now here he is coming and he is declaring god the father that's why it said at the end of verse 18 he has declared god the father before humanity here as men upon the face of this earth now another thing that is worthwhile gleaning from this verse because in verse 18 of John 1 it says also no men have seen God at any time the only begotten son which notice which is not was but which is in the bosom of the father in other words at the same time that he is here on earth

as men he is at the same time in the bosom of the father in eternity how can you fathom that well we have to accept it we have to appreciate it we have to acknowledge that we have to believe it this is the reason why the whole gospel of Yohanan of John was given to us these things are written that ye might believe that jesus that yeshua is the christ is the mashiach and that he is the son of god and that believing he might have life through his name not through any other person you see beloved friend beloved brothers and sisters how important is to understand the divine nature of the lord yeshua the

messiah because at the same time that he is here upon the face of this earth as the sinless man the Mashiach, the Messiah he is at the same time in the bosom of the Father this is fascinating and so as we continue here in the next verses verses 19 20, 21 22 and verse 23 we read of the record of Yohanan Hamatbil John the Baptizer when he was approached by the Jewish leaders by the Pharisees concerning who he was to remind you beloved brothers and sisters and dear friend that since the time of the last prophet of Israel Malachi Malachi until the time when the Lord Jesus the Lord Yeshua the Messiah came down to

this earth and john the baptizer was now presenting him sometime at around 26 ad he died at about 30 ad we know that about 400 to 440 years of silence was between malachi and matthew mark luke and Yohanan, John.

In other words, between Malachi, the last prophets of our people Israel of old who presented before Israel the promise of the coming of the Redeemer, the coming of the Mashiach between the time that he was presenting the promises of God for Israel's Messiah that will come until the time John the Baptizer introducing Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah there was about 400 to 450 years there was silence no prophet have directly spoke to our nation of israel and israel was in anticipation when will malachi's messages will come to fruition you remember what he said in malachi chapter 3 behold i will send my messenger malachi and he shall prepare the way before me god he said and

the lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple the messenger even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in behold he shall come say as the lord of hosts god promised this to our forefathers the jewish people the people of israel wait for the mashiach wait for the messiah he is the messenger of the covenant and i will send to you someone who is another messenger and he will be the one that will present the coming mashiach unto you so there was an anticipation now in between rose some false messiahs as in every generation false messiahs have been risen whether it is in israel's history or in the church history but here

we find out that in verse 19 to verse 23 john is now presenting his record this is the record of john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are thou verse 19 now notice that the scripture the gospel of john used the word jews yehudim in hebrew many times it's saying it says about 70 times it's mentioned the name jews in the gospel of yohanan or in all his writings and the word jews is specifically in the context you can see it here it's priests and levites the pharisees the sadducees the religious leaders of our people of israel now let me remind you that everyone was jewish there yeshua

was a jew the disciples were jewish john the evangelist was jewish john the baptizer was jewish and the ordinary people of israel were jewish and here the jewish leaders were jewish but specifically john in the gospel of john using the word jews to apply to the spiritual leaders of israel who opposed yeshua the messiah so if you think about it when you study this it doesn't speak here about all jews but the jews in connection with the spiritual leaders because john was jewish he was a jew john the apostle was a jew including yeshua himself who was a jewish man as well by natural birth so it's good for us to see that we read

in verse 19 and this is the record of yohanan when the jews the yehudim the priests and the levites sent the priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who art thou now notice the answer is found in verse 20 because of the anticipation of the coming mashiach and by the way this is for many generations the jewish people are waiting for the mashiach for years and especially in the time of the birth of the messiah there was the anticipation based upon the promises that was given by the prophets specifically isaiah and the malachi that the messiah will come that he will be the messenger of the covenant the new covenant the brit achadasha and

he was suddenly going to come and all of a sudden we have someone come suddenly Yohanan John who was the one that was born to Zechariah he was actually a priest himself his father was a priest and he is now coming and giving a testimony that is found in the book of especially in the book of Matthew Mark and Luke in which he is there standing in the Jordan River as we read of him in the earlier chapters of the gospels and if you remember it says in chapter three of the gospel of matthew in those days came john the baptizer preaching in the wilderness of judaea saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is

at hand matthew chapter three verses one and two and so now they were also coming down to him the pharisees and sadducees as it says in chapter three of matthew and when he saw many of the pharisees and the sadducees come to his baptism he said unto them all generations of vipers who has warned youth to flee from the rest to come bring forth therefore fruit meet for repentance and so yohanan hamadbil john the baptizer was preaching a message that will prepare israel for the coming of the mashiach the coming of the messiah so he sought some fruit that is meat for repentance and so when the people of judah and jerusalem came down to

him these jewish people who came thousands of them to the jordan river they were confessing their sins they were repenting and preparing themselves for the coming of the mashiach but there were also those that came from the pharisees and the sadducees which we see they were priests and levite and they came from jerusalem and they asked him who are thou now because there was an anticipation of the coming of the messiah they may very well assume that he was the messiah because he suddenly come he suddenly present before them a warning prepare the way of the lord he is preaching there in the wilderness he's an ordinary man he's not looking for any glory for

himself he's just one to present the messiah before his people the people of israel and so when they ask him who are thou who are you in verse 19 look at his answer he could say i'm john i'm yohanan i'm at bill but he didn't answer this way in verse 20 he said he confessed and denied not but confessed i am not the christ i am not the messiah you see he didn't say i'm john i'm yohanan no i'm not the messiah because they assumed that he was the messiah but john didn't seek for glory for himself john wanted to present the messiah and john said i am not the messiah i am not the

messiah i'm not the mashiach i'm not the christos in the greek the christ the mashiach in the hebrew the messiah the anointed one and they ask him in verse 21 are thou eliyahu are you elijah eliyahu notice his answer i am not and why did they ask him if you are Elijah if you are Eliyahu why because the last prophet of Israel of our own forefathers promised up till today our people in the feast of Pesach waiting for Eliyahu to come to introduce the Messiah in the feast of Passover every year when we keep Passover when we celebrate Passover we having a plate and a cup for Elijah, Eliyahu, Hanavi look what malachi said in

malachi chapter 4 and verse 5 and 6 behold i will send you the elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers lest i come and smite the earth with a curse again beloved brothers and sisters the promise of the coming of the messiah was given to our forefathers through the prophets so when they asked him who are you he said i'm not the messiah are you elijah he said i'm not in verse 21 and then they ask him are thou that prophet who is that prophet beloved brothers

and sisters because according to deuteronomy chapter 18 moshe moses said to the people of israel that the prophet like unto himself will rise up from among the nation of israel he said in deuteronomy chapter 18 and verse 15 the lord thy god will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me unto him shall ye hearken verse 18 of deuteronomy 18 i will raise up a prophet from among their brethren god said to moshe like unto thee god said to moshe and i will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that i shall commend him in another word that prophet of

Deuteronomy 18 verse 15 and verse 18 is the promise of the coming Mashiach that prophet like unto Moshe but John was not that prophet Yochanan was not that prophet so when they ask him in verse 21 of John 1 are you that prophet he says no notice verse 20 and 21 are you the Mashiach i'm not the mashiach when they ask him in verse 19 who are thou he said i'm not the messiah are you eliao i'm not are you that prophet no he was speaking strongly to the leaders that came the religious leaders who he knew that their hearts were hardened and they were not ready to come to repent and be prepare themselves

for the coming of the messiah and that's why yohanan spoke to them a very strongly who are you i am not the messiah are you eliah who i am not are you that prophet no and then verse 22 and 23 we read then they said unto him who are thou who art thou that we may give an answer to them that send us what says thou of thyself and look how beautiful beloved brothers and sisters and with this i would like to close this message for today look at the answer of yohanan hamadbil of john the baptizer he said i am a voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight aware of the lord

as said the prophet isaiah isaiah beloved brothers and sisters also as malachi have spoken concerning the coming of the messiah and by the word of the lord isaiah said in isaiah chapter 40 the voice of him verse 3 that cries in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in a desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the lord has spoken it every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low john yohanan was a voice that cried in a wilderness the wilderness of the condition of the heart the world is a wilderness is a desert is a dry wilderness whether it is the religious world or whether it is the liberal world the world is a wilderness without god without the lord jesus the messiah and god came through the person of the son to provide water and bread in the desert in the wilderness for you and for me and john the baptized the Yohanan Amatbil was just a voice.

A messenger of God that presents the Messiah Yeshua here in this world. And the reason that he came is to cry. Make straight away of the Lord as the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed. Wonderful. Have you turn to the lord have you thought about your need before the lord have you recognized that the voice of john the baptizer is directing yours and my attention to the person of the lord jesus who came from heaven in order to provide for us redemption he's the god who became a man he is God the son who became the man whose name is Yeshua Jesus and he would go to the shameful altar to the cross where he will die for the sin of the world in order to provide refreshment, salvation for all those that made straight the way of the Lord that repented, that confessed their sins and invited the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah to be their Lord and Savior and here beloved friend beloved brothers and sisters John is here presenting John the Baptizer as the voice of the one that cry in the wilderness to prepare the way before God the Son who became a man whose name is Yeshua at Jesus.

May God bless his word, my dear friend, and may your heart turn to him even today. Take care and shalom, shalom.