John 1:19-51 Summary

The narrative covers the duration of four days in which John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:19-28; 29-34; 35-42; 43-51).  John the Baptist had an exalted view of Jesus as the Messiah and humbly considered himself unworthy to untie Jesus’ sandals, a task normally assigned to the lowliest of slaves.  John twice identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36).  Both instances were designed to point his disciples to Jesus that they might follow Him.  John the Baptist was assigned the task of preparing the way for the Messiah, and once Jesus began His ministry, John’s task would diminish (John 3:22-36).  We learn from John the Baptist, Andrew and Philip that biblical evangelism is often relational, in which a believer points—not pushes—others to search out Jesus for themselves.  Salvation occurs when a person recognizes and accepts Jesus as the Messiah and trusts in Him alone to save (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5).