John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” (John 1:15, NKJV)
Jesus bore witness to the truth that He is the light of the world, and His testimony of Himself was true (John 8:12-13). Even so, additional testimony was given to convince people that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten of the Father (John 5:31-35). The testimony of John corroborated the incarnation and glory of Jesus as the only begotten of the Father, whose Light brought life, grace and truth to the world (John 1:6-9, 14). John ranks Jesus higher than himself (he is “preferred before me”) because He (the Word, the only begotten Son of God) existed before John and created John (John 1:1-3). The Lord’s forerunner bore testimony that Jesus is eternal God who became flesh. As it is testified, “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). To think of Jesus as merely a good moral teacher misses the mark. His claim, as well as John’s testimony, was that He is God. If He is not, then He is not good, and He is not moral. If He is God, then He is the source of grace and truth who must be honored above all. The evidence is overwhelming – Jesus is Immanuel (“God with us”).
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