Three Marvelous Sights1

THREE MARVELOUS SIGHTS

1. JOHN 1:32-34

2. JOHN 19:31-35

3. JOHN 20:3-9

The above scriptures, of three great happenings, are found only in the Gospel of John, a book written that we might believe. (JOHN 20:31).

God would have us know that our faith is not based on idle rumor, but on events which were seen by witnesses who testify of what they saw.

NOTE:

These three events bear witness to something concerning the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ.

Each of them emphasizes the fact that Christ is truly the Son of the living God.

They tell us of the value of the work by calling our attention to the worth of the person.

It is because of who He is that His life, death, and resurrection have such tremendous value.

The first of these great events is:

I - JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW THE SPIRIT DESCENDING LIKE A DOVE AND ABIDING ON CHRIST: (John 1:32-34)

Apparently, the Spirit, otherwise invisible, assumed a visible form so that John might actually see Him.

WHY? Our Lord received the Holy Spirit to abide on Him prior to the cross.

The Spirit never abode permanently on anyone before the death of Christ, except here upon the Lord Himself.

JOHN 7:39, The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

Man could not, did not receive the Holy Spirit to abide till after the work of redemption.

Jesus received Him before, proving that He was not mere man, but He was unique, the Son of God.

OBSERVE:

This is illustrated in the Old Testament. A dove was sent out from Noah's ark and returned, There was no place where she could rest.

GENESIS 8:8-12. The dove was sent out the second time, came back with an olive leaf in her mouth.

PROVED: What? That in the midst of that desolate waste of waters the dove had found a tree with green leaves.

There the dove rested, as evidence brought back to the Ark an olive leaf plucked off.

Then Noah sent the dove out the third time AND She returned to the Ark no more.

ALSO NOTE:

First, in Noah's day we see the whole earth covered by the waters of judgment. The Dove, representing the Holy Spirit, could find no rest.

GENESIS 1:2, DARKNESS WAS upon the face of the deep, the Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters.

The earth, under the judgment of God was no home for the Holy Spirit. This suggests that in all the ages when sin ruled on the earth under Satan until the Lord Jesus came into the world, Never, could the Spirit of God find a single place to rest. The dove went to and fro over the face of the earth, finding no rest.

Never in all that time could it be said of any man that God was well pleased with man.

BUT the Dove went forth again, and this time found a green tree in the midst of this world of universal desolation, where sin and death had reigned so long. What a wonder that there was not only a green tree, but one with leaves still on it after the flood had swept the earth.

It pictures the precious truth that in this world of sin and death there was One who was a GREEN TREE, in the midst of death reigning all around.

Our Lord calls Himself THE GREEN TREE IN LUKE 23:31

Here the women bewailed (wept) for Jesus on the cross, He said, if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

In this world of sin there was only One who had life. There, the Dove rested.

The Dove, the Holy Spirit, resting on Jesus, marked Him as the only One who had life, all others were dead in trespasses and sins.

Then the Dove came back with an Olive leaf in her beak.

NOTICE: It says an olive leaf plucked off, not plucked up. It was a green leaf just plucked from the tree, Jesus died and after His death the Holy Spirit came with the message of the cross, with a green olive leaf, speaking of life and peace;

Yet, plucked off, speaking of death, telling us that life flows from the precious death of Christ.

That is the message of the Holy Spirit today to this world of sinners.

The dove found rest upon Christ, and now, because of His death, He finds rest upon every redeemed soul.

But He rested on the Lord before His death, on us only after His death.

NOTE:

Another old Testament picture of this same truth is found in EXODUS 29.

The consecration of Aaron and his sons. Aaron, High Priest, type of Christ, is anointed first with the oil,

EXODUS 29:7, then with the blood, in v. 20-21. His sons are first anointed with blood, in v.20, and later with the oil, v.21. Aaron, alone, is anointed with oil first, in v.7, simply because our blessed Lord received the oil, This is a type of the Holy Spirit before the blood was shed. ….Please continue Here ..….

Wayside Baptist Church

2002