Forming Faith Blog

The Testimony of John (John 1b)

Posted on December 16 2025 by Gregory Rawn

In the second of three Narrative Lectionary readings in John 1, John the baptizer gives his testimony of who he is, who he isn’t, and who Jesus is. What is your testimony?

A photo of a dove or other bird in flight. The Spirit as a dove alighting on Jesus is part of John's testimony.
Photo by Pixabay
Christmas Season

Merry Christmas! This reading marks the first Sunday of (after) Christmas and the fourth day of the 12 days of Christmas. In my experience, many congregations often have mercy on preachers and bring joy to worshippers by focusing on favorite Christmas hymns and carols, and possibly reading a series of Scripture lessons instead of a normal sermon. 

In the Narrative Lectionary, we continue on in the Gospel of John, chapter 1. The fourth Sunday of Advent gave us the famous Prologue on the Word who became flesh and lived among us. Now our assigned reading focuses on the figure of John the Baptist (though he isn’t given that title here).

High-flying Evangelist

Of the four Gospels, three of them have major overlaps, and so we call them the Synoptics (from the Greek for “seen together”). Mark, Matthew, and Luke all have their unique parts and perspectives but share many of the same story beats and even direct quotes at times. The Gospel of John is on its own. In the Synoptics, Jesus is an earthy, grounded Messiah. He is the Son of God, certainly, but he is also very human. From the first verse of John, we see a very different perspective: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John emphasizes that Jesus is the divine Word. In fact, one of the repeated themes is what are often called the I AM statements. We often interpret these (such as “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)) as echoes of YHWH’s name to Moses in the burning bush: I am who I am.

Agreement on the Baptizer

All four Gospels have the same basic plot of Jesus’ triumphal entry, passion, and resurrection. But John the Evangelist (as opposed to John the Baptist) has only a few other major similarities. One of those is the introduction of John the Baptist (though, again, he doesn’t have that title here). Being the Bible nerd I am, I did my own rough Gospel parallels. This is what I found:

Directly related to John, all four Gospels include:

  1. The quote from Isaiah.
  2. John being questioned by the religious leaders as to whether or not he is the Messiah.
  3. John’s denial that he is the Messiah, as well as his statement of not being worthy, related to the Messiah’s sandals

All of the basic pieces of the Gospel of John’s description of John the Baptist are found in the other Gospels.

Directly related to Jesus’ baptism by John, all four Gospels include:

  1. That the Holy Spirit descended onto Jesus like a dove.
  2. God’s voice speaking

That’s basically it. The Gospel of John doesn’t even directly say that Jesus was baptized at all.

John’s Testimony

A defining feature of the two sections of this assigned reading can be summarized by how it begins:

This is the testimony given by John…

John 1:19a

The verse is specifically about the testimony that John gives the religious leaders about who he is and who he isn’t. But the second half (verses 9-34) is John’s testimony about who Jesus is.

Part 1: Who Is (and Isn’t) John?

John was clearly a significant and popular religious figure. So much so that the Jewish religious leaders sent delegates to figure out who this guy thinks he is. He makes it clear that he isn’t the Messiah, the return of Elijah, or the prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19). He is indeed the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness” and the one who precedes and prepares for the Messiah who is coming.

Part 2: Who Is Jesus?

The following day, John sees Jesus. This is the (somewhat) parallel of the accounts of Jesus’ baptism in the Synoptic Gospels. But while those were narratives, this is a declaration—a testimony. Who does he say Jesus is?

  1. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (v. 29)
  2. A man who ranks ahead of him because he was before him. (v. 30)
  3. The one upon whom the dove-like Spirit remained. (v. 32)
  4. The one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. (v. 33)
  5. The Son of God (or the Chosen One). (v. 34)

That’s five claims in six verses. All these descriptors proclaim that Jesus is the promised Messiah and what that Messiah is like.

Who Are You? Who Is Jesus to You?

John testifies that he is the one who comes before the Spirit-filled Messiah and prepares the people for his arrival. John’s vocation is to point to Jesus.

This leads us to two important questions:

  • Who am I in relation to Jesus?
  • Who is Jesus to me (and to the whole world)?

How would you answer these questions?

In God’s Messiah,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Download a FREE resource for John 1:19-34
Free Resource

During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 7 to May 24), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download “Eye Spy,” an activity from our Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (PK-6th, NL) curriculum. 

Order Faith Formation Resources

Did you take a break from your regularly scheduled (educational) programming over Advent? Are you ready to get back to classes? You can still order the Winter Quarters of our various resources and download them immediately! Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online, ready to order, and available for immediate download! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees).

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units!

I am very honored to announce that I was a guest on the premiere episode of season 3 of the Around the Table podcast! The topic: how faith formation is different than Christian education. Check it out at Around the Table S03E01.

Our Resources

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

Stay updated by liking our Facebook page, subscribing to our e-newsletter, or following this blog!

Leave a Reply