John 1:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)

NIV: Now the Pharisees who had been sent

NASB: And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees.

CSB: Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

NLT: Then the Pharisees who had been sent

KJV: And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

NKJV: Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

These interrogators (John 1:19–23) were sent from the Pharisees, an extremely legalistic sect of Judaism. They were one of several distinct sects in ancient Judea, such as the Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes. The most influential were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Sadducees were more political, more worldly and high-class, and much less spiritual than their peers. Sadducees rejected the idea of resurrection and took a highly figurative approach to the law of Moses.

Pharisees, however, prided themselves on knowing the Mosaic law, knowing it well, and following it with fanatical detail. Their oral traditions had created hundreds of additional rules beyond those of Moses, to ensure that they would not break one of the laws. They were scholarly and extremely moral. For this, many people gave them admiration. Yet they were also legalistic and very authority-centered, which is why they did not understand John the Baptist's use of baptism.

After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, Pharisee theology survived as Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism, and is today considered Orthodox Judaism. The Sanhedrin court which tried Jesus prior to His crucifixion was composed of seventy Pharisees and Sadducees.

John 1:19–28 describes a conversation. On one side is John the Baptist, different from the author of this gospel. On the other are local religious leaders. Baptizing converts to Judaism was common, but the Baptist was calling on Jews to repent and be baptized. The Baptist makes it clear that he is not the "Promised One," but equally clear that his mission is to prepare the way for that One.

The first chapter of John introduces Jesus as "the Word," from the Greek logos. This chapter clearly describes Jesus as God. After this prologue, the chapter describes Jesus recruiting the first of His disciples, as well as a conversation between John the Baptist and the Pharisees. There are seven names or titles for Christ in this chapter, including "the Son of God," "the Word," and "the King of Israel."

The first chapter of the gospel of John equates Christ with God and introduces John the Baptist. The Baptist specifically points to Jesus as the Promised One. Jesus collects the first five of His disciples. In this chapter, Jesus is given seven descriptive names, including "the Word," "the Son of God," and "the King of Israel." This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the gospel, by giving the reader a sense of who Jesus truly is, and why He has come. The rest of the gospel is an exploration of the claims made in this initial passage.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.