John 1:19-28 - Lesson #8

The first eighteen verses have been a great prologue where John is proclaiming the fullness of the eternal Christ, the great Revealer of God. Now John transitions from concepts to specifics - more specific than any of the other gospels - regarding the times and locations of the first week of Jesus' earthly ministry.

John 1:19-28
"Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ.' And they asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?' He said, 'I am not,' 'Are you the Prophet?' And he answered, 'No.' Then they said to him, 'Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' He said, 'I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.' Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, 'Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?' John answered them, saying, 'I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.' These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing."

John the Baptist was on a mission, "And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Luke 3:3). Many people were coming to listen to John, and many were being baptized! The Jews would regularly baptize Gentiles who were converting to the Jewish faith, but John was baptizing Jews! How dare he imply that God's chosen people needed to be made clean!

The priests and Levites - the protectors of the faith - were sent to question John. He answered the real intent of their first question, "No, I'm not the promised Messiah." Though the Jews were looking for the coming Messiah, it is doubtful they suspected this promise was being fulfilled in John the Baptist. They were looking for someone who would lead them out of Roman oppression, not someone dressed in camel hair and ranting about repentance. But they needed to know how to classify John so they continued, "Are you Elijah?" (ref. Malachi 4:5-6), "Are you the Prophet?" (ref. Deuteronomy 18:15,18). Each time John said "No!" He was only a voice sent to prepare the way for the Lord (ref. Isaiah 40:3-5).

Only a voice! John says that he is not even worthy of the most menial task - the task performed only by a slave - the task of loosing the sandal strap. Oh, if we could learn to be such a voice. If we could learn that we are not the answer. Our ministry is not the answer. The answer is not found in any particular preacher. The ONLY answer is found in Christ, "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Let's be a voice, a true witness which smooths the road and prepares the way with absolute truth. Let's strip away all hint of self importance and pride, and desire only that others would find the answer by drawing near to God through a saving faith in Jesus Christ.