Last week, we looked at John’s introduction, his prologue, to this gospel account. We briefly talked about the difference between John’s gospel and the other 3 that we have in Scripture. We said that one of the things that sets John’s gospel apart from the other accounts is that there is no record of Jesus’ life before his earthly ministry begins. We said that after the introduction that we move directly into the events of the first momentous week of Jesus’ ministry. This week of events begins here with John the Baptist’s meeting with the delegation and extends all the way through the wedding at Cana and Jesus’ first miracle in the first half of chapter 2.
The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to find out about this person who was proclaiming that the Messiah had come. They wanted to know the identity of this man who was preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Who is this man who is proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? I mean, this man was wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt and was eating locusts and wild honey. Meanwhile, tons of people were going to him in the wilderness. They were being baptized by this man in the Jordan River and confessing their sins. At the very least they might want to find out what authority this man thinks he has to carry out such rituals. By this time, it is very possible that he, John the Baptist, has already called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”; a term that is anything but flattering. The Jews quite simply just want to know who this man is, so they send a group to point-blank ask him, “Who are you?” They were expecting some great answer to this mystery. They were thinking that John the Baptist would claim to be someone of supreme importance, but what they got was not what they were expecting.
I want you to notice the progression of his answers as to his identity. John the Baptist first responds to this question with “I am not the Christ.” As we look at the entirety of verse 20 we find, “He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ’.” Now this may seem awkward to us, but that’s because we don’t speak Biblical Greek. This is a literal translation of a Greek statement that means without a doubt. It’s similar to our stating something and then saying the word “period” after the completion of that statement. If someone were going to translate that into French or Spanish, it would confuse them when the word period is at the end. Anyone who was familiar with the Greek of the day would have absolutely no question that John was not the Messiah after reading these words. This verse takes away all doubt that John might be the long awaited Messiah.
After hearing that he was not the Messiah, the priests and Levites move on to the next option, “What then? Are you Elijah?” Well, I don’t want you to get the impression that I think that you don’t know your Bible, but I do want to remind you for a brief minute about this figure from the Old Testament. Elijah was a prominent prophet during the Old Testament, primarily during the Book of 1 Kings. His ministry was one of disproving other gods and showing that there was One True God. His most famous story is perhaps found in 1 Kings 18 where he and the prophets who worship Baal are both given the task of igniting a pile of wood in order to make a sacrifice without using water. The magicians are unable to do so despite numerous attempts, whereas Elijah, with the power of God, has no trouble whatsoever on his very first attempt even though he has soaked his pile of wood with jars of water. Elijah is probably best known for his departure. He is one of a select group of individuals who we have a biblical account of them actually not dying, but simply being taken up into heaven. In Elijah’s case, he is taken up in a whirlwind as a chariot and horses of fire appear. At this time he passes on his mantle to Elisha, his successor.
But why would the delegation ask if John was Elijah? Well, in the Book of Malachi, in the next to last verse of the Old Testament, the prophet records the words, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” In other words, right before a 400 year period of divine silence, God promised that the day of the Lord would come, but not until He first sent Elijah to announce it. So it makes sense that the Jewish leaders would ask John if he was the prophet Elijah. However, similar to his response to the first question, he states, “I am not.” Once again the delegation is sent back to the drawing board so-to-speak.
So, John the Baptist is not the Messiah; he’s not the prophet Elijah. If he’s neither of these promised figures, then who is he? Well, the priests and Levites give it one more chance. They ask him if he is the prophet. And I want you to notice something that you may just gloss over if you are not careful. They don’t ask him if he is a prophet, but if he is the prophet. Well, what specific prophet does the delegation have in mind here? Well, most biblical scholars agree that this is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:18 in which God tells Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” Since the time of Moses, the Jewish people had been waiting for a prophet on the same level as Moses to arrive. And when we say a prophet on the same level as Moses we have to think about who Moses was to Israel. He wasn’t just a prophet; he was a direct mediator between God and His people. This prophet that the Jews were waiting on was not just a prophet, but the prophet who would be the mediator between themselves and God.
Alas, after finding out that John the Baptist wasn’t the promised Messiah and that he wasn’t Elijah, the Jewish delegation was hoping that maybe he would be this promised prophet. But John’s response was the same as it had been during the previous 2 attempts at his identity, “No.” And this had to dishearten the Jews, because it wasn’t as if they were hoping that he wasn’t one of these people. You have to remember that the Jews of this day, much like those of today, were anxiously awaiting the coming of the Messiah. They wanted him to come and to conquer all of their enemies. Perhaps the most humorous part about it for us is that even when the Messiah did come, they rejected him as we saw in our text from last week. They are eager to welcome this Messiah, but when given the chance they throw it away and deny him.
Frustrated with the responses to their questions, the priests and Levites cut to the point and just ask John, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” In other words, “Give us something. We can’t go back without anything. Just tell us who you are and why you are doing what you are doing out here by the Jordan.” John’s response is pretty straight forward. The priests and Levites had asked him if he was the figure promised in Malachi and Deuteronomy, and John answers them with the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’.” John makes very clear that he isn’t really anybody in-and-of himself. Instead, he is simply someone who is here to point others to the one who is coming.
Well, it seems like the priests and Levites are satisfied with this answer because they don’t press him any more on his identity. However, they quickly turn their attention from his identity to his work. “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” You see, baptism wasn’t unheard of during this time. In fact, it was something that was done by Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) as a cleansing ritual. But John wasn’t just calling Gentiles to be baptized; he was calling everyone to be baptized and confess their sins. He was even calling the Jews to be baptized, something that they would have considered to be a laughable notion seeing as they were children of Abraham and part of national Israel. But John’s answer isn’t what they want to hear. They are wanting him to tell him a specific person who has given him the authority to baptize others. John answered their inquisition saying, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
Think about these priests and Levites and what they must have been thinking at this point. First, they tried to find out who this person was. They ultimately find out that this man in the wilderness eating locusts and honey isn’t anyone of great importance and doesn’t really claim to be. Then, they want to know who gave him permission to do the work that he is doing, and he gives them this answer; he tells them that this great person, who they don’t know, has given him such authority. I mean, the delegation knew all of the major religious figures in the area, but John tells him that this one who is greater than any other is someone who none of them knows. They have to be thinking that this guy is crazy.
Now, the reference that John gives to this strap of a sandal is a very deliberate one that is aim directly at the Jews. You see, a rabbi (or teacher) would have had disciples just as Jesus had his disciples. These were students who would have traveled with, studied under, and learned from the rabbi. Their job was to learn from the rabbi while taking care of every need that he might have. In one sense, they were very similar to slaves. One of the main differences between a slave or bondservant and a disciple is that the disciple was never asked to take care of the rabbi’s shoes. John the Baptist’s words here are the equivalent of him saying, “I’m not worthy. I’m not even a disciple. I’m lower than a disciple. I am here merely to serve this One who is coming and to prepare his way.” The account in John’s gospel tells us right from the very beginning that this isn’t about John, the priests and Levites, or anyone else. This gospel is about Jesus and Jesus alone.
You see, John is just a voice. He’s not someone of great importance. You can’t see a voice; you can only hear it. His presence isn’t a great coming in-and-of itself as it would be if he was the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet. He is someone who is preparing the way. No one usually pays much attention to the one who is merely preparing the way for a king to come, but that’s exactly what is happened here with John the Baptist. And he is making every effort that he can to take the focus off of himself and place it where it belongs; squarely upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ the true Messiah. And such a mindset should be the desire of all Christians. We should want the focus to be upon Christ and not upon ourselves. No matter how hard we have worked, no matter what we have sacrificed, no matter what; it isn’t about us. I never has been and it never should be. It’s not about our likes, dislikes, wants, needs, interests, work, or ambitions; it’s about our Savior. Even when it comes to dealing with others, we have to place their need for the Savior above all else.
When I was in high school I was afforded the tremendous opportunity of doing some pretty amazing things and taking some amazing trips through my church. We were a smaller church, but we happened to have a couple of us who were around the same age who were all able to afford to do some amazing things. One of the most meaningful trips that we ever took was a mission trip to Jamaica. We spent 2 weeks building houses and teaching Vacation Bible School to families in a local village. Now, I don’t remember exactly which part of Jamaica we were in, but I do remember seeing a sign that said Negril, Mandeville, and Montego Bay to the right; we turned left. What is funny about this particular trip is what stands out to me the most vividly today. I remember working in the hot sun for nearly 8 hours a day for 10 of our 12 days spent working, but there is nothing that sticks out more clearly than anything else. I can remember our talks at night consisting of general meetings, group Bible studies, and even a foot-washing event one night. I can remember being surrounded by a heard of ankle-biters wanting to get their hands on any and everything that I had during my day of teaching VBS. However, the most impactful day of them all was one spent inside.
Each group was to spend one day of their 12 at a local infirmary. Now, an infirmary wasn’t really a hospital, but a place that people went to die; many of them dying a long and painful death. Y’all know me; I tend to find myself in some of the oddest situations without even trying. Well, me and another guy managed to find our way into a room with a man with no legs; Mr. Ben-Bo. Mr. Ben-Bo had lost his legs while working in construction and getting bitten by a poisonous snake in both of his shins. There was no antidote, so they were forced to chop his legs off at his knees. It was a pretty interesting experience. I even had to hold this man up underneath his arm with he used the restroom. Consequently, my close were a little worse for wear that day if you follow me.
But that’s not what sticks out to me the most about my day spent with Mr. Ben-Bo. No, what stands out to me about Mr. Ben-Bo was his outlook on life. You see, Mr. Ben-Bo had recently become a Christian prior to his being bitten by the snake and consequently losing his legs and his ability to walk. Instead of being angry about his physical debility and personal setback, Mr. Ben-Bo viewed it as an opportunity. He viewed his personal problem as a gift from God. You see, he knew full well what the purpose of that infirmary was. He knew that the people there were all facing death, and facing it fairly soon. He viewed his condition as a way of God placing him in this place. He considered it his mission from God to witness to those around him. Many of these people in this infirmary weren’t Christians, but he was given a chance to share the Gospel with them before they died. After all, it wasn’t like they could leave and go somewhere else. He had a captive audience, literally.
What a blessing. What an outlook on life. How much better would this world be if we could look at our problems and our situations and take ourselves out of the equation and focus only upon Christ? I can tell you that this infirmary was one of the most depressing places that I have ever been, even more so that any nursing home or hospice facility that I have ever been in, but here was a man excited to be there. John the Baptist, Mr. Ben-Bo; both of these men are putting their own lives and their own situations aside and pointing to the One True God and Our Savior Jesus Christ. Who are you? Are you someone who stands from and center firmly in the spotlight? Or are you someone who stands pointing; pointing to Jesus Christ? Friends, regardless of who we are and what we are doing or have done, we should always be pointing others to Jesus Christ. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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