Every person John wrote about played a role in pointing people to Jesus and one person in particular whom God called to proclaim who He is was John the Baptist. What do we know about John the Baptist? He lives in a hot, dry desert in the Jordan valley, is dressed in camel hair and eating locusts.
John was not a person of status or position or a politically powerful person, he didn’t really own anything, yet he had great influence. People were flocking to him to hear him preach and were being baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 3:5).
You would think that someone this famous would have picked out a good location closer to the city center, would have dressed with the times, and been a bit more diplomatic and polished so as not to push people away. But John did not conform to the norm - instead he went out to some obscure, remote wilderness area to tell people to repent of their sins and be baptized.
This got the attention of the prominent Jews so the Pharisees sent their crew to interrogate John, to find out who he was.
John faced some tough questions from the Jewish elite but as we will read, he wasn't in the least intimidated and used the interrogation as an opportunity, not to talk about himself or his ministry, but as an opportunity to witness about the One who would be coming after him - that is the Messiah.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “I am not the Christ.”
And so they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so 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 calling out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them, saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the strap of His sandal.”
These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people (John 1:19-28, NASB).
3 things stand out in this narrative, John the Baptist’s:
Confession
Calling
Conviction
Confession
Right off the bat the religious leaders asked -
““Who are you?””
When John was asked this question he took it seriously and honestly confessed, “I am not the Christ,” He was very clear about who he was not and wanted to remove any false expectations people may have had about him. He wanted them to know that he was not the Christ, he was not the Savior sent to deliver the people.
“They asked him are you Elijah?”
John said, “I am not.” He did not equate himself with Elijah who performed multiple miracles and then departed from the earth alive in a chariot of fire.
Why would they ask him if he was Elijah? Because the Jews believed that God would send Elijah to preach before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Malachi 4). It was Jesus who later conferred on John his true significance as the figurative Elijah, coming “in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Then they asked him,
“ “Are you the prophet?”
Jews had always understood that this prophecy would one day literally be fulfilled by the coming of “the Prophet” who would either come just before the Messiah or would in fact be the Messiah. John simply replied “No.” John did not have an unrealistic, inflated view of himself.
John’s confession about himself was with absolute honesty, humility, and integrity. He was saying, “I am not who you think I am or want me to be and I will not pretend to be someone I am not.”
He didn’t let others determine who he was or should be, he knew exactly who he was before God and others and what God’s purpose for life was.
Calling
We see in verse 22 that the religious crowd was not happy with his responses.
Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (John 1:19)
In other words, they were asking, “Well if you're not any of these people - who do you think you are? John could have taken this opportunity to enhance his image or put himself in a very positive light, but instead he took the spotlight off himself and put it on the Messiah. He understood his calling and didn’t deviate or turn aside. We see in verse 23 that he is quoting Isaiah 40:3,
He said, “I am the voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” (Isaiah 40:3)
“He spoke with such clarity in keeping with his calling”
- but he was only one voice preparing the way for God's salvation that would come through Jesus Christ. When he said,
“Make the way of the Lord straight” he was telling the nation, “remove every obstacle that would hinder you from receiving Jesus, turn your backs on selfishness and sin and open the door of your hearts to hear the message of salvation.”
He spoke with such urgency and authority. He was speaking a message of hope for everyone - God made a way through Jesus Christ for people to return to Himself and be saved.
“God made a way for us to come home. ”
John was like the best man on the wedding day, announcing the coming of the groom. He didn’t come to upstage Jesus but to prepare the way for Him and then get out of the way.
Jesus' official ministry was about to begin and John knew his calling would soon come to an end.
“He knew he was only a forerunner, preparing the people’s hearts to receive the King. ”
These interrogators were not satisfied and asked him, “If you are only a voice, why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” In other words, if you are not one of the main prophets then "who in the world do you think you are?" "Who gives you the right to baptize?"
Conviction
In verses 26 - 28 we read,
John answered them, saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the strap of His sandal.” These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people (John 1:26-28).
John didn’t defend himself. He is telling them, “I am only baptizing with water but the One who is in the midst of you is the One who is the Messiah and you don’t even recognize Him. In Luke 3:16, John said, “the One who is coming is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
He was speaking with conviction about the truth.
“John’s confidence was in the coming Messiah.”
He was saying, “there is an infinite difference between what I am here to do and what the Savior of the world will accomplish in your life if you believe in Him.” Someone who was far greater is coming after me. So great that I am unworthy to even untie his sandal (a job relegated to a lowly slave).
His conviction was that the Messiah was already in their midst and that people needed to be prepared to meet Him. He had the conviction that those who rejected the Savior would be lost for all of eternity and so he preached with urgency.
How is this relevant for us? I believe that
“every person here can play a significant role in pointing people to the Savior.”
So,
What is your confession?
Do you know who you are in the eyes of God? Do you know what God’s purpose is for your life?
Without God, without an absolute authority or objective truth people are left to define themselves and this has caused incredible anxiety, confusion, and depression because people are trying to live out in their mind what their body and reality contradicts.
The good news for each one of us is that the broken bodies we live in are in need of redemption (Romans 8:18-25) and in Jesus Christ, all things are promised to be made new (Revelation 21:5).
When you meet the Lord, you will find out who you really are and why you are here, your identity and calling.
And for those of you who already know who you are in Christ, you can play a significant role in the lives of others even when their struggles are very different from your own.
What is your calling?
We can be secure that whatever God has given us (gifts, talents, resources) can be used to point people to the Savior. What are some of the hinderances keeping you from getting to know Christ and following Him? What are the obstacles holding you back from pointing others to the Lord?
What is our conviction?
“Our confidence is not in ourselves or any other person.”
Paul said, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake (2 Corinthians 4:5, NASB).
“Our confidence is in Christ, He is the one you should be looking to, He is the one you should be following. ”
As a church our conviction is that God’s Word is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Our convictions, based on God’s Word, is that there is a heaven and a hell and that one day every person here will end up in either of these two places for all of eternity and so we should be living with a sense of urgency and desire to share the good news with others. That is why our church seeks to make the way straight.
John was secure in his confession - he knew who he was before God and his place in the plan of God. He was secure in his calling - knew what he was called to do and he did it.
He was steadfast in his conviction - everything John said and did was with confidence in the promised Messiah.
“He didn’t promote himself or his ministry but pointed people to the Savior. ”
I pray that that each one of us would grow in our confession, our calling and convictions so that our lives and our church would be used to prepare the way for people to come to the Savior.
