11.09.07
By His Herald – Testimony of John before the Leaders (John 1:19-28)
By His Herald – Testimony of John before the Leaders (John 1:19-28)
The ministry of John had drawn huge interest from a far reaching area (Mark 1:5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him). But it was more than commoners…it was the religious leaders as well. The time was ripe for the coming of the Messiah, and John was not the first to make such a proclamation. Perhaps that is why in earlier lessons we listened to John making his case, as he does in verse 20 did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” John didn’t want to add to the confusion, he blatantly stated that he was not the Messiah.
But, knowing that something was different…genuine…with his message, the religious leaders press on him, asking in verse 21 if he is the return of Elijah. Why would they ask that? The OT had closed with a promise that God would send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. The understanding of the Jews was that Elijah would either be resurrected or reincarnated as a forerunner of the Messiah.
If you recall, Zechariah had been made a promise by an angel in Luke 1:17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” So it’s important to note a distinction here. John was not refuting the angelic promise of his mission, he was, however, refuting that he fulfilled the Jewish expectation of a reincarnated Elijah.
Hum, curious response, so they took another shot at it. Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. John again denies that he is this fulfillment of Scripture. So…not having an answer the leaders asked the open ended question – in verse 22. I mean, if John wasn’t the ones that they knew of in Scripture, he must be the forerunner of some false messiah!
Then John tells them who he is. It comes from Isaiah, and it identified John with the true Messiah – but John deflects the focus of being a prophet (basically an office or official title) and focuses instead on his message “I am the voice”.
OK, good questions from priests and Levites (representatives of the Sadducees). They were concerned about John’s person and his relationship to Scripture. Next up (vs. 24) were Pharisees, who were concerned with tradition. And note the question. This had to do with ceremony, with tradition. They were offended by John’s baptism because they considered it to be an invasion of their exclusive ceremonial domain and privilege. What presumptuousness – John imposing his baptism of repentance and confession on all the people alike! The Pharisees were not unclean and needed no such baptism!
John answers them saying I baptize with water. The first thing he points out is that there is a big difference in what he is doing and what the coming Messiah will be doing. All John can do is administer the sign (water); Messiah – him alone – can be stow the thing signified (giving the Holy Spirit). Then John says this Messiah is standing in their very midst! He is in their generation, he is about to begin his public work! But – they don’t even know him. In fact, they don’t even seem to care much about him. They were eager to expose the false messiahs, to unmask and beat them down. But in focusing their energy that way, they ignored the true Messiah.
So…what about you and me? I know I get this … strange joy by debunking falsehood. I love shows like Mythbusters, where strange tails we take for fact are scrutinized, and often the tails fall far short of being able to come close to any reality. I enjoy debunking many of those squirrly e-mails I see (but so many folks have stopped sending them to me…or any other mail once they see I check things out!). I go to Snopes.com and look for the facts. Bill Gates isn’t giving money away by tracking e-mails, I won’t be getting millions from someone in another country, and most every old lady or helpful male stranger begging a ride at a shopping mall turns does not out to be a crazed killer in disguise.
But is that were I should focus all my efforts and energy? Do I take time to look for the Lord in anticipation and awe? Or do I only rear up to do battle as needed?
