Throughout the season of Advent, a lot of focus is often put upon John the Baptist. That is generally because a good part of this fiery preacher’s message was to foretell the imminent coming of the Messiah, which is what we await during this season of Advent. Our Gospel reading for this week speaks of John the Baptist, and gives his responses to some people who came to question him. Let’s take a look.
The Gospel of John was not written by John the Baptist. It was written by the Apostle John, one of Jesus’ disciples, and the son of Zebedee. He, along with his brother James, and Peter, were among Jesus’ closest companions during His ministry. When the Gospel writer speaks of “John”, he is not referring to himself, instead he is speaking of John the Baptist. He introduces John the Baptist here, saying that this was a man who was sent from God, that his ministry and message had God’s blessing upon it (vs. 6). John the Baptist did not come in his own name, giving his own personal message and opinions. He was divinely sent, and he was bearing witness to the coming Messiah (vs 7-8).
John the Baptist’s message caught the attention of many people. Many of those were people who were genuinely seeking God, responding to John’s message of repentance. Others, though, were there to question him and his message. They wanted to know exactly who he was, and where he got his message from.
Most of John the Baptist’s ministry took place by the Jordan River, maybe an hour’s walk east of Jerusalem. Word of his preaching, the message, and his baptizing quickly reached the religious leaders and the Sanhedrin (the governing body of the Jews) in Jerusalem. Who was he? They had not heard of him before, nor reviewed any of his credentials. They immediately sent out some representatives to question him, and find out more about exactly who this guy was (vs. 19-27). The Sanhedrin didn’t want anyone preaching who might cause any trouble with the Roman authorities, who occupied and governed Israel. The Pharisees, who felt they were like the guardians of the faith, also wanted to keep an eye on anyone who was popular. They certainly didn’t want to lose any of their power and hold over the people spiritually.
These messengers sent to check out this new, strange, oddly dressed, no-nonsense preacher asked him some questions in order to find out more about him. They needed some words to bring back to Jerusalem. They quickly came to the point and asked John who he was. John immediately answered that he was not the Messiah (vs. 19-20). Considering the hard-hitting and straightforward message that John brought, some may have thought that he was, but he immediately confessed that he was not.
Then, considering how he was dressed in camel’s hair and leather clothing, they wondered if he might be a reappearing of the great prophet Elijah (vs. 21). The last of the Old Testament prophets spoke of God’s promise that the prophet Elijah would return before the Messiah established His earthly kingdom (Malachi 4:5). The angel who had appeared to John’s father before his birth had said that John the Baptist would go before Jesus in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Jesus also later said that John was the Elijah that had been prophesied about (Matthew 17:10-13). John had the same type of ministry and personality of Elijah.
They next asked John if he was the Prophet (vs. 21). This is in reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-18. God promised to raise up a great prophet like Moses, to function as His Voice. John rightly answered no, as this applied to Jesus (Acts 3:22-23, Acts 7:37).
John answered them back that he was the one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord (vs. 22-23), referencing Isaiah 40:3. The Pharisees became indignant that if John wasn’t the Messiah, nor the Prophet, nor Elijah, what right did he have to be baptizing (vs. 24-25). The Pharisees always felt that they were the religious elite, but John didn’t care. He did what God called him to do. He was also a very humble man. His baptism was a temporary symbol of the true, abiding, and effectual baptism of the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (vs. 26-27).
There are many preachers who want the spotlight to be on them. They want their name to be big and bold, big headlines announcing their coming. They want books with their picture on it, going on tours, signing autographs, etc. That was not John the Baptist. He didn’t want the spotlight. He had God’s message, and he faithfully gave it, but he wanted the spotlight and attention to go to the One who would follow him. John knew, and we need to also know that we are not the source of God’s Light (vs. 8). We merely reflect that Light, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. Jesus is the true Light. Be a Light reflector, helping others see their way to God, and how to walk. Like John, point others to Jesus.
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