19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Who are you?
Finishing the prologue of John, we come to the beginning of the narrative. Who is John? Those in Jerusalem need to know. You see, in their religious understandings and ideas, there are specific categories that someone may fit into that help those in Jerusalem understand who John is. So, they send the investigators.
Is John the Messiah? No. Is John Elijah? No. Is John the Prophet? No. Each of these are expected political and religious figures that help those in Jerusalem know what to do with John. Their identities are pre-determined and have specific boundaries and assumptions.
It should not trouble us that the other Gospels note John the Baptists as Elijah. Their purpose is different. They show the fulfillment of prophecy by John the Baptist’s arrival and work. In the Gospel of John, the purpose is to show that John the Baptist does not fit the neat categories that the religious leaders had already pre-determined. They have ambitions, plans, desires, and once they can name who John the Baptist is based on their categories, they can use him. John the Baptist will have no part in this.
So, who is John? He is the voice. He is the witness as shown in the verses of the prologue. He prepares the way.
What’s the key here is that John knows who he is. He does not need the Jews of Jerusalem or any other person coming to him to define who he is. He already knows. His identity, role, and calling has already been given to him and confirmed for him by God.
Who are you?
You need to know who you are. You need to allow God to define you, your identity, your role, your calling, etc. When anyone but God becomes the one who defines who we are, we’ve lost the truth. Our family, neighbors, bosses… our sins, failures, habits… our jobs, hobbies, desires… these each (and many more) can attempt to define you, to put you in a category, to tell you who you are. When these become the source of our identities, we’re no longer able to live out who God created us to be. We’ve begun to live a lie.
Who are you?
Who does God say you are? That’s the truth. Practice Resurrection by living out of God’s identity for you.
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