T
he prophetic ministry of John had been foretold in the words of Isaiah , . .
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. 'Every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. The crooked shall become straight and rough roads shall become smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
The people were in a state of expectation and wondering about John. Could he be the Christ? This was especially true for the religious authorities. Since they did not know how to discredit this wild man, they had to interpret him to the masses, so priests and Levites from Jerusalem came to ask him, "Who are you?"
"I am not the Christ," said John abruptly.
Where amongst the firmament of heaven and hell would he get that idea? they thought. Perhaps we should humor him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
"I am not."
"Then you must be ‘The Prophet!’" they were laughing at him.
"No."
"Who are you, man? We have to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?"
John thought about this for a moment. Then he said, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness.” An obvious allusion to Isaiah’s prophecy.
This made absolutely no sense to them. They couldn’t even respond to it. “All right then, if you are not the Christ, and if you are not Elijah, and if you are not the Prophet, why are you baptizing?” They looked at John and at each other with exasperation.
“I baptize because I am a baptizer. A ‘baptist,’ as you like to call me. I baptize in water. It is the best I can do. But among you stands One whom you do not know.” He let them think about that. “It is he who comes after me,” he continued, “it is his sandal that I am not worthy to untie." John turned once again to the crowd and resumed preaching.
