And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites that they might ask him, Thou, who art thou?
John's Gospel has just carried us through eternity, creation, and the Word becoming flesh. Now it drops into history. A group of officials leaves Jerusalem, walks out to the Jordan, and asks a man in the desert who he is. His answer points away from himself.
Behind this official visit stands more than curiosity. One commentator sees God's own hand at work, long before the delegation set out.
So God took care to stir up a general expectation of the Messiah in the minds of His people, and to send them the fullest witness. There was never a more strictly independent witness than John. He was born, brought up, and kept back until the right moment to testify of the Messiah. The detailed questions of those sent by the Jews from Jerusalem show how much this occupied people's minds at the time. They wanted to find out the real character and aim of this mysterious Israelite. He himself came from a priestly family, and that, as they should have known, ruled him out of the title of Messiah. There was no vagueness in his reply. John was not the Anointed. That was the main aim of their search.
The verse names the senders as "the Jews," yet a few verses later the same group turns out to be Pharisees. One writer explains the title:
"The Jews." In verse 24 it is said that the Pharisees sent them. The name "Jews" also has a special use for the Lord's opponents — those who were Jews only in name. Apart from that, the distance of time and place called for the title, even from a writer who was himself a Jew by birth.
Jerusalem sent priests and Levites — temple officials. The man they questioned belonged to that same priestly family, yet he had never taken up its work.
Though he was the son of a priest, he carries out no priestly duties. We never even find him at Jerusalem. Even his clothing speaks of the desert, being made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food is locusts and wild honey.
Their question — "Who are you?" — was a fair one. John had arrived with nothing that would satisfy an official inquiry.
Of course the Jews could not ignore this strange and powerful witness. They sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question John. Without human credentials, with no authority from either Jews or Romans, no advertising, no public display — who is this man? But John briefly answers, "I am not the Christ." He had no interest in talking about himself. What did it matter who he was? He was not the one Man of importance. Christ was the burden of his testimony, not himself.
The key word in this verse is "testimony." One writer counts how often this chapter comes back to it.
Five times in this chapter we read that John bore witness. First in verse 7 — this section runs down to verse 14 and is mainly occupied with the Lord's coming into the world. Then verses 15 to 18 mention another witness, mainly concerned with His pathway. In verses 19 to 31 we have his witness concerning the death of our Lord.
This section has a shape of its own. John starts by saying what he is not.
Verses 19-28 give us John's testimony, given while he was baptizing in the Jordan. It is a completely different side of it from what the other Gospels record. First came the negative side. The religious leaders were curious about him. They wanted to know whether he was the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet Moses had spoken of. His testimony was steady: he was none of these, only the voice crying in the wilderness that Isaiah had spoken of.
Questions about yourself are an invitation to talk about yourself. John turned it down, and that refusal is the measure of the man.
I would like everyone to notice what it is that makes a man great in the moral sense of the word. In John 1:19-27 we get a record of conversations between John the Baptist and those sent to examine him on behalf of the Pharisees. We find that John persistently refuses to talk about himself. He prefers to speak of the great One who was to come.
- Stirred — the crowds around John were no accident. God was rousing His people to expect the Messiah, and He sent them the fullest witness.
- Sent — Jerusalem's religious leaders sent priests and Levites to question John. The challenge came from the top.
- Separate — John came from a priestly family, yet he held no priestly office and never appears at Jerusalem.
- Silent about self — John had no credentials to defend. His first answer said what he was not, and pointed past himself to Christ.
- Standard — this is the pattern of real greatness: a servant says little about himself and much about his Master.
And he acknowledged and denied not, and acknowledged, I am not the Christ.
The men sent from Jerusalem came with one question: "Who are you?" John answered by pointing away from himself. The verse records his reply twice over, and commentators find in that doubling both the honesty of a witness and the shape of his whole ministry.
These officials were not just curious. Expectation of the Messiah was running high, and they wanted one point settled above all.
So God took care to stir up a general expectation of the Messiah in the minds of His people. He also sent them the fullest witness. There was never a more independent witness than John. He was born, brought up, and kept until the right moment to testify of the Messiah. The detailed questions of those sent by the Jews from Jerusalem show how much men's minds were stirred at the time. They wanted to find out the real character and aim of this mysterious Israelite. He came from a priestly family, and that, as they should have known, ruled him out of the Messianic title. But there was no vagueness in the reply. John was not the Anointed. This was the main aim of their search.
The verse repeats itself: he confessed, and confessed again. One writer finds the weight not in what John said, but in how he said it — before anyone had raised the subject.
They came to ask him, "Who are you?" "He confessed, and did not deny," says the exultant Spirit; "but confessed, I am not the Christ." Was that, after all, only a small thing to say? Yes; but it was the way he said it, unasked, as one who knew in his soul that Christ is the One men need, so that they need nothing else. What did it matter what he himself was? He and they were standing in the presence of His glory — though in very different ways — and they did not know it.
Nobody had mentioned the Christ. John named Him anyway, and that shows what filled his mind.
With his heart full of Christ, John very beautifully replies, "I am not the Christ." This seems a remarkable answer, since no one had said or asked anything about Christ. It is as if John said, "You have come to me, but I am not the One you need, I am not the Christ." As a true witness he presents Christ and hides himself. The more they press him to speak of himself, the shorter his answers become.
The moment gave John an easy chance to make something of himself.
His fame had spread. The Jews of that city had heard his name, and wanted to get his own account of himself. And how favourable the opportunity now offered for self-exaltation! How easy to satisfy the taste of these interviewers with a little self-assertion! But John was proof against it. Indeed, one of the most striking features in this remarkable man of God was his humility. His unawareness of self was plain and lovely.
One writer links the doubled confession to what men were offering him at that moment.
He was not the Christ, as he confessed and did not deny, when men were ready to give him the glory due to the Master.
When they made him speak about himself, he said as little as he could. One writer sets that against all he was.
Here was a man of real power and dignity. He was one of Christ's most distinguished servants, holding the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels had announced his birth. Prophets had foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet when forced to speak of himself, this remarkable man will only say, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.
John's humility is more than an attractive trait. One writer calls this the hard part of all true testimony.
Let us not suppose that to give true testimony to Christ is an easy or simple thing. It is not. Even the best and greatest of God's servants have carried the flesh within them, with all its deep-rooted tastes and habits. So a dangerous tendency is always there. It puts self in the foreground and Christ in the background, even while seeming to bear witness to Him. John the Baptist was remarkably proof against this.
- Asked — the officials came to settle one question: was this man the Messiah? His answer left no vagueness.
- Answered — he named Christ before anyone asked about Christ. That shows what filled his heart.
- Offered — men were ready to hand him glory that belonged to his Master. The doubled "confessed" marks his refusal, and taking the honour would have been easy.
- Emptied — a man announced by angels and foretold by prophets would say of himself only "I am a voice."
- Applied — every servant faces one danger: pushing self forward while seeming to speak of Christ.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
Priests and Levites have come from Jerusalem to ask who this preacher in the wilderness is. Their questions run down Israel's list of expected figures, and John's denial that he is Elijah has puzzled readers ever since.
Neither question was random. Each came out of an Old Testament promise.
Every godly Jew expected the two figures named here to appear at some point in connection with Messiah. So when John came on the scene, the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him three questions. Was he the Christ? Once he had confessed that he was not, they then asked, with reference to Malachi 4:5-6, whether he was Elijah. He denied that too. Then they asked, now with Deuteronomy 18:17-19 in their minds, "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."
Their knowledge of Scripture did not help them.
Knowing Scripture only blinds those who are not in present communion with the mind of God. In that case, the light a person has becomes darkness.
John's "no" answers what the questioners meant. It does not deny what Jesus would later say about him.
They press him further about whether he is Elijah (v. 21), no doubt with Malachi 4:5 in mind. "I am not" is his blunt answer. Does this contradict the Lord's words in Matthew 11:14? No. In a spiritual sense John was Elijah — that is, a prophet of similar spirit and power (Luke 1:17). But the Jews had in mind a literal reincarnation, and that was in no way true. John was not Elijah himself.
Jesus' own words carry an "if". The name fits John for those willing to receive it.
The key appears to lie in Matthew 11:14: "And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come." Such a word, however, needed ears to hear. The Lord Himself is Son of Man as well as Messiah. So John's testimony and his lot were to match a coming in shame and sorrow, as well as one in power and glory. The Jews cared only for the coming in power and glory.
Put plainly: John was Elijah to those who received him, and to those who followed the Lord afterwards.
The Lord, speaking of John, said, "Elijah has come," Mark 9:13, which seems to clash with John 1:21; another passage, however, explains it: "If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come." Matthew 11:14. He had come in the spirit and power of Elijah, as Gabriel had foretold.
The denial leaves room for a forerunner still to come.
The difficulty had to do with the truth of the two comings, which the disciples did not yet understand. The Lord came in humiliation. He will come again in power and glory. A forerunner preceded the first coming. A forerunner will appear before the second. So the Lord replied to the disciples' question: "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognise him, but did to him whatever they pleased." The scribes were right about the coming of Elijah. He will come and restore all things. Nothing like that has been seen down here yet.
The third question reaches back to Moses. God told him to announce a Prophet like himself.
Before Moses died, God commissioned him — the mediator of the first covenant — to tell Israel of a Prophet who would come like himself. All were to listen to Him (Deuteronomy 18:15)... The people were taught to expect a Prophet who would teach them, as well as a Messiah who would save them. That expectation had not died out in fifteen hundred years. For people asked John the Baptist whether he was the Prophet who was to come (John 1:21). So Israel was still looking for the Prophet. Soon after the word of God came to John, it became clear that the Prophet and the Messiah were one Person.
Watch what John does with each answer.
With his heart full of Christ, John gives this blessed reply: "I am not the Christ." The answer seems remarkable, since nothing had been said or asked about Christ. It is as if John said, "You have come to me, but I am not the One you need, I am not the Christ." As a true witness he presents Christ and hides himself. The more they press him to speak about himself, the shorter his answers become. They say, "Are you Elijah?" He replies, "I am not." They ask, "Are you the Prophet?" He answers with a single word, "No." John is decreasing so that Christ may increase.
- Three questions. The delegation ran through Israel's three expected figures: the Christ, Elijah of Malachi 4, and the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18. John refused all three titles.
- One denial. He was not Elijah returned in person. The Jews expected a literal reappearance. John came in Elijah's spirit and power.
- One condition. Jesus' "if you are willing to accept it" is the key: John was Elijah to faith, to those who received him.
- Two comings. A forerunner came before the first coming in humiliation. Malachi's Elijah is still to come before the coming in power, when all things will be restored.
- Fewer words. Five words, then three, then one — the witness shrinks as the One he points to fills the view.
They said therefore to him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
A delegation from Jerusalem has run out of questions. John has told them what he is not. Now they press for something positive — a name they can carry back to the men who sent them.
The men in front of John were important, and their support was worth having. He would not take it.
His preaching caused a great stir in the land, so much so that priests and Levites came from Jerusalem to find out who he could be. But he was a faithful witness, and he would not let the support of these great and influential men turn him from his mission. He had come to speak of Christ, to prepare the people for their Lord, and he refused to talk about himself... He was a blessed and faithful servant. He kept himself out of his own message, so that his Lord might be everything in it.
The question narrows to the one subject John avoids.
It is unwelcome to any right-minded person to be asked to speak about himself. So, I have no doubt, John found it... But they wanted a positive answer. He had little indeed to say about himself. "I" had a very small place in John's thoughts.
Pressed for an answer, John names himself with a word that has almost nothing in it.
They were determined to have an answer, and he gives them one. They would compel him to speak of himself, and he does so. But look at his answer! Who or what was he? Nobody. He was only "a voice." Here was a man of real power and dignity, one of Christ's most honoured servants, in the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels announced his birth; prophets foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet force this remarkable man to speak of himself, and the most he will say is, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.
A voice fades as soon as it speaks — and that is what fits it for the work.
A "voice" — barely a person. Its whole value lies in the message it brings. A voice must pass away, but it may do a work that will not pass. Here is a voice that would bring to the souls of men the imperishable Word which remains for ever... What are men, that a name among them and a following from them should be worth wanting?
To accept a title would have been to collect a following. John declines both.
He replies that he is only a "voice"... the voice Isaiah spoke of. He refuses to take a place as a gathering centre for the people of God; he refuses to take a name, to exalt himself among the people of God. He is simply a voice to speak of Jesus in obedience to the Word of God.
John's small word about himself points to the greatness of the One behind him. (The older translation reads "Jehovah" where the ESV has "the Lord.")
John does take his stand as a witness to Jesus, to His personal and divine glory. So when they challenged him about who he was, he used of himself the prophetic word attached to him in every Gospel: "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" Jesus was Jehovah. John was no more than a voice in a desolate earth — indeed, in a desolate Israel — to prepare the way before Him.
They asked so they could report. John gave them far more than a name.
These priests, sent by the Pharisees in Jerusalem, should have hurried back to those who sent them. What a message they had to carry! The man they had enquired about was none other than the forerunner of the Lord... What would they do? Sadly, the announcement did not move them at all. They were a generation without faith. They could not even see past John's message, and they went on asking him about himself.
Christ described the man who refused to describe himself.
Listen to His testimony to John — the one who said of himself that he was nothing but a voice. "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist." How much better to hear this from the Master than from the servant! John said, "I am a voice." Christ said he was the greatest of prophets.
- Pressed. Officials wanted a label to report; John gave them the one word no one could turn into a title.
- Empty. "I" had a very small place in his thoughts — he was not even a man in his own account, only a voice.
- Passing. A voice fades; its whole worth lies in the message it carries, and that message does not fade.
- Pointing. By refusing a name, he refused to become a gathering centre. He left Jesus, whom he announced as Jehovah, as the one to follow.
- Praised. The servant who called himself nothing heard his Master call him the greatest of prophets — better said from that mouth than from his own.
He said, I [am] [the] voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the path of [the] Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.
John's questioners want a name and a title; his answer gives them neither. He answers with one line from Isaiah. That line says three things at once: who he is, what the nation had become, and who was about to arrive.
Pressed to define himself, John chose the smallest word available. That is startling, given all he could have claimed:
They were determined to have an answer, and he gives them one. They would compel him to speak of himself, and he does so. But mark his answer! Who or what was he? Nobody. He was only "a voice." … Here was a man of real power and dignity. He was one of Christ's most honored servants, holding the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels had announced his birth. Prophets had foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet when this remarkable man was forced to speak of himself, all he would say was, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.
That word fits the Gospel it appears in. This Gospel opens by calling Christ the Word, and a voice exists to carry a word:
A "voice" — hardly a person. Its whole value lies in the message it brings. A voice must pass away, yet it may do a work that will not pass. Here is a voice that will bring to the souls of men the undying Word that lasts forever. We cannot help seeing that the voice in John stands in fitting relation to the Word, who is Christ, and of whom the Gospel speaks in this way.
A name gives people something to gather around. John would not give them one.
He replies that he is only a "voice." … He refuses to take a place as a gathering centre for the people of God. He refuses to take a name, or to lift himself up among the people of God. He is only a voice to speak of Jesus in obedience to the Word of God.
In the line John quotes, "the Lord" stands for God's own name, Jehovah. So his answer is a witness to Jesus, not just a description of himself:
Still, John does take his stand as a witness to Jesus, to His personal and divine glory. To this end, when they challenged him about who he was, he applies to himself the prophetic word attached to him in every Gospel: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of Jehovah." Jesus was Jehovah. John was no more than a voice in the desolation of the earth — yes, of Israel — to prepare the way before Him.
John also stops the quotation short. The prophet's line goes on, "make straight in the desert a highway for our God," but John leaves that part out:
It means that the One he brings in is Jehovah. But he leaves out the prophet's words, "a highway for our God." Though He is acknowledged to be Jehovah, He comes in as a man in humiliation. Besides, Israel in its present state could not be put in the position of saying "our" God.
The setting is not just geography. It is a verdict on the nation, and it changes the kind of preaching John does:
This is why John the Baptist does not appeal to the people as a whole, like the prophets who had preceded him. He says, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness." Israel was a wilderness for God. From now on his appeal rests on their ruin beyond recovery. The appeal of the older prophets always assumed that the nation could still return to Jehovah.
The road work here is moral, not literal. It is about whose paths the people walk in:
In preparation for receiving Jehovah their King they were to make His paths straight. As His people they were to walk in His paths and not paths of their own choosing. What counted was reality and the evidence of it, not natural claim and empty words.
Repentance had a purpose beyond itself:
If they listened to John and repented, they were ready in heart to receive the forgiveness of sins through the One who was about to come. So the path before the Lord would be made straight.
- Voice — Asked for a name, John gave a sound. He was "not even a man, but only a voice."
- Word — A voice exists for the message it carries. John's whole worth lay in bringing men the Word who lasts forever.
- Jehovah — The line he quotes announces the arrival of God Himself. He leaves out Isaiah's "our God." The One coming came in humiliation, and the nation could not yet say "our."
- Wilderness — He preached in the desert because Israel had become a wilderness to God. His call to repentance rested on ruin, not on hope of a national return.
- Straight — The road-work is repentance: walking God's paths rather than one's own, so that hearts are ready to receive the One coming after.