Chapter 17.

John the Baptist Was Questioned

While Jesus Was in the Wilderness.

 

John the Baptist became a folk-hero in the minds of most Jews.  He was rustic, but impressive.  He offered a new way for men and women to cleanse their souls of sin-stains.  His Message, though from God, inflamed the minds of the Jewish religious elites.  “John never earned a degree from one of our colleges,” they said.  “His teachings are contrary to ours!  He’s a threat to our status in the religous hierarchy.”

 

Frequently, the elites of Jerusalem sent investigators and spies to John’s rallies.  The Apostle John told us of a time when a delegation of elites came from Jerusalem to interrogate the Baptist.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 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.’” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany [an alternate name for Bethabara] on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  (John 1:19-28 NIV)

By the date of this event, John had baptized Jesus.  He knew that Jesus was the Messiah.  He did not know that Jesus was facing-down Satan in a desolate part of the wilderness.  But, he was sure that Jesus would soon reveal Himself to the residents of Israel.  Confidently, he said, “There is a Man among us who is our long-awaited Messiah.  He is much more important than me.  I’m not even qualified to be His servant and untie His sandals at the end of the day.”

 

John’s statements perplexed his interrogators.  “Where is this Messiah?  What is His name?” they wondered.