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John 3:16-17
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When I arrived for a weekend retreat with thirty up-and-coming leaders, the jockeying for position started immediately. One guy asked me to explain the gospel in front of everyone. But it was a setup. No matter what I said, he would be able to critique an element I missed, or show the group how he could do it better. The gospel had become a tool to fight for status. John the Baptist lived in the desert, but his fame spread throughout the country. So, the leaders in Jerusalem sent a team to interview him.
John 1:19-28
This was John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" He didn't deny it but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." "What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Who are you, then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said." Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. So they asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you aren't the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John answered them. "Someone stands among you, but you don't know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to untie." All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Three times they ask who he is and each time John explains who he is not. No, no, no: I am not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. John the Baptist even describes himself in a humiliating way. In an honor-shame culture, he says he is unworthy to untie the Messiah's sandals. He isn't looking to ride the Messiah's coattails to make a name for himself. Instead of giving his name or resume, he refers to himself only as a voice. Equally odd is that the investigative team runs through their checklist, but doesn't ask any questions about the Messiah that John the Baptist keeps pointing to. They just need to fill out their paperwork. When the priests and Levites get back to Jerusalem, what message will they have? "This prophet says he's like Isaiah, telling us the Messiah's identity." But if they were interested in knowing the Messiah, wouldn't they ask for an introduction? While everyone else is playing status games and doing their jobs, John the Baptist invites them to look at Jesus.
The delegation asks John three times who he is, but never asks about the Messiah he's pointing to. What do you make of that?
John says he's "not worthy to untie the sandal strap" of the one coming after him. What would that kind of humility look like in your life?
What motivates you to look at Jesus? What distracts you?
John kept pointing to someone standing among them that they didn't know. Ask your friend: "What's one thing that tends to distract you from looking at Jesus?" Listen. Then share yours.
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