PRAY: God, open my eyes and heart that I may hear what you want me to learn today, and incorporate it into my day. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.


SCRIPTURE:

John 1:19-28
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 1:19-28&version=NCV;NLT;NIV;CEBKing James Version (KJV)

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

OBSERVE:

Take a moment and write down three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.

1. The Jewish Leadership in Jerusalem sent their priests and Levites to question John asking who he was.

2. John says, "I am not the Messiah." Nor Elijah. Nor the Prophet Isaiah.

3. By what right does John baptize if he is not any of the above?

4. John replies that he is preparing the way for the Messiah that Isaiah the prophet spoke of and he is the voice of one in the wilderness, preparing the way for the One who was before (see verse 1) and comes after (see vs 14) whose shoelace he is not worthy to touch or tie or untie (something a servant would do).

INTERPRETATION:

What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?

From the first observation, I learn that John must have been doing things that made the Jewish leadership send the very well educated, well versed in Scripture--priests and Levites (temple assistants)--the people that would know of the Law and the Prophets.

The second observation tells me that from what the Jewish leadership observed,, they must have THOUGHT that John the Baptizer/Baptist, was fulfilling the prophecies of the Prophets, because they ask the question Are you the Messiah? Are you Elijah? Are you Isaiah? (We know this because John replies, No I am not...which implies the question). These are very specific prophecies that the leadership suspected were coming true because of what they observed at the time. Else. why would they bother to send the priests to question John? The signs suggested to the leaders of the Jews at that time that the Messiah was coming then.

John is asked what right he had to baptize? And his response is that he is preparing the way for the Messiah as Isaiah prophesied and that the One who will fulfill the law and the prophets was around before John (verse one said the Word was around in the beginning of time/space and was God) but came after John. (The Word became flesh in verse 14 and was Jesus. John is Jesus' cousin and is six months older than Jesus).

APPLY

When people ask me why I am a Christian, I start with I believe in God, who set in motion the evolution of our universe, our solar system, our earth...right down to me. I believe in the Word of God and the testimony of those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. They said John looked like he was fulfilling prophecy. The leaders of the Jews thought he might be the Messiah because all the signs were there around them that it might be fulfilled in their lifetime, so, intelligent and inquiring types that they were, they sent out their scholars and wise people to check John out.

They specifically asked John questions they believed were happening. The Messiah had come. Or a prophet had come.

John clears the air. No. He isn't the Messiah. He's preparing for the Messiah. The one who was before and after him. The one who is so high on the scale of things, that though John is revered as a prophet and honored as a wise person (else why question him?) that he is not worthy to behave like a servant to the Son of God, i.e. Jesus, the Messiah-- his cousin. Pretty impressive, since most family members don't treat their siblings or cousins like they are any better. So John must have seen something extraordinary in his cousin Jesus.

John is an eye witness to who Jesus was. John was respected by the Jewish leadership. He was believed by them as well as the thousands who sought to be baptized with water. John said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit--a more powerful and life altering event.

Today, since I know Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, I know I have believed in the highest power of all. There are no gods that are higher and I can trust Jesus in my life. So it affirms my being saved by my believing in Jesus as the Son of God.

PRAYER:

Blessed Messiah, We praise your name for coming to us in human form, that we might have access to God. In the Old Testament, you often seem hidden. In the New Testament, especially, You draw us to yourself by your presence. We thank you that John the Baptizer was able to give his first hand account that he was not the Christ but that one would be coming, for whom he was unworthy to tie his sandal. Such humility. God help me today, to be like John and recognize your greatness in my life. Amen.