JOHN 1:19-28 SEEING WITH MIRRORS

19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.’”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”

24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The religious leaders came to John with their own set of expectations. They presented their check list of possible identities and when John added and checked off “other” they did not seem to pursue its meaning. These were men who were learned in the Law and the Prophets, yet when John described himself in terms of the words of the Prophet Isaiah their reaction was simply that he was not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet. This passage was not the naming of a person but a description of a voice. Clearly, even a quote from Scripture could not jar them from their categorical expectations.

Since John was not who they expected him to be, they challenged him as to what he was doing rather than investigating who he was. Once more John responds in an unexpected manner. He does not defend or explain himself, he proclaims the greatness of the one who is to follow. He simply continues to develop his identity as the herald of the Messiah. We are left with the idea that they returned to the Temple wagging their heads and muttering about the madman in the wilderness.

We all have our expectations. We bring our experience, desires and the teachings of others that we find attractive or useful to our reading of Scripture and our worship. When our vision is limited by the lens of our expectations we are in danger of missing the truth that is being revealed. God is so much bigger than our human understanding and experience that we cannot afford to place human limitations on him. How often when we read the Bible are we fully open to the entire counsel of Scripture? Do we not tend to err like the “Jews from Jerusalem” by having our understanding formed by specific passages we have determined to be authoritative? We can only avoid missing the truth by maintaining a Spirit-led openness in our approach to Scripture. Of course there is no substitute for the diligent study of all the books of the Bible.

Guide me, O Great Lord and Savior in my reading of your Word so that I will not take your words and twist them into a description of a god in my own image. Help me to read with the eyes of my mind wide open so that I can perceive your truth. Encourage me to honestly question what I do not understand and then carefully listen to your reply. Let me not be blinded by my own understanding. Amen.