And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” 23 He said: “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 Some Pharisees were also sent. 25 They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, 27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
After the prologue’s sweep from “in the beginning” to the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:1-18), John immediately anchors that eternal reality in a public encounter. The One who reveals the Father is introduced through testimony. So “the Jews from Jerusalem”—that is, the Jerusalem authorities and their representatives—send priests and Levites to ask John the Baptist, “Who are you?” John’s Gospel begins Jesus’ public ministry with a formal “testimony.” John is questioned by religious officials, and the passage stresses how plainly he answers. He “admitted and did not deny it,” and the first thing he makes clear is what he is not: “I am not the Messiah.” Even though he has disciples, John is not building a movement around himself. He is deliberately turning attention away from himself and toward the one God is sending.
The questions that follow show what many in Israel were expecting. Some hoped Elijah would return to announce the decisive arrival of God’s saving work (cf. Mal. 3:1; 4:5). Others looked for “the Prophet,” a new Moses-like figure promised in Deut. 18:15. Even though Jesus later said that John came in Elijah’s role (Mt. 11:14; 17:12-13), John refuses these titles here. He will not let even good expectations become a distraction. His identity is not found in a status, but in a task.
So John identifies himself with Isaiah’s words: “the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” Isaiah first spoke about preparing a highway for God’s return to his people (Isa. 40:3). John applies that call to his own time. The “desert” setting makes the point quietly but firmly: Israel does not need a new celebrity; Israel needs a cleared path for God. John’s role is to call people into readiness for the Lord’s coming.
The Pharisees then press the practical issue: if John is not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why is he baptizing? John’s answer keeps the focus where he wants it. His baptism is “with water,” a real act calling for cleansing and change of life, but it is not the final gift. The deeper issue is recognition: “there is one among you whom you do not recognize.” In John’s Gospel, not recognizing Jesus is never a small misunderstanding. It becomes a spiritual crisis because Jesus is the one who reveals the Father. From the start, the Gospel is showing that the decisive question is not whether John is important, but whether Israel will recognize the One standing in her midst.
John’s baptism with water prepared people to receive the Messiah, but Christian Baptism is not the same as John’s rite; it is instituted by Jesus and brings the Holy Spirit and new life in Him (Jn. 1:26; Mk. 1:8; Mt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-4).
John also speaks of the coming one as greater than himself: “the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” The image is deliberately humbling. John places himself in the lowest role and still says he is not worthy. The point is not false modesty. It is a true measurement of who Jesus is—a Lord before whom every knee will one day bend (Phil. 2:10-11; cf. Jn. 20:28). The Synoptic Gospels preserve the same contrast between John’s water baptism and the greater baptism associated with Jesus (Mk. 1:7-8; Mt. 3:11; Lk. 3:16). John’s Gospel expresses it here with the stress on recognition and on Jesus already standing “among you.”
The passage ends with a location: “Bethany across the Jordan.” John is anchoring his testimony in real time and real place. The Gospel’s claims are not abstract. God’s saving work enters history and can be testified to. John the Baptist’s first service is to clear away confusion and false titles so that the reader can see what matters: the Messiah is not John, and the Messiah is already present, even if many do not yet recognize him.
Lord Jesus, give me a truthful heart like John’s, quick to refuse every false claim and eager to point beyond myself. Open my eyes to recognize you standing near, and make my life a straight path for your coming. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of John, pp. 162-163.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, commentary on Jn. 1:19-28.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 18), commentary on Jn. 1:19-34 (pp. 1119-1120).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), commentary on Jn. 1:19-34 (p. 952).
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