We know from sources outside the Bible that John the Baptist was an electric figure in first-century Judea who created a sensation with his ministry of baptizing Jews in the Jordan River.

Baptism was practiced before John, but it was something that converts to Judaism did; baptism was not for people who were already Jewish. But, there was John, baptizing Jews in the Jordan River. It would be like an American politician today making American citizens take a citizenship test. (Come to think of it, that’s not a terrible idea….)

So, what did John’s baptism mean? John was baptizing Jews in the Jordan River, the same river that the Israelites had to pass through to get to the Promised Land so many centuries before. It was a provocative act: John was acting as if the entire Jewish people needed to purify themselves for something imminent.

Naturally, John’s actions attracted the attention of the religious establishment in Jerusalem, and so they sent emissaries to question him.

Was John the Christ? (“Christ” is the Greek word for the Hebrew term “Messiah,” which means “Anointed One.” The Messiah was the one who was long foretold in the Old Testament, the one who would save God’s people.)

Was John the second coming of Elijah? (There was a tradition in Judaism that the prophet Elijah would return to prepare the way for the Messiah. See Malachi 3:1, 4:5.)

Was John the second coming of Moses himself, the greatest of all Old Testament prophets? (In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses tells the Israelites that the Lord will raise up a second Moses, and the legend developed that this second Moses would come as the End Times approached.)

John answers negatively to all 3 questions. John knows his role is to prepare for the Messiah, and nothing more.

In some sense, each of us is like John the Baptist—we are supposed to point other people to Jesus.

How can you do that today?

Today’s Scripture

John 1:19-34