“Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ ‘I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
John the Baptist used scriptures here to point not only to what he is doing but also to the one who comes after him. This is after the Pharisees were questioning him about who he is in trying to define him in terms they want to understand him by. John continues to try and change their understanding in this passage after another disheartening response from the Pharisees, still trying to point them to the one that is to come, Jesus, not only giving us an example of his own ministry but also paralleling the same things Jesus will do in His own ministry.
The Pharisees give a response back to John, and by that response the reader can understand that they still do not understand what John is talking about. Right before this, John points them to the Old Testament and the prophet Isaiah so they might understand that Jesus is coming, yet all they are concerned about is that he is baptizing even though he is not claiming to be any of the titles they want to label him with. At this point they are fundamentally missing the point—John the Baptist is just the mouthpiece for previous prophecy being fulfilled. Instead of getting excited for the implications this might have, the Pharisees are trying to argue the legality of him baptizing without a proper claim.
John the Baptist does not even give this response a real answer except to, again, point them to Jesus. He mentions how he baptizes with water but there is one coming after him who he is not even worthy to take off his shoes. This might be confusing in our context today, but in essence John is communicating that from among them is one that is so holy. One whom John—who at this point is baptizing people and showing authority himself—is not worthy of even going to touch his feet, the dirtiest part of a person’s body during this time. We see the indignation of him at this point where they want to know why he is baptizing and John is essentially saying, “Listen this is just water, but Jesus is coming who is the Messiah. This is not important.” John the Baptist knew the urgency of his message and did not get distracted by the silly claims and accusations. The last verse shows where this was actually happening, showing that this was not just a story but a real location.
As a Christian, it is important that we do not get distracted by ridiculous or unfounded claims. We often feel we must defend every time someone brings an accusation against us, but we see through John the Baptist that he brings it back around to the purpose God has for him. We live in a day where many people try not to hear but to argue when asking questions. As the world laughs at, attacks, and—as we have seen recently—murders His messengers, we need to understand how normal this is, even back to when John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. Did John the Baptist get mad and fall into a defense of why he can baptize? No, instead he spoke to the heart of why he was there continuing to call them to understand who was coming, Jesus! In the same way, we must not get distracted by the same tricks today but work towards, with words and actions, showing the world Jesus.
If you are not a Christian, put aside yourself and your arguments to see the glory of God. He is calling to you through every verse because there is more knowledge than what our minds can comprehend and when we try to grasp first at the knowledge without God we will always miss out on the depth and the breadth of true knowledge in God. When you are looking for the natural world to give you answers like the Pharisees, you will miss what God is trying to tell you. He is telling you come to Him so that He might lovingly show you the true knowledge of the reality of the world.
The Traveling Mountains 
Leave a comment