19-20 And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24-25 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26-27 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28-29 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:19-29 English Standard Version

On hearing of a man who wore a garment of camel's hair with a leather belt round his waist, whose food was locusts and wild honey, and who was baptizing people, the Jewish religious leaders sent priests to investigate what was going on. They wondered if he might perhaps be one of the great saviours they were expecting God to send to the nation. Looking at vs 19-20, why do you think the apostle John stressed the answer that John the Baptiser gave about not being the Christ? ('Christ' is the Greek word for 'Messiah'.)

The apostle was writing these things well after Jesus had ascended back to heaven. But both during the days Jesus was in the world, and after He returned to the Father, there were people who were followers of the man named John who'd arrived on the scene before Jesus. The apostle wanted them to see that the man, whose disciples they were, had confessed strongly that he wasn't the Messiah, but only the messenger who had come to announce the Messiah's arrival. How was the great difference between the messenger and the coming Messiah stressed even further in vs 26-27?

That would've been a very strong picture to the Jews. People today might say of some great person “I'm not worthy to even carry his suitcase”, or some similar sentiment. So John the Baptist clearly wanted people to be disciples of the Messiah rather than of himself, and John the apostle was reminding his readers of that important truth. An application we can make here is that we mustn't hero worship whoever our favourite preacher is, either from the past or in the present, but focus our thoughts on the Saviour they are preaching about. So too, a true believer will not want praise and attention for themself, but for Christ. How then did John the Baptiser describe himself and the work he had been given to do? (vs 23)

He quoted words from the prophet Isaiah which told of someone who would cry out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’. (Isaiah 40:3) The implication is that he was the person Isaiah had spoken about over 700 years earlier. And if any of the Jews had gone home to read the section those words came from, it would've encouraged them. Here's what that part of the Bible said: “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

So John was calling them to prepare the way for Messiah to come through sincere repentance. Baptism was the act in which they were expressing that. And the next day, as he saw Jesus coming towards him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”