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“We Have Found the Messiah”
77
With respect, almost fear, the crowd opened to let them pass. The
great men, in their rich robes, in the pride of rank and power, stood
before the prophet of the wilderness.
“Who are you?” they demanded.
Knowing what was in their thoughts, John answered, “I am not
the Christ.”
[54]
“What then? Are you Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
“No.”
“Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent
us? What do you say about yourself?”
“I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “‘Make straight
the way of the Lord,”” as the prophet Isaiah said.”
Anciently, when a king traveled through his realm, men were
sent ahead to level the steep places and fill up the hollows so that
the king could travel safely. The prophet Isaiah used this custom
to illustrate the work of the gospel. “Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.”
Isaiah 40:4
. When
the Spirit of God touches the heart, it brings human pride low. The
person sees that worldly pleasure, position, and power are worthless.
Then only humility and self-sacrificing love are exalted as having
any value. This is the work of the gospel, of which John’s message
was a part.
The rabbis continued their questioning: “Why then do you bap-
tize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” The
words “the Prophet” referred to Moses. When the Baptist began his
ministry, many thought he might be Moses risen from the dead.
Many people also believed that before the Messiah came, Elijah
would personally appear. John denied this expectation, but later
Jesus said, referring to John, “And if you are willing to receive it, he
is Elijah who is to come.”
Matthew 11:14
. John came in the spirit
and power of Elijah, to do a work like Elijah did. But the Jews did
not receive his message. To them he was not Elijah.