The Pulpit Commentary on John 1:19-28

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

The second testimony of John the Baptist.

A deputation, consisting of the priests and Levites from Jerusalem, the ecclesiastical centre of Judaism, visited the Baptist as he was baptizing disciples at Bethany beyond Jordan, for the purpose of ascertaining whether he was the Messiah or the forerunner, of ancient prophecy. The scene is interesting as the place where the first disciples were made and the foundation of the Christian Church laid. The interview occurred after the baptism and the temptation. We now come to the properly historical part of the Gospel.

I. THE POSITION ASSERTED FOR HIMSELF BY JOHN. It is one which displays his true humility. He is clear, frank, and unambiguous. "He confessed, and denied not." He asserts his position:

1. Negatively.

2. Positively. He is a voice—"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord." He points to Isaiah's prophecy concerning himself. He was but a voice to be heard, not a great personage to receive the homage of men.

II. THE OFFICE OF THE BAPTIST. It was simply to baptize as a preparation for the recognition of Christ. The deputies questioned his authority to baptize. "Why baptizest thou, then, if thou be not that Christ, or Elias, or one of the prophets?"

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