Observation and Principles

Todays bible reading: John 1:24-28

In John 1, there are 2 groups of religious leaders questioning John the Baptist. The first group, which we read about in the last post, were the Priests and Levites. They asked “Who are you?”

The second group of religious leaders questioning John the Baptist were the Pharisees. They asked, “Why are you acting this way?” This is interesting because the Pharisees were a sect of the Jews who focused primarily on the strict observance of religious rituals. Their religious focus was right behavior rather than the hope of the coming messiah.

v. 25 “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

In the Matthew 3 and Mark 1 accounts of this same incident, we see that John the Baptist was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4)

In that day, this was a new idea. There were a lot of different ritual washings as a way to purify oneself, but none that were related to the repentance and forgiveness of sins. The pharisees were likely questioning what authority John the Baptist had to institute a new religious practice.

Through this questioning, John’s answers keep pointing away from himself and towards Jesus. I think he was probably trying to say, “The Christ is coming! Indeed, He is here already. Stop worrying about me and go find Him. He’s the one you are looking for.”

One remarkable thing about the life of John the Baptist is that he sought no glory or recognition for himself. Everything that he did or said was pointing towards Jesus. He had an incredible humility, but he was probably the only person on earth who truly understood the nature of Jesus.

If we really understand and know God, pride and self-conceit would be impossible.

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