NIV: Jn 1:23

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Who are you?

Often when asked this question, people say what they do for a living or some other identifying thing. We may even give our credentials … such as being a husband, wife, graduate of a certain college and so forth.

This is also true in religious circles. It isn’t uncommon for a religious leader to claim a certain authority, or for someone to claim to be a prophet. People claim titles for themselves as a way of giving their ministry legitimacy. It would have been easy for John the Baptist to have done the same thing. He could have pointed to his religious training, his miraculous birth, or even to his call from God, yet … he threw off all titles that would have perhaps made them respect him. He was more concerned with God’s agenda than he was with himself. He was more interested in God’s approval than even in the approval of the religious leaders of the day.

His preaching created quiet a stir around Jerusalem. The religious authorities of the day sent investigators out to find out just who he was. What did he have to say for himself? John 1:19-28 records the conversation. They asked John if it was the Christ, the prophet or Elijah. He answered “no” to all the questions. He made no effort to justify himself or even to identify himself. He simply quoted the scriptures… “the voice of one in the wilderness.” Even as they questioned him and his ministry, his focus was on God and God’s agenda.

The religious leaders of the day were expecting the Christ, they were looking for the Messiah. This is probably why they went to investigate John.

But there does seem to be a problem here. In Malachi it says God would send Elijah before the Day of the Lord. In Matthew 11, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the Elijah and one of the Prophets that was to come. In Matthew 17, Jesus again identifies John as Elijah.

Is there a contradiction here? There are two possible answers. One is that perhaps John did not realize he was Elijah (one coming in the spirit of Elijah). Another is that John was focusing on his mission, and denied being Elijah to keep focus off himself. Either one probably works.

Regardless of how you work out the apparent difference in what John the Baptist and Jesus said, the point the writer was making was, that John was focused on God and not on what men thought. We would do well to follow this example. Whatever God has called you to today, do that regardless of what people … even religious people … think.

Also consider your focus. Is your focus on God, or your position or what you are doing for God?