John 1:19-51 Part 1
Who are you?
The question, “who are you?” was presented to John the baptist by the Priests and Levites in John 1:19. Is he able to give an answer?
John the Baptist was a man, who Jesus recalled as being a prophet, a man that Mark says was a “man preaching repentance”.
John the Baptist was a man, who when asked the question “who are you?” was able to give an answer.
John’s life up to this point had been causing quite a stir. He was a man with the ability to get under your skin, a man who you would probably try to avoid, but we read here in John 1:19 that certain Priests and Levites were sent from Jerusalem to find out who he was.
John was a problem, he was upsetting the establishment. He was drawing people out of their comfort zones and getting to the heart of the matter. John recognised and knew that unless the heart was changed the life would be the same. John’s mission was to challenge the lifestyle in order to change the heart which in turn created the spiritual thirst to know more. John knew, and had experienced, that there was more to life than just life itself, he knew that there was a deep cry for spiritual truth and a spiritual void within mankind that needed to be filled in order for life to be experienced in its fullness.
When asked “Who are you?” The reply from John was `I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness` and there we have the answer for us all, a voice crying in the wilderness of life, a voice heard above the crowd, a voice that was not easily silenced, a spiritual voice that can only come from spirit, a voice that can only be understood by a knowledge of, and encounter with Spirit
God needs voices that are crying in the wilderness, He needs voices who are willing to cry `prepare the way in the wilderness and make straight the path` and lives that live as examples of God’s grace and mercy that mark out the way for others to follow.
We as individuals have no power or authority to forgive sins but we can make the path straight and prepare the way in the wilderness just like John the Baptist.
John the Baptist declares in John 1:26 `there is one among you who you do not know`. The statement is true today as has been throughout the generations, “there is one among you who you do not know”, that One is Jesus the only begotten Son of God, the creator and sustainer of all things. I hope that we are not as blind as those that John encountered?
