Voice Crying Out

This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” 

“Are you the Prophet [Isaiah]?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”

He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” 

Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” 

John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”  This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:19-28)

It’s quite interesting that the quote about the voice crying out in the desert is put into the mouth of John the Baptist in this Gospel reading from John.  In Mark, the first Gospel written about 20 years or so before John’s Gospel, this passage from Isaiah is cited only as an introduction to the Baptist. Such is the embellishment of Gospel writers relying on the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) to tell their story about Jesus who they believed was the Christ – the Messiah.

There are many examples of this reliance throughout the Gospels making a reading and understanding of them so challenging and rewarding.

Deacon David Pierce