The Word Divides

Part VII

John 1:24-28
"Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

The Pharisees were a party to the ruling body in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees were mostly nonprofessionals zealous for the Law of God. However, the Pharisees accepted the oral instructions of patriarchs or Fathers as authoritative as well. Eventually those traditions will be put in written form, The Oral Law; the Mishnah and Talmud, the commentaries on the Law become Law and authoritative.

John has already communicated to the delegation of Priest and Levites; I am not the Christ, Elijah or one of the prophets. However, for the Pharisees there is another option, what Father in the Jewish Heritage has authorized or sanctioned you to baptize others, John? John says to them that someone you do not know has given me authority. A big problem for the legalist, who believe they are the gatekeepers of who, what, when and where. The Pharisees were those zealous to proselytize. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single, convert and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15)

John is not asking for permission. John declares there is one much greater than you and me who is “among you”, “whom comes after me.” John makes a clear distinction between the one who has given him authority and that of the Pharisee, “the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

John wants the Pharisees to know “I baptize with water” which was common in John’s day, the OT was full of ceremonial cleanings and washings (https://www.biblegateway.com/resource...).

However, those cleanings, washings and rituals were a foreshadowing of something much more, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus who comes to save his people from their sins. What those OT rituals pointed to has now arrived, John declares. “This all happened at Bethany.”

Maybe you are looking for a prophet or someone like Elijah. I have met many over the years following so-called prophets. The Prophet of Prophets has come and He continues to speak to us today through His Word. Feed on Him! Dust off those Bibles, or now you can access the Bible on your IPhone, or any cell phone and the list goes on. The Pharisees had put a hedge around the Word of God and the traditions of men had snared them.