John 1:19-28 (NRSV)
Read John 1:19-28 on biblegateway.com
Verse 19This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" Verse 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." Verse 21And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Verse 22Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" Verse 23He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Verse 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. Verse 25They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" Verse 26John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, Verse 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." Verse 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Devotion
Even a saint like John the Baptist felt like nobody was listening. Perhaps that’s why he used the prophet Isaiah’s words to describe his situation—“I am the voice of someone crying out.” He then proclaimed, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” At last! God’s Messiah is on the way! Make a pathway for his coming into the world! But not everybody was listening. Many people today also seem disinterested, even hostile, to our testimony to the coming of God’s promised Savior. And yet we all have come to believe in the power of God’s advent in Jesus of Nazareth, precisely because of the faithful testimony of John the Baptist and countless others. Thanks be to God for these saints and their witness to the coming of God.
Prayer
We give you thanks, O God, for the saints who have kept your word and proclaimed its power and promise in the world. May we, like them, bear witness to God’s advent in our world, rejoicing always in your presence. Amen.