John 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Those Who Hear Us Should See Jesus
It is so easy for any of us to judge our worth in this world by what people say about us, think about us, and how we compare to other people. John was a man who had no such problem. He may have battled with this, but ultimately John was a man of power, conviction, and authority because he was living in the service of One Who was greater. That One was Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, the Messiah.
In John 1, the Bible calls Jesus the Word, the Light, the only begotten of the Father, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Rabbi, the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel, and, very strikingly, Jesus says of Himself in the last verse that He is “the son of man.”
Who was John? John was none of these things. His greatness hinged on the fact that he realized that he didn’t have to be great. He didn’t have to be the Messiah or the King of Israel. He simply had to do his part to make that One known. When people asked John who he was, they thought that he might be the Messiah. We know this because of John’s answer. John said, “I am not the Christ.” Verse 21 says, “And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.” You can almost hear the increasing impatience in John’s voice.
Verse 22 seems to encapsulate John’s part of the story here, which is really the story of Christ. It says, “Then said they [people sent by the religious leaders] unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?” We are living in a day when people do not have any trouble saying a lot about themselves. I suppose that most of us have written more on social media in the last two years than would have been included in the average biography written in the 1850s. I’m not saying that is necessarily wrong, but it would be wrong to live a life focused primarily on self. John wasn’t focused on himself; he was focused on One greater.
Jesus was the Word and the Light. Who was John? John said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” The Scripture had prophesied of John’s ministry 700 years before he was born, yet John realized that this was not because he was an end unto himself. John was a voice for the Word and a witness to the Light.
That is why later on, when John was standing with two of his own disciples, he pointed them to Jesus. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. John saw himself in light of and in service to Jesus. Thus, he had a clear view of himself and a strong purpose for life.
At this Christmas season, those who hear us should see Jesus, and they should follow him because of our witness.