Today’s scripture reading: John 1:19-27
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” John 1:19 NRSV
The University of Tennessee fired its football coach earlier this year. No sooner than the announcement was made, local and national news media outlets began publishing a “hot list” of candidates for the position.
Through the years, I’ve learned that a coaching “hot list” should be “industry sourced”, meaning that the names on the list come from credible people inside the college football coaching world. Otherwise, the hotlist might be populated with unlikely (rather than serious) candidates.
In John’s gospel, the priests and Levites are trying to figure out who is going to fill the Messiah vacancy; they go to John the Baptist to vet him for the position. The Baptist, like many candidates in the UT search, stated that he was happy in his current position and had no interest in the job.
If John the Baptist wasn’t going to be their Messiah, was he at least a credible source for determining who will be? That’s what the priests and Levites wanted to know. So they asked him if he was Elijah or “the prophet” (Moses, perhaps?); both men were understood to be forerunners of the Messiah and both would have been credible sources.
When John the Baptist denied being either Elijah or the prophet, the priests and Levites were perplexed. If he wasn’t the Messiah and he wasn’t Elijah and he wasn’t Moses, then why was he baptizing people and claiming to be a voice preparing the way for the Messiah? Was he credible or not?
Would you consider yourself a credible source about Jesus? Do people see you as a serious candidate for Christ follower? Does your life lead others to the Messiah?
May God grant us the grace to be credible witnesses for Jesus.
