Who Are You?
Has anyone ever asked you that question?
· Wow, Who are you?
· Or, Who do you think you are?
How do you answer that question?
Are we even the best one to answer that question?
By what criteria do you respond?
· Often it’s by what we do – I’m a pastor, Mom, teacher, nurse, etc…
Is our duties/responsibilities the best definition of who we are?
What or Who defines who we are?
Maybe what we do doesn’t define who we are, but who we are defines what we do!
SO HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHO WE ARE?
John 1:19-28 (ESV)
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
In the encounter John the Baptist accomplished three objectives:
1) He firmly denied being the Christ
2) He identified himself as the herald predicted by Isaiah, who would announce the Messiah
3) He announced the presence of the Messiah, yet he did not publicly identify Jesus even though he baptized Jesus and heard God’s verbal stamp of approval on him.
John 1:19 (ESV)
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
God’s favor and success seems to have demanded an explanation.
Let’s remember that John is a descendant of Aaron, so he is by Jewish tradition a priest.
The messianic expectations of the time, combined with his initial success in attracting large crowds, made John the Baptist the subject of speculation: Could he be the Messiah?
Before his conception – Luke 1:13-17 (ESV)
… your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
John 1:20-21 (ESV)
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Malachi 4:5-6a (ESV)
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers…
Luke 1:17 (ESV)
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Are you the Prophet? – Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV)
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
They wanted to know who John was, but John insisted on pointing them toward Jesus. So should we, it’s our purpose too.
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
John 1:22 (ESV)
So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (John goes to the scriptures)
Those sent by the religious leaders of Jerusalem confronted a man sent by God; they had run out of stereotypes and were ready to listen.
John 1:23 (ESV)
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
No slide – Isaiah 40:3 (ESV)
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John 1:24-25 (ESV)
(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John had not invented baptism. Gentiles converting to Judaism were baptized as an initiation rite. But John was calling upon Jews to be baptized. Since this was new, they demanded an explanation.
John 1:26-27 (ESV)
John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
John had a very vital and unique ministry, Jesus even said among those born of woman….., yet he saw himself in light of Christ and it cultivated and maintained great humility.
Thought:
John was having such an impact as a witness for Christ that the Pharisees and eventually the King wanted to know who he was. Our lives should cause others to question who we are, so like John we can point them to Christ?
John knew who he was and wasn’t!
John 13:1-5 (ESV)
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (Both servants)
Maybe it’s not as important who we say we are but what HE says we are in Christ!