The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD"

 

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am

'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

"Make straight the way of the LORD,"'

as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 

- John 1:19–28 

 

Yesterday we read what is called the Prologue to John's Gospel:   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 

 

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."  After the Prologue to John's Gospel (above) which introduced us to the divine nature of Christ and His Incarnation in the world, the Gospel shifts to begin the story of the ministry of Christ in the world.  Here we will be given a sequence of seven days, the first week, in keeping with the parallels to the Genesis creation account which began John's Gospel with the words, "In the beginning . . .."  Here we are given the first day, so to speak, of Jesus' ministry, the witness of John the Baptist.  He bears witness to the Light -- the Christ -- in the presence of the Jews (that is, their representatives, the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem).  My study Bible says this is a parallel to the creation of light on the first day in Genesis 1:3-5.  It emphasizes that John the Baptist is a prophet but not the Prophet; that is, the Messiah, whose coming was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  John quotes from Isaiah 40:3, indicating that he is the fulfillment of this part of Isaiah's prophecy.

 

 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.   John's baptism is one of repentance.  This is a traditional call of the prophets.  His baptism did not grant remission of sins, but John here points to the One who is coming who will do so. 

 

 John the Baptist is an extremely important figure in the Gospels and in the life of the Church.  He was widely revered in Israel in his own time, with the people considering him to be a holy man.  The Church has historically viewed John the Baptist as the greatest of all the Old Testament style prophets, and also the last one.  Here he indicates his role in the salvation history of the world, that of the one prophesied by Isaiah, who is the "voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Make straight the way of the LORD.'"  He is the one who comes to proclaim the advent of the Messiah, to prepare the world for the arrival of the King who is coming, as John indicates by describing the Christ as One "preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  John is therefore the herald of the King.  He is titled the "Forerunner" in the Orthodox tradition, just as kings once sent ahead of them those who announce their coming.  John plays this very important and honored role; moreover he does so in the role of a great prophet calling the people back to God.  But if we look upon this event of John's ministry with the perspective of the Church, we have to see what a tremendous role he plays at the center of all spiritual history, for he announces the coming of the One who is the very heart and center of salvation for all time.  In this sense John plays the great role of a most valued servant to the greatest king, someone who serves with devotion and the highest calling.  John is also known to us for his tremendous humility.  He will say of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).  In this sense also of his virtue of humility, John the Baptist serves and has served as inspiration for monastics from the very beginning of the monastic tradition.  For John lived his life in complete devotion to God, to which his poverty gives testimony.  Mark 1:6 tells us, "Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey."  In is service to God, John the Baptist knows is role.  He knows who he is in the salvation story.  And perhaps more importantly, he gives us a sense that we all need to seek whatever that role for ourselves, whatever way God calls us to serve Christ, the heart and center of our faith ("the author and finisher of our faith," St. Paul writes in Hebrews 12:2).  For, as alien as this might sound to modern ears, we are each called to be our own saint, in whatever way we fulfill the role God has for us, whatever way Christ asks us to serve.  For faith is not simply a declaration, it's a way of life, a journey, even an every day adventure.  As we grow in faith, so we also come across new choices to make, and new discernment to learn -- His way.  Each of our lives is unique, just as each saint of the Church we know is unique.  And this is the great adventure, how we are called, how we are asked to live our lives in service to the One at the center of all things.  John the Baptist serves as a great inspiration to all who follow, especially to monastics who dedicate their lives to God in perhaps the most radical ways.  But God calls to each of us who would be disciples.  John heralds the Christ and testifies to Him.  What role does God ask you to play in serving this mission of the Son?  Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about John was his capacity to serve in such a unique way, one who had a mission to serve what no one yet knew.  What that teaches each of us is that no matter where we are, or in what circumstances we find ourselves, God is there leading us also, even in the wilderness.