John 1:19-28 (ESV)

¹⁹ 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.

John the Baptist was approached by Jewish priests and Levites sent by the religious leaders to discover his identity. When asked, John emphatically said he was not the Messiah. So they questioned him to see if he was Elijah. Or was he the Prophet who was to come? The one who would be like Moses? He said he wasn’t Elijah or the Prophet. The priests and Levites had to come back with some answer from John. John quoted the prophet Isaiah and identified himself as the voice from the wilderness that cries, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” John said he was not Elijah, but he was the one about whom Isaiah spoke. What did he mean by “Make straight the way of the Lord?” When Isaiah proclaimed this (Isaiah 40:3), he was referring to the time when the exiled Israelites would return to the land. Isaiah spoke of a leveling of the land so that the roads would be clear for God’s returning people. Now John declared the same thing Isaiah had declared. John’s message was one that should have cleared the roads for God’s people to return to the Lord. So the Pharisees wondered, “If John isn’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet, then why does he have the authority to baptize?” The response John gave was powerful. He said he baptized with water, but one was coming who was so much greater than John that John wasn’t even worthy to untie his sandal.

In the first century, untying a sandal was a slave’s job. But John said he wasn’t even qualified to do that! What humility and deference John gave to Jesus! When John pointed to Jesus, he didn’t see Jesus as his equal. He didn’t even see himself as lower than Jesus. Instead, he said he didn’t even qualify to take a slave’s role with respect to Jesus. The same is true for us. We don’t deserve the love and acceptance Jesus offers us. If the righteous man John recognized his place before Jesus, may we do the same. In the end, we bring nothing to our salvation. Yet Jesus lifts us up and places us in his own robes of righteousness. Let us remember today that the path to greatness lies on the road to humility. When we humble ourselves, God himself will exalt us.