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the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah ).” T h e re is w o n d e rfu l hum ility in th e an sw er o f J o h n th e B aptist. H e as m uch as says, m y p e rso n a lity is of no accoun t— I am n o b o d y , sim ply a voice— b u t it w as a n insistent voice, a -voice crying aloud . It w o u ld b e well if m o re o f us w ere w illing to b e sim ply a voice, a n d b ein g a vo ice to cry a loud an d cry insistently. O ne o f th e g re a te st n e ed s o f th e d a y is m en a n d w om en w ho a re w illing to b e m erely voices, them selves unseen b u t th e ir m essage reg a rd in g ano th e r, nam ely, th e glorious Son o f G od , con stan tly h e a rd . J o h n ’s an sw er he to o k w ho lly from Isaiah 4 0 :3 ; he w as th e fulfillm ent o f this O ld T e s ta m en t p roph ecy . In M atthew , M ark a n d Luke th e sam e p ro p h e cy is a p p lied to J o h n th e B ap tist (M att. 3 :3 ; M ark 1 :3 ; L uke 3 :4 ) , b u t in th e passage b e fo re us, J o h n app lies it to himself. In th e p ro p h e cy in th e original H eb rew th e w ords, “ In th e w ilderness” a re jo in e d w ith th e w o rd s “m ak e stra ig h t” o r ra th e r “p re p a re .” (S ee Isa. 4 0 :3 R .V .). A n d th ey m igh t b e so jo in e d in th e G re ek o f th e p re sen t passage so th a t it shou ld read , “ I am th e vo ice of one crying, M ake stra ig h t in th e w il d erness th e w ay o f th e L o rd .” Jo h n w as on ly a h e ra ld going b e fo re his King. E ven to this d a y one can h e a r in th e n a rrow stre e ts o f O rien tal cities th e vo ice o f one runn ing on b e fo re crying, “M ake w ay fo r the. H ow a d ji.” V . 24. “And they which were sent were of the Pharisees” (b e tte r, “And they had been sent from the Pharisees” ) . T h e fa c t th a t J o h n h e re states, explains in a m easure, th e question of th e n ex t v erse a n d is one o f th e m any ind ication s o f J o h n ’s exactness a n d accuracy. Being from th e Pharisees, w ho g av e g re a t a tte n tion to rites an d cerem onies, th e ir a tte n tio n w o u ld n a tu ra lly b e fixed
on th e v e ry solem n an d sta rtlin g rite w ith w hich J o h n th e B ap tist h a d in au g u ra ted his new m ovem en t. V . 25. “And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be (ra th e r, art) not that (ra th e r, the) Christ, nor (ra th e r, “neither” ) Elias (E lijah), neither that (ra th e r, the) prophet?” J o h n th e B ap tist b y his own a d m ission m a d e his a c tio n inexplicable to this ecclesiastical comm ittee. T h ey could n o t u n d e rsta n d w h a t rig h t any one h a d to in tro d u c e a rite th a t by its sym bolism suggested th a t Jew s w ere no b e tte r th a n p ro sely tes an d n e e d e d cleansing a s m uch as G entiles d id b e fo re th ey cou ld b e com e m em b e rs o f th e kingdom , unless h e was a p e rso n o f e x tra o rd in a ry au tho rity , e ith e r th e C h rist o r E lijah o r th e p ro p h e t. T h e re w as p e rh a p s in th e ir question a n a ttem p t to co n d em n J o h n th e B ap tist ou t o f his own m o u th ; th a t is, b y th e adm issions which he h a d ju st m ade. Vs. 26, 27. “John answered them, saying, I baptize with (lite r ally, in) water: but there standeth among you (ra th e r, in the midst of you standeth on e) whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” J o h n ’s an sw er to th e ir question is com p le te a n d satisfactory. T h e re a re really tw o p a rts to th e answer, th e first p a rt b e ing th a t his b ap tism was only w a te r b ap tism , a n d w as p e r fectly p ro p e r on th e p a rt o f th e fo re ru n n e r o f H im w hose b ap tism was th e re a l a n d p e rm a n e n t bap tism , b ap tism in th e H o ly S p irit a n d fire (cf. M att. 3:1 I ) . T h is do e s n o t im p ly fo r a m om en t th a t w a te r b a p tism is n o t im p o rta n t o r necessary, b u t it do e s suggest th a t it is n o t th e a ll-im p o rtan t b ap tism which w as th e w ork, n o t of th e fo rerunner, b u t of th e C h rist H im self. T h e second p a rt o f th« answ er is, th a t th o u g h he
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