John 1:19-28 · John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ

19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ. "

21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

22 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' "

24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

26 "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Hark, The Herald... What?
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Sermon
by David E. Leininger
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This is the third Sunday of Advent on the church calendar. It’s getting closer. For us who are parents and grandparents, we might have felt that way back in January, but for our little ones, they probably feel it will never get here. “Hark, the Herald angels sing...” Let’s get to it!

In fact, we do get our first liturgical introduction to an angel today. A surprising one, perhaps, but an angel nonetheless. His name is John. That’s right, the same John that we met in last week’s lesson who gained fame of sorts by baptizing folks in the Jordan River after calling on them to repent of their sins. The John we meet today is actually the same one as last week, but this time he is not identified with his preaching and baptizing; this time he is introduced simply as a messenger, a man sent from …

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., The 2,000 year-old preacher: 21st century sermons on 1st century texts : Cycle B sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany based on the gospel texts, by David E. Leininger