And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
The questioning came from a delegation sent from Jerusalem by the highest authority and the Jewish rulers, made up of priests and Levites, who demanded that John tell who he was so they could answer those who sent them and who challenged his authority to stir agitation, draw whole cities and towns to listen, and teach and baptize. After John had confessed he was not the Christ, they asked if he was Elias and then if he was that prophet, and to both he answered that he was not, refusing any claim to be the Christ or either of those expected figures. That prophet in the questioning means Moses. The Jews expected Moses to be raised from the dead and taken to heaven, without knowing that Moses had already been resurrected.
They wondered whether John was Moses returned because he showed thorough knowledge of the prophecies and of Hebrew history, including the wilderness wanderings through murmuring and rebellion. They also connected John with Moses risen from the dead because he baptized with water and because his miraculous birth was called to mind after being measurably forgotten for thirty years, including the angel visit to Zacharias in the temple and Zacharias losing speech for unbelief and regaining it at John's birth. The questioning arose because multitudes, including kings and nobles, followed John and people wondered whether he might be the Coming One.
Although John denied being Elias, his authoritative proclamation and his manner as the messenger of the coming One made the listening people think he might be Elijah and aroused great expectation in their hearts. John cut off that hope by refusing exalted titles for himself and using every opportunity to direct attention away from himself to One mightier than himself whose shoes he was unworthy to unloose. Instead John identified himself as the voice preparing the way for the Lord, whose mission was solely to prepare the way for Jesus. In that preparatory mission John testified that Jesus was the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and the Son of God.
His denials led to the demand why he baptized and to his unequivocal answer to carry back to Jerusalem that the long-promised Christ already stood unknown among them. The questions show the Jews were looking for the Christ, Elias, and that prophet, but had studied only one side and expected the Messiah as a mighty prince and great conqueror who would work powerfully in their behalf, and they turned from Jesus in disappointment because his mission did not match that expectation. Through this deputy sent to John the Jewish leaders were not left in ignorance of John's evidence, because their messenger brought back John's statement about the baptism of Jesus and the wonderful manifestations of God at that time, and for a season they accepted John as a prophet of God and rejoiced in his message, so that in rejecting Jesus they rejected John whom they had received with joy.
The questioning came from a delegation sent from Jerusalem by the highest authority and the Jewish rulers, made up of priests and Levites, who demanded that John tell who he was so they could answer those who sent them and who challenged his authority to stir agitation, draw whole cities and towns to listen, and teach and baptize. After John had confessed he was not the Christ, they asked if he was Elias and then if he was that prophet, and to both he answered that he was not, refusing any claim to be the Christ or either of those expected figures. That prophet in the questioning means Moses. The Jews expected Moses to be raised from the dead and taken to heaven, without knowing that Moses had already been resurrected.
They wondered whether John was Moses returned because he showed thorough knowledge of the prophecies and of Hebrew history, including the wilderness wanderings through murmuring and rebellion. They also connected John with Moses risen from the dead because he baptized with water and because his miraculous birth was called to mind after being measurably forgotten for thirty years, including the angel visit to Zacharias in the temple and Zacharias losing speech for unbelief and regaining it at John's birth. The questioning arose because multitudes, including kings and nobles, followed John and people wondered whether he might be the Coming One.
Although John denied being Elias, his authoritative proclamation and his manner as the messenger of the coming One made the listening people think he might be Elijah and aroused great expectation in their hearts. John cut off that hope by refusing exalted titles for himself and using every opportunity to direct attention away from himself to One mightier than himself whose shoes he was unworthy to unloose. Instead John identified himself as the voice preparing the way for the Lord, whose mission was solely to prepare the way for Jesus. In that preparatory mission John testified that Jesus was the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and the Son of God.
His denials led to the demand why he baptized and to his unequivocal answer to carry back to Jerusalem that the long-promised Christ already stood unknown among them. The questions show the Jews were looking for the Christ, Elias, and that prophet, but had studied only one side and expected the Messiah as a mighty prince and great conqueror who would work powerfully in their behalf, and they turned from Jesus in disappointment because his mission did not match that expectation. Through this deputy sent to John the Jewish leaders were not left in ignorance of John's evidence, because their messenger brought back John's statement about the baptism of Jesus and the wonderful manifestations of God at that time, and for a season they accepted John as a prophet of God and rejoiced in his message, so that in rejecting Jesus they rejected John whom they had received with joy.