John 1:19,20 - I am not the Messiah

1:19

John seems to be very keen to make it absolutely clear that John the Baptist was pointing the way to Jesus, and had no intention whatsoever of drawing people to himself. This is something we should all seek to emulate. The task is not to draw people to us, but to take them to Jesus. John doesn’t give much in the way of John the Baptist’s teaching, this was given in the synoptic gospels, so there was no need for John to repeat it. This verse contains the first occurrence of the term “the Jews”, and there is some debate over its use and meaning. One thing that we should deal with straightaway is any notion that its use is anti-semitic. Such notions are complete nonsense. Now some people have used phrases from the Bible to support hatred of the Jews, but this is not a reflection on the Bible, only on the evil that resides in the hearts of those who are anti-semitic. John himself was a Jew, as was Jesus! John uses the term in various ways, but perhaps the most common way is to refer to the Jewish leaders. The NIV actually uses the term “the Jewish leaders”, with “the Jews” appearing in a footnote. Priests and Levites from Jerusalem were sent to see who John the Baptist was claiming to be. The Levites were members of the tribe of Levi, but had not descended from Aaron, so were not qualified to be full priests.

1:20

John the Baptist was not slow to answer, and made it quite clear that he was “not the Messiah”. At the time messianic expectation was rife (see Luke 3:15). Some expected a Davidic Messiah, probably the most common view, at least going by the attention given to this in the gospels. Others, such as the Qumran community, expected a priestly Messiah. Others just wanted someone to lead them against the Romans and set them free. There had also been various “messianic” figures (all of whom, of course, came to nought). “I am not the Messiah” , or “I am not the Christ”. John introduces the word Christos here, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah. NIV uses Messiah, ESV Christ, here.