ask John the Baptist who he was, for they were responsible for the

religious life of the people. Seeing that John so emphatically denied

that he was the Christ, his questioners ask, `Art thou Elias?' There is

an insistent testimony in the Rabbinical writings to the expectation that

Elijah would appear just before the advent of the Messiah, an

expectation justified by the prophecy of Malachi 4:5. John answers

this second inquiry with the words, `I am not'. The deputation then

puts one more question, `Art thou that prophet?' This is a reference to

the promise of Deuteronomy 18:18, a promise fulfilled in Christ

Himself. John answers with the one word, `No'. A mere negative,

however, would not be a satisfactory answer to take back to the

Sanhedrin, and the Jews therefore put their question in another form:

`Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What

sayest thou of thyself?' To many, alas, such a question would open the

door to pride, but John remains true. He begins by saying, `I am a

voice - not even `I am the voice' for there is no article - and then he

goes on to explain that he is the forerunner promised by Isaiah, and

that the One Whose coming he announced was none other than the

Lord.

This, however, raised further problems in the minds of the Jews.

The teaching of the Rabbis was that the world would be restored at the

coming of the Messiah, and Kimchi speaks of the Rabbinical tradition

that Elijah would so purify the people at his coming that even the

illegitimate child would be restored to the congregation. If then John

the Baptist, with his baptism and his new order of things, was neither

the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor `that prophet', by what authority did he

baptize? We learn from the account that those who asked the question

were `of the Pharisees', a sect which was most scrupulous regarding

ceremonial.  Hitherto baptism had been employed when Gentile

proselytes were admitted into the commonwealth of Israel, but now

John is baptizing Jews as well, and they naturally ask for an

explanation. John is only too ready to give the answer. He tells them

that his baptism is but an introductory ceremony. Someone infinitely

superior to himself was already among them, for Whose advent it was

John's office to prepare.

Following this catechism of John comes his own spontaneous

testimony in verses 29-34. Here we come at once to the heart of the

Gospel. At one step we leave the arguments of the Pharisees and their