Advent 3B  |  John 1:6-8,19-28

Two weeks in a row, the preacher gets to deal with John the Baptizer. And some of the elements sound repetitive. The quote from Isaiah, the preaching and preparing of the way, for instance. It is a subtle switch from Mark to John.

And yet, while we might have the same character, we have a different story.

Whereas Mark highlights the specialness of Jesus, John the evangelist is setting him among the people. Not something we generally associate with John’s gospel.

I’m compelled by the way the evangelist sets the scene for us.

It begins with

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem

ostensibly to interrogate him. They’re the Private Investigators sent by the church leadership to figure out what’s really going on here. They come with the first, most important (loaded) question:

Who are you?

In my recasting, they add a choice expletive there.

This is a question asked once, but it is really three questions.

Like Anand Girdharadas describes three versions of “Where are you from?” in last week’s episode of On Being. “Who are you?” is really three questions.

1. The material question –

It is asking material details by which the world categorizes you. What is your name? Who are you parents? How are you described in words and concepts?

2. The existential question –

It is asking about your greater existential character. Who are you really? On the inside? What is your great calling to the world?

3. The inquisitive question –

It is asking a different question that cannot be said out loud. They ask “Who are you?” but they’re really asking “By what authority do you get to speak? What are your credentials?” Or perhaps it’s another way of saying “I don’t know you and I’m supposed to know everybody.”

The question these priests and Levites ask John clearly isn’t innocent. And unfortunately, in Western society at the moment, we aren’t paying much mind to the honesty of our questions and assumptions.

At risk of making too broad of a generalization, it seems that we are keenly aware that “Who are you?” can be an incredibly dishonest question — that these priests and Levites come to John with ulteriar motives…

And yet…we still expect John to treat the question honestly. Because, in case you haven’t heard, we can’t read minds or look inside each other’s souls.

But the honest response to their question as readers of the text is to know that they were asking a question we’ll hear a lot in all four gospels with regards to Jesus and everyone Jesus-adjacent: Who are you? What is this junk really about?

Now Imagine the Scene

This inquisition positions these questioners against John the Baptizer like they’ve cornered a rabbit. They pepper with identity questions about fitting into the prophetic tradition. We engaged that last week.

It was when I started imagining the scene that a line jumped out at me for the very first time.

I was thinking about John being surrounded by these priests and Levites. And then I reimagined John surrounded by the crowds when these smug, righteous leaders show up with their entourage. The people part like the Red Sea as they advance toward John.

Here, in the center of this big crowd is a small gang of wealthy elites. And when they ask John about the baptism, he responds:

“I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”

Right there, in the midst of his statement is a challenging, provoking thought:

Among you stands one whom you do not know

Among you stands

He is there.

Jesus

In their midst.

Standing among them.

Is he among the crowd or among the priests and levites?

Who is he?

The mystery and confusion challenges the priests and levites in precisely the way they’ve asked their loaded question(s). They are demanding knowledge, understanding, and certainty. And John offers them ignorance, confusion, and uncertainty.

Among you stands one whom you do not know

They do not know him.

They don’t know Jesus.

Who are you?

The Big Question

While I’m perfectly content keeping it to the text and only asking this question of the people engaging with John the Baptizer about Jesus, I’m also fairly certain we could take this even further.

Who are you?

When are you the one coming to interrogate? Do you demand knowledge and certainty from the elite, insider perspective? When do you demand the preacher tell you who Jesus really is–what this is all about–to “check his size” or judge them for their response?

When are you interrogated? How do others demanded you pick sides and name parameters and sort everyone into their little boxes with their labels? Are you self-aware enough to know that you’re unworthy to tie Jesus’s sandal? And that makes you perfectly suited for ministry?

When are you in the crowd, watching this whole thing play out? When are you told that Jesus is standing right next to you and you respond with awe and praise? Or when do you stand their with cold skepticism and the natural suspicion of the outsider?

Who are you?

And more importantly, do you know Jesus? Can you pick him out when he’s right next to you? Can you see him when he’s standing on the same exact square foot of soil that you are on?