The Voice 

John 1:19-51 

Let’s go back to the book of John to consider further the life of John the Baptist. John 1.19 “this is the testimony of John…” The writer is saying “listen and learn from the story of John (the baptizer)”. John was clear on who he was and what his role and calling were.  

When John was asked “who are you?” He knew exactly who he was and his calling.  First, John says let me tell you who I am NOT. They asked, are you the Christ? “I am not the Christ”. Are you Elijah? “I am not”. Are you the prophet? “No”. Then who are you and what do you say about yourself? John said, “I AM A VOICE…”  

That’s a little odd to describe yourself as a voice. But what he was saying is don’t “look” at me – it’s not about me – listen to my voice which cries out in the wilderness. I’m a voice that is pointing to someone else. John said, “among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie…behold the lamb of God”.  

John the Baptist is an example of a humble servant whose life and words point people to Jesus. A voice is invisible. He didn’t claim any title or prestige; he was simply “a voice crying out” from obscurity. God can use people of prominence, but He more often chooses to use “nobodies” to show that power comes from God and not the individual. 

The story of John the Baptist takes place over three consecutive days. The first day, as we just discussed, John responded to questions from the posse sent by the Pharisees to inquirer as to who John was.  

On the second day, Jesus walked toward John.  “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” God had previously told John that the Messiah would be revealed to Him as the One upon whom the Spirit descended. I must assume that John needed this sign because he didn’t know that the Christ was his cousin, Jesus. Jesus remained in obscurity, even to his family members, until He was formally proclaimed as the Christ by John the Baptist in this verse. And John knew Jesus was the Christ because the Spirit descended upon Jesus and it was evident to John. The Father, the Spirit and the Son where there and the ministry of Jesus was to formally begin on earth. This is one of the defining moments in the history of the world. The timeless and eternal Triune God of the universe was revealed in time and space in the human form of Jesus of Nazareth.  

On the third day, John was with two of his disciples as Jesus was among the crowd and he said to them, “behold, the lamb of God”. Look at Jesus. The next phrase is powerful and simple. “The two disciples heard him (John the voice) SPEAK, and they followed Jesus” 1:36,37. That’s it for John the Baptist. He’s gone from the narrative. He pointed his disciples to Jesus and Jesus took over his disciples. John lost his disciples to Jesus. People stopped coming out to see him and hear him preach. They began to follow Jesus. John the Baptist quickly fades from the story as the original disciple-making movement of Jesus begins. John’s mission was accomplished. He was an invisible voice who pointed others to Jesus and then disappeared into obscurity. By doing so, he is considered one of the greatest men to ever live. Lord, help me to follow this example. Help me to point people to you. May my life and voice honor you, point to you and lift you up! Amen!