How does John 1:25 connect with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah? Key verse John 1:25: “Then they questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’” Expectations wrapped up in the question • The Christ (Messiah) • Elijah returning • “ The Prophet” like Moses Each title springs directly from Old Testament prophecy. Old Testament roots of each expectation • The Christ (Messiah) – Psalm 2:2 “ …the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed.” – Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-5 promised a righteous, Davidic King. – Daniel 9:25 spoke of “the Anointed One” who would appear after a set timetable. • Elijah – Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children…” • The Prophet like Moses – Deuteronomy 18:15-19 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you… you must listen to him.” Why John’s baptism raised their eyebrows • Prophetic cleansing imagery – Ezekiel 36:25-27 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean…” – Zechariah 13:1 “A fountain will be opened… to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” • Prophetic forerunner ministry – Isaiah 40:3 “A voice of one calling: ‘Prepare the way for the LORD…’” – Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” A nationwide call to repentance and water-baptism looked exactly like the cleansing and preparation foretold for the Messianic age. If John was performing that role, the leaders had to determine whether he himself was the promised Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet. How the question points forward to Jesus • John denies being any of those figures (John 1:20-23) yet affirms he is the forerunner, the “voice” of Isaiah 40:3. • His ministry therefore signals that the true Messiah is about to be revealed. • Immediately afterward John identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29) and “the Son of God” (John 1:34), linking Him to the sacrificial and royal strands of Messianic prophecy. • Jesus later confirms that John fulfills the Elijah role in a preparatory sense (Matthew 11:14), while Jesus Himself fulfills all three titles: – Messiah (Luke 4:18-21) – Prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22-23) – Ultimate revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1-3) Summary John 1:25 bundles three major Old Testament hopes—Messiah, Elijah, and the Prophet—into one pointed question. The leaders recognized that John’s call to baptism matched prophetic pictures of national cleansing and end-time preparation. John’s refusal of those titles and his role as forerunner steer the spotlight toward Jesus, the One who perfectly fulfills every Messianic promise. |
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