Making the Way Straight: A Voice in the Wilderness

 

John 1:19-34

We begin a journey through the Gospel of John…an odd Gospel in some ways—no parables, and the miracles are often called “signs.” John has a peculiar perspective, but it’s a perspective that will help us know and understand Jesus better. Are you ready?

One of the most important things we need to know from the beginning is why John writes his Gospel. Unlike the other Gospel writers, he tells us explicitly why he is writing: “…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). John’s hope is three-fold: That readers might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that readers might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that readers might have life (real life!) through these beliefs. Let’s recall this all through our reading of John’s Gospel.

In the first part of today’s reading, the focus is on the past. The messengers of the priests and scribes come out to John the Baptizer (not to be confused with John the writer!) to find out if he is the Messiah…or Elijah or “the Prophet.” John assures them he is not any of these. The priests and scribes focus on the past. While we don’t need to dwell there, at this time of the year we might do well to stop and consider how well (or badly) we have lived this year. Did we do things well? Are we ending the year where we hoped? Did we make some glaring mistakes? How did the resolutions or plans go this year? Just as John takes a moment to allow his Gospel to look backwards, we, too, need to take a time to look back over the days past.

But, like John, we don’t need to park there. In the next section of today’s reading, everything turns around and faces forward, faces the future. That should not surprise us since God is a future-facing God. The One who created time—something that always moves forward—invites us to look forward…and move forward. So, John the Baptizer turns the conversation towards the future, towards “one who will come after me,” who will be “revealed to Israel,” who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” All of this language is future focused. And that is as it should be and as we should be—future-focused.

All through the Advent season, we took some time to look backwards to the words of the prophets. In those words, we found what God wants us to have as we live forward. In the coming of the Promised One, God longs for us to have hope, peace, joy, and love. These are the things God wants us to find in the One born in the manger. As we follow the Gospel story in John in the coming weeks, we find that these things give us that life that God longs for us to have, the life that belief in Jesus brings to us. May we listen, learn, and live as we journey together into the New Year. Amen.

Sunday, December 28, 2025
Making the Way Straight: A Voice in the Wilderness
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