John 1:19-28

John 1:19-28

This is the testimony of John. 

When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him

to ask him, “Who are you?”

he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,

“I am not the Christ.” 

So they asked him,

“What are you then? Are you Elijah?” 

And he said, “I am not.” 

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.” 

So they said to him,

“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?

What do you have to say for yourself?”

He said:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,

‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’

as Isaiah the prophet said.” 

Some Pharisees were also sent. 

They asked him,

“Why then do you baptize

if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” 

John answered them,

“I baptize with water;

but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,

the one who is coming after me,

whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 

This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,

where John was baptizing.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to know who I am. I want to know my strengths and my weaknesses, my virtues and my vices, my sinful tendencies, and my collaboration with your grace. Help me to know my mission and my vocation so that I can cooperate in your plan of salvation and the extension of your Kingdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. I Baptize with Water: We continue to read the opening chapter of John’s Gospel. After the Prologue, which introduces the eternally begotten Word of God and the initial message of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist speaks about John the Baptist’s testimony. The priests and Levites came to John to ask him about his identity and why he was baptizing. He told them that he was not the Christ promised by Daniel, or the Elijah promised by Malachi, or the Prophet promised by Moses. He is the Voice in the wilderness promised by Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3). This was originally a prophecy about the end of Judah’s exile in Babylon. It promised a way for God to lead the people of Judah home. John understands that the prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled by the Christ who is already among the people. John’s baptism is a preparation for the coming of the Messiah. It brings the people into the wilderness and brings them to repentance. When the Messiah comes, he will bring the people not just to repentance, but also pour out the Spirit upon them, forgive their sins, and gather them into the Kingdom.

2. Basil the Great on the Birth of Christ: Saint Basil the Great teaches that the Incarnation of Jesus Christ represents a profound mystery where the eternal Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, assumes human flesh to dwell intimately among humanity, not as a distant observer but through a direct union of divine and human natures to redeem and restore humankind to himself. He emphasizes the voluntary humility of Christ, who, as the Word made flesh, endured poverty, suffering, and death – symbolized by his birth in a manger and ultimate crucifixion – to heal human infirmity and save the lost sheep, accommodating divine glory to human weakness without compromising his consubstantiality with the Father. This Incarnation of the Word marks a cosmic shift, freeing creation from pagan delusions and proving the reality of Christ’s assumption of our human flesh.

3. Gregory Nazianzen on the Incarnation: Saint Gregory Nazianzen, also known as Gregory the Theologian, articulates the mystery of the Incarnation as the eternal, invisible Son of God, uniting himself fully with human nature – flesh, soul, and mind – except for sin, to purify and heal what was corrupted by the fall of Adam and Eve. He famously stated: “that which he has not assumed he has not healed” (Letter to Cledonius against Apollinarius). Conceived by the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, Christ becomes the Son of Man to restore the divine image in humanity, mingling divinity with an intelligent soul to redeem us. Jesus overcame the tyranny of sin through his obedience, death, and resurrection, thus granting immortality to our flesh and enabling believers to share in a second, more marvelous communion. This miraculous commingling fills the heavens and earth, as God empties himself of glory for human fullness, seeking the lost sheep as the Good Shepherd and bearing the Cross to lead humanity to eternal life.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I have been blessed by your divine grace. I now share in your divine sonship through the Sacrament of Baptism. When I lose your grace through sin, bring me back through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Living the Word of God: How can I more fully appreciate the grace of my baptism? How am I acting as a child of God? How am I collaborating with God’s grace? What works of mercy and charity, empowered by divine grace, have I done this past week?