John 1:19-28 | It Ain't Me

If you have a Bible, go and grab it and turn to the book of John. The book of John. If you don't have a Bible, use the pew Bible in front of you. If you don't own a Bible, that's our gift to you. We would love for you to just keep that Bible, to hang on to it, take it home with you. We would love for you to just have a copy of God's Word.

We'll be looking at John, that's the fourth Gospel, somewhere around two-thirds in your Bible. If this is the first time you've used the Bible, the big numbers are chapter numbers; little numbers are verse numbers. Last week, we looked at John 1:1-18 and looked at John introducing the Word becoming flesh, Jesus Christ dwelling among us. Now, we're going to look towards a different character in the story as we're introduced to John the Baptist in John chapter 1:19-28. Let me read it for us.

This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he said.“Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered. “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said.” Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.” All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. — John 1:19-28 (CSB)

Let's pray. Lord, help us to hear your voice as we look towards your Word this morning. Speak to us, we pray, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

It Ain't Me: Understanding Identity

Do you ever get mixed up for someone else? That happens to me all the time. My name is John Lee. When it comes to a list of names that may be more common, mine might be on the top of the list. Even the seminary that I go to to help out with, they have a Korean professor of theology whose name is John Lee. I often receive honorary doctorates as I have conversations in Kansas City.

Now, if you thought that John the Baptist was the author of this book, I totally understand the confusion, but you'd be making the same kind of mistake. It ain't him. John the Baptist did not write this book of John. It's a different John. It's easy to mix up. John the Apostle wrote this book, and he never names himself by name in this book. Whenever he describes himself, he describes himself as the one that Jesus loved. That's how he refers to himself. It's almost like even John, as he's writing this Gospel about Jesus, doesn't want to call attention to himself. He wants to call attention to Christ. It ain't about me; it's all about him.

John the Baptist, however, is a different guy. The Gospel of Matthew describes him as a man in the wilderness. You can kind of picture this gruff man who ate locusts and wild honey, right? He had a camel belt and all sorts of weird things. And he would proclaim this message of repentance, of turning away from sin, because the kingdom of heaven has come near. In fact, John is actually the very first human introduced in the Gospel of John. Yes, I know the Gospel starts with the Word in the very beginning; I'm not saying that you can go further back than that. But the first human being isn't Jesus becoming flesh, because that happens in verse 14.

The very first human being introduced in the Gospel of John is actually John the Baptist. We didn't talk about him much last week, but you could see him there in verse six. Let me just read verses 6 through 8 for us.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. — John 1:6-8 (CSB)

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. This man is sent from God, but not to be the light. He himself is not the source of the light. He's not here to be the sun; he's here to be the moon. He's pointing to a different light. And this John was a godly man, a ragamuffin wilderness man detached from the clutches of worldliness and proclaiming a Gospel of repentance. And these Jews from Jerusalem hear about John the Baptist's ministry because his ministry is popular, it's popping off. As they come to figure out whether or not John's "the guy," the one that's promised, John responds clearly, "It ain't me. I'm not the light. There's someone who's coming to save, and it ain't me."

So, here's the idea for us this morning as we look at John the Baptist really serving as a good example for us as Christians: we need to proclaim the way of the Lord. And as these Jews from Jerusalem, as these priests and Levites come and question John, John gives three very clear answers. First, he states, "Who I'm not." Then John the Baptist says, "Who I am." And third, "Who he is." Who I'm not, who I am, and then who he is. And as we look at John the Baptist's response to these priests and Levites, I think we see a good model of what you and I should be responding to as Christians.

Who I'm Not: A Humbling Refusal of Earthly Titles

Let's first look at his first answer here: "Who I'm not." Look at verse 19: "This was John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, 'Who are you?'" As John is proclaiming the way of the Lord in the wilderness, he's gathering crowds together, and people are making their pilgrimage into this wilderness outside of Bethany, this little outskirt where there's no society, in order to hear this message of repentance. It's almost like a Christian Burning Man that's happening. He's out there in the wilderness. People are going out into harm's way, into the gruff wilderness, to hear this message of repentance.

And John the Baptist has hype. He has real momentum. He's going viral. He has real influence, notoriety. Gen Z-ers would say that he has some aura. As far as popularity is concerned, John is garnering a ton of attention. He's "the guy." In light of his newfound popularity, these Jews in Jerusalem, this capital of Judea, sent priests and Levites, these spiritual leaders, to go and investigate John the Baptist, to qualify him. And in many ways, they didn't come to investigate to find out as much as they came to interrogate, to question. Their first question is, "Who are *you*?" Emphasis on the *you*.

That's a loaded question. That's not, "Hey John, tell me about yourself." That's more, "Identify yourself. Let's see some ID. Tell me whether or not you're authorized to be driving this spiritual bus." After all, is there anyone in Israel who's more qualified to be teaching about who God is than the priests and Levites? They're the ones who are supposed to be mediating, representing the nation before God in the temple, and then mediating grace to the people through ministering sacrifices and offerings. In other words, they're the spiritual leaders. They're the quote-unquote pastors. They're the ones that would be considered to be representatives of God.

In fact, it was relatively common practice in the day to do baptisms. So, the priests sometimes would even do baptisms for people, often for outsiders that are joining the nation of Israel, kind of like a ritual that would signify this new beginning or a new identity joining the nation. But that's something that a priest would do. That's a priest's job. I mean, can you imagine if you just had a random Joe Schmo come up behind the pulpit and go, "Hey, I didn't prepare anything, but I just have some thoughts for you this morning"? I think you would be asking yourself the question, "Who are you?"

And now these priests in the capital of Judea are hearing murmurings about this he-man in the wilderness who is teaching and baptizing. "Who is this guy? Who are you?" I wonder how you would respond to a question like that about yourself. This is how John the Baptist responds in verse 20. Read with me. It says, "He didn't deny it, but confessed, 'I am not the Messiah.'"

I think the wording of this verse is a little confusing. It says he didn't deny it, right? And it can almost make it sound like as though John is asked, "Are you the Messiah?" and he's saying, "I'm not not the Messiah," right? Like, he's not denying it. But that's not what it means here. It means that John isn't dodging the question. He's answering them directly. He knows what they're really asking. He understands that when they're asking, "Who are you?" in the back of their minds, they're really trying to figure out whether or not he's "the guy." And what they mean by "the guy" is whether or not he's the Messiah. And John, knowing what they mean, answers them, "It ain't me."

This Messiah is a common title that appears throughout the Gospel, but it has weight in the Old Testament, this Anointed One. In fact, Isaiah prophesies of this Messiah who would come and redeem Israel of their pain and sorrow. And this is what Isaiah says that the Messiah will say in Isaiah 61. I just want to read it for you so you get a picture of what they're expecting when this guy, the Messiah, shows up.

The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. — Isaiah 61:1-3 (CSB)

Imagine being a prisoner of war. Your country just became captive to the Roman Empire. You're having to pay taxes to the empire that beat you to fund their army so that they can go conquer other nations. You're not respected. You're not represented. And then you hear about this good news, about this anointed king who would come and set captives free, who would introduce prosperity to the land. This Messiah, this Anointed One, who would come and make everything right again. After centuries of suffering, these Israelites are looking forward to the day that this long-expected Messiah would come and institute his kingdom, his righteous rule. And John stands up, looks at these priests and these Levites, and says, "Yeah, it ain't me. I'm not the guy." He says it. He doesn't deny it. He makes it absolutely clear: "I am not the Messiah." You don't need to know Greek to understand that sentence. "It ain't me. It's not me."

And so the Jews from Jerusalem start going down the step ladder of significance in Jewish culture. If you're not the Messiah, then verse 21, "What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the prophet?" "No," he answered. John just keeps swatting down titles that they keep trying to attribute to him. Elijah, in Malachi 4:5, God says, "Look, I'm going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes." Okay, so you can imagine what they're thinking: "Okay, if you're not the Messiah who's going to come and make everything right again, maybe you're Elijah, which means that the Lord is going to come and clear house. That's our hope. Then if you're not the guy, maybe the Lord will come and take care of business. Rome will be toppled. Paradise is here. So are you Elijah the prophet?" "It ain't me."

"Okay. Then are you the prophet from Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where God says, 'I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him and I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.'" "Are you that prophet? Are you finally going to explain to us what's going on in our world after 500 years where God hasn't said anything? Are you actually going to tell us why we're here?" "It ain't me." Every step of the way, John the Baptist keeps swatting down different expectations of who he is. As these Jewish leaders try to discern between John's reputation, what they're seeing him do, all the visual success in his ministry, and who he is, John is absolutely clear: "I'm not the guy."

This is true godly humility, to recognize that he's not the main focus of redemption. He's not the guy. But friends, you and I do this all the time, don't we? Placing ourselves in the center of the story. In fact, we often do this with the way that we read our Bibles. We look at characters in Scripture, and they become conduits for your own personal story. You want to listen to sermons about how you can be like David and slaughter the giants in your life, or you could be like Moses and free yourself from the captivity of whoever's oppressing you. We could do this. We could turn the Bible into this first-person video game where we get to roleplay as these various characters and expect God to do amazing things in our life.

We can even do that with Jesus himself, where we make what Jesus is about primarily about being an example, about how you can live your life, how you can endure your suffering, how you can perform miracles for those around you by being more like Christ or being nicer to your neighbors. And just to be clear, I think all of us would be helped by being more like Jesus. I actually do think he serves as an example for us of how we're supposed to live. I'm not saying you should not do that. But in a culture that worships the individual, that worships who you are, who you could be, what you could become if you just apply yourself and work a little harder, that's obsessed about establishing your own identity, you can spend so much time obsessed over who you are that you start to forget who you're not. You are not God. You're not the guy. We're not destined for this hero arc where we go on this Rocky montage to make something of our own life. We're not the Messiah. Neither is John the Baptist.

Who I Am: A Voice Pointing to Christ

So, the Pharisees ask the next logical question in our second point this morning: "Who I am?" This is John's answer. "Who I am?" Verse 22: "Who are you then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said." These Jews demand an answer because of those who sent them. They represent those higher up. They are gathering intel for their bosses, those up the chain.

And so they're like, "Okay, we, we, if you're not going to admit to being Elijah or the prophet or the Messiah, let me just repeat the first question back to you. Who are you?" And this time they actually want to figure out who this guy is. And John the Baptist doesn't describe himself as a figurehead. He doesn't even view himself as the top of this movement, but as a voice. He's not even a person; he's a voice. This voice quoted in Isaiah 40 that Sam read for us earlier this morning, a voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the glory of the Lord to appear. Like a siren that blares in the distance, letting you know that a fire truck or an ambulance is coming. This voice rings out from the wilderness, from the outside of civilization, to let all of Judea know, "The King is coming."

Notice how John identifies himself. He identifies himself not primarily based on who he is, but who he is in relation to who God is. That's how John fundamentally understands himself. He is a vessel trying to point people to someone who's greater than himself. This voice is saying, "Make straight the way of the Lord," is a herald. And the herald's job is not to impress everybody with the skills of heralding. If a herald is doing his job, you remember his message. That's exactly the kind of teaching that we strive to do at this church: a John the Baptist kind of ministry.

Right? You should expect John the Southern Baptist to be focused primarily on the voice, this message, making straight the way of the Lord. Not interested in gimmicks. We're not interested primarily in entertainment. What we want to do is we want to make clear who God is. We want people to be walking away not saying, "Hey, that preacher had some really great stories." We don't want to be walking away by saying, "Wow, the music was incredible," or, "I had such a great experience here at the church," where people walk away wowed and talking about First Baptist Church of Artesia. It's not about us. The goal of our ministry, of all of our ministries, whether you share the Gospel with your friends, whether or not you come to this church and serve in various different kinds of volunteering capacities, whether you're the guy standing behind the pulpit talking, expecting other people to listen to you for 40 minutes, the point is not you, but to point outside of you, to point to the Lord who's coming.

That's exactly what we try to do in what we call expository preaching. It's a big Christian SAT word, expository preaching. What we mean by that is that whatever the text says here in the Bible controls what I say here behind the pulpit. That's what we mean. That what John is trying to say here in John 1:19-28 should control what I say. So, I shouldn't be reading this passage and thinking about some personal story and going on some personal tangent based on current news and events. I should be trying to pay attention to what John the Apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is trying to communicate in this passage. And that needs to control what I say in such a way that everyone who hears a sermon like this should be able to walk away saying, number one, I understand this passage better, and secondly, I understand what God is saying in this passage together. Does that make sense? That's the goal of all Christian teaching. That's the goal of what John the Baptist is trying to do here. All this time, these Jews from Jerusalem are focused on who John the Baptist is without listening to anything that John the Baptist says. The point of John the Baptist's message is not about who he is, which is exactly why we're not going to spend that much time on who he is and get to our third point, "Who he is."

Who He Is: The Worthiness of Christ Alone

John the Baptist answers with three parts: Who I'm not, who I am, and third, who he is. Look at verse 24. "Now they have been sent from the Pharisees. So they asked him, 'Why then do you baptize if you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?'" And here in verse 24, I know if you caught it, there is a giant reveal. The curtain is pulled. You can find something out about these people. The whole time we've been primarily focused about who John is, but actually throughout the story, you're not just learning about who John the Baptist is, you're also learning more about who these Jews are. Verse 19, you find out that they're priests and Levites from Jerusalem. So, they come from the capital. They're city folks. They're of good reputation, of high status. In verse 22, you find out that they're sent. So, they need to send reports to their higher-ups about who sent them. And in verse 24, you find out exactly who sent them. The people who sent them were the Pharisees, the highest rung of religiosity. These obedience-oriented, hyper-religious Pharisees.

Do you know what John the Apostle is doing as he's writing this story? It's almost like you're seeing two escalators moving side by side with each other. While John is focused on making himself lower, explaining that he's nothing, every single time these speakers are talking and getting frustrated and increasing in their frustration with John the Baptist and all of his non-answers, there's also increasing in their bravado. Every single time that they're mentioned, they're name-dropping a little bit more. We're finding out just how important they are. They're flashing their badge. They're talking about all their accomplishments. They're kind of laying out their resume in front of you. And what John the Apostle wants you to know is that these Jews think that they're a really big deal.

After all, they're priests. They're sent from some pretty important people. Ever hear of Nicodemus? Or is he a Pharisee? No, he's a Sanhedrin guy. Ever hear of a Pharisee? Ever hear of XYZ? So and so, "I'm under him. I'm sent from him. I'm a big deal." And their identity is wrapped up even in their description and who they are, who they're from, what they came to do, all of their accomplishments. And it's no wonder in that case, when your entire life, when your whole identity is built up on your accomplishments, it's no wonder their minds can't compute with John the Baptist's answer. Because while they're parading their status and their religiosity in public, John the Baptist doesn't seem interested in his profile at all.

I wonder how you view your own life. Where do you find your own security? So easy to subtly drop humble brag after humble brag after humble brag. "I know so and so." "How was your week?" "Oh, I was just doing my devotions this week." "Oh, I was working at my job and getting another promotion." You could drop all sorts of subtle hints. "I've been a member here for 20 years." Different ways to try to elevate your own status by slipping in little details, hinting at your religiosity, to raise up your own profile based on who you know or what you do or what you've made of yourself. And the irony is that what that does is the exact opposite of what John the Baptist is doing. He keeps trying to explain to them, "I am nothing. I'm nothing." He keeps lowering himself.

In fact, even with this question of "who are you," he makes it an opportunity to contrast just how nothing he is with how something Jesus is. You can see that in verse 26. "I baptize with water," John answered them. "Someone stands among you, but you don't know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to untie." And all this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. John contrasts himself with the coming Messiah based on the baptism that the two give. So, John the Baptist is really clear: "I come and I'm baptizing with water. That's it."

"I baptize with water" because a water baptism doesn't save you. It's just water. There's no such thing as holy water. Also, I don't know if you've looked at holy water under a microscope, it's really disgusting. It's not holy. It's also not sanitary, right? There's no salvific effect of baptism on your soul. It doesn't change what's on the inside. Sometimes people look at rituals in churches like they'll do something to absolutely transform their entire outlook on life. We might look at things like communion or things like baptism and think, "If I just do these things, somehow it will transform who I am. It'll make me holier."

I remember a pastor talking about doing a baptism where a sister walks into the water and she goes, "I need to get baptized because my mom is sick." What a tragedy to think that somehow baptism could change your odds or create some kind of shift in your own life. That's not how baptism works. Baptism is not a means of your growth. Baptism is something that you do because of what God has done for you. The physical act of baptism doesn't save you because physical water cannot clean your heart. It's an inherent difference. Baptism doesn't save you. And John the Baptist seems to understand this. And I don't know if you know this, he's kind of the guy who baptizes. That's his name. He's the Baptist. And he's going, "Listen, my baptism doesn't really do anything. It's just water."

But there is someone else who will come who gives a different baptism. In the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist stands up in a very similar scenario. He makes clear that he baptizes with water, but the Messiah will come and he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John baptizes with water; Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And just like water can't cleanse your heart, and the Spirit can cleanse your heart, John the Baptist is trying to say, "Listen, I can't do the things that Jesus the Messiah is going to do. I'm nothing. He's something." That's why John the Baptist isn't worthy to even untie Jesus's sandal. It's kind of like a way of saying, "I can't even shine this guy's shoes. I can't even do that."

And it's actually more than saying, "I can't even shine this guy's shoes." Tying someone's sandal, untying someone's sandal, is actually considered to be pretty humble. It's like a way of saying, "I have to kiss someone's feet," right? It's actually already in and of itself a humbling act. It's an act of service. But John is going further than that. If he stood up and he said, "Listen, I'm nobody. I'm only worthy to untie Jesus's sandal," everyone would think, "Wow, what a humble guy. What a servant." He's willing to stand up and teach people God's Word, and he's willing to vacuum the carpet after service. What a humble guy.

But John's point is not that he's only doing insignificant work while Jesus is doing more significant work. John the Baptist's point is, "I can do no work, and Jesus is the only one that can do work." Do you understand the difference? This is not about pecking order. He's saying, "If you're comparing me to Jesus, there is no comparison. Any comparison would be an insult to who Jesus is." There is absolutely no comparison between the work that you do for God versus the work that God has done for you. There is no comparison that you could possibly make. God owes you exactly nothing. You could do the greatest work of ministry in your life. You could do the greatest amount of service in your life, and it won't even light a candle compared to the sun in all of his radiant majesty. And people do this all the time. "I'm just a servant. I'm just trying to be a vessel for God's work. I'm just a lowly servant."

John the Baptist is saying you need to go lower than that. It's not just, "I'm a servant." John says, "I'm nothing. I am nothing." Because the heart of the Gospel is not about your opportunity to serve Jesus, because Jesus doesn't need you. You're not even worthy to untie his sandal. See, this is so important for us to understand in Christianity. Step one in the Gospel is not about you having some opportunity to serve God. Step one has nothing to do with that. The very beginning of the Gospel starts with you understanding that you are beyond redemption. You are beyond even the ability to untie a guy's sandal. There's no ability to work your way up the chain because there's no chain for you to grab. You are at the bottom depths of judgment itself. There's nothing you could do to make yourself worthy before God. There's nothing you could do to earn God's approval. You can't even touch his shoe.

Can you start to see why this might be an appropriate response for John to give to these Jews that keep asking him for his credentials? And John's point is, "I don't think you got the memo yet. I have no credentials. I am nothing. There's nothing I can do." And I think suddenly John the Baptist is also trying to communicate something to them. "You think you have credentials. You think you're something because you're a Levite, because you're a priest, because you're from the Pharisees, and you don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. We're all nothing. I'm nobody. It ain't me." He's not being sly. He's, I don't know if you saw this in verse 28, he's even saying this in front of everyone, in the public square, in Bethany. He's telling people, "Listen, I'm nobody. I'm not the guy that you're looking for. And neither are you, and neither am I."

If you want to answer the question, "Who am I?" it starts with the answer, "I am nothing." The good news of the Gospel is that it doesn't start with you. The message of Christianity has nothing to do primarily with who you are, but who He is. Who is Jesus? This guy that comes after John the Baptist. Friends, if you're here and you're not a Christian and you want to know what the main message of Christianity is, don't ask the question, "Who am I?" Ask the question, "Who is He? Who is Christ?" The good news of the Gospel doesn't start with your identity. It doesn't build on your actions. It starts with the work of someone else. The good news of the Gospel is that God is the one that created the world, that God is the one that will hold you accountable for every sin, every piece of disobedience that you've ever done, and your rebellion.

And that God took on flesh and came down to the earth in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. The good news of Christianity doesn't start with you. It starts with Jesus. Do you know him? Do you know this one that John the Baptist is crying out for? Because you can labor to be worthy for the rest of your life. You can spend the entirety of your life embracing a monk, a wilderness lifestyle like John the Baptist, and God will still look at you at the end of your life and say, "I don't know you. You're nothing. You will never be good enough." The point of Christianity is not about you becoming worthy by what you do, but Jesus revealing his worthiness, his greatness, his majesty. And the good news of the Gospel is that if Jesus is everything that John the Baptist says he is, if he's the one who's going to come and baptize you with a better baptism than a water baptism, if Jesus is going to come and give you the Holy Spirit, save you from your sins, give you everlasting life, if he comes to save you, then the good news of the Gospel is that you don't have to hope in yourself.

That weight is a weight that you and I simply can't carry. You can free yourself from the clutches of having to answer the question, "Who are you?" because you know who He is. If you're not worthy, which if there's one message from the sermon that you should have gathered, is that you're not. If you're not worthy, you need to find your worth outside yourself. It doesn't come from a degree. It doesn't come from your bank account. It doesn't come from a family legacy. Your worth comes from Jesus. That's the difference between John's baptism and Christian baptism. John's baptism led broken believers to recognize that they messed up. That's what his baptism was: a baptism of repentance. But Jesus's baptism actually saves, actually gives new life.

In fact, Paul in the book of Acts in Acts 19 runs into some of John's disciples in Ephesus. And he asks them, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they answer, "Into John's baptism." This is how Paul understands John's baptism. He responds,

John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. — Acts 19:3-5 (CSB)

You can baptize yourself in your career. You can baptize yourself in your hobbies. You try to baptize yourself in all sorts of different waters, and they're all toxic. There's only one baptism that truly saves, and it's the baptism of faith in Christ. That's what we celebrate whenever we baptize. Not because we believe that the water saves you. To be honest, we need to clean our tub if we ever want to do another baptism. It's not that our physical font is cleaner than other fonts. The reason why we baptize isn't to cleanse the soul, but because Christ already has. Because He's already saved us by his work, by his Spirit, by his grace. And we get to celebrate that new identity that happened on the inside through declaring it on the outside, through being able to show other people, "I am with Christ. He has washed me clean. He has given me a new identity. He has given me a new me." That's not based on who I am, but on who He is.

Friends, the Gospel is not about us being worthy enough for God. It's not even about Jesus helping us to become worthy enough for God. The Gospel is about Jesus looking at us in our nothingness and covering us with his worthiness. And if that's true, if Jesus covers us in his righteousness, if he's the one that paid it all, then our job is not to assert how great we are, our own worthiness, but to point to the one who is worthy. "I am nothing. This church is nothing. None of us are anything, but Jesus is everything." Let's pray. Lord, we pray that you would help us to remember this good news just like John the Baptist did, to be able to say that it ain't me. It's all about you. It's all about Christ. We thank you, Lord, that he has paid this penalty in full on the cross. It's in his name we pray. Amen.