Remember John’s Theme: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.
John starts by arranging material to show us matters related to the Christ. The Son of God. He takes the testimony of John the Baptist and the interaction with the Priest and Levites sent from the Pharisees to answer the question: Who are you? He was doing Christ-like things. It was attracting the attention of the masses.
And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.
John 1:20
ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὁ Χριστός
that not {I AM} I the Christ
I, I am not the Christ.
He confessed and denied not and confessed. Do you see the strength in this verse of his refusal to take that title upon himself.
He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.” (NLT) (But it is stronger than this)
Then they ask again. Who are you then?
Elijah, – οὐκ εἰμί – I am not. Remember Elijah was promised to come back.
Are you the prophet? – the Moses like One who will come. οὔ – No
Notice the way his answers scale down.
- I, I am not (ego eimi)
- Not (eimi)
- Not
Well who are you then? Which of the expected OT figures are you? Because you sure act like one of them.
- I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the forerunner that Isaiah spoke about.
- How do I compare to the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God?
- I am not even worthy to undo his sandal and (inference) wash his feet.
John repeats it all again in 3:28.
Testimony stacked on testimony. I (The Baptist) am not the Christ, but I (John) will tell you who He is.
Never confuse the will of the majority with the will of God.
Anon
When you get to your wit’s end, you’ll find God lives there.
Anon
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, “How old was your husband?” “98,” she replied. “Two years older than me.” “So you’re 96,” the undertaker commented. She responded, “Hardly worth going home, is it?”
Anon