John the Baptist had one task: to decrease so that Christ might increase.
Who was John the Baptist, and why did he refuse the titles people pressed on him? In A Voice In The Wilderness, Dr. Toby B. Holt preaches John 1:19-34, where priests and Levites interrogate John and he answers, "I am not the Christ." John claims only to be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23, NKJV), the forerunner who points away from himself to Another. This expository message from New Geneva Theological Seminary traces the humility of true witness and the heart of the gospel, as John lifts his hand toward Jesus and cries, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV).
0:00 — Who Are You? Priests and Levites interrogate John the Baptist (John 1:19).
4:22 — Not the Christ, Not Elijah. John refuses every title but one (John 1:20-21).
11:34 — "I Am a Voice." John is content to be only a voice pointing to Another (John 1:23).
13:39 — Not Worthy to Loose His Sandal. True greatness is humility before Christ (John 1:27).
22:44 — "Behold! The Lamb of God." John points from himself to the sin-bearing Savior (John 1:29).
John 1:19 (NKJV) records, "Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'" The religious establishment in Jerusalem dispatched an official delegation. John the Baptist had drawn crowds, and the leaders wanted to determine by what authority he baptized. Their question forms the legal setting for John's threefold confession of who he was not.
"He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ'" (John 1:20, NKJV). John refused to let any expectation settle on him that belonged to Jesus alone. The crowds wondered whether he might be the Messiah (Luke 3:15), but John would not steal the honor of Christ. His whole ministry was to prepare the way, not to occupy it. He guarded the unique glory of the One who was coming.
Asked, "Are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not" (John 1:21, NKJV). Jesus later said of John, "if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come" (Matthew 11:14, NKJV). The two statements agree: John was not the literal Elijah returned from heaven, which is what his questioners meant, but he came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17, NKJV), fulfilling Malachi's promise of a forerunner.
John answered, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said" (John 1:23, NKJV), quoting Isaiah 40:3. A voice is heard but not seen; it exists to carry a message and then fade. John defined himself entirely by his task of announcing Another. He was the herald, not the King, content to be forgotten so that Christ would be known.
"It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose" (John 1:27, NKJV). Untying sandals was the work of the lowest household servant. John, whom Jesus called the greatest born of women (Matthew 11:11), placed himself beneath even that station before Christ. True greatness in God's kingdom is measured by humility, and John saw clearly the infinite distance between the Lamb and His forerunner.
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV). The title gathers up the Passover lamb of Exodus 12 and the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, "who was led as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7, NKJV). John announces that Jesus is the true sacrifice God Himself provides, the One whose death alone removes sin. This is the gospel in a single sentence, the substitute bearing the guilt of His people.
To "take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29, NKJV) is to bear it in the sinner's place. Isaiah had foretold, "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (8.5) teaches that Christ "fully satisfied the justice of His Father" by His sacrifice. The Lamb does not merely cover sin or excuse it; He carries it away by enduring the wrath it deserved, securing real reconciliation for all whom the Father gave Him.
When John says the Lamb takes away "the sin of the world," the term marks the scope of the gospel beyond Israel, not that every individual is saved. John 3:16 promises eternal life to "whoever believes," and the cross actually accomplishes redemption for those who come in faith. The Reformed reading holds together both truths: Christ is the only Savior offered to people of every nation, and His atonement effectually saves all who trust Him.
John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him" (John 1:32, NKJV). He adds, "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me" the sign to watch for (John 1:33, NKJV). John's certainty rested not on private intuition but on God's revealed word and the visible witness of the Spirit, leading him to declare, "this is the Son of God" (John 1:34, NKJV).
John's summary of his own ministry, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, NKJV), remains the pattern for every witness. The aim is never to gather a following to ourselves but to direct attention to Christ. Faithful testimony points away from the messenger to the Lamb, content to grow smaller so that He is seen more clearly. The herald's joy is found entirely in the honor of his Lord.
1. The Humility of True Witness
When pressed for his identity, John gave away every title and kept only a task. He would not be called the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet; he was simply a voice. John later summarized his whole calling in one line: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, NKJV). The mark of a true servant of God is this glad self-effacement, a willingness to be small so that Christ is seen as great, and to point beyond himself to the only Savior.
2. Christ the Lamb of God
The high point of John's testimony is a single cry: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV). The title reaches back to the Passover lamb and to Isaiah's suffering Servant. Isaiah had written, "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6, NKJV). Jesus is the sacrifice God Himself provides, bearing in His own body the sin and wrath His people deserved, and removing guilt that no other offering could touch.
3. The Insufficiency of Religious Pedigree
The delegation came armed with categories and credentials, asking who John was and by what right he acted. John pointed past every office to a Person standing unrecognized among them: "there stands One among you whom you do not know" (John 1:26, NKJV). Religious heritage and titles cannot save; they can even blind. What matters is knowing and receiving the Lamb. The Confession reminds us that Scripture alone reveals Him, and faith alone lays hold of Him.
The Scripture Text: John 1:26-29 (NKJV)
"John answered them, saying, 'I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.' These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'"
Continue studying: explore the full Gospel of John sermon series, or browse the complete Reformed Sermon Archive.
About The Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt serves as the third President of New Geneva Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs, CO), founded 1993. An expository preacher with over 1.9 million sermon downloads on SermonAudio.com, Dr. Holt brings over 17 years of pastoral experience to his verse-by-verse Bible teaching. New Geneva offers fully online Reformed theological education — M.Div., Th.M., D.Min., and other degrees.
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