Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - You Are Not the Christ | The Gospels | John 1:19–34

Episode Date: June 12, 2026

What kind of future is God bringing into the world? Why does John the Baptist quote Isaiah's promise of hope and renewal? And how do we enter into that reality today? In today's episode, Jeff shares how John 1:19–34 invites us to step aside, behold Jesus, and trust the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: John 1:19–34

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jeff Parrott. As a seminary student, I had a wonderful, faithful Old Testament professor who not only taught students how to see the Old Testament itself, he taught us how to see ourselves, and ultimately how to see Jesus. He would lead us through pre-class exercises with different truth statements we'd memorize and embody over time. One of the most impactful exercises was this. The professor would stand in front of all the students and calmly declare, class, repeat after me, I am not the Christ. And then in response,

we would join our voices together and say, I am not the Christ. And after our response, he would let the class begin. Now, in having the whole class repeat those words, I am not the the Christ. Our professor was indeed having us memorized a portion of John 120, but he was also doing something more than just etching a fact into our minds. The repetition of that exercise drew us into a rhythm of truth that allowed reality to absorb into our bloodstreams. Our professor knew that if we learned everything we wanted to know in seminary, but we tried to pretend like we were the Christ, like we were the ones who could fix and heal people, like we were the kings over our little kingdoms,

even in the church, then we'd end up creating a mess of our ministries and a mess of our lives. In order to live faithfully for Jesus, you have to recognize your need for Him. And in order to do that, you have to first see that you are not Jesus. You and I are not the Christ.

Our seminary professor set the tempo for this rhythm of reality, using a quote from our passage today in the first chapter of John's gospel account. And the passage is a fitting one to appeal to, as it's a little bit like a metronome for the rest of John's gospel account. It sets the tempo, it sets the pace, the rhythm of reality that will continue experiencing in the rest of our journey. As we recognize this rhythm of reality, will get a better sense for who Jesus is,

what reality he is bringing, and how he ushers us into it. Now, as we approach God's word together, let's pause as we do and ask for His grace to move through this special time. Heavenly Father, we thank you on this day for the gift of life and breath.

And we thank you on this day for their everlasting goodness of your word. We bring before you our joys and our souls and our sorrows, our anxiety, and our excitement. Our calendars and our contingencies. God, all of it is swirling in our lives, and we breed it all to you now. Meet us in this space. Jesus, help us abide in you as we engage with your truth.

Holy Spirit, we ask you to move in and through this time in John's Gospel account. And as we read your living word, may it read us and restore us to new life with you. in Jesus' name, amen. All right, our passage today comes right after John's magisterial introduction to his gospel account. It's this rich prologue to his account of Jesus' life and death and resurrection. As we get into our passage for today with verse 19, the rhythm of reality is established by putting us in the midst of a conversation between some religious leaders and Jesus' cousin, the prophet John the Baptist.

Now, in verse 19, the religious leaders' asked John the Baptist, who are you? His response is that humbling and honest confession that we considered earlier. In verse 20, we read this, he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. Now, there are at least two things happening in John's confession here. The obvious yet important feature to notice is that he is not the Christ. Let's recall that that word Christ is really a title. It's the Greek version of the Hebrew word, Messiah. And in the Bible, the Messiah, the Christ, would be the anointed king who would come to restore God's people and God's world. The Christ is the long-awaited king who brings God's

kingdom and makes everything the way that it's meant to be. And this statement from John the Baptist is meant to establish a posture of dependence and reverence before God and his anointed king. John the Baptist is not the Christ. I am not the Christ. You are not the Christ. We cannot fix people's lives. We cannot heal people's hearts. We cannot run the world. Instead, we need an anointed king who does all of that for us. And as the tempo of John's gospel account is set, we realize it's rooted in the time signature of our need for this king. And that need, that need, tease up the second implication of John the Baptist's confession. His words establish an understanding of who Jesus really is.

And saying that he is not the Christ, John the Baptist is setting the stage for someone who is the Christ. That tempo of need will be fulfilled with the music of a true king, the Christ who restores God's people and renews God's world. But in order to see that Jesus is the Christ, we have to get out of the way first. The rhythm of this first chapter of John amplifies our anticipation for the real Christ.

And as it does so, it also shows us what kind of reality the Christ brings. When the religious leaders continue to press John on who he is, he offers this response in verse 23. He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.

Let's pause here and ponder this because this is an epic statement. John the Baptist cites the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 40 verse 3, a text that is referenced near the beginning of each of the four gospel accounts. It is a huge, huge deal in the eyes of the gospel accounts. Why? Well, Isaiah 40 was originally addressed to God's people during a dark period in the time of exile when they were far from home, in the wilderness, both physically and spiritually. The words from God and the prophet Isaiah are filled with the amazing music of hope.

It says that conflict and oppression will be replaced with peace, that sins will be forgiven, that God will move like a conquering king on a highway of redemption, and that highway will run through the wilderness into the lives of people who need peace, people who need forgiveness, people who need healing. Isaiah 40 was a massive hope for God's people, for generations, and the time of exile. And when John the Baptist cites that wonderful promise, he's saying that the king is coming. He is moving into a world wrecked by sin, and he's bringing the reality of renewal. Jesus is the Christ. He is the promised king, and his reign is one of flourishing, of forgiveness

and wholeness. If this is the rhythm of reality, the beat is one of abundance. Now, all of this is wonderful and powerful, but we might legitimately wonder, how do we fit into all of it? I mean, we know that we're not the Christ. We know that the Christ is bringing his reign of renewal, but how do we enter into that reality? Well, John the Baptist addresses that question when he sees Jesus in verse 29. The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin. of the world. This exclamation is a huge shout-out to the historical period of Exodus, when God's

people were saved from generational captivity in Egypt. There, the blood of an innocent lamb saved the Israelites from judgment and ushered them into a life of freedom. It's a bit like Isaiah 40. It was a historical moment so significantly etched into the living memory of God's people that it was more than just a past event. It was an identity for the present and a longing for the future. So when John the Baptist sees Jesus and says, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, alarm bells would be going off in the hearts of all who heard him. The Lamb of the Exodus was just a foretaste of the innocent Lamb who'd be slain to save the people in slavery of sin. And of course, John is previewing Jesus' death on a cross here, where he would save his people

from judgment and bring them into that Isaiah 40 reality. So according to John chapter 1, we are woven into the rhythm of this bigger, more beautiful reality that we long for with the redemptive love of Jesus. We don't just observe that rhythm. We don't just hear it like an audience. We enter into it. not because of our merit, not because of our morality. No, we are ushered into it by an act of divine, sacrificial love.

John chapter one has set the metronome for redemption for us here. There is a Christ, there is a king who came to redeem us into the tune of his glory and grace. As we prepared to continue into the music of the gospel in John, here are three questions to keep us in step with the beat. The first is this, how do you need to be humbled? to recognize that you aren't the Christ. Maybe you've been trying to function like the sovereign over your life or over the lives of others,

and you need to get out of the way and humbly submit to Jesus as the Christ. How do you need to see the fullness and the abundance of the reality Jesus brings with his reign? John's quote from Isaiah chapter 40 reminds us of the abundance and the affection that is offered to each one of us in the reign of Jesus. Will you receive it?

And lastly, how do you need to trust in Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? Maybe you've believed that, but you need to live like it's true. Maybe you've never believed that before, but are for the first time you're surrendering to the renewal and the reign of Jesus as the king. You're choosing to trust that he brings you into his kingdom through his death and a cross. No matter where you are, know that along with others, I'm praying for you to love. live into the life and the love of Jesus in new ways. This is the rhythm of reality in the reign of Jesus. He's the Christ who brings the renewal we need through sacrificial love.

Will you see it? Will you trust it? Heavenly Father, we praise you for fulfilling every promise you've made in the gospel. Jesus, we surrender to you and we trust you as the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. Spirit, we ask you to bring your renewing rhythm of reality into the wilderness of our lives. We pray all of this because of your grace, for your glory, and in your story. In Jesus' name, amen.