Bible Strands
John 1:25
asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The sent Pharisees ask John the Baptist why he baptizes if he denies being the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet. This inquiry follows John’s explicit refusal to confess the Messiah in John 1:20.
The words — ἠρώτησαν (ērōtēsan) means "they asked," and τὶ (ti) means "why." These terms frame the interrogators' direct challenge regarding the authority behind John's water ritual.
The thread — The titles "Elijah" and "the Prophet" correspond to Deuteronomy 18:15 and Deuteronomy 18:18. John 1:20 establishes the baseline for this follow-up inquiry.
Why it lands — The text records the interrogators demanding an explanation for John's baptismal practice despite his rejection of expected eschatological figures. It requires the reader to note that the question hinges on institutional authority, not merely personal identity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 18:18 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.
- Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
- John 1:20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”
- Matthew 21:23 When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”
- Acts 5:28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
- Acts 4:5 The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
- Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.