At the time of his birth, John the Baptizer was the greatest man ever born (Mt 11:11). Thus his words carried a lot of weight. John had a number of things to say about Jesus, and all of it was true (Jn 10:41). Let's examine the truths John has spoken about Jesus:

• Jesus is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29, 36).
• Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33).
• John said: "I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God" (Jn 1:34, RSV-CE), a scriptural term that designates that Jesus is God, that is, divine.
• "He must increase, while I must decrease" (Jn 3:30).
• Jesus existed before me (Jn 1:15). Although John is older than Jesus, Jesus' pre-existence also indicates that Jesus is God (see Jn 1:1).
• John implied that Jesus is Lord, since he identified himself as "a voice in the desert, crying out, 'Make straight the way of the Lord!' " (Jn 1:23)
• John said that he was not worthy to untie Jesus' sandal (Jn 1:27). All of us who serve Jesus must imitate John's humility. If we make the mistake of comparing ourselves to others, we may in our pride take an inflated view of our importance. If we, like John, always view ourselves in reference to Jesus, we will see His greatness and our lowliness in proper perspective.
• Jesus has made my joy "complete"! (Jn 3:29)

Listen to John the Baptizer. Prepare the way of Jesus (Lk 3:4).

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, XXX 11, 2011

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