Re:Verse passage – John 1:29-34 (day three)
“I did not recognize Him.”
What’s the difference between John’s lack of recognition and the lack of recognition among the religious establishment? It’s this: John was watching for evidence of God’s activity, regardless of whether that activity contradicted his own criteria for how a Messiah ought to present. In fact, John’s inner conflict between his closely held messianic benchmarks on the one hand and the evidence of Holy Spirit activity on the other hand prompted a later crisis of faith in John. Does what you identify as God’s activity just happen to follow the standards that you already hold dear? The witness of the Bible seems to be that the Holy Spirit’s movement will offend and even upend your sensibilities. That which those most qualified to know claimed could not possibly be of God was in fact exactly the opposite.
Amen, Bryan.