In contrast to last week’s text on John the Baptist, this one comes from the last of the written gospels. The Gospel of John was penned at the very end of the first century. One common characteristic, however, is clear: the Baptist is again presented as the forerunner. John the Baptist rejects all messianic or quasi-messianic titles. He throws human expectation into chaos. He claims for himself only the role of the ‘voice’ of Isaiah 40, but the evangelist presents him as the most reliable of witnesses, ‘Sent by God … to speak for the light’. The only other person in John’s Gospel to come from God is Jesus himself. Before an audience of the leaders of the religion of Israel, John witnesses with an authority and a truthfulness that has its source in God. In what ways can you speak with authority about Jesus? What truths have you come to recognise about Jesus? How do you give witness to Christ?