- Had the baptism of Jesus already taken place when John interacts with the religious leaders?: yes
- How did John respond when the leaders ask who he was?: no - I am not the Christ, I am not Elijah, not a prophet
- How did John see himself compared to Jesus?: much less - Jesus was so great that he was not even worthy to unloose HIS sandals
- How did the priests and the Levites function in the story in John?: they had become cold-hearted and self-righteous. They made decisions according to tradition and not with a heart for God
- How were the Pharisees spiritually confused?: they had an inability to understand the scriptures
- How were the Pharisees spiritually ignorant?: Though Isaiah had prophesied about him, they still did not know who he was
- How were the Pharisees spiritually prideful?: they believed that John had no right to tell the people to repent because he was not one of them
- What are spiritual doldrumns?: when the sails of our spirits go limp while the rest of our life is proceeding full speed ahead
- What are the names of the sects of Jewish religious leadership?: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essences
- What did John say he was unworthy to do?: to unloose or untie Christ's sandals
- What happened that caused John to know that Jesus was the Messiah?: because God had instructed him that after he had baptized the right one, he would see the spirit descend on HIM
- What is an example of the difference between the voice and the word?: the word exists in the mind before the voice utters it and the word remains long after the voice is silent
- What is the approximate date when the story opens in John 1?: late fall of A.D. 28 shortly after the baptism of Christ
- What is the difference between the voice and the word: John the Baptist was the voice and Christ was the word
- What was the strictest group of Jewish religious leadership?: the Pharisees as they adhered to the Mosaic Law and felt they were spiritually superior
- Where was John baptizing believers?: Bethabara across from the Jordan River
- Who did Jesus come to earth to be, as opposed to what the religious leaders were looking for?: He came to be the lamb - the ultimate sacrifice while the religious leaders were looking for a king
- Who did John put the attention on?: on Christ - NOT on himself
- Who did John say he was?: "I am the voice"
- Who did the religious leaders ask John who he was?: If he was the Christ, if he was Elijah or if he was a prophet