Shocking as it may be, I'm not super learned on Old Testament matters, so I'm going New Testament on this one. Let's talk Jay Tee Bee.
John was not the Light, but He came to testify to the Light.
There we have it.
Well, let's backtrack.
Jesus Christ was and is God. The Son is a person of the Trinity. Jesus is God-become-man, the Word-made-flesh. Jesus' ministry and preaching is distinctive because it is literally the words and actions of God. He is unmediated, direct revelation. Jesus Christ was and is God.
John, on the other hand, was not and is not God; he is a prophet, a human preaching and acting humanly on his faith. His contemporary, Mary, is a beautiful model of human service to us as well (fun fact: did you know Mary is the only person assuredly present in all three eras [The Law and the Prophets, The Life, Ministry, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, and The Church] of salvation history?). She is an example in her contemplation, her motherhood, and her 'yes' to God's will, but her immaculate conception is an element of special grace that distinguishes her a bit. It doesn't make her less human; it shows us how someone can integrate one's own faith and heart with God's grace to realize the peace of freely aligning one's will with God. But John is yet another of the many amazing models we have in our tradition of faith.
A wise man once concluded, "On a basic level, John the Baptist was a faithful follower of Christ, ultimately martyred after being jailed. So, as someone who almost certainly died in faith in Christ, he is someone Christians should hold as a saint, 'part of the one holy catholic church comprised of Old Testament and New Testament believers alike.' John’s life and mission were righteous and fulfilled the prophecies of the messiah’s forerunner. John’s answering this call to prepare the way for Christ and faithfully serving God through his preaching and baptisms are evidence of John’s goodness and his obedience to God’s will. His service to God prompts Jesus to call him 'the greatest among men.'"
Hey, I had to quote my thesis.
The greater point with John is that he wasn't Christ, and he knew that. No matter what people wanted him to be, no matter how many people badgered him, he insisted he was just preparing a way for his Lord.
John had disciples following his lead. He had throngs of people coming to listen to his message. He had people piling in to receive baptism. However, he remained committed to the reality that what he was pointing toward was greater and bigger than him.
It's a beautiful reality that John baptized people into what would become our Church because baptism into Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is an initiation that commits a person and his/her life to the reality that they are part of someone and something bigger than themself. Just as John kept humble in anticipation of Jesus the Lord and Savior who was to bring salvation to humanity, we too must embrace the call to service and ministry in the name of He who gave us life.
Christ is God, so His example is perfect. Jesus' words and actions show us perfect mercy, compassion, and love. Idealism is helpful to us because the effort to try to be perfect calls us to constant self-reflection and improvement toward the perfect love of God. However, we ultimately cannot be Christ. We are not Gods but rather God's - mediators of the grace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In this reality, where we are conduits for the grace of Christ through our faith and our relationships, John gives us a model: John was not Christ but persistently pointed the way to Christ and cleared a way for Him in the world and in hearts.
We must strive to be like Christ. Though we are imperfect and cannot be Christ, we can be vigilant in prayer to grow into being fuller mediators of God's love and grace. Additionally, though, we can completely be John the Baptist's. This is not an idealistic pursuit that cannot be fully attained; it is a realistic and realizable goal for our journeys of faith. We can always be pointing to Christ in our words and actions, and we can make a way for Christ in the world.
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Added @ 5:10pm, a post-script - from the conclusions of my thesis' section on John:
"... [There is] great responsibility placed in the hands of everyone invited to Christ’s Kingdom: John’s imperfections amid his righteousness were excused in part due to ignorance; the citizens of Christ’s Kingdom have the fullness of God and His revelation in the prophecies of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in Christ and the New Testament, Christ’s Church, and its Tradition. In the Old Testament, earthly promises were the focus as the fullness of the Kingdom was yet to come. Now that Christ has come, “that man from the time of John the Baptist is assured of a speedy entrance into such an everlasting and blessed Kingdom, [and] it is no longer necessary for those promises of earthly well-being to be brought forward.' Given the fullness of God in the Incarnate Word that is Christ, Christians can access the fullness of God and taste the Kingdom through Christ. The unique actions of God with His Chosen People in the Old Testament are historically past—God’s love and care has been newly offered through humanity’s redeemer. It is up to the faith of God’s renewed people to embrace the fullness offered in Christ and grow to realize and experience His Kingdom."
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