<p>1:20 <em>He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed: I am not the Christ</em>- This is a play on ideas. We would rather expect: 'He denied that he was the Christ'. But John did not deny- i.e. that Jesus was the Christ; he proclaimed that <em>he </em>was not the Christ, but Jesus <em>was</em>. The same word for &quot;confessed&quot; is to be found in 9:22, where any who confessed Jesus as Christ was to be put out of the synagogue. It was this threat which kept many from believing openly in the Lord, and some were even led to deny the Lord Jesus as Messiah and instead claim to be followers of John the Baptist. But John points out that John the Baptist bravely refused to deny Jesus as Christ, he confessed Him as Christ.&nbsp; </p><p>John's Gospel features the Lord Jesus confidently stating &quot;I am...&quot;. The context is set for this by the way John's Gospel begins by describing how John the Baptist said &quot;I am not...&quot; (&quot;I am not the Messiah&quot;, Jn. 1:20; 3:28; &quot;I am not Elijah&quot;, Jn. 1:21; &quot;I am not worthy&quot;, Jn. 1:27. By confessing his own weakness, who he was not, John the Baptist was paving the way for the recognition and acceptance of Jesus. And our self-abnegation will do likewise.</p>