What was John's role?
John the Evangelist likely aims to present John the Baptist as announcing the fulfilment of passages like Isaiah 8:20–9:2. In this scripture, “gloom of anguish” and “thick darkness” (Isa. 8:22) symbolise the curse of the covenant and exile from the land, while “dawn” (Isa. 8:20), which makes “glorious the way of the sea” (Isa. 9:1), and “great light” (Isa. 9:2) all symbolise what God will accomplish for his people during the new exodus and their return from exile. The light to which the Baptist testifies is, therefore, the hope of Israel for the glorious eschatological restoration God promised his people through the prophets. John bears witness to the light—how Jesus will bring the dawn of salvation—“that all might believe through him” (John 1:7). John testifies to the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises in Jesus, and the response he seeks from his testimony is belief—faith. To prevent anyone from being distracted by the extraordinary stature of the prophet sent from God or t...