What did John the Baptist learn from Isaiah?
Thomas Renz
In the Gospel according to John, John the Baptist is always called just plain ‘John’. That’s surprising. Why not distinguish more clearly between John the Evangelist and John the Baptist?
The answer is: their main role is in fact the same. They both testify to Jesus. The Baptist does of course baptise, but his great task in the Fourth Gospel is actually to bear witness. We are first introduced to him with the words ‘He came as a witness to testify concerning that light’ (1:7), and the Gospel sums up his ministry by speaking of people accepting his testimony about Jesus (10:41).