"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"  That was the question the priests and Levites asked when they went to see John the Baptist in the wilderness (only members of the Jewish tribe descended from Levi could be priests).  That was the question asked by those who were sent by the Pharisees.  The priests and Levites were concerned that John might be the Messiah, the return of the prophet Elijah or even a prophet like Moses.  Why were they concerned?  Because they were in power.  They were in control of official Judaism and they wondered whether John might pose a threat to them.  The Pharisees were probably not concerned or worried.  Instead, they were likely hopeful that John was the Messiah, because they assumed that when the Messiah came he (yes, he... for the Messiah to have been a woman would have been a preposterous thing) would be a lot like them.

To the priests and Levites John said, "No, I am not the Messiah, Elijah or Moses."  But that did not allay their concerns, as John certainly seemed not to fear them.  And when the representatives of the Pharisees asked why John was baptizing they were told that John was merely the forerunner of the one whom they would not recognize.  So this is no cozy, feel-good beginning to Jesus' story in John.  It alerts us immediately as to who the antagonists are likely to be: the religious authorities and the very devout.  How would they respond to Jesus?