Mark 1:1-8
Interesting that locust and wild honey were foods eaten by poor/lower class people. Untying a sandal was something that only the lowest person would do. Why would all the images of John the Baptist be those that the people of the day would have associated with a menial laborer or a poor person? Especially since he’s announcing the coming of the Lord.
Maybe it’s because the messenger isn’t as important as the one being announced. But still it would be “better” to have a more prominent person announce the Messiah’s coming.
Does this tie to Moses not being able to enter into the Promise Land somehow? Not sure there’s a connection but it might be something to think about. Moses obviously had a special relationship with God, so much so that he couldn’t go into the Promise Land for feat that the Israelites would worship him like God. Now John the Baptist is clearly important to the story of Jesus but his prominence is downplayed by Mark in his gospel (and the other Synoptic Gospels too) and he is cast as inferior to Jesus even though there is a lot going for John - he’s the miraculous child of past their prime parents. He is a chosen prophet ordained by God to proclaim the coming of the Lord.
Maybe therein lies the issue. John could be mistaken for the Messiah if it isn’t clear that he’s not of high enough rank to be considered the messiah - either the popular (social or militaristic) messiah or the Messiah proclaimed to issue in the day of the Lord.
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