John 1:21 (DRB)

Passage

And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No.

Nearby Context

John 1:19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou?

John 1:20 And he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ.

John 1:21 And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No.

John 1:22 They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself?

John 1:23 He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "asked", "thou", "elias", "said", "prophet", and "answered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "asked" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And he confessed and did not deny..." into verse 22's "They said therefore unto him Who art...", so "asked" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "asked" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.