They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
The prophet whom the leaders had in mind when they asked their third question was the prophet that Moses had predicted would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). Merrill pointed out that of the 42 New Testament citations of Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 24 of them appear in John’s Gospel. [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "Deuteronomy, New Testament Faith, and the Christian Life," in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands, p. 27.] This prophet would bring new revelation from God and might lead the Israelites in a new Exodus and overcome their oppressors. The Jews incorrectly failed to identify this prophet with Messiah (cf. John 7:40-41). In contrast, the earliest Christian preachers contended that "the prophet" was identical with the Messiah (cf. Acts 3:22). John the Baptist claimed that he was not that long-expected prophet any more than he was the Messiah or Elijah.