“The strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie”
Luke 3:16
Cultural referenceSettledJohn the Baptist
I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. (Luke 3:16 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A vague expression of humility.
The cultural key
Handling someone's sandals, touching the dust and filth of the road, was slave's work. A later rabbinic saying held that a disciple should do for his teacher anything a slave does, except deal with his sandal: that was too degrading even for a devoted student. Luke, like Mark, has untying the strap rather than Matthew's carrying: the precise task the rabbinic saying exempted even a devoted disciple from performing.
Recovered meaning
John ranks himself below the lowest task of the lowliest servant. The strongest possible way to say: the one coming is in an entirely different category.