Meeting John the Baptist

 

Scripture John1:6-8 (ESV)

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.

Devotion:

          This post seeks to bring us to an understanding of who John the Baptist really was. What was his purpose? How did he help prepare the way for Jesus and the ministry of the kingdom that Jesus was to proclaim?

          Luke records the prophesy of John’s birth to his father “14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him kin the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:14-17 ESV) So John grew up and was made ready to be a great prophet before the people. John spent time in the wilderness where he was prepared to be the prophet that he became.

          He begins his ministry as recorded in Matthew 3:1-2 “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He was baptizing people in the river Jordan for the forgiveness of sins. Many people came to be baptized from all over Israel. They came to see the wonderful works that John was doing in the wilderness of the Jordan River.

          John also preached to those who came out saying things like: “ 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:10-14 ESV)

          John baptized Jesus “9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11 ESV)

          So, what are we to make of this John the Baptist. He was a forerunner of Jesus. He baptized all who came to him seeking cleansing of sin and repenting of their sin. He testified that he was not the long awaited Messiah, but he was to prepare the way for the messiah. John was eventually beheaded by Herod due to his firm stand against Herod having his brother’s wife. John was unwilling to compromise in order to save his life.

          But the main function of John was to prepare the way for, and point the way to, Jesus as Messiah. Maybe today we need to take a fresh look at this enigmatic prophet. We need to take stock of his ministry and allow John to point us to Jesus in a fresh way. We need to see Jesus as John saw him. The one who was to redeem not merely Israel but the whole world through his life, death, and resurrection.

Prayer:

          Holy God, thank you for sending John the Baptist into the world that we might be prepared for the arrival of your son Jesus. Help us live in such a way that the world may see Jesus announced in our lives. We may not be called to baptize people in the way that John was, but we can witness to gifts we have received from Jesus. Help us be willing to undergo sufferings and hardships because we follow Christ. Prepare us to be willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads us.