3  A voice cries:“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5  And the …The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has

spoken.”“Prepare the way of the LORD;

Who was John the Baptist? Short answer would be, a “lone voice in the wilderness”.The early personage to the modern-day evangelist as he unashamedly shared the good news of Jesus Christ. He is a role model for those of us who wish to share our faith and the good news with others. Consider these facts…

-He is usually overlooked as a significant figure in the Gospels

-His birth was meticulously recorded Luke. (1:5-25)

-His conception was marked by angelic proclamation and divine intervention. ( Luke 1:57-80 )

There are still more facts of interest that present the thought of the importance of this reasoning. John’s birth to Abraham and Sarah was the result of that Divine intervention.( Gen.17:15-22 ; 21:1-7 ) John most certainly has a place of importance in the salvation history. To keep this simple yet enlightening I will share some points of interest to an already well known story. We often just skim over the words not allowing them to travel from our mind to our heart. How beautiful is the intent of our God to place among us earthly saints to point us to His call to His people. John’s early life wasn’t easy, he lived in the mountainous area of Judea, between the city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He wore the typical garb of a prophet, his diet was locusts and wild honey. John lived a simple life as he focused on the kingdom work set before him… “prepare the way of the Lord”

John’s work and his enthusiastic faith soon drew the attention of others… There is scriptural note of this …

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6)

John’s message was simple… He is coming, prepare the way for the Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Within Him is your salvation, repent and be baptized. Water was a symbol of cleansing in the biblical times…still is in our day. Interesting point here was as the people came and sought to be forgiven of their sins, this resulted in their being baptized by John, which added to the name some referred to him by…The Baptizer. Many people believed John was  a prophet of God… The Jews of the Temple and those of power in their community feared hm and his message. “5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.” 

(Matthew 14:5)

John knew what they were saying and responded in kind. In John 3:28 you may read his response. John says, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him”. We don’t often think this way but it has been said that what was to come was a miracle from God in the form of Jesus Christ. In secular vernacular John was saying… “Hey, I am just a messenger and my message is simple and direct,  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”. The part John The Baptist played in bringing The Messiah forth is well documented but beyond these words we are given so much more. As written earlier the days and months and years ahead we will come to know of his earthly ministry and the gift He brought and offered to the whole world. He would challenge King Herod for his stubborn and evil ways and would pay for that with his life. Jesus spoke well of John, and also had this to say… Luke 7:28 “I tell you among those born of women there is no one greater than John…”

From John we can learn many things. He believed with all his heart, mind, body and soul that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. He spent all his days preparing to go forth and tell world of his coming…. “preparing the way” for the Lord’s coming. He focused on the mission God had given him. He told us of the importance of repentance and living a holy and righteous life. He was not afraid to speak the truth,   regardless the cost. John had a unique ministry but we must remember we too are called to share the truth of Jesus with the world. Stay focused on the word and the mission.

Life is Good

jk