Skip to main content

42. Having a Purpose


Key Verse: A voice of one calling: "in the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 40:3-5, Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4-6, & John 1:23

Just as a herald goes before his king proclaiming, "Make way!  Make way for the glorious king!  May he live forever." John the Baptist went before Jesus to prepare the way for Him, the coming Messiah. 

They were cousins on their mother's side.  Both men shared miraculous birth stories.  Jesus grew up in poverty.  John embraced poverty as an adult, after being raised in a refined, priestly household.  In truth, from a worldly perspective, it would have probably made more sense if John had been Messiah, not Jesus.  John certainly had more of the expected credentials. 

For John, it was all about the message.  He could have, so easily, embraced the fame that his ministry created.  He could have chosen to stay with the temple, hoping that, as a priest, he could serve God.  No, his job was to prepare the way for Messiah. 

His job was to tell the nation that they were sinners in need of repentance.  Yes, the people were oppressed.  Yes, the people were suffering under Roman tyranny, but that wasn't their only problem.  That wasn't their biggest problem either!  They had a heart issue that needed to be dealt with to enable them to hear the message that Messiah would bring for their salvation.  As a result, his message created many enemies, but he stayed true to his calling.  As a farmer prepares the soil before planting the seed, John prepared the people to hear the words of Jesus. 

What was John's message? John reminded the people that, even the oppressed are in need of repentance.  No one was too good or too poor to repent, for the kingdom of God was at hand. John did not soften his message for the rich, or the ruler.  In fact, he proclaimed their sin the most because they thought that they needed his message the least. 

John was never drawn off message.  Even King Herod was confronted concerning his sin, but truth is truth.  John spoke the truth and accepted the consequences.  John eventually lost his life for the sake of his mission, but he stayed true.  He prepared the way for Jesus. 

Hymn: "When John Baptized by Jordan's River

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...