Good morning. The gospel of John begins with telling statements about Jesus: He is the Word; He is the Creator; He is the light. After those words of introduction, the gospel begins to tell us more about who Jesus is and how His ministries began.
Before Jesus was baptized and immediately thereafter, there was a voice sharing His good news. This voice was not afraid to tell the truth about sin and responsibility/accountability, or about God and His grace. This voice shouted of the Messiah, the Anointed One of God who had finally come to a lost world. This voice preached confession, repentance, and the need to prepare spiritually to embrace the Holy One of God. The voice belonged to a man named John.
The rulers of Judea sent people to question him, “who are you?” they asked. “Are you the Messiah?” “No, I am not” he replied. “Are you Elijah?” they asked? “No” he answered. “Are you one of the other prophets from history come to life again to warn and to lead us?” they continued. “No” he told them, “I am none of those.” “Then who are you?” they demanded to know. All of this is recorded in John 1:19-28.
John gave them this answer: He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” John 1:23 This is a quote from Isaiah 40:3, where the context is of the love of God coming to the rescue of His people in the person of a Savior.
John continued to give testimony about Jesus. John spoke of His greatness and of His mission “to take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), but he didn’t stop there: And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34
God only called one person to be John the Baptist, but God has called all believers to bring the world this same testimony about Jesus Christ. The message of who He is; why God sent Him; what He means to us; and of His great love for us all is a message that should be revealed through every Christian. This testimony should be more than words, it should be revealed in our joy, in our acts of service, and in our love.
Please consider this day how you could be, “the voice”.
Vern