Good morning. As we bring our 2021 Christmas season to a close, I thought I would take a look at that person whose story was intertwined with Jesus’s own from before they were born. I am speaking of John the Baptist, but we cannot consider his story unless we combine it with the reality of the birth of God’s Messiah, Jesus.
We have recently considered the stories of the elderly priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They were childless in their old age when the angel Gabriel came to Zechariah to tell him that God would bless him with a child. Zechariah had his doubts, so the angle Gabriel struck him mute until after the promised baby would be born. Can you imagine what Zachariah would have written down to communicate with his wife Elizabeth that she would soon be expecting a child? Can you imagine what she would have said in return?
But of course, all that Gabriel promised came true. In the sixth month of her pregnancy Elizabeth had a visitor. It was her relative Mary, a young woman from far away Nazareth. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby within her responded and Elizabeth was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. The words of greeting that Elizabeth returned to Mary are quite amazing: In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:42-45
Zechariah and Elizabeth’s baby boy was to be named John, and although there was some drama involved, the new parents quickly obeyed. When Zechariah acknowledged God’s command and named the new baby John, a flood of wonderful words gushed forth from him. His words are called “Zechariah’s song” and are found in Luke 1:67-79. Before he spoke of his own child, he couldn’t help but give praise to God for the baby that would be born to Mary in a few months: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago)… Luke 1:68-70 After giving God praise for the Messiah who is soon to be born, Zechariah gave praise to God for the baby boy named John: And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Luke 1:76-79
The baby boy named John grew up remarkably strong in the Spirit. When he was old enough, he left home to live in the wilderness until the time was right for him to appear before the people in the region of Jerusalem. Once there he proclaimed to them that the revelation of the Messiah of God was at hand, therefore they must repent of their sin, and be baptized in a ceremonial washing to indicate their commitment to repentance. By doing this they were preparing their hearts for the Messiah who would soon be in their midst.
The testimony of John was so powerful that some found it confusing. We read in John’s gospel of the questions from the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, and of John’s response: Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
The rest of John’s story is remarkable. He instantly recognized Jesus as the Messiah and wondered about the righteousness of baptizing Him. Later, when John had served his purpose in announcing the arrival of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, he found himself imprisoned and troubled. John sent some of his followers to question Jesus, and Jesus responds with words of reassurance of His truth but also with words of powerful recommendation of John. You can read this in Matthew 11:1-19.
The lives of Jesus and John were intertwined. John was born a few months ahead of Jesus, and he died between one and two years earlier. All of John’s life was a testimony. His life, even before birth, testified to the reality of Jesus, the Messiah of God. It would be difficult for us to consider living our lives with a similar power and purpose as many of God’s heroic figures found in scripture. But we can identify with the work of John. It is possible for each of us to be that “voice crying in the wilderness” telling those who will listen of God’s great and gracious gift, His Messiah. To commit to such a thing would not be an easy path, but just as Jesus always lifted up John, He will always lift us up as we cry out for Him.
God bless you and embolden you today!
Vern