1 Now in the fifteenth year
of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and
Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and
of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the
high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country
about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of
the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.
(Luke 3:1-6)
We read of so many wonderful miracles in the Word of God - so much so we often
forget the Word itself is a miracle, and we, too, are miraculous creations of
the genius of God - in fact every whale, every gnat, every blade of grass,
every tree, every sunset, and every sunrise is a miracle of the Lord our Maker.
The Word of God gives us to know of this great Maker of Miracles if we will but
apply our souls and minds to its study. We must set the Prow of our Souls to
the True North of God's Word, sail into the very center of its Sea of Love, and
drop anchor there. The very center
of Holy Scripture is the 8th verse of Psalms 118: It is
better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Man has been violating that trust from the beginning in his
proclivity to trust in his own manmade logic, or that of other charismatic
leaders, instead of the Lord God his Maker and Redeemer.
God has forever revealed His great acts of both mercy and judgment in advance
to His people either as promises such as of that of a Redeemer, or as warnings
such as that of the Babylonian captivity. The prophets of old most often
prophesied of events to come, but the prophecy concerning John the Baptist was
of another great - even the greatest - prophet. Among
them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the
Baptist. (Matt 11:11) John would be known as
the great Precursor of Christ to prepare the Way in the hearts of the people to
receive Him. All great rulers have emissaries who proceed them in state visits
to prepare the way and to introduce the manner of the visit. This fell to the
role of John the Baptist for Christ.
Both John the Baptist and Christ were nearly of the same age (John being only
about six months older). We can fix the year of the birth of Jesus based on
that of John since the historical table of ascent of rulers is given in Luke
3:1-2 above. The two men were related through the descent of their mothers from
Aaron and David. Mary and Elizabeth were cousins which means Jesus and John,
too, were cousins more removed.
As you will recall, there are two important men in the life of Jesus named John
- John the Apostle, and John the Baptist. Scripture tells us that John was an
apostle "whom the Lord loved." Is this such a striking
coincidence since the name "God has shown graciousness, or favor?"
Both men were highly favored of God.
The
Prophesy Concerning John the Baptist
The
Prophet Isaiah:
3 The voice of him that
crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the
desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken it.
(Isaiah 40:3-5)
Gospel
Fulfillment in Matthew
1 In those days came John
the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was
spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his
raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat
was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem,
and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins."
(Matt 3:1-6)
The
Prophet Malachi
1 Behold, I will send my
messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye
delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. (Malachi
3:1)
We even have a New Testament prophecy of John the Baptist by his father,
Zacharias: 76 And thou, child, shalt be
called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the
Lord to prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation
unto his people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our
God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto
Israel. (Luke 1:76-80)
John was called at least seven hundred years (Isaiah's prophecy) before his
birth and, in my view, before the earth's were made in eternity past. In His
omniscience and providence, God provided not only for a coming Redeemer, but
also for His emissary, John, in the solitude of the Heavenly Councils.
We know the kind of man John was for his character is fully revealed in
Scripture. He was a man of iron-will because his will was the assumed will of
His Maker. We should all be like John, but that would be a hard figure to
measure up to. He was a "voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight.' (Matt 3:3) John did not ascribe any
success to numbers. He preached in the lonely wilderness. Truth was of greater concern
to John than was numerical success. Should we not be the same preachers and
laity?
John was not a flashy dresser, was he? 4 And the same John had his
raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat
was locusts and wild honey.
(Matt 3:4)
May I suggest that such a man as John would be summarily turned away from the
First Church of every town, and perhaps set upon by the police. He cared not
for fad or fashion, but simplicity was his main fare. I wonder how many modern
pulpit wonders would settle for a neat, but simple, suit for their preaching;
and something less than the latest model automobile in which to travel? Do not
misunderstand me - I know that we do have godly men who forego the luxuries of
life in order to preach the Word without compromise. But when we accept
largesse in salaries and gifts of the most powerful, does that not render the
preaching less courageous due to the need to satisfy the givers?
John preaching was, as ours should be, timely! He at first preached: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight," but that message changed at the Presence of
Christ at Jordan Banks! 29 The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After
me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he
should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that
this is the Son of God.
(John 1:29-34)
John was a humble man. He gathered, even in the wilderness, hundreds and
thousands of followers whom he baptized; but the moment that Christ came to be
baptized, the pride of John did not coerce him to forego his preeminence as a
preacher.
John's
Strong and Humble Testimony
26 And they came unto John,
and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou
barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness,
that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is
fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must
decrease. 31 He that cometh from above is
above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he
that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his
testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent
speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:26-36)
There is much in the above testimony of John that believers in Christ must emulate,
but one line alone seals the matter: "He must increase, but I must
decrease." This one line describes the process of sanctification of
the saints more clearly than volumes of theology that we might read! Dying to
self daily, and living to others and to Christ should be singular goal of all
Christians.
The old flesh does not die quickly always, but takes much
growth and nourishment in the Word - not just in knowing the Word, but in
living it as well.
Have we, and
ARE we, doing this, friends?
