A voice of one calling in the wilderness
Scripture:
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching
in the wilderness of Judea and saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who
was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the
wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight
paths for him.’” John’s clothes were
made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was
locusts and wild honey. People went out
to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the
whole region of the Jordan Jordan River . Matthew 3:1-6
Observation:
Right after finishing his brief
description of how Jesus was born and came to live in Galilee ,
Matthew now focuses on John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a great enigma
indeed in those days. Living in the wilderness, wearing clothes made out of
camel’s hair and a leather belt and sustaining himself on locusts and wild
honey, John must have been a strange sight indeed. Yet, people came to him from
everywhere for he was seen to be a prophet from God Himself. It was already
prophesied about him in Isaiah, that John’s main ministry would be to prepare
the way for the Lord and make straight paths for him. John’s main message was
for people to repent, for the kingdom
of God Jordan River .
In studying this passage, we first look
at repentance, confession and John’s baptism. The word “repent” in Greek means
to change one’s mind, while in Hebrew, it means to turn around. So we have a
picture of a man walking in one direction, changing his mind, turning and
walking in the opposite direction. The follow through of repentance was confessing
one’s sins. So we have sinners living in sin, stopping, deciding to live
instead for righteousness and then going back to pursue that life of
righteousness. In the act of baptism of John, the cleansing in water
represented the washing away of one’s old sins.
Secondly, we look at the prophecy and
role of John the Baptist. His main role was to prepare the way for Jesus, and John
would direct those who came to him to watch out for the Messiah who would come
soon. Many of those who were baptized by John became followers of Jesus, most
notably, James and John. We too who follow Jesus, have this assignment to
prepare the way for the Lord wherever we go. We may not be the one to lead
every particular soul to conversion, but we can always plant seeds, by good
testimony, encouragement and prayer.
Finally, we learn yet again that we can
never judge another by their appearances. At first glance, people would think
John the Baptist was a mad man or beggar, but he was the greatest among men
born of women as praised by our Lord Jesus Himself.
Application:
In regard to repentance, we need to ask
ourselves which way we are facing, towards sin, or towards righteousness in
God. Once we realized an area where we are not in conformance with God’s way,
we need to confess our sins, and then move in the direction towards God’s
righteousness. John’s baptism only prepared the way for the Lord, but it is the
baptism in the Lord that symbolizes the death of our old life and the giving of
our new life to live for God.
Just as John the Baptist worked to
prepare the way for our Lord, we too should seek to prepare the way for Him by
being a good testimony, and helping and blessing others. Also, we must always
remember to never judge by appearances, but be open to the Lord’s leading. In
entertaining strangers, some have entertained angels.
Prayer:
O Lord, forgive me I pray in the areas
where I have sinned. Lead me O Lord to turn towards You, to follow You and obey
Your ways. I thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have given me new life, for I have
been crucified with you, and the old gone and the new has come. Teach me O Lord
to prepare the way for you in the lives of unbelievers who do not know you yet.
Open my eyes too not to judge others but be kind to all. In Jesus name, Amen.
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