Written ~ 01-03-2024
Read Matthew Chapter Three
Matthew 3:1-3
“In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for Him!’”
We learn more about John the Baptist in the first chapter of Luke. He was born at an unlikely time to a very elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had prayed for a child for many years, since Elizabeth never conceived they devoted their lives to serving the Lord in everything they did.
Luke 1:6 says, “Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.”
Then an angel of the Lord came to Zechariah and told him they would have a son. That son, John, was the one who was to prepare the way for the Lord’s arrival.
Let’s take a step back, we determined from the first chapter of Matthew that it had been around four hundred years since the last prophet spoke. But here we have this elderly couple who somehow still believed, they honored the Lord and prayed for His coming. Luke 1:6 says they were righteous and careful to obey all of the Lords commandments. It seems quite fitting that they would be chosen to have the son who would eventually prepare the way of the Lord.
John was just six months older than Jesus, so when we see him emerging onto the scene, John would have been around 30 years of age. The Bible says he came from the wilderness, he lived off of locusts and wild honey and his clothing was coarse, tightly woven with camel hair. Some people would’ve thought he looked like a mad man walking around dressed the way he did. But it wasn’t his appearance that surprised so many, it was what he was proclaiming. John’s purpose was to prepare the hearts of the people to repent and be ready for the Kingdom of God. Many were drawn to him, maybe because people were talking this crazy man who was shouting down by the river. But instead of mocking him, they were be led to the Lord. Their hearts were being turned to God.
2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
His message was clear, he never deviated from his purpose.
In the Old Testament we know the coming of the Lord was prophesied about numerous times. But here we show the prophet Isaiah speaking about John the Baptist. The Book of Isaiah was written between the years 740 and 681 B.C., and yes Isaiah prophesied about the Lord quite often, but now we read what Isaiah wrote about the one who will prepare the way for the Lord. Awesome!
Isaiah 40:3,
3 “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!”
Think about what John was doing. Think about the cultural atmosphere. Four hundred years had passed since the last prophet had been heard from and many generations who would have known of those prophesies had long since passed away, the presence of John the Baptist would have shocked a lot of people. The religious leaders of that time had kept to the commandments of God, but they had also added their own regulations as well, they kept themselves set apart only because of their lineage to Abraham and that was about it. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not godly men, even though they proclaimed to be. What would their thoughts have truly been when they hear John shouting, “Prepare the way for the Lord!” I think that possibly there would have been quite a bit of interest. They would know the Scriptures, but did they know that this John was the one Isaiah spoke of in his prophesy? I don’t think they would admit it, even if they did believe it to be true.
So, let’s think about today’s cultural atmosphere. Would the world hear a voice calling out from the wilderness, the voice from a wild man dressed in crazy clothes and everything he owned strapped to his back? Would he be completely disregarded, or would some people actually stop to listen to what he had to say? With the busyness of the world today, it’s more than likely people would pass him by without a thought, completely desensitized to his presence.
That’s why it is up to us. We are to be the world’s “John the Baptist.” We are to proclaim the coming of the Lord! Our message needs to be one of repentance, we need to turn our loved ones eyes to the Lord. As believers it is the purpose of our hearts to spread the Gospel Message and bring people to meet the Lord. By our actions we are to show the path that leads to the Kingdom of God. It may not mean that we need to wear crazy clothing or eat locusts and wild honey… But what it does mean is we should be set apart, the world should look at us with curiosity because we are different, we have the light of Jesus shining within us. Our voices should ring out with the praise, glory and honor that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, He is Lord, He brings forgiveness of sins and is worthy of our praise!
Heavenly Father, help me to have the voice like John the Baptist. The voice that proclaims who You are. Forgive me Father for anything that is holding me back. Use me Father for Your Glory.
~AMEN~