Scripture Reading(s)
Mark 1:1-8
1:1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
1:3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'”
1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
1:5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
1:6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.
1:8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Reflections
Imagine you were chosen as God’s vessel to help set the foundation for Christ to come and bring salvation to a lost world. John’s role in doing so, was prophesied long before. He was set apart to help pave the way for Christ to come and forgive sinners and deal with the problem of sin and a fallen world once and for all.
I can only imagine the kind of willing heart that John had to do the work of Christ. With boldness he preached the message of salvation and if you read this account in the other Gospels, we see how many were saved. However, John still acknowledged that he was not the main character of the story of salvation, Jesus Christ is. With humility, he brought the good news of salvation and pointed the Glory back to God.
His utmost desire was to see lost souls saved and see Christ at work in the hearts of those who heard the Gospel message. He longed to be a vessel for God and knew that Christ was more worthy to act out the plan of salvation.
I think that this passage should impact all of us in terms of how we view our own role in spreading the message of the gospel. God outlined the plan of salvation long before we were created. He chose us to take part in being His children and even more so preaching the good news of Christ. Let us embrace that role and be bold in our declaration of what Jesus has done for us.
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.”
It is often overlooked but God is always preparing the path in front of us. However, we hardly ever notice until the time has already passed. As an adult I can see all the ways God was working on my behalf even before I became a follower of Jesus. It’s important to look back from time to time and recall the times that God prepared the path before us.
We must also remember that we don’t live in a vacuum. Our experiences shapes the lives of others around us. In the passage above we see people coming from all over the countryside to be baptized because of John’s witness. While we may not have the same calling as John let us also know that we are also called to spread the good news to others.
I often think of how things set up in the Bible. Remember that Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth, when both were pregnant with Jesus and John? That being the case it isn’t to hard to imagine that they both knew each other prior to Jesus ministry. Did they talk about what was going to happen?
I also wonder what happened to make John go eccentric. He was raised in a healthy family, so my mind wanders how that could happen. Just thoughts.
Tom
http://www.brunersbreak.com