Enter John the Baptist:
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, may Your mercy and grace be upon us. We align our spiritual antennas to tune into the frequencies of Your Word. We pray for quiet hearts and listening ears, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
John 1: 6 to 8:
There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
Reflection:
This is John the Baptist and not John the apostle. John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God as a forerunner of Jesus.
He was a cousin of Jesus of Nazareth. His mother, Elizabeth, and Jesus’ mother, Mary, were cousins. He was a witness who testified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and the Lamb of God. Christ means the anointed One. The Hebrew word for Christ is Messiah. The Greek word for Christ is Christos. John the Baptist was the one who proclaimed that Jesus Christ would come, as stated in Isaiah 40:3. John the Baptist was only a witness, voice, and messenger. Jesus Christ was the WORD, and MESSAGE of God.
John 1:20, “I am not the Messiah.”
Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert, a highway for our God.”
John 1:23, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord”.
John 1:29, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:34, “I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
John 1:36, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”
Application:
Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. Jesus of Nazareth is God who came to earth 2000 years ago by being born as a baby in Bethlehem. He grew up, lived a perfect life on earth and died a painful death on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins for us. Whoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sin, the gift of salvation and eternal life.
Prayer:
Thank you, God, for sending John the Baptist to tell everyone that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. Thank You for the forgiveness of sin, the gift of salvation and eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
