John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[a]
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,[b]
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare[c] the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare[c] the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Scripture: 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,[b]
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
Observation: Advertising is necessary so that we know what is coming.
Application: We are currently just finishing a 10 day vacation in Orlando, Florida. If you have ever been here, you could write a book about the ways theme parks and shops and restaurants vie for your attention....signs, billboards, sky writing (?!), banners behind an airplane, tv, radio, etc. etc. etc. Say all you want about the "in-your-face" advertising but let's be honest.... It. Works. If if didn't, business would struggle and there would be less money spent on advertising if it were not doing its job.
Without advertising, how would we be swayed to eat at certain restaurants.... $6.99 for all you can eat pizza! How would we know where to buy the cheap souvenirs ....Everything $1.99! How would we feel a little disappointed to not visit the Disney Parks when every billboard ad is telling you about all the rides and events at those parks? Advertising lets us know what is coming up around us and let's us know what we are missing.
John was the advertisement for Jesus. He was the messenger about what was coming. He was the banner, the billboard, the radio announcement, the pamphlet, the brochure, the writing in the sky...His job was to prepare people for Jesus. Jesus could have arrived without people knowing if it had not been for John's role in preparing the way. It would be like people just driving through Orlando without knowing what was around them if it were not for the advertising.
John prepared everyone for the arrival of Jesus. They began to anticipate him. They longed for him. They began to get excited that John was just the advertisement for Jesus and the real thing would be even better.
Our job, as Christians, is to be the walking talking living breathing advertisement for Jesus. John prepared the way for Jesus before he accomplished what He was sent to do and now it is our job to advertise for him now about what He has done. We have the great responsibility to be the advertisement for the greatest message that people will ever hear. What message are we sending through our lives?
Prayer: Dear Lord, You sent John to prepare the way for the mission that Jesus had--to cover our sins and to provide us with the only way to live in eternity with you. You gave John the enormous responsibility to prepare the way. We have this job too and sometimes we don't realize that we are doing the same job. Thank you for the reminder that our lives can prepare people to hear the message of salvation. Give us the courage to speak the truth and the ability to
2 comments:
Great post Pam!
Are we heralding the arrival of the King? Could you imagine how I would act if I knew the Queen of England was coming to our town? I would tell everyone I met! Why do I not do the same with Jesus?!
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