Making a Statement.

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-5

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ “^[a]

4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Observation:

I love John the Baptist. The guy knew what he was doing, he was no fool. John came from a family that was the priests of Israel, they were the ones who performed the sacrifices in the temple that provided the people with forgiveness from their sins.

When John, who was from a priestly family, when into the wilderness and began to baptize people for forgiveness he was intentionally providing an alternative to the temple. He was making a statement to the corrupt people running the temple that God was providing a new means of forgiveness. He came to lay the groundwork for the coming of Jesus.

Application:

We have to be ready when God wants to do a new thing in our lives. In Johns day many could not accept the idea that God would get rid of His temple and the system of animal sacrifice for forgiving sin. Today often we set up our own holy traditions that have little to do with the Word of God. It could be a style of clothing we expect to see at church, a certain type of music, or the color of the paint on the walls but it all is Biblically irrelevant. It could be a habit that we don’t want to give up, even one that is not forbidden in the Bible, that distracts us from following God. If we put anything before God, it is an idol, and eventually God will want us to deal with it and get rid of it. When God wants us to change, we need to be ready to change.

Prayer:

God help me to be a part of what you are doing in my life today. Help me to see what you are doing and to accept it and move with your Spirit. Amen.