Monday, 01 June 2009
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Modern Day Prophets?
He Must Increase
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him there. Matthew 3:13
One of the first things Jesus did before starting his public ministry was to be baptized by His cousin John.The idea of Jesus having to be baptized bothers some people. Why should Jesus have to be baptized? The idea certainly bothered John the Baptist. John tried to prevent him saying "I need to be baptized by You and You are coming to me?" Matt 3:14
It's really not hard to understand why some people have a problem with it. Luke tells us that John preached "a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins", Luke 3:3. Since Jesus never committed any sin, and therefore had nothing from which to repent (2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15) what purpose would His baptism serve? So why did Jesus ask John to baptize Him?
Luke tells us that Jesus & John were cousins. By his early thirties, John had emerged as a major national figure. Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, wrote more about John than Jesus. Why? Since the death of the prophet Malachi, some 400 years earlier, Israel had not heard from a genuine prophet of God.
Until John.
Before the time of Jesus, the only way God spoke to His people was through prophets. Imagine not having heard from God for over 400 years, more than 10 generations! John shook a nation with his bold words and unusual behavior, drawing huge crowds eager to hear him preach. He was a radical, a revolutionary who proclaimed an uncompromising message of repentance and faith in the Messiah.
But John had no desire to toot his own horn or draw attention to himself. He clearly knew his role. He was to pave the way and point people to Jesus. John humbly accepted his role as the forerunner of the Messiah (John 1:27). His motto in life was: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). When John clearly understood Jesus to be the Messiah, he directed even his own disciples to start following the Lord (John 1:36-37). Once he did that, he was ready to fade into obscurity. His role was to point people to Jesus and then step aside.
For all these reasons, Jesus declared John the greatest prophet who ever lived. How many of us think of greatness in these terms? Too many of us wonder how God can enrich our lives, make us feel better about ourselves, or help us achieve success in business. We ask what God can do for us to make us, our lives, our legacies, greater and better.
John had a very different attitude. He constantly asked himself, "What can I do to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah? How can I direct them to Him? How can I decrease and He increase?"
In this way, John found true greatness with God and with humanity. His life stands as an example to us of what it takes to shake a nation. He was not politically correct. He was not culturally relevant. But in God's eyes, he was great.
How can we adopt John's philosophy as well? "May Christ increase and I decrease."
If we really lived like that, who knows how it would affect others for their good?
Like John, we must prepare men and women to get ready for the kingdom of God.
We must point them toward Jesus, and then step aside.See Through Servant by Pearl Brick
Excerpt from:
Currently
Breakfast with Jesus
By Greg Laurie
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