The world was talking about Jesus well before He was ever born into it. Throughout the Old Testament (the part of the Bible leading to Jesus’s birth), many predicted His coming. The prophet Isaiah not only made predictions about Jesus, but also about John the Baptist - who he said would come announcing the coming of Jesus, preparing a way for Him (vs 1-3).
John the Baptist did exactly that. He preached the scriptures just like Jesus would, explaining we need to:
·Wash ourselves clean of our sins - baptism
·Admit our sins and cut them out of our life - repentance
He also lived a life that didn’t value the things of this world that will eventually fade away (fancy clothes, lavish houses, or fine food & drink). His focus was solely on preaching the Scripture and humbly explaining the magnificence of one to come (Jesus), and the incomparable gifts He would offer (vs 4-8).
John the Baptist is a great example of who we should be and how we should act as a follower of God and a believer in Jesus. We should:
Always point to Jesus over ourselves
Stay humble no matter what God has called us to do (no matter how big it is)
Be different than the world - prioritizing God first
Preach the opportunity of repentance, and the ability to be cleansed from sin, and that Jesus will transform us - connecting us to the Holy Spirit!
John is a great example of what a God fearing follower of Jesus should be. Jesus even made reference to no man being greater than John the Baptist up to that point in history (Matthew 11:11)! How wonderful it would be to be looked at with such respect from our Lord and Savior.
However, there is still a much greater example – Jesus Himself! Jesus is our perfect example. He lived a flawless life full of blessing others from healing infirmities to feeding the masses. Still, even though perfect and the powerful Son of God, Jesus allowed Himself to be sacrificed on a cross for our sins, so that we could be free from our own judgement by just believing in Him and following His loving instruction. Now that is an example of love and grace that we should excitedly look to follow!
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