“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths." (Mark 1: 2 - 3).
Who is this messenger? John the Baptist. What do we know about John? John was the son of promise of aged parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. His father was a priest from the clan of Levi. This means that John was assured by birth the privileges of the upper middle class of the Jewish community. But John had a vocation announced by two Old Testament prophets, Isaiah 40: 1 - 5 and Malachi 3: 1. So John is a serious and important person in salvation history.
How did John handle his mission?
John made the wilderness his home and "wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey." (Mark 1: 6).
You might wonder: Why this extreme austerity? This is to have the radical detachment and independence necessary for his mission.
Jesus praised John as not one of the greatest but the greatest! (Matthew 11: 11; Luke 7: 28).
John the Baptizer has done his work and is gone. But the work of announcing the good news and glad tidings continue to this day.
Jesus is Calling.
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23-Psalm1to2