God Prepares the Way for Salvation

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1: 6–8 NIV®

Elizabeth and Zechariah were childless, and in their culture that was considered shameful.
They were from priestly families and continued to serve God faithfully.
Both were well advanced in age and then a miracle occurred.
Elizabeth became pregnant and they had a child who would become the forerunner of Jesus.
The angel of the Lord who announced the birth of John the Baptist
said that he was to be a Nazirite, and that he was to be named John.
Zechariah was struck dumb because he did not believe the proclamation of the angel of the Lord.
His speech was restored after the baby’s birth when he named the child John.
Mary was told not only of her own forthcoming virgin birth,
but also of her relative Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
When Mary arrived to visit her, Elizabeth exclaimed in a loud voice:

‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’

Luke 1:42-43 NIV®

What would be the mission of John the Baptist?
His coming as a forerunner to Jesus was predicted in Isaiah:

A voice of one calling:
‘In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
…’

Isaiah 40: 3 NIV®

There are references to John the Baptist in Malachi 3: 1, all four Gospels, as well as the Acts of the Apostles.
He lived a sparse life in the desert.
John the Baptist knew that he had a specific role to play and he was obedient to God.
He spoke fearlessly about the need for repentance, told the truth,
challenged people about their sins, and baptized them as a symbol of their repentance.
Even though crowds followed him into the desert to hear his message,
John the Baptist knew that he was a messenger
because one was coming who was greater than he, who would be the Saviour of the world.
Some were moved to repentance, others resisted John because he was a prophetic voice.
When Jesus came to be baptised by him in the Jordan,
John said, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and you come to me?’
Jesus explained that it was necessary in order to accomplish God’s mission.
John the Baptist was very aware that he must decrease
and encouraged his disciples to follow Jesus, the Lamb of God.

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’

Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’

Matthew 11: 4–6 NIV®

———–

Can you be like those who dream of tears turning to joy;
of feasts of good things for the hungry, of the opening of the gates,
For all who are captive, and of comfort for the bereaved?’

Advent card ‘On the fringes of hope’, Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Let us pray:
Father, through John the Baptist you tried to prepare your people for the coming of Jesus.
Will you try to prepare us too?
Prepare our hearts and minds that we may know what to look for
in the coming of Jesus Christ into our world—
May we show the joy of the Advent message in our lives day by day.
Through him who came at Christmas time.

Amen
Prayers before Worship, third Sunday in Advent

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Romans 15:4 NIV®

On Jordan’s banks the Baptist’s cry
announces that the Lord is nigh;
awake, and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of kings.

…

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
our refuge, and our great reward;
without thy grace we waste away,
like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand,
and bid the fallen sinner stand;
shine forth, and let thy light restore
earth’s own true loveliness once more.

Charles Coffin (1676–1749)
tr. John Chandler (1808–1876)

Glynne Gordon-Carter