DAY 12: Birth of John the Baptist
“Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, ‘No; he shall be called John.’ And they said to her, ‘None of your relatives is called by this name.’ And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.” – Luke 1: 57-66 ESV
Birth of St. John the Baptist by Pontormo, 1526
My Thoughts:
It’s a good question: ‘What then will this child be?’ In the months before Jesus begins His public ministry, we see the nation of Israel roused to life by an unusual figure out in the wilderness. At this point, we know it’s been over 400 years since the last prophet, Malachi, has spoken God’s word to His people. Malachi himself had predicted that there would be a messenger who would “prepare the way of the Lord” (Mal 3:1). As Isaiah before him so predicted (Isa 40:3-5) as well. John the Baptist’s message of preparation was clear: repent for the forgiveness of your sins and be baptized. Since baptism was only for Gentiles wanting to join the faith, John’s message essentially said that the Jews also needed to renew their faith. The Jews could no longer rely for salvation on previous privileges as Abraham’s descendants and as the People of the Covenant.
John the Baptist’s prophetic message caused many Jews to wonder if John was the awaited for Messiah. “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah” (Luke 3:15 NIV). John says no. But he points to one who is coming who will baptize not with water as he did, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. Eventually Jesus, the true Messiah, comes to John and is baptized by him in the Jordan River and anointed with the Holy Spirit to begin His ministry.
John declared “Prepare the way for the Lord” to all who would hear him. It is the Advent call to get ready for the coming Messiah, to repent and believe. For Christ has come. And Christ will come again.
Prayer (from the Book of Common Prayer):
O LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so pre pare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
*Header image based on a stained glass window in St. Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh taken by Lawrence OP
