Tuesday, 29 July 2008

• John the Baptist

  I was thinking about John the Baptist late last night, and asked my boys what they thought of him and the message he brought. 

  John had no fear of man.  And he was consumed by his zeal and fear of God.  This was no ordinary man.  He was set apart in every way.  His clothing was camel hair, his food was locusts and honey, and his home appeared to be the desert.  He had been set apart even from birth to fulfill prophecy and make way for the Messiah. 

  He rebuked the Pharisees who came out to examine his ministry, and came against Herod and Herodias.  He baptized all who would come and confess their sins.  The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek 'baptizo'.  The word literally means 'immerse' or 'dip'.  For some reason, the translators did not translate the entire word, but instead translated each letter individually, thus we now have the word 'baptism'.  I guess 'John the Dipper' or 'John the Immerser' doesn't sound as prestigious or religious. 

  Think about it.  We're talking about the man who baptized our Savior, who would one day speak of John as 'greater than a prophet'.  His message was simple,

  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

  These are words which would one day also come from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, calling others to awaken.  These words should be a part of every sermon and teaching which purports to be biblical.  "Repent!" was proclaimed boldly on the Day of Pentecost by Peter. 

  What would it be like to be the only person in society who  stands against the cultural tide?  I know it's an implausible thought, but what message would John bring to the church and culture today?

  This is an excerpt from the film 'Jesus of Nazareth' by Franco Zeffirelli.  The entire film is over six hours long.  This clip deals with John's ministry and confrontation of Herod and Herodias.  John doesn't begin preaching in the video until 1:16.

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