John The Baptist

John the Baptist

This week I want to share also some thoughts from my scripture study about John the Baptist.

In Matthew 11:2-3 John sends his disciples to ask Christ if the is the Messiah. They go and see by themselves that he performed miracles, served all people around him and preached the gospel to them.

Did John doubt that Jesus was the Messiah? No. He knew who he was and was inviting his disciples to follow him; however, some of them were still reluctant to forsake him so he decided to send them and see by themselves by commanding them to go and ask him questions.

When Christ talks about John, he describes him as one of the greatest prophets. His calling was a special one: to prepare the way of the Lord and baptize him. There was no other before him or after with such a calling. He held the keys of the kingdom of God and was thoroughly humble and obedient in all he did.

The greatest lesson from John comes from John 3:30: ‘’ He must increase, but I must decrease’’. As great as he was, he recognized that he was just a messenger of the light, and that light is Christ. He recognized always that he was an instrument in God’s hands and did not seek his own accomplishment of praise but to fulfill his calling.

All of us have a calling and the commandment to preach the gospel to our brothers and sisters. We carry that light but we are not the light. As we selflessly give our lives to serve God and our fellow men and ‘’decrease’’ so the gospel of Christ can ‘’increase’’ we will be following John’s example of humility and obedience.

No matter where we are or what we do in life, we must always be humble and forget ourselves.

‘’For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it’’ Matthew 16:25