ESOCS Devotional 30 October 2024 – A Man Sent by God
MEMORY VERSE: “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?” John 1:19 Genesis 1:1
TEXT: JOHN 1:19-34
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, [a]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who [c]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
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Today, we will read about a strange man who lived in the desert (Luke 1:80) and ate a much stranger diet than most of us have eaten. His diet was locusts and wild honey. Not only did he eat exotic food, but also, he looked strange, too, having long hair, and clothed with camel hair, and a leather belt around him (Mark 1:6). Yet, Jesus said of this man, John the Baptist, that there was none greater than him (Matthew 11:11). What was it about John the Baptist that earned him the high praise of Jesus, calling him the greatest man (apart from Christ) who had ever lived? Scripture tells us that John the Baptist never performed a miracle or sign (John 10:41); Moses, Elijah, and Elisha all did various miracles. What was it that made him so great in the eyes of Jesus?
We read in Luke’s Gospel that not only was John born of the tribe of Levi (Luke 1:5-9) but also, he was one of the descendants of Aaron, i.e., automatically making him a priest. His mother, Elizabeth, had been barren, plus his parents were both very old, and past the age to have children. God moved supernaturally in their lives to give them John in their old age. John’s father, Zacharias, the priest, had an encounter with an angel in the temple while he was offering incense in front of the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, i.e., the two rooms inside the temple. The angel told Zacharias that his prayers were answered and that his wife would bear a son. Zacharias became dumb due to his unbelief at the angel’s words (Luke 1:20). After being conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary, the mother of Jesus, visited Elizabeth in her sixth month of pregnancy with John. Both Elizabeth and the unborn John were filled with the Spirit when the yet unborn Jesus came before them both. When John was born, His father’s tongue was loosed, with Zachariah prophesying that John would be a prophet of the Lord (Luke 1:76).
Zachariah’s healing and testimony about the angel’s message brought high expectations in the Jewish people because, up to that time, they had gone four hundred years with no prophet sent to them. The last prophet had been Malachi, who spoke of the coming of the forerunner of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6). Due to his supernatural birth, John’s life was followed closely due to his being born into the priesthood and also being called to be separated to God at birth by taking a Nazarite vow (Luke 1:15). His hair could not be cut, nor could he touch anything dead, and he also could not eat or drink anything of the vine, e.g., no grapes, wine or raisins (Numbers 6:2-6). Something happened to John in his childhood, though, so that he didn’t grow up in the luxury of the priestly class. As far as we know, he did not go through yeshiva or seminary, but God led him to live in the desert regions from childhood: And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel (Luke 1:80).
- Rejoice in the Lord for His mercies and kindness.
- Lord, do a miraculous thing in my life for your great glory.
Further Reading: Genesis 1:20-end-2:1-3; 37:12-24; Revelation 1:9-end
ESOCS Devotional 30 October 2024
