“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)
“… John and Jesus come by God's mercy to prepare and lead God's people. John will proclaim salvation, but Jesus will take them to it.”*
John the Baptist was called by God to lead the His people to the Messiah. He was to be a prophet of God. These verses that appear above are from Zechariah’s prophetic song or hymn. Christ is the ‘rising sun’ being spoken of. A rising sun brings the hope of a new day. Darkness represents all that has us under foot: despair, loneliness, sin, depression, worry. While John provides hope in the form of the coming Messiah, who shall bring with Him forgiveness and mercy, Jesus Christ, shall be the actual embodiment of that forgiveness and mercy; the grace of God. John was chosen before time to be born of a woman of advanced age … Elizabeth, wife to Zechariah. Zechariah, whose doubt caused him to be struck dumb, had his speech restored once he wrote on a tablet to the people at his child’s birth that his name is John. They raised John to adulthood when John began his mission, proclaiming to the people of Israel that salvation was coming to them. He baptized them and yet let them know that One was coming whose sandals he was not fit to untie (John 1:27). John gave the people knowledge, what they did with it was their own business. It is no different today. It is like the old adage: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. I have experienced this first hand and it is quite literally true. You can actually shove a horse’s muzzle into a tub of cool water on a hot day and if it doesn’t have a mind to drink, it will not drink. The water Jesus was to provide would quench the thirst of any man who partook of it for all eternity, for He was that living water (John 4:10-14).
The evidence of God’s tender mercy came in the form of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes; the lowly birth of a mighty king. No one could have suspected or in their wildest dreams imagined what controversy that same infant would cause in his life. All to fulfill the salvation plan of Almighty God. Christ is the rising sun that shines on those living in darkness.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
* Prophecy About John and Jesus (Luke 1:76-80); The IVP New Testament Commentary Series; www.biblegateway.com.
