I was very moved when I was reading the Bible account of John the Baptist.
He was a failure whose life amounted to nothing. An eccentric who led some people astray and was beheaded as a result of his being foolishly outspoken. A misfit in society. He did no miracles and was just an itinerant preacher.
Imagine a father's agony to realize your son was beheaded as a result of the evil whim of a ruler who just wanted to save face in front of his dinner guests.
Imagine his parents' disappointment to see their son not earning a steady livelihood, but going off into the desert by himself, wearing camel's hair and eating locusts with a dipping sauce of wild honey. 'What did we do wrong? Where did we go off track in raising him?'
Before he was born, an angel visited Zacharias, his father saying, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord" I am sure they had high hopes for him, and not of a wandering mendicant.
John did not know the big picture. No idea of his destiny. He was given a narrow view. All he knew was, the Holy Spirit led him to speak and preach. He did not know how exactly Jesus would become "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". Like others in Jewish society who grew up under the Maccabees revolt which resulted in bloody oppression, he expected the Messiah to be in the warrior mold of King David. When John was in prison, he did not know if he was mistaken in the vision given to him by God; "are you the messiah or should we wait for another?".
Herein lies his faith and also his humility.
In spite of his narrow view - not just of the Messiah, but also of his own role in all of this - he did it faithfully without demanding answers from God.
He did not raise himself up - he did not tie his career path to 'a shining star'. When he was preaching and baptizing people who sought to follow him, he did not use it to his advantage to get wealth for himself. In fact, he said he was not worthy to untie the Messiah's shoelace - a job reserved for a lowly servant. He also said when his followers were deserting him to follow Jesus, "He must increase and I must decrease".
He did no miracles or rather, no miracles were done through him to validate his ministry and purpose. No healing miracles like Elisha. No fiery power displays like Elijah. No heroic exploits like David and Deborah and Samson. Just a society misfit baptizing with water, calling to holiness and preaching of a Messiah to come.
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11)
Greater than Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Solomon, Samson, Daniel, Deborah... all the great men of Israel? Wow!
Why do I feel endeared to John the baptist? One reason is, we all can identify with him in that, he did not see the big picture. No rock star career. Bewildered at times. His ministry and life seemed futile.
Perhaps it is like the often used illustration of a tapestry that makes no sense when seen from the underside, Just a tangle of threads. But when reversed, is a beautiful pattern.
Society's perspective:
He was a failure whose life amounted to nothing. An eccentric who led some people astray and was beheaded as a result of his being foolishly outspoken. A misfit in society. He did no miracles and was just an itinerant preacher.
His parent's perspective:
Imagine a father's agony to realize your son was beheaded as a result of the evil whim of a ruler who just wanted to save face in front of his dinner guests.
Imagine his parents' disappointment to see their son not earning a steady livelihood, but going off into the desert by himself, wearing camel's hair and eating locusts with a dipping sauce of wild honey. 'What did we do wrong? Where did we go off track in raising him?'
Before he was born, an angel visited Zacharias, his father saying, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord" I am sure they had high hopes for him, and not of a wandering mendicant.
His own perspective:
John did not know the big picture. No idea of his destiny. He was given a narrow view. All he knew was, the Holy Spirit led him to speak and preach. He did not know how exactly Jesus would become "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". Like others in Jewish society who grew up under the Maccabees revolt which resulted in bloody oppression, he expected the Messiah to be in the warrior mold of King David. When John was in prison, he did not know if he was mistaken in the vision given to him by God; "are you the messiah or should we wait for another?".
Herein lies his faith and also his humility.
In spite of his narrow view - not just of the Messiah, but also of his own role in all of this - he did it faithfully without demanding answers from God.
He did not raise himself up - he did not tie his career path to 'a shining star'. When he was preaching and baptizing people who sought to follow him, he did not use it to his advantage to get wealth for himself. In fact, he said he was not worthy to untie the Messiah's shoelace - a job reserved for a lowly servant. He also said when his followers were deserting him to follow Jesus, "He must increase and I must decrease".
He did no miracles or rather, no miracles were done through him to validate his ministry and purpose. No healing miracles like Elisha. No fiery power displays like Elijah. No heroic exploits like David and Deborah and Samson. Just a society misfit baptizing with water, calling to holiness and preaching of a Messiah to come.
Jesus' perspective:
"He was a burning and shining lamp" (John 5)“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11)
Greater than Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Solomon, Samson, Daniel, Deborah... all the great men of Israel? Wow!
Why do I feel endeared to John the baptist? One reason is, we all can identify with him in that, he did not see the big picture. No rock star career. Bewildered at times. His ministry and life seemed futile.
Perhaps it is like the often used illustration of a tapestry that makes no sense when seen from the underside, Just a tangle of threads. But when reversed, is a beautiful pattern.
