daily java

Daily Java:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:29-31 NLT)

Sometimes something is right in front of you and you do not know it.

John the Baptizer probably knew Jesus. They were cousins and Mary considered herself close to Elizabeth, John’s mother. It stands to reason that they maybe even played together as children on occasion.

But Isaiah 53 says, There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. there was nothing so outstanding about Jesus, especially before he began preaching, that made him stand out. He was, as the book of Hebrews says again and again, a regular person.

So John would not have known until Jesus came to him to be baptized and it dawned on him that here was the Messiah, come to save Israel.

The first dawning was when Jesus came out to be baptized. John told him that, when it came down to it, Jesus needed to baptize him. But he baptized Jesus anyway.

After the baptism, a dove came down and sat on Jesus’ shoulder. Only John saw it. But it was enough for him to know that the reason he came had been fulfilled.

He told everybody this. He said that he was not baptizing as the final baptism. The one coming after him would baptize with fire.

John would use water, the Messiah would use the Holy Spirit. John would baptize toward a single second chance, the Messiah would baptize in grace for a life of second chances. John’s baptism to repentance would be temporary, the Messiah’s would be permanent.

But John had the presence of mind to know that he was not preaching toward himself. He was preaching toward the Messiah.

And when he saw Jesus at the water’s edge, he knew that this man Jesus was that Messiah, that son of God, that Savior of mankind. And he already knew him and didn’t realize it.

He said, He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (John 3:31 NLT).

It would be a mixture of feelings to see the Messiah standing in front of you. To show him to the world was why you came. And here he was. Now what do you do? Your job is finished and your mission complete.

You go on until God tells you to quit. But John knows, he has done what God told him to do.

It may feel like we are through, that we are finished in life and don’t have anything left to do, but we continue.

The apostle Paul, one who was getting tired of life, said:

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. (Philippians 1:20-25)

He was ready to go but God had not yet released him. The difference between John and Paul, of course, was that Paul was much older when he wrote this. John the Baptizer was still a young man, only 30-31 years old. He still theoretically had a lot of years left in preaching of Jesus.

It didn’t work out that way. It wasn’t long before he was killed. But he died knowing his mission had been finished.

And he saw the Messiah, and he already knew him.