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.” Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.” (John 1:29-51)

It is funny that you can look at something for a long time and then suddenly see it.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, and John’s mother, Elizabeth were close. More than likely, since she was so much older, Elizabeth had died in the time between the conceptions and John’s and Jesus’ adulthoods. But since the two women were close, it is probably John and Jesus knew each other.

And all this time, John had looked at Jesus and just saw his cousin. Then, when Jesus came to be baptized, John realized that he was more that just his cousin. He was the Messiah John had been sent to proclaim.

It probably didn’t surprise him, or shock him. Jesus lived such a life that John’s revelation was more an “Oh, yeah!” moment than anything else.

I was working out in a gym in the middle 1990’s. I had taken a couple of college courses and got a free gym class as part of the deal. So I decided to do weight-lifting. There were all kinds of people in there, and I was ultimately paired up with another guy who wanted to lift a lot. Near the end of the course, he mentioned something, did I like to do that. I said no, I didn’t do whatever he said. he thought back across the time we had been together and said, well, what are you? Some kind of preacher?

I hadn’t told him what I did so I answered yes and then waited for his response. His answer: Oh. That makes sense.

I considered for a moment if he would be shocked. You! A preacher? But it didn’t surprise him and I was glad.

When John saw Jesus, he wasn’t shocked. Surprised, yes. The Messiah had been under his nose all this time, but shocked? No.

John didn’t know what was going to happen now. But he knew his job was to introduce the Messiah in the spirit of Elijah (Malachi 3). And he had done it. How much more would he work and what else would he do for the Messiah? He didn’t know, but he knew this: his main job was through.

It wasn’t any time until he was dead, beheaded by a man  who secretly admired him on the whim of a girl of dubious morality. A sad way to go. But as Jesus said, a great man.