Bible Thoughts: Matthew 3

Matthew 3 tells the story of John the Baptist and Jesus' baptism. After reading the chapter a few times this morning I've become more interested in John the Baptist. With his fashion sense and diet (camel hair clothing; locusts & honey), he seems like a holier Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild. Aferall, John was a voice in the wilderness. The thing that really strikes me about John is how committed he was to his mission, which was to tell people: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Everything he did was centered around that statement. I think in our society when someone is so passionate to a cause, mission or a movement we become interested. We start to gravitate towards the message because passion is contagious and that's exactly what happend to John. The people of Jersualem and Judea flocked to him to hear his message. It was a hard message to swallow, but one they knew they needed. John's commitment to his message didn't falter when faced with a tough situation. He confronted the Pharisees and Saducees with the truth that their ways were leading to a way of fire even though I'm sure he was aware that this was going to be the road to his demise. John also knew his place. He was never the boss and he knew it. When Jesus came and asked John to baptise him, John said no way. In John's mind it was probably akin to Michael Jordan wanting John Stockton to dunk his ally-oop pass, instead of the other way around. Perhaps John was hoping that Jesus would baptise him in a way that would fulfill his mission and ministry. I love Jesus' response in the NASB translation: "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus is putting the power in John's hands.

What can I take away from this? Passion can be contagious, but I already know that sustaining that kind of passion is difficult. Keep the message simple, John's message was simple to understand, but difficult to do. In the end Jesus gives us the power to fulfill His mission in us.

Lord, help me to sustain the passion for your calling in my life. When times are difficult or I'm confronted about it, please take my hand and guide me through. Give me a simple message and remind me that the power to deliver this message comes from you...