January 01, 2019
BIBLE READING: MARK 1
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…….
6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost…….
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
The first comment I would like to make is what a site John the Baptist must have been. God goes out of His way to even comment in His Word specifically about what John the Baptist wore and what he looked like. The passage even tells us what he ate. It seems odd that were given these details about John, when these details are rarely given about individuals in the Bible. I guess that God is making the point that John looked different, acted different, and made quite an impression. Maybe God was also making the point that we should not judge a book by its cover.
As the forerunner to Christ, John taught two principles in verse seven that are powerful. When speaking of Christ, John said “There cometh one mightier than I after me”. It would serve each of us well today to begin by remembering that God is mightier than us. You can take Him on if you want to, and fight against Him if you wish to, but you will not win. One of the greatest things that you and I can share with others is how weak we are, and how strong God is. Encourage them that we fail, but God does not. Teach them that Christians will fail them, but Christ never will. I am thankful today that God is mightier than I.
John then says in this verse, “I am not worthy”. He goes even further to say that he was not worthy to even loosen the shoes on Jesus’ feet. You and I should remember today that God is mighty, and we are not. We also need to remember that God is worthy, and we are not. God is worthy to get all the glory, and we are not worthy to get any of the glory. Has it bothered you lately that you did not get noticed, thanked, appreciated, or mentioned for some deed or service that you performed? Have you been bothered that you did not get the credit for something that you did?
What is interesting to me, as you see John for cleaning Christ exactly the way he was supposed to, we see that John was put in prison. Just a reminder today that you can do what’s right, and even what God tells you to do, and difficult things can still come your way. Let’s go out today and tell people that God is mighty, that God is worthy, and let’s not be surprised if some difficulty comes our way. Remember when it does that God is stronger than you are.