Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John the Baptist represented a unique event in human history. He was literally a herald of the new king. Those who sent the messengers to inquire of John were asking John to tell them plainly who he was. John’s response shows that he understood people have to make up their own minds about him.
Q: If you were able to ask John the Baptist one question, what would you ask?
Who is your Lord?
Would you like to come over for dinner?
I would want to know how God talks with him.
I don’t know if you have ever had the pleasure of being in a camel’s company, but they stink…really stink. The fact that the scripture tells us the John’s clothes were woven from camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4) fascinates me because I WANNA KNOW, how did you not walk around stinking? Camel smell does not go away easily. Also, did you dip the locust in the honey and eat them like French fries, or was it more of a stew?
All joking aside, I would love to ask John about the baptism of Jesus. From what I can research, it appears that John submerged Jesus in the water, which means John was one of the few people in the world to hold Jesus in his arms, and at the very least touch Him.
Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
In Mark 5:21-34, we learn of a woman who touched Jesus’s cloak and Jesus felt the power go from Him and He asked “who touched me?”
I would ask John what it was to touch Jesus, and to stand there and witness the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus as a dove. What was it like to hear God speak about His Son?
Chris,
I love your point about John holding Jesus in his arms. That is a beautiful thought, a touching mental image.
Your points about John’s choice of clothes and diet are good ones, too. It highlights the deprivation experienced by John. His life prior to starting his ministry was similar to Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness.
My own personal question of John is similar to yours. I would like to know how he spent his time in the wilderness. John’s parents were old when he was born. They may have passed away, leaving John on his own, or John might have simply left home at some point. How long was he in the wilderness? A year? Ten years? More?
And what did he do?
If you can live in a camel hair suit on a diet of bugs and honey, that leaves you a lot of time to sit and think. Come to think of it, maybe that is something I could use more of myself…
Jeff, thanks for posting these again. Like Chris I would want to hear about Jesus baptism. It is one of my favorite moments in the gospel story.
Blessings,
Nathan
Hi Nathan!
Thank you for checking in! There is a Latin phrase, “pro forma” which means “for the sake of form.” In all things our Lord has set the example for us!