Superman is
easy to pick out in a crowd provided he is not out of costume. Any figure able
to squeeze into smashing tights and a cape instantly conjures the image of “hero.”
The Incredibles helped us rethink the whole cape thing; nevertheless, we still
have this modern-day picture of a figure based on those tell-tale signs.
The Gospel of
Mark begins with a description of a very peculiar man. He is dressed in camel’s
hair with a leather belt around his waist and his diet is locusts and wild
honey. We are also told the whole country of Judea was going out to him and all
the people of Jerusalem and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan
river, confessing their sins.
Now, what was
attractive about this man? Why were so many going out to him, spilling their
guts and being baptized? Was it is attire? What does the dress say about a man?
Guys, there’s a great website out there called, “The Art of Manliness” which
comes complete with a section on dress and grooming.
Yes, men must be told how to dress and groom; otherwise, we would look like a
bunch of wild men, and smell like wild men too. Catching where this is going?
John the Baptist was a sight to behold, to be sure. I am confident that many
did not go out to copy his attire nor did anyone come very close to him unintentionally.
One almost visualizes people approaching him for baptism, holding their noses.
But they were not looking at him this particular moment, were they? They were
looking beyond him . . .
People were
going out to him not because of his wardrobe and diet. People were going out to
him because of his voice and because of what he was saying. People were going
out to him because his voice was recognizable. Why is his voice so familiar? His
voice is ancient and the gospel writer tells us something about John long
before he is identifiable with the eye.
God in His
unchanging Word said he was coming. “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold,
I send my messenger before you who will prepare your way. The voice of one
crying in the wilderness . . .” 400 years before John was born, God made this
voice heard and anyone who read scripture heard it. This is why his voice was
familiar. Mark says in the next verse, “John appeared in the wilderness
preaching . . .” What was John preaching but the same message God said he would
preach, “Make ready the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight!” When John
preached, he said “One is coming who is mightier than I . . .” John said the
Lord was coming, so get ready. This is why people repented: God’s Word was at
work.
Dr. Robertson
McQuilkin in his book, “Understanding and Applying the Bible,” describes three
purposes for prophecy: first, to establish the authentic of the one who is
speaking. God had John’s back. Second, to cause a change in those who heard and
this is precisely what happened. Finally, to establishing confidence in God who
foretold the events. People were directed to look beyond John through the lens
of scripture in the power of God’s Holy Spirit to see Him who was coming.
John is a divinely
promised messenger preaching a divinely promised message for the divinely
promised Messiah. The message he delivered was in a recognizable prophetic
voice declaring “Make ready the way of
the Lord,” meaning that people cannot carry on as they always have. Change
is required—not a change of clothes or diet but change of heart.
The Bible is God’s
unchanging word, so as you move through the world, take a moment to consider
the source of your confidence for ministry. Who is your supreme your subject in
every way you handle and dispense scripture? How dare anyone presume it fails!
