Who Governs You?
“It was at this time that John the Baptizer began to preach in the desert of Judah. His message was this: “Heaven’s kingdom is about to appear—so you’d better keep turning away from evil and turn back to God!” Isaiah was referring to John when he prophesied: A thunderous voice! One will be crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare yourself for the Lord’s coming and level a straight path inside your hearts for him.” Matthew 3
Who is John the Baptizer? He was the son of a Jewish Priest named Zechariah. He served in the temple as part of the Abijah order. King David organized the priests into 24 divisions and Abijah was the head of the priestly families. So, Zechariah was at the top of the temple priests. John’s mother was Elizabeth who was also from a family of priest. She was a descendant of Aaron. There was a prophesy given to Zechariah concerning his son. While serving in the Holy of Holies in the temple, which was a once in a lifetime opportunity because there were thousands of priests, so they were in the temple once in their lifetime to burn incense. The angel of the Lord, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah. He says in Luke 1, “His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him, and he will be one of the great ones in the sight of God. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb. And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God. He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet. He will be instrumental in turning the hearts of the fathers in tenderness back to their children and the hearts of the disobedient back to the wisdom of their righteous fathers. And he will prepare a united people who are ready for the Lord’s appearing.” When John was born this is what his father said of him, “And to you I prophesy, my little son, you will be known as the prophet of the Most High. You will be a forerunner, going before the face of Lord Yahweh, to prepare hearts to embrace his ways. You will preach to his people the revelation of salvation, the cancellation of all our sins, to bring us back to God. The splendor-light of heaven’s glorious sunrise is about to break upon us in holy visitation, all because the merciful heart of our God is so very tender. The word from heaven will come to us with dazzling light to shine upon those who live in darkness, near death’s dark shadow. And he will illuminate the path that leads to the way of peace.”
At the end of Luke chapter 1 we are told John grew up and was strengthened by the Holy Spirit and grew in His love for Yahweh. John was raised by two parents who were filled with the Holy Spirit. We get this information about Elizabeth when she encountered Mary and both Elizabeth and John (in the womb) were filled with the Holy Spirit and Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit right before he prophesied concerning his son. Then we are told John chose to live in the lonely wilderness until his time of ministry.
Why is this important? We see the perfect plan of Yahweh in John’s life to set the stage for Jesus. What an incredible opportunity to prepare the way for the Messiah. In Matthew 3, John is beginning to share the message, “repent and return to Yahweh for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” He is baptizing people in the Jordan as they repent. His ministry grows to the point he now has disciples. He was a bold, in your face prophet who told people just how it was and what they should do moving forward. John understood the truth of the coming Messiah. Everything he said in the wilderness was right. Matthew 3, “But when he waded into the water, John resisted him, saying, “Why are you doing this? I’m the one who needs to be baptized by you, and yet you come to be baptized by me?” Jesus replied, “It is only right to do all that God requires.” Then John baptized Jesus. And as Jesus rose up out of the water, the heavenly realm opened up over him and he saw the Holy Spirit descend out of the heavens and rest upon him in the form of a dove. Then suddenly the voice of the Father shouted from the sky, saying, “This is my Son—the Beloved! My greatest delight is in him.”
Everyone hears the voice of Abba coming from heaven making a declaration of who Jesus is. At this very moment, what should John have done? He had 40 days while Jesus was in the wilderness to let his disciples know we will follow Jesus the Messiah from this moment on. As we wait for him to emerge from the wilderness let’s pack up all our things and let everyone know He is the One we follow now. He did not do any of that. Instead, he continued on with HIS ministry. He continued to baptize people and tell them to repent. As time went on and Jesus’ crowd grew larger and larger John realized his ministry was getting smaller. Even at this point, he could have chosen to follow Jesus, but he didn’t. We all know the story. John eventually goes to the streets to tell people about their sins and make a big deal to the point he ends up in prison. While in prison he sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him if he was the one they were waiting for or do we look for another.
How do you understand and know the truth about Jesus yet lose the path to Jesus? Here is a troubling thought. Someone (us) can confess, believe in our heart, preach the right thing and still lead people away from Jesus. This is why it is so important to have a father lead you and why it is important to tether yourself to a family. John the Baptizer wasn’t tethered to anyone, and he refused to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. He lost his life in such a horrible way because he let too much distance come between him and Jesus.
When we find Jesus, we must surrender to His Lordship. We must be willing to walk away from things that have brought us success if and when He asks us to. Abba is a good Father and wherever He leads is so much better than what He is asking us to walk away from. It is so important to tether yourself to a kingdom family and a father who loves you. This journey in Kingdom lifestyle has never been meant to do alone.
I encourage you to read the book of Luke and put yourself in the story. Ask the Holy Spirit where you have refused to lay something down to follow Jesus. He is our identity. We can’t find it anywhere else.
