John and Jesus

It's interesting to note the ways that John prepares the way for Jesus. John is a prophet, and so is Jesus; John's preaching is immersed in Isaiah the prophet, and so is Jesus'. What we read in Luke 3, the content of John's message is fundamentally the same as that of Jesus. Jesus and John have a similar message: repent for forgiveness of sins.

It's important to know why the message is so similar: both John and Jesus are trying to point people to God. Both John and Jesus are servants of God, committed to hearing the word of God, communicating to the crowds, and living with integrity - they walk the talk. John and Jesus are not equals, and they do not have the exact same message - their lives play out differently in some ways, they they both have similar birth and death stories. In terms of their relation to each other, John has come to serve Jesus, to prepare the people with a message. Jesus needs John to prepare the way, to reintroduce the message of Isaiah, to reinterpret it so that the people will see Jesus rightly.

In many ways, we ought to pay more attention to John, if we are to better understand Jesus. John's message is full of rich allusions to Isaiah and other OT prophets, and from it Jesus builds his message to the masses. But what is most important is that we catch what John and Jesus together reveal to us about God, his work in the world, and what he is trying to communicate to us still through these two prophets. Does John's message still have a place in our world today? You betcha. It maybe that we need to preach a little more John in our work to help people get prepared for Jesus. It maybe that we need to get more of John if we want to get more of Jesus.

What kind of questions might John ask that rattle us, disturb us, get a rise out of us - a reaction that moves us to considering reality and our readiness of Jesus?

Am I slithery snake trying to escape the consequences of my actions?

Am I producing fruit in keeping with my repentance?

Am I pretending to be something I am not?

Am I afraid my secrets will get out?

Am I avoiding the truth?

Am I ready to do right?