Read John 1:19-28
Don’t Look At Me! Look At Jesus!
John the Baptist had been baptizing many people as he preached a baptism of repentance. He was preparing the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus. His popularity grew a lot and he was very well known even amongst the priests and Levites. Some of them approached John asking who he was. They wondered if he was the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet. He said no to all. But they were persistent to know who he was. 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.” In other words, John was the forerunner who was preparing people for the actual coming Messiah.
This puzzled the priest and Levites, so they asked, “Then why do you baptize if you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John explained that he baptized with water, but the Messiah will baptize with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (and that baptism will both save and transform lives).
A part of me wants to be like John and help point people to Jesus. In order to do so, I need to understand the message I send is not just a message of love but also of repentance. What I do not want to have happen is that I get people so interested in what I’m doing, that they focus more on me than they do Jesus. John had a huge captivated audience, but he was consistent in his message, that someone greater than he is coming. May I also be consistent in pointing people to Jesus. It’s not all about me, it’s all about Jesus!
