Read: Mark 1:1-8
Did you hear about that Sunday morning when a man stood in our parking lot loudly shouting that we needed to repent? His words were neither polite nor deferential. We could tell he had no seminary training. To top it off, the man looked like a homeless person. The pungent aroma from his lunch bag was a blend of locusts and wild honey. What would we do? The man was certainly odd and walked way outside of the box.
WILD MAN JOHN
John the Baptist was so far outside the box that the box broke. He was dedicated with a Nazarite vow before birth, thus forbidden to cut his hair. John would not fit into most conservative Christian circles. John was a wild man – he grew up in the wilderness. He is called “Baptist” not due to church denomination, but because he baptized people.
JOHN’S BAPTISM
You may be wondering, “What’s the big deal with John baptizing?” John’s baptism was not the ritual Jewish washings but similar to the one-time washing of Gentile proselytes, showing they rejected paganism and accepted the Jewish faith. No upstanding Jewish person would be baptized this way. It required them to see themselves as outsiders (like the Gentiles) and acknowledge they were no more fit for the Messiah’s kingdom than the Gentiles.
The crowds that ran to hear John the Baptist were desperate for spiritual light. Trapped by the Pharisees’ religious practices, they existed in a dark world. A joyless list of endless rules and traditions consumed their days. There was no hope. John gave them hope. A person baptized by John made an outward declaration of inward repentance. Crowds of Jewish people were being baptized. They wanted change.
THE GOD REVEALER
After 400 years of silence from God, John was the opening act signaling this change. An opening act warms up the audience, builds energy, and sets the tone for the headliner. In this case, the headliner was Christ, the Messiah. John was the “God-Revealer” (John 1:29-31) for Jesus Christ. Christ, in Greek, means “anointed”, referring to a person chosen, such as a king. First-century Romans understood the term to refer to the arrival, ascendancy, and triumph of an emperor. The great news in Mark’s Gospel, calling Jesus the Christ, is that the most glorious king arriving for the world is not Caesar, but Jesus.
GOD CHOOSES THE FOOLISH TO SHAME THE WISE
God chose His own man as the opening act for Jesus. “But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong” (I Corinthians 1:27). God thinks outside the box and calls people to obediently follow Him regardless of whether the path is conventional, regular, or typical. He looks for John’s mindset. Referring to Christ, John said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).
Are you willing to walk out of the box with God? John ran with God. His path was never easy. God called him to be outspoken, to live away from convenience, and to be willing to obey, even unto death. God gave John the job of preaching to a group of people who had not heard good news in 400 years.
A prayer which God will always answer is: “Regardless of the cost, Lord, what are you calling me to do today?”