December 22nd
At Christmas, there is only room for one miraculous birth. And rightly so. Everything centers on Jesus. But just a few months before Jesus was born, there was another birth that was a bit miraculous and created a sense of awe. It was the birth of John. His story, like Jesus’ story, is filled with surprises, messages from angels, signs, and wonders.
In some ways, the birth of John paved the way for the birth of Jesus. And that was a fitting beginning for John. In fact, that would be John’s legacy. He would be the one to get the people ready for Jesus.
John’s life was the fulfillment of a prophecy. He was vital to the story! But the story was not about him.
John was the earthly cousin of Jesus. And he gave his life to expand Jesus’ family.
John was a preacher. And his preaching prepared people for Jesus’ coming.
John was a baptizer. And his baptisms demonstrated the nature of what Jesus had come to do.
John set the stage for Jesus!
John’s life proves that you don’t have to be the miracle to be a miracle.
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. 67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Luke 1:57-80
Right now, take a moment to recommit yourself to living as John lived. As someone who gave all he had to point people to Jesus. John knew he was not the center of the story. His job was to live the story and tell the story as loudly as he could.