Monday, 18 December 2006
John The Baptist
Today I have done a little Bible reading. In church yesterday we heard about John the Baptist. John was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" who prepared the way for Christ by baptising and preaching about the coming of the Messiah.
I found what was said fascinating and so today decided to look into the early part of his story a little more. Luke, Chapter 1, verse 5 (New King James version) reads:
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth."
These two were John the Baptist's parents. His father was a priest and his mother was descended from Aaron, thus giving John the right to baptise Jews in the name of the Lord. But these two were old and barren; the mere fact that they had a baby boy at this time in their lives was a miracle!
I can understand his father's surprise at being told the news by an angel. He was struck dumb as a result of his disbelief, and only regained his voice after the birth of his child. Imagine what a spectacle it must have been when he left the temple and returned to the crowd, unable to speak!
And then, later, when Mary, the mother of Jesus, visited Elizabeth while they were both pregnant, the following happened (Luke, Chapter 1, verse 41, New King James version):
"And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."
The baby in her womb - John - did not simply kick or move slightly. We are told he "leaped" and his mother became filled with the Holy Spirit! It must have been incredible to witness this meeting. :)
John was marked from before birth as someone with an important duty to perform. He called people to repent and told them of Christ...
...perhaps I ought to be doing more to share my faith with others, and tell people about Christ's merciful love. I admit, I find it difficult to share my beliefs because I feel they are very personal, but I think I ought to try a little harder from now on.
