Matthew 3:1-2

Matthew 3:1-2 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

John the Baptist is only talked about in the Word a couple of times. Unlike the stories we see of most of the great men, with John we only see the good he did. We only get a small glimpse of him as he came in contact with Jesus.

Based on what we know of John let’s take a look at him from the perspective of his Loved ones. Think about what they would have thought as they watched John leave everything he knew to go live in the desert. Dressed in the skin of a camel and eating only bugs and honey he had to look a little crazy. Then he starts preaching.

“The kingdom of heaven is near,” he tells the people as he baptizes anyone who will come to him. It was evident that people were drawn to him, but for someone who knew him it had to look a little strange.

If he had wanted to get into the religious world this was not the typical path one would take. This had never been done before. As we read the bible we can see the full picture. We see how he went out and then Jesus ended up also getting baptized by him. As Jesus talks about John we see that his purpose was to prepare the way. 

So the point I want you to see about this story of John is this: God may tell you to do something that looks crazy and may even seem crazy to you. As you step out and start acting on it those around you may not agree with what you are doing. Don’t let them affect you. Once Jesus shows up it will all come together and make sense.