SATURDAY, JANUARY 6
Luke 1:14-17
Isaiah 40:3-5

“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together…”

THE PURPOSES OF THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

John the Baptist’s birth made the people rejoice. It caused gladness to the people of Israel for he represented the dawning of that day when their long-awaited Messiah would come. Although the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, the Bible prophesied that soon they will look on Him whom they have pierced (Zech 12:10-11). The rejoicing was because John would be great in the Lord’s sight. He was chosen for an extraordinary purpose, which was to prepare the way for the Lord’s first advent.

He was also separated from evil and was filled with the Holy Spirit since conception. Thus Jesus said of him, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist …” (Matt 11:11a). He would make the children of Israel turn to the Lord. John preached repentance of sins. Many Jews in those days trusted the ceremonial, moral and extra-Biblical laws prescribed by the Pharisees and scribes for their salvation. They thought obedience to their traditions and sacrifices as demanded by the law were the means for them to be reconciled to God. They trusted in what they could do rather than what God would do for them. John’s mission was to turn the hearts of the people to seek the right way. He caused people to know that they had strayed from the Lord. He would point out their lack of righteousness that they may hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As prophesied, he would herald the coming of the Lord (Matt 3:3; Isa 40:3-5). John’s main mission was to announce the coming of the Messiah. In John 1:29, he pointed to Jesus as the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He identified Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Christians are to be heralds of Christ’s second coming. His second coming begins with the rapture of the saints saving us from the wrath to come. May the Lord help you and me to be as faithful as John the Baptist in proclaiming Jesus’ second coming.

THOUGHT: Have I been a herald of my Lord Jesus Christ?
PRAYER: Lord, let me wholeheartedly obey Thy commission for me to proclaim the imminent return of my Saviour and Lord.