ニューイングランドの母校から、今年もアドベントの日々メッセージ その6 DECEMBER 7, 2018 A Strange Messenger Mark 1:1-3

ニューイングランドの母校から、今年もアドベントの日々メッセージ　その6
DECEMBER 7, 2018
A Strange Messenger
Mark 1:1-3

"The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way’— ‘a voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him."'" (NIV).

"Daddy, why does that man eat bugs and make clothes out of hair?" asked one of my kids.

And for the first time the strangeness of John the Baptist stood out to me. Not the heroic man I had seen in my mind. Not the man with fierce eyes, looking back at me in paintings of John’s ministry. The weird guy who used honey as a condiment for his locusts.

The prophets had always done elaborate things to get Israel’s attention, so John is not unique. What is unique is the way the gospels tell us Jerusalem and the surrounding areas were rushing to see John. His preaching was scorched earth, but Israel wanted those words and cried out for holiness.

Part of what drove Israel to the River Jordan was the fact that God had not sent a prophet in roughly 400 years. Prior to that, they had just returned home from Babylon, following men like Ezra and Nehemiah. But even with some early hope of repentance, Israel began to return to the old ways. Then the heavens grew quiet. Now they were home, but it still felt like exile.

But then John the Baptist strides into the story. And Israel again could hear from the Lord.

They would discover, however, that John’s message was different from the old prophets. He said he was just a messenger of one who will come to show them what it truly meant to hear from God. His baptism of repentance fit the Old Covenant, but Christ is coming and will pour out the Holy Spirit. This was not just a restoration, but also a dramatic reshaping of God’s relationship with his people. More than merely sending leaders to God’s people, the Lord himself came and dwelt in human flesh.

Ryan Reeves, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Historical Theology