Following
his proclamation of the good news concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Mark
the author quoted two Old Testament prophecies. He combined one prophecy from Malachi
and one from Isaiah and alluded it to the coming of John the Baptist. In so
doing he had linked the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the God of the Old
Covenant.
In
God’s plan for the propagation of the Gospel, John the Baptist was sent to pave
the way for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.
This John the Baptist was the fore-runner whom God had promised in Malachi
3:1 whom He would send. And he was also the voice that Isaiah 4:30 spoke about.
John was the voice crying in the wilderness calling for the people to be ready
for the coming of the Messiah.
As
a fulfilment of these prophecies, John the Baptist came to the wilderness as
God had ordained. The wilderness here refers to the wilderness of Judea. This
was the very place where God made himself known to Moses in Exodus 3. It was
here that King David and also Elijah sought refuge in 1 Samuel 23-26 and 1
Kings 19 respectively.
John the Baptist emerged in that same wilderness with a
three-prong message: Firstly, he called the people into a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. And we are told that many people throughout Judea,
as well as those from Jerusalem, came to listen to him. And many of them who heard
his message, were convinced, confessed their sins and were baptized by John the
Baptist at River Jordan.
Secondly, John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus Christ, the
One Whom he came to proclaim, would be mightier. This Jesus was coming into the
world scene. The greatness of the Messiah humbled John. He even felt unworthy to
untie the straps of the Messiah’s sandals. Thirdly, John proclaimed that this Jesus,
the Messiah, would be the Baptizer of the Holy Spirit. He did not come just to
wash away our sin but to fill our lives with God’s presence.
In
verse 6, Mark deviated to tell us the kind of simple lifestyle John the Baptist
led. His clothing was made of camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt around his
waist. His diet was also simple
comprising of locust and wild honey.
John’s whole life was God’s voice. He was not just a
prophet, he was prophecies revealed. How he lived and what he said, was God
speaking to the people. He was God’s message demonstrated. Like John, our lives
must demonstrate God’s Word daily! Let’s not just speak God’s Word; let’s be
the live demonstration of God’s Word daily!
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