SCRIPTURE:
“In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ””
Matthew 3:1-2
“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.”
Matthew 4:12
“From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ””
Matthew 4:17
OBSERVATION:
Here we find John the Baptist calling all to repentance from sin and turning to God.
After Jesus’ baptism (by John), and His forty day depletion and testing by the devil, Jesus is made aware that John was arrested, no doubt to never see freedom again.
And the Scriptures say that Jesus basically picked up that very message from John; the message to repent from sin and turn to God—and this time fulfilling what John had told all who heard his message and were baptized by him.
The message? If you came to me to be immersed in water and ritually cleansed inside and out, wait til you see the One I came to announce for!
He will immerse you in FIRE, holy fire, and the power of God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit!
APPLICATION:
In reality, Jesus didn’t pick up John's message of repentance and turning to the LORD.
John was the preview of what the true message from Jesus was to begin with...why He was coming, and what He was going to fulfill.
As disciples of Jesus on the back end of it, we are forerunners of sorts.
We are announcing the RETURN of Jesus, and the need to repent of sins and turn to God...especially in these dark times and falling away of humankind from Jesus.
We must make the call out to all, baptizing those who choose to be, and again, declare that we are NOTHING compared to the One who promised to return someday, with NO warning.
The Scriptures and prophets were fulfilled with Jesus’ first coming. The Scriptures and prophets promise to be fulfilled with His second coming, but this time to fulfill the end, and there will only be two sides to pick.
Our work is not yet done.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, we are the forerunners of Your next coming. Give us the wisdom and the courage to carry the baton faithfully til You come to fulfill all righteousness for the final time.
Til then we push forward. Amen.
