The Lord Jesus Himself said that out of all men born of women, no one is greater than a man named John the Baptist (see Matthew 11:11). If this is true, then it would be good for us to get to know him.
Who is he and what can we learn from him?
Let's talk about that.
The man born to be a forerunner
John the Baptist was born with a purpose. Like several figures in the Bible, he was born to a barren mother. Both of his parents were also advanced in years (see Luke 1:7), and yet God allowed them to have a son that would play a very important role in God's plan.
The angel Gabriel told John's parents about his role:
"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."" (Luke 1:15-17)
John was born to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
John was born to a priest named Zacharias and a woman named Elizabeth. His mother was a relative of Mary, Jesus' own earthly mother. (see Luke 1:36)
A prophet contented to fulfill his part
John had a great calling upon his life, but he never became puffed up in his mind. He lived a simple life and was content with fulfilling the task that God gave to him.
In Luke 3 we find him doing his ministry, preaching a message of repentance to all people. People were thinking if he was the promised Messiah (see Luke 3:15), but he did not grab that opportunity to exalt himself.
Instead, he humbled himself and acknowledged the truth that he is not the Messiah (see Luke 3:16).
And as Jesus' forerunner, he would quickly point all men to Him:
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.""
"And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."" (John 1:29-34)
Doubt
While many of us think that John the Baptist had God's hand upon him, many of us forget that he himself was only human - and he experienced doubting, too.
In Matthew 11:2-7 we find that John, who was in prison for doing right, sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah.
Early in his ministry, he was the one who testified that Jesus is the Christ. Now, while in prison, he began doubting that, and needed to hear it from Jesus Himself.
Jesus responded by giving proof: God's power to heal, give life, and save people (see Matthew 11:5).
Lessons from John
So what can we learn from John? Here are a few:
1) We are all born for a purpose
John was born with a purpose. Everyone is born with a purpose. And that purpose is to glorify God and worship Him.
John was not the Saviour, but he pointed people to the Saviour. In the same way, we must point people to the Christ.
2) Fulfill your role happily
John the Baptist could have taken advantage of the opportunity to exalt himself among the people's eyes, but he did not. He actually just wanted to fulfill his role:
"He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)
Don't envy others. Don't covet that pastor's pulpit and congregation. Don't envy the worship leader's singing skills. Don't compare your ministry failures to another person's ministry successes.
Just fulfill your God-given role.
3) Come to Jesus with your doubts
John the Baptist, Jesus' own earthly cousin and forerunner who announced the coming Messiah, doubted. Instead of wallowing in doubt and losing hope, however, he sought for Christ's own confirmation of His identity.
This is very, very important. We should all learn to seek God, even more when the doubts creep in. We must not stay away from God when we feel doubtful of Him.
Rather, we are to cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us. (see 1 Peter 5:7)
