Before the featured comedian takes the stage, there’s always few up-and-coming funny guys and gals whose job is to get the crowd laughing. This is their chance to showcase their material and land some future gigs.
John the Baptist, just six months older than Jesus, had the distinction of being his cousin. They kind of met when their pregnant moms got together. In the presence of the unborn incarnate Jesus, John jumped inside his mother.
Do you think they ever spent time together before Jesus shows up at the Jordan to be baptized by John? I like to think they did. As John’s popularity goes through the roof and everyone comes out to hear his preaching and get baptized, He knows he’s just the warm up act for the headliner. And he knows how to stir the crowd into a frenzy. His preaching gets them prepared for the advent of the long-awaited Savior.
John’s is a bittersweet role. Sure, he’s insanely popular, but he has remind his audience that he’s not the Christ. He’s never going to be the star. His popularity will wane as Jesus’s grows. His disciples would abandon him to follow Jesus. He’s not the one. Not even close. Not even good enough to tie Jesus’s shoes.
You and I can’t change people. We want to. But we can’t fix anyone. Only God can do that. All we can do is give people a little taste of what his love, mercy, and forgiveness is like. We can be the appetizer.
John the Baptist gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree. He is the fulfillment of a promised “voice in the wilderness” that gets people ready for the Advent of the Lord. (When John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove.)
Waite for it... 