Your 10 & 10 word this morning comes from the Heritage Campus; Ken is back at it tomorrow.
In a press conference this week, Cowboy coach Wade Phillips said of his two runningbacks, Marion Barber and Felix Jones, that 'they both run the same plays, but...er, um, well, you know...they run them differently, which..well, um, you know...makes it hard for defenses.' A similar statement could be made about Jesus and John the Baptist. They both ran the same play--in fact, Jesus, in the next chapter, takes up the message of John the Baptist verbatim: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near'--but what a difference there is between these two! So much difference that John, after having the opportunity to see Jesus at work for a while, sends a representative to ask him pointedly: 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?' Jesus was not cutting the Messiah mustard as far as John was concerned.
John the Baptist, impressive as he is--'the greatest man ever to be born of a woman' according to Jesus--is no Jesus, but he does effectively prepare the way for Jesus. Especially relevant this week are his words to the Pharisees, 'Produce fruit in keeping with repentance...' May our joint study of A Hole in Our Gospel, which begins this Sunday, be such a call for us, one that leads us deeper into the joy of knowing and living out the life of Jesus. RS.
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It's interesting to look at Jesus and John the Baptist as "running the same play." I think the quote you posted, though, Randy, makes sense. I see that quote in the passage in verse 11 where John makes the distinction between Jesus and himself. John can only baptize with water, but Jesus will cleanse them with the Holy Spirit and fire. Both running the same plays, but differently.
ReplyDeleteI also think back to yesterday's blog post about judging people too quickly. John the Baptist took the life of a nomad, and I can imagine he looked pretty ragged. I can only imagine what people thought: was he really sent to prepare the way for a King? Again it teaches us that we cannot judge based on appearances-God doesn't. He sees us for who we truly are. Like John told the Pharisees, simply repenting our sins is not enough, we must honestly change-take up our cross and follow Him.
I appreciate Randy relating this passage to the study of The Hole in the Gospel. I have begun reading it and can see how it might provide a way for God's Spirit to flow in and through us in a powerful way! Maybe it will be our "John" in preparing us for the way of the Lord and using each of us in that way!
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