John the Baptist (Matthew 3, Luke 1, John 1)

July 20, 2008

 

The story of John the Baptist begins in Luke 1 with the story of his birth. A priestly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, both direct descendants of Aaron, were past the age of childbearing. But Zechariah still harbored a deep desire to have a son.

 

This made me think of the great numbers of married couples today who are childless.  I spent quite a bit of time searching online about the lengths to which couples in their 40’s or older are going to conceive.  It was an amazing study—quite an eye opener. Let me share just one fact with you: In England and Wales in 2006, 669,601 babies were born.  110,509 were born to women 35-39 (about 1 in 6), 22,512 to women aged 40-44 (about 1 in 30), and 1,123 to women 45-49 (17 out of 10,000) (http://www/mothers35plus.co.uk/intro.htm).  Zechariah and Elizabeth did not have today’s medical options available to them. They did, however, have the one option available to men and women of all generations—an honest, seeking prayer offered up to our Heavenly Father. That is what John’s birth is about.

 

In the pinnacle moment of his priestly career, his one opportunity to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense for the nation of Israel, incense representing the prayers of the nation, Zechariah was not focused on the honor of this moment, but on his own heart’s desire. The desire for a son consumed him. In listening to childless couples talk and in my reading online, in magazines, and in the newspaper, the intensity of this desire to bear a child when the opportunity has been denied for one reason or another is truly this all consuming. Like so many others, hope and desires remain despite the obvious facts.

 

The words of the angel sent in response to Zechariah’s prayers are intriguing: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:13-17).

 

Notice, the first words from the angel address Zechariah’s fear at being in the presence of one who lives before the throne of God.  These words are followed by a statement that his prayer has been heard and now answered.  Then Zechariah is given a set of commands he and Elizabeth are to follow in raising John.  Finally, the angel tells Zechariah John’s life will serve a singular purpose.

 

We will return to these four points after I share another part of my research with you. I wondered if children born to older parents showed any significant differences from children born to younger parents. I could not find any such information. In fact, it is amazing how little if any research has been done on the later lives of children born to parents over 40, probably because recent medical advances is all that is making this possible. So as we look at John’s life, the only point my research turned up that has any significance whatsoever is stated in one article by Tina Georgeou: “There is this constant thought hanging over your head that you may not be there when your child is 20, or when she’s 35.  I don’t think it ever enters a younger parent’s mind” (AARP, “Oh, Baby” by Susan Crandell, September & October 2005; http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/ oh_baby.html?print=yes).   

 

That is what did indeed happen with John. Both of his parents were dead by the time he began his public ministry, while Mary, a teenage bride, was still alive when Jesus, just a few months younger than John, began his public ministry. Matthew states that John grew into the man he became in the Desert of Judea, and referred to himself as “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” He goes on to say John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1f).

 

Statistics do not valid any direct correlation between losing both parents when you are in or before your 20’s or losing one or none of them. Children have a way of defying all statistics and generalizations. One situation might be easier in one way, but John is proof that the easy path is not always the best path.  What made John great was his acceptance of the circumstances surrounding his birth and his subsequent singular focus.

 

From the facts that John was born and he was named John as the angel instructed Zechariah we know Zechariah overcame his fear and became a father. It is obvious John was born in answer to prayer and not through some medical miracle. John’s later life also reflects the fact that Zechariah did his best to communicate the angel’s words to John concerning his birth.  John’s ascetic nature reflects well on the angel’s command that John not take fermented wine or drink. This singular focus—“Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord"—was accepted and owned by John as his words describing who he is reflect.

 

For me, this is the key to the story of John and maybe for all children. Let’s take a lesson from King Asa.  2 Chronicles 16:11f talks about the last years of his reign.  It says, “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.”

 

Science and medicine or the science of medicine is possible because God created the universe in an orderly fashion.  If all events were random, the healing and helping abilities of modern medicine would be impossible.  But because our bodies are so similar if not identical, what helps one of us most likely will help another.  And because aspects of our bodies are similar to lower forms of creation, we are able to experiment on animals and even insects instead of human beings. If every medical step forward man has ever taken required experimentation on living human beings, I cannot imagine the horrors man would perpetrate on other men. But God, in his wisdom, created an orderly universe that science now seeks to use as a proof that no God exists.

 

That was the sin of Asa.  God did not judge him for seeking the aid of physicians, but in not also seeking God’s help. The trials we face in life are often “solvable” without the aid of God.  Common sense, logic, good advice, and yes, the sciences, can often provide us with helpful information and even fulfillment of most of our desires. But John tells us that our purpose on earth is not to point man to the sciences, but to use the sciences to point to God. Scripture tells us John’s purpose in life was to “Make straight the way for the Lord” (John 1:23). Put in simpler terms, John’s purpose was to make it easier for people to find Jesus.  His life was to be a sign post pointing, directing people on how they could find the solutions to their innermost desires.  

 

Another angel in communicating part of the Revelation to John handed John the little scroll and told him, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." When John ate it, it did indeed taste as sweet as honey in his mouth, but it turned his stomach sour. The words of the Lord taste sweet to the one who lives by them, but they also speak to sins of “peoples, nations, languages and kings” (Revelation 10:9-11).

 

All of us have to live with unfulfilled desires.  For whatever reason, God withholds things from us in this world mainly so that we will seek Him and His solutions.  Satan offers many shortcuts that at first taste as sweet as honey but later, when we have to deal with the consequences of our choices, they turn our stomachs sour. Desiring a child is a good thing.  God commanded us to reproduce and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28) so we know this desire comes from Him.  When we desire something good and are asked to live without it, we like Zechariah, are allowed to continue to assault the throne of God with our prayers until we get His answer.  Sometimes the answer is in the continual asking, the living without that which we desire and still serving God through and during our waiting.  Others will tell you sometimes the answer is “no.”  I prefer to say, as John’s life shows, we were created to make it easy for others to find Jesus. Whatever happens, whether it is comparable to the loss of an elderly parent, growing up in the desert, living the life of an ascetic and not knowing where your next meal will come from, or even if it is a comparably easy life with a spouse, three kids, two pets, and lots of money in a big home—all of our lives should center around bringing people to Jesus.  Life takes us down different paths to meet different people so that all might have the opportunity to hear the gospel and be saved.  While living with your unfulfilled desires, share with others the only solution that ultimately satisfies—the joy of knowing and serving Jesus, the companionship of the Holy Spirit, and surety of an eternal home with God the loving Father.