“I am a voice, crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord” (Jn.1:23)
I suspect that the questions posed to John were not asked by the “common folk” who came to both hear and be baptized by John. The questioners are identified as the priests, Levites and proteges of the Pharisees. It was to this group that John used his harshest criticisms. It took courage and a clear conviction for John to stand alone when the barbs of accusation were hurled against him.
There are times, as with John, that you may have to stand alone. Only your calling and absolute trust in Christ will hold you when the going gets tough, and it will. Your calling, your integrity, even your walk with Christ may be questioned. Yet it may be that God might be calling you to be that voice crying in the wilderness.
A young widow with small children hears the plight of other young widows on an island in the Caribbean and goes because “the love of Christ compels her.” A young man with a growing family stays in a foreign land, even though times are lean, because his calling is from Christ. A young couple hear the “Macedonian call” and follow the leading of the Spirit.
How does one describe that fire that burns within the soul, that passion to win the lost, that hunger that only Christ can satisfy? How does one explain John’s unwillingness to bend to the spiritual elite, to dilute the message, to make himself acceptable to the religious rulers? There is only one answer. “His calling was not from man, nor through man but came as a revelation from God” (Gal.1:1). When God touches your life, like John, you must remain true, regardless.
The question asked of John was “Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ or the prophet?” A similar question may be asked of you? “Who gives you the authority to preach or win the lost to Christ?” How would you answer? What would you say? John knew his calling but more so He knew his God. “I baptize with water but there is among you someone whom you do not know” (26). Like Nicodemus, these were the spiritual leaders and yet they missed the broader message of Isaiah, “The voice crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.” (Is.40:3). Multitudes flocked to hear his message, “Repent and get ready to meet the One who baptizes with fire and the Holy Spirit” (Lk.3:16).
There is a caveat in all this. John was filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb of his mother. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, the anointing presence of God that brought about the results in John’s work. Jesus began His work only after He was filled with the Holy Spirit and ministered in this power. “Jesus, the One from Nazareth, as God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power, went about doing good and healing all the ones oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
These are not the times to draw back. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon.” In that power, with a clarion call and a willingness to stand alone the believer will be like “a bow of bronze in His hands” (2 Sam.22:35). Truly God is with us.
“The King is Coming; Make straight His paths”
Blessings!
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