There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.
Note the contrast between the Word and John:
- John “came;” the Word “was”
- John was a man; the Word was God
John was a man on a mission from God. He was very special. There had been no prophets in Israel for 430 years and then John came. (Isa 40:3-5, Mal 3:1, 4:5-6, Matt 3:1-11, Luke 1:5-25, 39-41, 57-80) Because of this, some venerated John more highly than they should. The writer of this gospel shows John is to be highly respected, but that he was only a messenger of the light, not the Light Himself. It is to be noted that it is possible even today to exalt the preacher of the Word more highly than the Word. Our eyes need to be fixed on the King, not His messenger.
Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Malachi 3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Matthew 3:1-11 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
It is also to be noted that God likes to speak to us through people. Be open to be used by God in this way, if He so desires, and accept what God tells you through others, always making sure that what they say lines up with scripture (1Thess 5:20-21).
1Thessalonians 5:20-21 do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.
The name “John” means “Jehovah is a gracious giver.” (Strong’s) John was gracious in the sense that he told people what they needed to know. He was not gracious as we sometimes think of the word as meaning meek and mild.