Title: John the Baptist, Voice in the Wilderness
Contents
Luke 3:1 - Luke 3:6
(1) In the fifteenth year of the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate was governor of Judah. And Herod, the lord of Galilee, Philip, the brother of Herod, the lord of Idurea and Traconitis, and Lisania of Abilene. (2) And the high priests at that time were Annas and Caiaphas. At that time John the son of Zechariah heard the word of God in the wilderness. (3) Then he went through all the provinces near the Jordan River, proclaiming, "Repent and be baptized, and your sins will be forgiven you." (4) This was according to the words written in the book of the prophet Isaiah. "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the ways of the Lord, make straight his ways. will see your salvation.'"
There are people who hear the voice of God and there are people who cannot hear the voice of God. This is something that God who has forced us to do, so human beings can only interpret it in terms of grace, but the grace is not only considered a very mysterious thing, but through the Bible that has been given to us, we can hear God's voice and become alert.
Today, John the Baptist became a trumpeter of such alertness and cried out in the wilderness about Jesus. Let's take a look at how great Jesus was, focusing on what he said.
First, when John the Baptist was born, there were the rulers of Rome and the governors of Judea, the kings of Galilee. When the worldly powers were frantic with political affairs, John the Baptist was born in the body of Zacharias and Elizabeth and lives a rough life in the wilderness. He was a creature that ate honey and locusts, but his mission is too great. Because we want to baptize Jesus.
He quotes the prophecy of Isaiah and explains that he is a preparer for Jesus. when Jesus comes
Valleys are filled The curved path is straight. High mountains fall low It is talking about the Savior Jesus, who says that the rough road becomes smooth.
In a word, the worldly power gave the people of Israel things that were hard to get out of, like curves, steep mountains, difficult to climb, and valleys. The social reality devastated by the heavy taxation The superficial life of the chief priests and the Pharisees scribes, who were caught up in the stuffy situation caused by the constant coercion, were interpreters of the law that had departed from compassion, mercy, and loyalty. It is a time when the souls of the grasslands were being completely destroyed.
Just as in the days of Isaiah or Jeremiah or when the prophets were active, they have eyes that cannot see even though they have eyes, and ears that have ears that do not hear the voice of God. In a spiritually very dry situation in the frozen land where we could neither run nor dance, our Jesus became flesh on this earth in God's time.
Therefore, if you believe in Jesus, all the people who are difficult to get out of like the valley have been set free. 12 Disciples In addition to the many 5,000 disciples, the sick, suffering and loneliness, all of them escaped from there.
When I met Jesus, things that were difficult to climb like a high mountain were all lowered. Politicians focused on momentary power Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees, all religious and parliamentary leaders, a difficult mountain to reach for many people, but Jesus was different from them. Although he was more dignified, more powerful, and more powerful than them, he was humble, and he always performed signs and miracles in Cana around Nazareth on the Sea of Galilee. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Levites, teachers of the law, etc., who made up a hardened religious group stronger than the green hills of Galilee, it was a steep hill to approach those who believed in God but falsely believed.
It was Jesus who straightened the crooked. Even if the body is crooked, when Jesus touches it, even the dead wake up and go to sleep so that death trembles. He is Jesus who showed the straight truth that governs death and death by raising Lazarus, who smells rotten in a cave.
Jesus is the one who makes the rough road smooth. Before Jesus came, Disciples on the Sea of Galilee, tax collectors and sinners were walking alone on such a rough road Jesus told them, follow me, I made you a fisher of men and through them smoothed the rough road of this world with salvation through the gospel. .
Today John is proclaiming and calling out Jesus who will do this, and that is what we today sing and serve with thanksgiving in faith and joy.
A person who does not believe in Jesus is ignorant of God and does not glorify God, so his soul is dead. As a result of the diagnosis, he always made steep, winding roads, valleys, high mountains, and worshiped idols himself.
Although everything is revealed in the light of the Bible, they do not have the opportunity to shine through the Bible, so they live in the spiritual state of the Age of Judges, where they live according to what is right in their own eyes. Some people live by making gods in knowledge, power, money, or their limits. The God who conquers knowledge The God who ascends to the power and uses it The God who depends on the power given by a lot of money The God who overcomes the limits that he cannot do himself and lives dependent on the God who overcomes the limits. is.
There is no clear answer on where life comes from, where it goes, and why we live, but as John the Baptist exclaims in Jesus, confessing that we come from God, go to heaven, and live with the thrill of being saved and being saved is truly a blessing.