JOHN 1:6-8 CALLED AS WITNESSES

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

God did not surprise the world with the Messiah. His people were foretold of his coming through the Hebrew Scriptures. Then immediately before his public ministry John the Baptist “was sent from God” as a witness, not only to the Jews but to “all men.”

From the biblical accounts, people were attracted to John and his message of repentance. They knew prophesies of old and were looking for the Messiah who would deliver them from bondage to Rome as God had done for their ancestors at other times and in other places. John was anointed by God and spoke with authority and power, but he was not the One. He was a righteous and obedient human being. He was the divinely appointed herald and not the promised Messiah.

John did more than baptize and announce. “He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.” John provides us with a pattern for our lives. We most likely are not called to live in the wilderness, wear animal skin and eat wild locusts and honey, but we are to continue his ministry in the world. Every believer in Jesus Christ is called to witness to him. As John announced and demonstrated God’s purpose and direction for the world through Jesus Christ, we are called to do likewise. This is how God’s kingdom is to be spread throughout the world. This is how we are to take the blessing with which we have been blessed and use it to bless others. This is how we glorify God in the world; that is how we make him known.

The pattern of John’s ministry demonstrates that we are to respond in obedience to our call from God, live lives that are recognizably different (righteous), intentionally point others not to ourselves but to Jesus, and have as our target population all humankind.

Dear Father, you have called me as one of your own and as a witness to your love and mercy in this world. Instill in my heart a zeal for your kingdom and a love for all my neighbors. May my words and actions, as well as my entire manner of living, be an accurate testimony to you in this world and an encouragement for others in their coming to faith in you. Amen.