Christ said of him that there was no one greater born, at least as far as human flesh is concerned. That puts him at the head of quite a list of spiritual achievers: Men like David, and Abraham, and Nehemiah and Daniel. Wow.
He also made some of the most profound “off the cuff” (apparently unprepared) remarks that are found in all of Scripture.
For instance, he was once taunted that he was “losing his touch,” and that men were leaving his ministry for the ministry of some “man” named Jesus. His response: A man can receive only what is given him from above. Total cool; total dependence upon the living God of Israel (s. John 3:27).
In the same setting, when it appeared that his ministry was on a sharp decline and that his part in the play was coming to an end, he responded with, “He must increase and I must decrease.” Not the usual response to watching your life’s dreams go up in smoke.
And at another time, when it looked like he was losing his grip concerning Christ and His actual place in the whole salvatory scheme of things, Christ said that others may be fickle “reeds swayed by the wind,” but NOT the this prophet, he was rock-steady in face of whatever (Matt. 11:7ff).
Of whom do we speak? You probably know the answer by now, or at least I hope you do: The man, the prophet, the Messianic forerunner that we speak of, is none other than John the Baptizer.
Of him, Malachi, God’s final Word of the OT, said simply: I will send my messenger who will prepare the way for You (Mal. 3).
He leaves us with a life of moral uprightness and zero compromise. In our age he stands out as a refreshing man who actually stood for something, a man worthy of our study and emulation.
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