Into the Wilderness
“The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness”
Luke 3:2 (NET Bible).
I feel like I’ve always known who John the son of Zechariah (aka John the Baptist) was, but I’ve never really stopped to consider his life until last week. I’ve got a little group that is doing Lina Abujamra’s new Bible study called Through the Desert together. We’ve been tracing the wilderness and desert places throughout Scripture and watching how God consistently calls people into the desert and then uses that desert season in their lives in powerful ways. It’s a great study.
Last week we dug into the life of John, cousin of Jesus, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, wearer of camel hair and a leather belt, eater of locusts and wild honey, dweller in the desert, and speaker of bold truth. He was the first live prophetic voice after over 400 years of silence. John’s life was miraculous, mysterious, lonely, and ultimately tragic. I've found myself mesmerized and full of questions.
John’s parents were super old when he was miraculously conceived, were they still alive 30+ years later? Was he an orphan as well as an only child? Scripture never mentions a family. Was he single? Was he alone?
It doesn’t say that God called him out into the wilderness and then gave him a word. Luke tells us that the word of God came to John in the wilderness. Is that where he lived? His life feels so isolated and lonely.
John was a strange man. He looked strange, he ate strange things, and he spoke strange words. He reminds me of the Old Testament prophets who acted out signs for the people with their lives. Did he remind the crowds of the prophets too?
“John said, ‘I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said’”
John 1:23 (NET Bible).
There was no doubt that John understood his calling. He knew what he was there to do. He called the people to repentance. His words were clear, bold, and sometimes harsh sounding. He told the people that the Messiah was coming and the Kingdom was at hand. How did he know who he was supposed to be? How did he live with such passion and energy and yet with such seeming deprivation?
The people responded to John’s words, repented of their sins, and were baptized. I learned that baptism was a familiar ritual to the Israelites as part of the process for a Gentile to join the Jewish nation. It was about identity as they chose to become a part of God’s people. I wonder if the crowds felt the significance as they were baptized by John in the Jordan River? Did they feel that they were returning to God and reclaiming their identity as His people?
John’s public life didn’t last long. Jesus appeared on the scene shortly after he was first speaking and baptizing. John pointed Jesus out as the Lamb of God and then began to fade into the background. Soon after, he was arrested by King Herod who was offended by John’s truth telling about Herod’s infidelity. John sat in prison—alone again—and wondered if he’d been right. Was Jesus really the Messiah? Had he actually followed God’s plan for his life? Was it all in vain?
Jesus assured John via messengers that He was indeed the Christ. He spoke words that almost seem to come from the prophet Isaiah himself. Jesus said, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them (Luke 7:22). Compare that with these verses from Isaiah 35.
“Tell those who panic, ‘Be strong! Do not fear! Look your God comes to avenge; with divine retribution he comes to deliver you. Then the blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will burst forth in the wilderness, streams in the arid rift valley”
Isaiah 35:4-6
Did John know the verses in Isaiah? Did he fill in the pieces? Did he feel comforted in his prison cell? Did he expect deliverance and divine retribution?
Instead John was killed—beheaded by a vengeful woman and her sneaky daughter. The end.
I’m caught up in John’s miraculous yet tragic life. It was short, lonely, and intense. He obeyed, followed, doubted, most likely found hope again, and died. John knew what he was here to do. He did what he was here to do. But he didn’t get a happy ending. Jesus didn’t save him.
And just a few years later Jesus was also killed by angry people offended by his truth telling. Did the cousins meet up in heaven for a minute? Did John find satisfaction in the fulfillment of everything knowing he played a part?
I feel like there is so much to unpack. And I want to ask the Middle Eastern questions the authors and audience would have asked. (These are from the Jesus & Women Bible study I mentioned a few months ago.)
What are the details of this story?
Why would God do that?
How does this tie in with the rest of Scripture?
What does this teach me about God?
How is God using John’s life to feed my soul?
Jesus talked about John to his disciples, and he said some pretty powerful things.
“I tell you the truth, among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist…”
Matthew 11:11 (NET Bible).
No one greater. Wow.
I’m emotional about John, son of Zechariah. I’m broken for him and yet I am amazed by him. I want to live like him. I want to know my purpose and just do it all for God. I want to be bold. And I want to be okay without a happy ending.
What stands out to you as you think, ponder, and ask the questions I mentioned above?
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