Matthew 3:1-3

Posted by DJL on Jan 14, 2014 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’” 

In all four gospels, John the Baptist is a striking figure. He is a wilderness figure, even something of a wildman, living at the edges of society, drawing crowds out of their comfort zones to join him in the deserted areas outside and beyond the city.

But wilderness in the Bible isn’t just untamed forest or undeveloped land. It’s a place of trial, of testing, of deprivation and hardship and, at its best, training. And those who go through the wilderness never emerge unchanged or unscathed. Wilderness is a time of transition, of change, of endings and beginnings.

It’s in just this context that we meet John, and he also represents both an end and a beginning. He comes as a prophet, proclaiming repentance, a return to the law of the Lord. But he also announces the end of one era and the beginning of another, a new order and world is summed up in his announcement of the arrival of God’s coming kingdom.

In some ways, this passage is where the Gospel of Matthew starts in earnest. It is a transition from the birth and childhood of Jesus to his adult ministry as God’s messiah. We’ll get to that soon enough. For now, perhaps, it might be valuable to think for a moment of our own sojourns in the wilderness, those times where we feel emotionally or physically or existentially lost. What ended for you during that time? What began? What changed?

However you answer it, there is one more thing that is important to know about the wilderness. God is there. We may have a hard time sensing God’s presence – which is part of what makes it feel like wilderness – but God is there, holding on to us, drawing us through death to new life. God is there, just as John is.

Prayer: Dear God, remind us of your presence in all times and circumstances and of your promise never to abandon us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Post image: “John the Baptist Preaching,” Frans Francken the Younger.