Everything Will Change

Centuries before Jesus, Isaiah spoke about the messiah’s arrival and said someone else would arrive beforehand—a voice crying out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the LORD; construct in the desert a road for our God” (Isaiah 40:3, NET). As it turns out, John the Baptizer is that guy.

But why would Jesus, the Messiah, need someone to “clear a way” or “construct a road” for him?

Imagine carving a trail through stubborn wilderness that’s existed long before you. You’re working against the established thorns and boulders, making it possible to go somewhere new. The path becomes a departure from the way things have been for a long time.

Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah, a priest, have a miracle baby in their old age. Then an angel tells them to name him John, radically departing from the social norm of fathers giving sons established family names. Most unexpected of all, they later allow their own (and only) son to go live in the wilderness.

Everything about John’s story says that life with Jesus will not be a minor adjustment. This is a totally new way of life, and it cuts against all that existed before.

Had Jesus intended to support and empower the popular religious establishment, John would have prepared the way by staying in Jerusalem, wearing priestly clothing, and working at the temple with his father. Instead, he leaves the temple and holy city to dwell in the desert. He wears camel skins and eats locusts and honey while baptizing people, urging them to turn from average expectations and ways of life and toward newness in Jesus—a way of human restoration by praying for and blessing enemies with the evil-crushing power of forgiveness.

John’s whole life screams, “In the Messiah, God is doing the unexpected!” By becoming a living, breathing departure from everything normal, John invites us to ask: Is Jesus one who empowers me to be more moral while I live and act according to the common ways I see around me, or does Jesus empower me to do something entirely new?

Reflection Questions

• Have you primarily thought about following Jesus as a way to be more moral in your otherwise normal life or as a way to live an entirely different and new kind of life? How would you describe the difference between the two?
• The BibleProject video reminds us about the Roman oppression Israel faced in Jesus’ day. For centuries, they’d been asking God to send a powerful leader to free them from their enemies. But when God shows up through Jesus, rather than doing what most expected—waging war on Israel’s oppressors—he starts praying for and blessing the enemies of Israel with loving forgiveness. What about Jesus’ approach to fighting evil do you find encouraging? Does his approach seem impossible or even crazy? As you consider, remember that John the Baptizer’s story is about leaving all social and religious expectations to embark on a new journey with the Messiah, the Christ.