In ancient times, when a king traveled from place to place, messengers ran ahead to announce his coming and encourage the people to prepare to receive the royal visitor. Messengers did not take this role upon themselves, but were appointed to it. So too was John an envoy, a herald chosen by God to announce his reign and the imminent coming of his Son. True to his mission as a herald, John neither claimed more than God assigned to him nor attempted to promote himself. He was willing to fulfill his role as forerunner and to step aside at Jesus’ appearance; in fact, John even pointed his own disciples toward Jesus (John 1:35-41). The Baptist’s humility and genuine readiness to step off center stage are clear in his final witness to Jesus: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease” (3:29-30). Little is known of John’s relationship with Jesus. We have no idea whether the two grew up with knowledge of one another, though Luke describes them as distant cousins (Luke 1:36). According to John’s own testimony, he did not recognize Jesus to be the one whose coming he was proclaiming until he saw the Spirit rest upon him at his baptism (John 1:31-34). How often did John and Jesus meet after Jesus began his public ministry? The gospels tell us nothing, though they record that the imprisoned John sent his disciples to Jesus to inquire about his messianic identity. In answer, Jesus pointed to his deeds and then gave public testimony that John was “more than a prophet” and was “Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:2-14). Finally, when John was beheaded by Herod (Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29), Jesus went into the hills alone to grieve and pray (Matthew 14:13). Even in death John continued to be a forerunner of Jesus. He was a Christian martyr before Christ himself was crucified. As the Jesuit missionary and author Fr. André Retif eloquently wrote, Should we not say that John loved Christ in life and preceded him in death? Others have followed in the footsteps of Christ, but John, in this respect also, preceded Christ, who, we almost dare to say, walked in John’s footsteps. It is certainly very hard for a friend of Christ to die without the help of his example and with no knowledge of his triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension. John had even this bitter cup to drink. He drained it before his Master; and it almost seems, if it be possible, that he wanted to encourage him in death. (John the Baptist: Missionary of Christ) John’s message did not die with him. The church honors John with many titles that reflect how faithfully he carried out his mission: Witness of the Lord, Voice of the Word, Precursor of Truth, Crown of the Prophets, Forerunner of the Redeemer, Preparer of Salvation, Light of the Martyrs, and Servant of the Word. His call still reaches us today: “Bear fruit that befits repentance.”
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 12:26:45 +0000
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