 ™ |
...the man who hears...
“There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John.” |
John the Apostle's brief statement on John the Baptist
gives us three principles of the person who fulfils his existence.
gives us three principles of the person who fulfils his existence.
John 1:6.
'There was a man' –
"the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel"
his humanity
His parents were old enough to be his grand-parents. That created its own problems for an only child. The loneliness that resulted led to a situation in which God became more than his God. In that difficult situation God became his life!
Sent from God' –
"the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
"
his mission
His lack of social experience did not matter. As God had taken his nation into the desert from Egypt to make them aware of their spiritual heritage from Abraham and its responsibility, so he also grew into an awareness of his own part in that responsibility.
'Whose
name was John' –
"and you shall call his name John"
his individuality
The angel of God had instructed his father that his name was to be Yôchânân (John), meaning 'YaHWeh is Gracious', and so this fed his sense of identity from infancy for his unique role which he could never have comprehended until it was completed.
