From that moment Jesus began preaching with the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand." - Matt. 4:17 -
After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. 'The time has come' he said, 'and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News'. - Mark 1:14-15
And John's execution foreshadowed Jesus' similar fate. Imprisoned by Antipas in the fortress of Machaerus on the lonely hills east of the Dead Sea, John must have grown disillusioned by his own failure and the developing failure he sensed in Jesus' mission. He sent messengers to ask Jesus.
Now John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come or have we got to wait for someone else?' Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me'.
As the messenger were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: 'What did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says:
Look, I am going to send my messenger before you;
he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen! - Matt. 11:2-15 -
John was eventually killed by a functionary of a puppet king who allowed himself to be swayed by a scheming wife, a loose daughter-in-law and the people around him. Josephus records that Herod arrested and executed John the Baptist because he feared his popularity might lead to a revolt. The Gospels reveal it was because John spoke out against Herod's immoral marriage to Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. - Mark 6:14-29 -
John the Baptist influenced continued to live on after his death. When apostle Paul went to Ephesus nearly 30 years later, he found a group of John's disciples. Some of his disciples must have thought of John in messianic terms. This compelled the author of the Gospel of John, writing also from Ephesus some 60 years after John the Baptist death, to emphasize Jesus' superiority.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were not even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit' 'Then how are you baptised?' he asked, 'With John's baptism' they replied. 'John's baptism' said Paul 'was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him - in other words Jesus'. When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.
He began by going to the synagogue where he spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months, till the attitude of some of the congregation hardened into unbelief. As soon as they began attacking the Way in front of the others, he broke with them and took his disciples apart to hold daily discussion in the lecture room of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, with the result that people from all over Asia, both Jews and Greeks, were able to hear the word of the Lord.
So remarkable were the miracles worked by God at Paul's hands.......and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in great honour. Some believers, too, came forward to admit in detail how they had used spells and a number of them who had practiced magic collected their books and made a bonfire of them in public. The value of these was calculated to be fifty thousand silver pieces. In this impressive way the word of the Lord spread more widely and successfully. - Acts 19:1-20 -
This is how John appeared as a witness.......So John said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord............Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God. - John 1:19-34 -
He must grow greater and I must grow smaller. - John 3:30 -
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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