December 5 – John 1:19-28. Change Will Come.

December 5 – John 1:19-28. Change Will Come.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 


They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” 
He said, “I am not.” 
“Are you the Prophet?” 
He answered, “No.” 
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 


John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”  


Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 


“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 


This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

We are rarely ready for changes that come into our lives.  Parents aren’t ready for their first baby (no matter how hard they try), I wasn’t ready to have a little kitten show up at my back door, you can’t prepare to lose your job or have your home blown away in a tornado or fields flooded by spring rains.

The world wasn’t ready for Jesus.  He was born 30 years before He began His ministry. His cousin, John spent time calling for preparedness.  Prophets had spoken of Him for centuries. Creation was groaning in anticipation.

The world wasn’t ready.

We want to be ready. We want our hearts to be prepared for the entrance of God’s Son, but we never are.  When He comes into our lives – everything changes.  Not only does it change in that moment, but the rest of our lives will be filled with change as He transforms us into the person we can be.

Make straight the way for the Lord.  Be prepared for change.  Be ready.