“Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true. And in that place many believed in Jesus.” John 10:40-42 (NIV)
John the Baptist’s sole assignment in life, the very purpose for his birth, was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Long before John’s Mother, Elizabeth, met Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, and the unborn child John sensed Christ’s presence and “jumped for joy” in Elizabeth’s womb the paths and destinies of the yet to be born children were signed, sealed, and delivered.
Both men, and the roles they would play, were set down before God divided the darkness from the light. Jesus, having always existed, just as the Father and the Holy Ghost, created the plan. John, the one who would come in the Spirit of the Prophet Elijah, knew early in life what He had to do. He had to prepare the way for the Lord.
John’s Mission Statement was to remind people that Christ was coming, that the ancient prophecies were being fulfilled, and that the Messiah was on the way. Jesus that day began his ministry by visiting John at his church in the wilderness and being baptized by him. God spoke and told John the truth that day, and for the rest of his life, he pointed people to the Messiah. As the Scripture verse tells us, his ministry was successful. We can look at the ministry of John the Baptist and say: Mission Accomplished!
Copyright 2007 Timothy E. Davis