Onward Christian Soldiers!

 

Happy March 4^th, everyone! This day is a special day for me, and one that I’ve observed as a personal holiday for about 15 years or so. I was simply smitten with the idea that March 4^th is the only day of the year to issue a command: to march forth. In the interest of it being March 4^th, I thought I would take a moment to reflect a little on the march of John the Baptist.

John was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, of the priestly order of Abijah, who may have been the same man mentioned as having returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon to Jerusalem, Luke 1:5, Nehemiah: 12:4, 17. The condition of Zacharias and Elizabeth strangely echoes Abraham and Sarah, since both couples were childless, the wife barren, and both advanced in years, Luke 1:7, Genesis 18:11. Abraham and Sarah were told by God that they would have a baby boy, a child of promise, whom she named Isaac, which means “laughter.” Elizabeth named her son John, as the angel Gabriel dictated, Luke 1:13, 60. John’s name meant, “God is gracious.”

 

Whereas Isaac was the inheritor of the promise made to Abraham, John’s purpose was to turn Israel back to God in preparation for the Christ’s advent, Luke 1:16. So as Isaac continued the lineage of promise, John was the forerunner for the true Child of Promise: Jesus the Christ. In this knowledge John went into the Judean wilderness to preach a baptism of repentance to fulfill his ministry, anticipating the coming of the Lord.

 

The passage of Isaiah that famously describes the person of John is, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” Isaiah 40:3. John was a man filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, and was commanded to abstain from alcohol all of his life, Luke 1:15. The reason commonly given is that John was a Nazirite from the womb, a similar instance being seen when Manoah’s wife was told by the Angel of the Lord that they would beget Samson, Numbers 6:2-4, Judges 13:3-5. Perhaps the reason for the abstinence from strong drink was that the priests were commanded not to imbibe alcohol before entering the tabernacle of meeting, Leviticus 10:9. God commanded the Jewish priests not to enter His presence or His service drunk. John, as a Nazirite from birth, was filled with the Holy Spirit perpetually so he was constantly in God’s presence and service. Paul writes of the subject: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,” Ephesians 5:18. Whereas the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence desires to sharpen our interest in the business of God, drunkenness (and I would add drug use as well) exacerbates sinful human nature, which is contrary to permissive servitude. At any rate, Paul seems to set these things at variance with one another, the flesh and the Spirit.

 

John’s message was loud and extremely brusque. He stood by the Jordan, in the wasteland, teaching repentance to the Jews that came to him, and chasing out the self-righteous who did not actually acknowledge genuine need. The wilderness he wandered in was not only physical but spiritual as well. Men and women who were not believers compassed him. Their sin revealed the danger they were in; the Holy Spirit led them to hear words of truth, to prepare them for the Coming One. He seemed to clearly understand that his ministry was of a limited duration and its apex would be achieved when the Messiah finally came. “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. He must increase, but I must decrease,” Mark 1:7, John 3:30. John’s purpose, his mission, was to make Israel hungry. The Christ would then come to satisfy their hunger.

 

Can we imagine that? What if you knew that the purpose of your entire ministry, no, your entire life, was to prepare a group of people, then to have another eclipse you? It takes great humility to serve so willingly and so powerfully in anticipation of your ministry’s decline. John was a man after God’s own heart. He preached and strove against the Pharisees and Herod, striving unto blood against sin. And his testimony cost him his life. His ministry, as it were, ended in prison when Herod had John’s head chopped off. I believe the epitaph Paul gave David could also apply to John: “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep,” Acts 13:36. John marched forth with fervor and determination. He did not look for glory, numbers, compromise, wealth or the praise of men. And while he did suffer momentary doubt about Jesus’ ministry, he remained faithful to his calling until the end. Like a good soldier he followed marching orders, and we could all do so well as to learn from John’s example.

 

Just food for thought as we all enjoy this March 4^th. I pray the Lord that we all, with one accord, determine to follow OUR marching orders and serve Him regardless of the circumstance we find ourselves embroiled in. We too should serve our generation by the will of God, and have that excellent epitaph spoken of us upon our decease. God be with you. Amen.