Crying in the Wilderness and Pointing to Jesus

“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ “ Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, 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 thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:23-27). 

John the Baptist is described like an ancient version of Jeremiah Johnson. A rather strange fellow to the folks of that day he came from the wilderness dressed in a camel hair, coat eating locusts and honey, and baptizing converts in the river Jordon (Matthew 3:4). John was a prophet with a simple yet profound message – the Lord is here! With all of his quirks, John had but one mission – “to make straight the way of the Lord. And this Lord was, he said, greater than he and all of the Old Testament prophets combined. John was pointing people to Jesus. 

To better understand John’s message and ministry, let’s look at the passage from Isaiah that he was quoting: 

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.  A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”  A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever“ (40:1-8). 

This passage prophetically tells us that when John was pointing to Jesus he was telling the people these things: 

• A Comforter is coming (v. 1). Jesus claimed in John 14:16 that he was a Comforter and promised to send another (the Holy Spirit). 
• Forgiveness of sins would come through the Messiah (v. 2). Luke chronicles, “The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:49). 
• The entire creation would be affected by His coming (v. 3-4). Paul explains, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21). 
• All mankind will see the glory of God in Jesus (v. 5). The gospel of John proclaims “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). 
• We are to call upon this Lord in acknowledgement of His might (v. 6-7). Paul tells us that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). 
• Jesus’ words are eternal life (v. 8). Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63).

What a message and what a mission did John have! And so do we. But don’t we often, despite the life-giving truth of our calling, feel like John –  as if we are crying out in the midst of a wilderness. We should feel that way because we are! This world is filled with those that are “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Yet we are to go on pointing people to Jesus. It may cost us much (it cost John his head – Matthew 14:10) but we gain so much more. 

I don’t know what your wilderness is. It may be the spiritual desolation of your co-workers. It may be the dry souls of your family. It may be the barren hopelessness of your neighbors. It may be the cyber jungle of blogging. No matter what your wilderness is, I beg you to keep crying out and pointing people to Jesus. Why? Because, as the John the Baptist explains, Jesus is worthy (John 1:27). For He is our Comforter, the forgiver of our sins, His words are eternal life, and all mankind, including His creation, will eventually acknowledge that He is the Lord of the universe. And the wilderness He has called you to desperately needs Him.