🌿BREATHE TRUTH🌿
“So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray…..Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.” —Matthew 14:10-13
🌿LIVE THE REAL TRUTH🌿
Endings and beginnings often overlap. Some beginnings require the end of something else. Like strangers who meet in the night. They pass by one another. Each immersed and engrossed in their own worlds with divergent concerns and digressing cares. But for an encounter in the cloak of the darkness when their worlds collide.
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The ending signals the start of something new.
John the Baptist and Jesus live parallel similarities. In their short lives, they age in strength and stature with God and men. They advance the kingdom of God with character and courage.
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They share a manhood and a humanity.
John the Baptist and Jesus’ earthly mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, are cousins. They first meet in spirit in their respective mothers’ wombs when infant John leaps for joy during young Mary’s visit to see Elizabeth. It is plausible the two boys grow up knowing one another. Family meals and meetings. Holiday reunions and rendezvous.
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They share a ministry and a humility.
John the Baptist prepares the people for the coming of the Messiah. His proclamation: Gather your lives. Gear up for the Savior. Get ready to meet Him.
Jesus positions the people to come to faith in the Messiah. His proclamation: Give your lives. Go tell others about the Savior. Get ready to be changed after meeting Him.
Humbly, John the Baptist calls the wilderness his home, wears clothing consisting of coarse camel’s hair, and consumes locusts and wild honey. Jesus, “being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8) Dedicated to increasing the Gospel, the thread of humility is delicately woven and deliberated wounded in both of their lives for the things not of this world.
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They share a message and a heart for change.
John the Baptist heralds the arrival of the greatest message the world has experienced. Jesus is that enduring Message. In their interactions with all, they similarly urge a repentant change of life choices in the deepest levels, for heaven is coming.
“In those days, John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’ ” —Matthew 3:1-2
“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He left Judea and returned to Galilee….From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” —Matthew 3:12, 17
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As John the Baptist stays in prison, Jesus’ twelve disciples are initiating their ministry with Him. Jesus reaches out to Simon and Andrew, and James and John, sons of Zebedee, who become His first disciples. The end of John’s work signals the beginning of Jesus’ and the twelve disciples’ ministry.
Sometimes, what looks like an ending is in reality, the platform for a new beginning. Endings and beginnings are doorways through which Jesus enters our lives and executes His plans for our future. John the Baptist carries out his calling and then comes home to his future in heaven. Jesus transforms John the Baptist’s ending into a new beginning. The Real Truth can do the same for you and I.
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Copyright 2019