Following after Jesus #7

Yesterday we stepped aside from following Jesus to focus on John for a few days.  That's because in order to understand what Jesus was saying and doing, we need to comprehend what His forerunner, John the Baptist was saying and doing. Yesterday we were in Luke 3; today we are in Matthew 3:

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

In some sense, John the Baptizer was a scary guy. He dressed funny; he ate funny; he lived off the beaten path, and he talked in a way that no one else was doing.  But rather than being shunned, Matthew says people were coming from all around not only to hear him, but to be baptized by him. The first word out of his mouth is recorded as "Repent" - make a drastic spiritual U-turn.  When people were being baptized, they would confess that they had been on the wrong path. These are temple-goers, as well as those who were too ashamed to go there. It was a revival, with people opening their eyes to see what God would do. God still can and wishes and will do something in our lives through Christ; we just need to not be ashamed to admit we need Him to, and to go out of our way to be in a place that He can. In a sense, we need to follow after John, in repentance and confession, on the way to following after Jesus.