Click to Read Mk 1:7-11
- There are two individuals who are being spoken of here
- John the Baptist
- Jesus
- Both are exhibiting exemplary humility
- John the Baptist
- Jesus was going to speak to him later as no one greater than him was born.
- He had the honour to play the Herald to the Messiah – God’s Son.
- He was a Prophet, after a gap of approximately 400 years, where there was no prophecy or contact with God in a way of speaking.
- He played the role of Elijah to come before the Messiah, in the rich tradition on the Prophets, reminding one and all of the Prophets, and especially of Elijah.
- He was so impactful in ministry that far and wide people had heard about him, where Jesus himself was not heard of
- Yet here is this man
- Knows his place
- Knows the place of fallen humanity
- Knows that humanity needs to be filled with gratitude for God’s gracious mercy and love of it, and not rejecting it.
- And for this he was humble.
- He knew God’s Son, was righteous in his own right
- Yet God’s Son choose to become man
- To live among man
- To rescue it
- And set it free to love God back
- For this he should his gratitude.
- God’s son is among them
- He is here to save
- And he John, though honoured to be his herald
- He knows that by his own right, he is not worthy of this gift.
- Jesus was going to speak to him later as no one greater than him was born.
- Jesus
- God
- Creator of all existence
- Became incarnate
- Meaning he became a created being
- He who always existed
- To show that he has no problem to be human/created
- He is all good
- And righteous
- As John said, even his righteousness was like a speck of dust before the creator.
- And he comes and accepts John’s Baptism of Repentance…
- What is Jesus trying to tell us by this?
- The key to a life in God is Humility.
- Humility to accept who we are.
- Humility to know our limitations and incompleteness.
- Humility to know that we require a saviour.
- And in humility to approach God
- And say all this.
- Only then can God be able to approach us
- And reveal himself to us.
- Because if we do not acknowledge this
- God is shunned away from us
- By all the signs of Pride, Self-righteousness etc
- And he is powerless to work in our lives,
- Right away.
- This is a requirement that needs to be there
- Else God will need to take a detour,
- and the detour may be long.
- All the same, the detour will still bring us back to the gate of Humility.
- If we do not take it – God cannot enter.
- Know this Jesus says, let it be that I be baptised into repentance
- That others recognise
- That the only door to a relationship with God
- Is the door of a humble and contrite heart.
- God
