SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/5/2021 7:41 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “John’s Privileged Calling”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 11:9-11
Message of the verses: “9 “But what did
you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a
prophet. 10 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY
MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ 11 “Truly I say
to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater
than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he.”
The second mark of John’s greatness was his
privileged calling, something that I mentioned in our last SD. It was not until Christ’s own ministry began,
that no human being had been called to a task as high and sacred as that of
John the Baptist. In many ways his privilege
overshadowed that of Mary, and she is the one who gave birth to Jesus. However John was chosen to announce and
prepare the way for the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of kings. I don’t think that too many believers
actually think that much about John the Baptist and the role that he had
concerning the announcing of the Messiah.
Think about all the great men of the Old Testament, men like Abraham,
Moses, David, and yet our Lord says that “those born of women there has not
arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!”
The
third question that Jesus asks the crowd is “But why did you go out? To see a
prophet?” The answer to that question is
clearly yes, as they did go out to see a prophet. There were a great many people who came out
to see John as he had a great following, and these were a dedicated following
along with his disciples, and most of the people did indeed consider him to be
a prophet as seen in Matthew 14:5; 21:26.
John
MacArthur writes “The prophetic office began with Moses and extended until the
Babylonian captivity, after which for four hundred years Israel had no prophet
until John the Baptist. He was the
valedictorian of the prophets, the most dynamic, articulate, confrontational,
and powerful spokesman God had ever called.
As the last prophet, he would not only announce that the Messiah was
coming but that He had arrived.” That
surely was the greatest privilege that a person can have, and yet that
announcement is to be made by all who believe in Jesus as their Savior and
Lord, as we are to tell people that the Messiah has come and then died and rose
again for the salvation of their souls.
We
will conclude with the following quote from MacArthur: “In true greatness, the right person is
always matched to the right position. A
person with much potential will accomplish little if his talents are not
channeled into work that takes full advantage of those abilities. No person can fulfill his human potential
like a Christian can, because God omnisciently matches our talents, gifts, and
calling. In John the Baptist the
greatest man and the greatest human mission came together by God’s sovereign
and providential direction.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord will speak through me
in our Sunday school class this morning, and that He will receive glory from what is taught.
12/5/2021 8:02 AM
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