"Then John gave in to him."
Matthew chapter 3 gives us the familiar story of John the Baptizer (as he is called in the God's Word translation). God's Word sets the table to look at John as a humble man. He lived in the wilderness; he ate bugs and honey (could that be a new breakfast cereal?); he wore simple clothes of camel's hair and leather. As we get the mental picture, we see a humble man and in our way of thinking, humble means mild-mannered.
But this mild-mannered image of John is blown from the water when the Pharisees and Sadducees come to see what he's doing. Here we see that humility can have teeth as he takes these religious leaders to task, calling them a "brood of vipers" in the NIV, or "poisonous snakes" in the God's Word translation. Humble men don't rile up the religious. Humble men don't call people to change the way they think and act throught repentance. Humble men don't raise their voice. And most certainly, humble men don't argue with the Son of God.
Yet that's what John does. When Jesus comes and asks to be baptized by John, John tried to stop Him. He argues with the Son of God saying, "I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me?" We know that John knows who this is because of his reaction and also because of his reaction to Jesus in the womb (see Luke 1:38-45). Even so, John argues with Jesus about who is going to baptize whom. He fights with God over this.
Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but I see a "humble" man who was so full of passion for his calling as the "voice of one crying in the wilderness" that he was willing to fight about it with the one who called him to it. John felt so strongly about what God had called him to do that he was willing to question God Himself over how to best fulfill this mission. Is that sinful? Is that wrong? Or is it dedication? To me, this becomes sinful only if John were to have refused to follow the lead of Jesus. But, as we read above, "John gave in to him." John checks his understanding and passion a little bit and follows the will of his Savior. This only happens because John is able to listen for the leading of his God and follows humbly. Truly, John is a humble man, crying out in the wilderness and we could use a little more of his humility.
Matthew chapter 3 gives us the familiar story of John the Baptizer (as he is called in the God's Word translation). God's Word sets the table to look at John as a humble man. He lived in the wilderness; he ate bugs and honey (could that be a new breakfast cereal?); he wore simple clothes of camel's hair and leather. As we get the mental picture, we see a humble man and in our way of thinking, humble means mild-mannered.
But this mild-mannered image of John is blown from the water when the Pharisees and Sadducees come to see what he's doing. Here we see that humility can have teeth as he takes these religious leaders to task, calling them a "brood of vipers" in the NIV, or "poisonous snakes" in the God's Word translation. Humble men don't rile up the religious. Humble men don't call people to change the way they think and act throught repentance. Humble men don't raise their voice. And most certainly, humble men don't argue with the Son of God.
Yet that's what John does. When Jesus comes and asks to be baptized by John, John tried to stop Him. He argues with the Son of God saying, "I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me?" We know that John knows who this is because of his reaction and also because of his reaction to Jesus in the womb (see Luke 1:38-45). Even so, John argues with Jesus about who is going to baptize whom. He fights with God over this.
Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but I see a "humble" man who was so full of passion for his calling as the "voice of one crying in the wilderness" that he was willing to fight about it with the one who called him to it. John felt so strongly about what God had called him to do that he was willing to question God Himself over how to best fulfill this mission. Is that sinful? Is that wrong? Or is it dedication? To me, this becomes sinful only if John were to have refused to follow the lead of Jesus. But, as we read above, "John gave in to him." John checks his understanding and passion a little bit and follows the will of his Savior. This only happens because John is able to listen for the leading of his God and follows humbly. Truly, John is a humble man, crying out in the wilderness and we could use a little more of his humility.
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