The Call of John the Baptist

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:1-6

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12

After the childhood years of Jesus had concluded and Jesus was a man of about 30 years of age, he hears the call of John the Baptist. He recognizes that John is the forerunner. Scripture prophesied that one would come to prepare the way for the Messiah about the time of 27AD in fulfillment of the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. When stories started coming into Nazareth of the work of John the Baptist, Jesus recognized that His time had come. The Father was calling to Him through the prophet. As in all things, Jesus was immediately ready to obey the call of His Father in heaven. He prepared the people around Him to care for the carpentry shop because He had to leave to attend to His calling to start His ministry. Jesus recognized that His ministry would be only 3.5 years long according to the prophecy of Daniel 9:26-27. Jesus was ever ready to do His Father’s will and He was ready to respond to the call of John the Baptist.

Prayer for Today: Thank You God for Your detailed care of Jesus. Help us please to recognize that as much as You helped Jesus is to show how much care You want to invest into our care as well. It is amazing that You want to work with us and to help us to have victory over addiction in all of its forms in our lives. Thank You for your watch care and for Your efforts to care for us. Thank You for these stories to give us hope in You.