In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

Shalom.  Or, as you might say it, hello.  My name is Adonijah and I belong to the priestly tribe of Levi.  My name means “The LORD is God.”  As someone who has been privileged to serve in the temple courts for almost my entire life, I believe that to be true.  I believe that the LORD is the one and only true God.

But sometimes I take that truth for granted.  There are even times when I do not act like the man of faith I claim to be.  Just like every other person who has ever lived, I am a sinner who does not deserve the Lord’s love and mercy.  That is what makes my story so special.

I was on a routine trip to conduct some business in Jericho.  Even though the distance between Jerusalem and Jericho is only about twenty miles, it is never a trip I look forward to.  The route is rough and rocky and goes right through the Desert of Judea.  The hot sun is almost always beating down and shady spots are few and far between.  Besides the climate, the traveler has to deal with the constant threat of robbers lying in wait behind every rock and crag in the hillside.

Every time I have made this journey, the LORD has been with me.  He protected me from the elements.  His angels protected me from all harm and danger.  I have walked this path more times than I can remember, but my last trip is one I will never forget.  And I want to share everything I have seen and heard with my brother who is back in Jerusalem.

Even though I completed my Hebrew schooling years ago, I can still remember some of the things my teachers taught me.  Among them, I was taught to always proofread a letter before I sent it.  Because I wrote this letter so quickly and because I was so excited, I know that it needs to be checked over. 

And that is where you come in.  This morning I am asking you to listen to what I have written.  Pay careful attention to every detail.  And when I am finished, I hope and pray that you will share my joy.  Here it goes...

Dear brother:

I know that I said I would be home a few days ago, but something has happened to me, something so amazing that I have decided to change my plans.  It is difficult to put it into words, but I will try.  Before I begin, allow me to make this initial plea.  I want you to see what I have seen.  I want you to hear what I have heard.  Brother, I beg you to...

COME TO THE BANKS OF THE JORDAN

I.   Come and see God’s chosen messenger

II.   Come and hear God’s timeless message

As you know I was on my way to Jericho, and it was a rather uneventful trip.  The weather was even mild for this time of year.  But then I saw something off in the distance.  As I got closer to the banks of the Jordan River, I could make out a crowd.  As I approached the mass of people, I was able to hear the voice of a man.  And even before I was able to understand exactly what he was saying, I saw him.

Let’s just say that I’m glad I didn’t judge this preacher by my first impression.  During our years of service in the temple courts, you and I have seen many different great teachers.  They were dressed in the finest robes.  They conducted themselves with grace and dignity.  They commanded respect even before they spoke. 

But this man, the man I saw preaching by the Jordan River, was different.  It was as if he didn’t really care about his outward appearance at all.  His “clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist” (3:4).  He wasn’t flashy.  He wasn’t flamboyant.  He looked rather plain.

His common appearance was matched by his bland diet.  “His food was locusts and wild honey” (3:4).  I know that the Law of Moses allows people to eat these things (Lev. 11:21,22), but that doesn’t mean we have to.  There are so many other foods to enjoy: figs, pomegranates, meats and cheeses. But again, he just didn’t seem very concerned about the finer things in life.

This man is noticeably different from our religious leaders in another way.  Most of our spiritual fathers have received years of training.  They sat at the feet of the greatest Hebrew scholars.  They studied the Torah every day.  And their ultimate goal was to teach in Jerusalem, the Holy City, and within the hallowed halls of the temple. 

The man I encountered had no such formal training.  He lived much of his life in the desert.  And then at some point he just appeared (Lk. 1:80), preaching and teaching with authority.  As unorthodox as his style is and as strange as he appears on the surface, there is strong evidence that he is a prophet.  No, I am convinced that he is more than a prophet.  He can be nothing less than God’s chosen messenger.

The first thing I want you to consider is the outward evidence.  Even though he lives in a rather isolated location, even though he doesn’t do his preaching where most of the people are, they are coming to see him.  Remember the crowds of people I mentioned before.  Do you know where they’re coming from?  They are traveling from as far as “Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan” (3:5).

As I talked with some of the people there, I asked who that man was.  One of his followers told me that his name was John.  Others were calling him John the Baptist.  It was then that I started putting things together.  Do you remember that time many years ago when the old priest Zechariah was offering incense in the temple?  When he came out, he was unable to speak.  And it looked like he had seen a ghost.

About a year later when Elizabeth gave birth to their miracle child, everyone was surprised by the name they chose for the boy.  Zechariah named him “John” because the angel Gabriel told him to.  And then Zechariah was able to speak again.  I know it was a long time ago, but do you recall what Zechariah said about him that day?

Zechariah prophesied: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Lk. 1:76,77).    When I heard that John was this preacher’s name, it dawned on me.  This John was Zechariah’s son, and he had been hand picked to be God’s messenger.

In my excitement I went back to the Scriptures and discovered something even more amazing.  John hadn’t been called to be God’s prophet at his birth.  His life’s work was chosen for him even before that.  Seven hundred years before John was born, Isaiah called him “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’” (3:3).  As I paused from the busyness of my life to hear that single solitary voice in the desert, everything began to make sense to me.     

And, my dear, dear brother, that is why I am writing to you.  I want you to have what I have.  I want you to know and believe that John the Baptist is God’s chosen messenger.  But even more important than that, I want you to hear God’s timeless message.

Based on what I have heard so far, I don’t think that many people would accuse John of being a great orator.  He doesn’t use big words or flowery language to impress people.  In fact, his message is simple and direct: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (3:2).   It doesn’t matter who you are.  It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.  Everyone is sinful.  Everyone needs God’s forgiveness.

As blunt as John can be, his message is still effective.  People haven’t come all this way just to see a sideshow or to be entertained.  John speaks to their hearts.  And they are listening.  “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (3:6).  His success has even drawn the attention of our leaders.  Some Pharisees and Sadducees have traveled out into the desert to find out why so many are flocking to him. 

But John never changes his message when he sees them standing among the people. And he isn’t intimidated by their power either.   If you need proof, here is just one example.  On one occasion, John said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (3:8).  I have never heard anyone speak to them like that before, but now I know why John uses the language he does.

In God’s eyes, the Pharisees and Sadducees are no better than anyone else.  They are sinners too.  And they are placing themselves in spiritual danger because they have drifted away from the simple message of sin and grace.  And what is worse, they are taking others with them.

With people coming from miles around to see him, with the Jewish elite traveling all the way into the wilderness to find out what was going on, it would have been easy for John to give in to sinful human pride, to take at least some of the credit for his success.  But John knew that the crowds weren’t gathering to see him.  They were coming to hear his message.  And the purpose of that message was to prepare the way for someone else.

Quoting Isaiah the prophet, John described himself as “the voice of one calling in the desert,’ Make straight the way for the Lord’” (Jn. 1:23).  Deflecting all attention away from himself, John said: “I baptize you with water for repentance.  But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry” (3:11). 

God sent John to clear a path for the long-awaited Messiah.  The Lord used John to direct people to “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).   And even though John prepared people living in a specific time for the specific coming of a specific person, his message is really timeless. 

That message was heard already in the Garden of Eden.  When Adam and Eve decided that they knew better than God and listened to the serpent’s advice, the Lord came to them and showed them their sin.  And when they repented, God was quick to follow his declaration of death for all men with the promise of a Savior to come.

Even though that Savior was a direct descendant of King David, and even though David had a clear understanding of right and wrong, he chose the wrong (not only by committing adultery, but by adding to that first sin cold-blooded murder). God’s timeless message rescued him in the nick of time.  The Lord led David to confess, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Sa. 12:13).  When he acknowledged his sin, David heard the reassuring words: “The Lord has taken away your sin” (II Sa. 12:14).     

When John saw that the people of his day were scurrying around doing the things that God required but not listening to what God says, that they were offering sacrifices but not offering themselves, that they appeared to be neat and clean on the outside but were dirty and sinful on the inside, he shouted so that everyone could hear him: “Repent!” And many of them did.

That people who share that message may change, but the message never changes.  For those times when we think that we know better than God, the Lord says: “Repent!”  For those willful sins we commit when we know what is right and still choose to do what is wrong, the Lord cries out: “Repent!”  For all those times when we focus on the outward preparations for our Savior’s coming and neglect the deeper spiritual meaning, God looks us directly in the eye and declares: “Repent!  Acknowledge your sinfulness.  Seek my forgiveness.  And trust in the promise.”

The promise of a Savior gave hope to the people of Israel for thousands of years.  The same promise gives us hope today.  We put our trust in Jesus, “the lamb of God,” who died to take away the sin of the world, who came into the world in humility and who will come again in glory.

Now I hope that you can understand why I felt it necessary to write you this letter.  There is so much more I have to tell you.  But you don’t have to take my word for it.  You can come here and experience it for yourself.  Come to the banks of the Jordan.  Come and see John the Baptist. Come and see God’s chosen messenger. Come and hear God’s timeless message.  Amen.