The Worthy Forerunner!

Monday, June 24, 2024

Nativity of John the Baptist

Is 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Lk 1: 57-66,80

The birth of John the Baptist celebrates the fact that he was the Messiah’s forerunner. 

Like Jesus, his birth is surrounded by some extraordinary circumstances, like the appearance of the angel to his father Zacharias in the temple, Zacharias’s dumbness, Elizabeth’s pregnancy past the age of childbearing, and the restoration of Zacharias’s speech on the day of John’s circumcision. 

God’s providence accompanied the child so that the birth of the Messiah’s forerunner would be magnificent, true to the statement that ‘the Hand of the Lord was with him.’

Thus, though John was a celebrity even before his birth, the manner in which he performed his ministry brought him the recognition of being the Messiah’s forerunner. 

The uniqueness of the Messiah’s forerunner can be seen in three ways. 

Baptism: One common fact that unites both John and Jesus is baptism. While John was a baptizer of Jesus, the baptism that Jesus desired (Lk 12:50) was of a different nature. John’s baptism inspired people to repentance; Jesus’ baptism saved people from death. John’s baptism cleansed people; Jesus’ baptism helped people become reconciled to God. John’s baptism brought forgiveness; Jesus’ baptism offered them everlasting life. 

Countersign: John resembled Jesus in being the countersign in his time. Like Jesus, John grew strong in Spirit to fulfill his mission. John, the voice crying out in the wilderness, became the model of holiness because he challenged the materialism of his day through his life of poverty and selflessness. Like Jesus, who condemned the hypocrisy of religious leaders, John publicly denounced the hypocrisy and immorality of people and called them to repentance. A noted example could be the way in which John confronted Herod, the ruler of the land, about his sin of taking his brother’s wife. Thus, John the Baptist was a prophet, preparing the way for the prophetic mission of Christ. 

Martyrdom: John and Jesus died for their convictions. Jesus could have continued to live if he had pleased Pilate because he had the authority to release him (Jn 19:10). Similarly, John could have lived well had he not antagonized Herod. But both were fighting for a noble cause that had no place for compromises. In other words, John showed how we can praise God through our convictions and commitment. 

Though John resembled Jesus in many ways, he always pointed beyond himself to Christ. 

While he prepared people for repentance, he prepared his followers to be the disciples of Christ. 

The worthy forerunner of the Messiah was happy to say, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (Jn 3:30). 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar