Day 16- For He Shall Be Great In The Sight of The Lord
John would be set apart by God and used in a special way by Him for His divine purposes. Remember, he will baptize Jesus in the Jordan. That’s pretty spectacular isn’t it. Therefore, after the angel tells Zacharias that his prayer was heard and Elizabeth would bear a son and that he was to name him John, the angel goes on to describe what will follow and what would be required.
Luke records the angel’s conversation to Zacharias as follows: “You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb. And he will help to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go forth in the power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children’ (Micah 4:5-6), and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
John would be set apart to prepare the way of The Lord. He would later say, “There is One coming who sandal straps I am not worthy to tie.” Jesus and John would be born in a close proximity of time. They would both grow up somewhat in obscurity, with us not knowing much about that period of their lives. However, they are now both babies that will both be greatly used by God.
Jesus would come on the scene with a baptism in the Jordan by John and the Holy Spirit would ascend upon Him and the heavens would open and God would say, “This is my Son in whom I’m well pleased.” But for now in these stories they are both still babies in their mother’s womb.
However, at the moment in Luke chapter one God is doing some pretty miraculous things in the lives of ordinary people just like you and me, and it will produce divine miracles in the lives of many for years to come.
Take Away:
- John was an answer to prayer.
- John was a result of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s faithfulness.
- John would declare the arrival of the Messiah and herald God’s grace.
- John would be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb.
- John would be set apart for God’s glory and purpose.
