"The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” -Mark 1:1-8
Imagine if you lived in a world where Jesus didn’t exist. Imagine if all you had were fragments of the Old Testament books and a prophecy from God saying you were to pave the way before the Son of God.
This was John’s world.
John was the ultimate hipster. He ate local organic locusts and wore fair trade camel hair and leather belts. He lived a minimalist lifestyle and lived for something greater than his own existence. People from all over Judah and Jerusalem came to him to confess their sins and be baptized…but there was no JESUS?!
The faith that lay within the hearts of John and the people he baptized is unlike any faith we will see today, because these people believed wholeheartedly in Jesus Christ before they had the New Testament or Bible studies or Bethel Music Worship albums. Before they had Jesus! They believed in Jesus when Jesus did not exist…yet. I often ask myself, would I believe in Jesus if some man in the wilderness told me Jesus was soon to come and would save me from my sins and I should probably be baptized so I could live in God’s Kingdom forever? The amount of faith these people had is extraordinary, supernatural and holy.
So what can we learn from these extraordinary believers?
We can learn that faith is not a matter of popularity or proof. John and his fellow believers did not have the popular opinion when it came to believing in the Son of God. They were ridiculed and mocked.
Today, we can believe in Jesus and follow Him with confidence, knowing our faith is not dependent on the number of believers around us. We can travel anywhere in the world and know He will always exists.
Today we can believe in Jesus despite those who try to convince us He does not exists. John believed in Jesus when he really didn’t exist. John knew Jesus was on his way.
And now Jesus is here.
And we can believe in His faithfulness and live in his salvation right now, today.
He was. He is. He is to come.