John the Baptist is Wild! But Jesus is Even More Captivating…
from Matthew 3:1-17, Mark 1:1-11, Luke 3:1-22
Imagine standing in the waters of a gently flowing river, up to your knees, feeling the coolness of the current passing you by.
On both sides of the river, golden-brown hills rise and then fall; the edge of the riverbank is shaded by branches and leaves swirling in the wind. It is very nearly sunset time, now. You have been standing at the edge of the waters almost all day long; finally, just a moment ago, you kicked off your sandals and waded into the river. The red and orange colors of dusk are beginning to rise; the waters look almost green now; you close your eyes and enjoy the peaceful sound of their flowing…
You are waiting to be baptized by the Baptist. The man named John. The son of Zechariah, the old Levite. Looking around, you watch the faces of all the other people in the crowds; they are looking happy and hopeful, joyful, and, also, a little serious. They are serious because John the Baptist, the man standing before you in the river, the one in ragged camel’s skin, is calling you all into a new life. He is saying that the old things have gone away forever now; the new thing is coming – and coming very soon, he says.
In some ways, John the Baptist scares you. He scares you because his hair is standing on end – he eats wild locusts, you’ve heard – and, mostly, he scares you because of the look in his eyes.
The eyes of John the Baptist are wild. They speak of wilderness places, living in caves, great dangerous distances; and yet they also speak with the power and goodness of Heaven itself. The reason you have come to the river to hear from John, to be baptized by John, is because you want to know what Heaven is like…
Suddenly, John stops talking.
He stands up straight.
Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible:
20 Immersive Stories from the Four Gospels
Bill Johnson, Eugene Luning, Kristen & Kevin Howdeshell
Everyone grows quiet as they watch his face change. He is looking over your shoulder, just behind you, and you turn to look: you see the Man John the Baptist is looking at.
This Man is dressed like any other man: cloak, tunic, belt and a worn-out pair of sandals on His dusty feet. He walks through the crowd just like any other man would walk through a crowd: there is nothing special in the way He’s coming forward.
Oh, but His face: His look: His eyes! They are serious but laughing; kind but powerful; intense but as gentle as a happy lamb’s would look…
You watch Him as He passes past the last of the crowd on the bank, kicking away His sandals, and entering the water in your direction. And here He comes: He brushes right against you – you catch His smell: the smell of the workshop, of carpentry – and then He’s past you in the direction of John…
John is bowing his head as the Man approaches. The whole crowd is quiet; watching, waiting. John the Baptist and the Man whisper a few words to each other and then – just like everyone else – the Man is baptized by him. He rests Himself against the arms of John and then John lowers Him into the water and then – SPLASH! – He rises again…
Except…
…suddenly, something is happening.
It’s like the sky is torn in two – torn like a curtain right down the middle – the orange and red of the evening opened out and, behind it, a brilliant light. A light more bright than the sun at noontime on an August day.
You can’t believe what you are seeing!
And out of that brilliant light, a bird – a dove – comes flying down over the hills, over the trees, over the river, and lands on the Man. It rests upon His shoulder and then it…
…disappears.
And suddenly the ground around you starts to shake and quake at the sound of a voice from out of Heaven:
“This is my dearly loved Son, in whom my heart is pleased.”
You would be terribly frightened by all of this – that torn sky, the heavenly dove, that booming voice – if you weren’t so caught up in the Man. For He is looking in your direction, now. And you can’t stop looking at those wonderful eyes of His…
Let’s Talk About It
Have you been baptized? Was it in a river, like the story, or was it someplace else? What do you think happened when you were baptized?
Draw a picture or describe what you think Jesus looked like.
What do you think God is saying about you right now? What kinds of things does He love about you? What do you think pleases Him about who you are?
Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible: 20 Immersive Stories from the Four Gospels
Bill Johnson, Eugene Luning, Kristen & Kevin Howdeshell
