December 19

December 19

Ornament with coat of camel hair

Today we are going to read about a man whose purpose was to point people to the coming of Jesus.  Our ornament for today is the coat of camel hair; can you guess who the man is?  Here is another hint: he ate locusts and honey!  Let’s read Matthew 3:1-6:

1 Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

John the Baptist was the second cousin of Jesus, and God set John apart to preach before he was even born.  The angel Gabriel told Zacharias, John’s father,

“15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:15-17)

John’s message was that of repentance.  “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”  Do you know what repentance is?  It is turning from sin.  Think of a person walking down the street.  He comes to a complete stop, turns around, and starts going in exactly the opposite direction.  That is a picture of repentance.  A person stops, turns not just AWAY from his sin, but TO Jesus Christ.  

 

In order to come to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, we must repent and place our faith in Christ.  John the Baptist was preparing people to hear the message of salvation through faith in Christ.  

These questions and answers also address the need for repentance and faith:

Q: Who will be saved?

A: Only those who repent of sin and believe in Christ

(Acts 2:37-28; 16:30-31; 20-21; John 3:16)

Q: What is it to repent?

A: To be sorry for sin, and to hate and reject it because it is displeasing to God

(Luke 19:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; Isaiah 55:6-7)

Q: What is it to believe or have faith in Christ?

A: To trust in Christ alone for salvation

(John 14:6; 20:31; Acts 4:12; 1 John 5:11-12)

John also preached that Jesus was the Messiah foretold by the Old Testament prophets.  John told the crowds, “This is He who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.”  

As we celebrate Advent, we can feel the excitement building!  John the Baptist tells us, just like he told the people in his day, “Repent- Jesus is coming!  He is the one the prophets were talking about!  Make your lives and hearts ready for the coming Messiah!”

As we hang the ornament with the coat of camel hair, consider your life and heart.  Are you ready for the coming Messiah?