Leaders of the Bible: John the Baptist
Luke 1:35-41l, Matthew 3:1-6, Matthew 3:11-12, Mark 1-8
I remember the first time I led a grow group. I was so proud and told anyone and everyone who would listen that I was leading three girls, one of whom had decided to follow Jesus under my discipleship. Part of my heart was pure when I shared the excitement of a disciple coming from death to life and a group of girls growing toward Christ, but most of my heart was prideful. I wanted to be known as the girl who had prayed over a girl’s baptism just months after I met her during freshman move-in. Sinfully I wanted attention to what God was doing through me. I had been doing the right thing for so long that I forgot Who I was doing it for.
It can be hard to remember that we are not the ones who move people’s hearts to repentance but the Spirit of God is. The Holy Spirit was given to us as a gift so that God can work in and through us, not so that we can boast about having a “special kind of power.” Paul shares in 2 Corinthians that God has spoken to him saying, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Because of this statement Paul exclaims that he will boast about his weaknesses so that the power of Christ would rest upon him (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is not that we are so strong and put together that God gives us the power to move people to repentance, but that we are weak and God chooses to use us to live like Christ toward others through the power of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist, who was a cousin to Jesus, knew this full well. He knew that Christ was the one to be praised and followed and to live like; John only wanted to point people toward Jesus. John certainly must have drawn attention to himself by the way he dressed and lived off the land in the wild and proclaimed things that seemed so strange and distant to the Jewish people of the time. Despite this attention, John had no desire for people to see him, but to see Jesus the Messiah who would come after him. Of course Jesus came first since He was around since the beginning of time (Genesis 1:26a, John 1:1-3), but as far as Jesus walking the earth as a man, John was the elder cousin and started his ministry before Jesus did. As it says in the gospels, John was there to pave the way and prepare the path for Jesus (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:4-6, John 1:22-23).
John was a messenger for Jesus. He was an encourager for Jesus. He was dedicated to making Jesus known not himself. He humbly proclaimed the good news of Jesus and praised God for the work that was being done through him, not by him. He simply cheered Jesus on in the work that He was doing.
When my disciples had moments of disobedience, doubt, or even when I did, I recognized that I cannot lead on my own. It is through God’s grace that the Spirit dwells within me and moves the hearts of those around me. It is the Spirit who cheers us on toward Christ (John 14:26) and we get to cheer on Christ as He changes eternities!
So let's humbly submit to the Father and trust that he can and will use us, but it is the Spirit within us that does the work. We can make great leaders even with our weaknesses, because the power of Christ rests upon us. We get to be obedient to the Defeater of death and cheer Him on as He does the miraculous work in a lost world.
Do you ever find yourself selfish wanting to take credit for what Jesus has done? Why is that?
Where do you need to repent and be reminded that you can not lead without Christ?
