We’re in Isaiah 10 in our Reading Plan, but I’m not going to blog it. If you read it you saw:

• Judgment on Israel and Judah for oppression of the poor and needy (verses 1, 2).
• God will use Assyria to punish other nations (verses 5, 6).
• And when that’s done, God will punish Assyria for pride (verses 12 – 15).
• And when Assyria is destroyed, the remnant returns (verses 20 – 22, and quoted in Romans 9.27)

Good stuff, but I want to share something about John the Baptist from my reading from the Apostle John’s Gospel, chapter 1.

First, John identifies himself through Isaiah!

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1.19 – 23, ESV)

We’ll get to the “voice” in chapter 40:

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…” (Isaiah 40.3, ESV)

The question for John the Baptist, “Are you the prophet?” refers to Deuteronomy 18.15:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’

Good reasons for reading the Old Testament! And here’s another:

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1.26 – 29, ESV)

He quotes Isaiah to identify himself, then he evokes the entire sacrificial system (Exodus and Leviticus) to identify Jesus. How else would we know what “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” meant if we hadn’t read the Old Testament?

I wrote from Isaiah 6 the other day that every day I should…

• See God
• See myself
• Receive marching orders

John knew who he was – a voice, from Isaiah 40.

John knew who Jesus was – the Lamb

And John knew his job:

I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1.33, 34, ESV)

Baptize with water and bear witness to Jesus.

So I was thinking, What’s my job?

• A fellow invited me to train on teaching leaders how to use questions. A worthy project, I’m sure, but not my job.
• A former Navigator has a ministry revolving around the arts. He teaches people to meet and use the arts to learn about themselves, etc. I love the arts, but I don’t think that’s my job either.
• What’s my job, for example, here in my new neighborhood? God brought us here…for what? I was thinking about that when Tim McConnell, lead pastor at First Pres, Colorado Springs. shared this from Paul’s introduction to Romans.

Paul,

• a servant of Christ Jesus,
• called to be an apostle,
• set apart for the gospel of God. (Romans 1.1)

John the Baptist knew what he was about. Paul knew what he was about, and maybe at some level, we should share his call.