On this day when we remember the Birth of John the Baptist, a few thoughts come to mind. First, he was a child of a promise from God, and second, his role in salvation history as the “forerunner “ – the one who was to “go before the Lord to prepare his way” (Lk. 1:76).
Promises Made and Kept
John was a child of a promise made to Zechariah, a promise he didn’t believe. But John was also a child of a promise made to Mary, a promise she did believe and act on. While Zechariah was struck dumb due to his lack of faith in the promise, Mary was spurred into action. “She went in haste to the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leapt in her womb” (Lk. 1:39-41). John was a gift to his parents, who had been unable to conceive a child, and he was a sign to Mary that the words she had received from the angel were true.
However, he also had his own mission—a mission that would cost him everything. As the forerunner—the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, his mission was to “pave the way,” to get the people ready for the Messiah whom was so long-awaited. And from the moment he met Jesus, even though both were still in their mothers’ wombs, he leapt for joy!
The High Cost of Humility
His mission of being the forerunner was not to be easy, though. It would cost him. John the Baptist lived as a prophet and did prophetic things. He also lived an austere life such as living in the desert, wearing camel hair and eating bugs. John preached repentance and baptized people, working to get them ready to accept the Messiah. He even let his followers go to Jesus when they recognized him. John was outspoken and direct and he was arrested and imprisoned, and ultimately beheaded for it.
This took a lot of humility. Everything he was working for was for someone else to increase. He says very directly to the Jews who question him about Jesus taking away his followers, “He must increase, I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). John had a humble attitude.
When he is in prison, at one moment he sends some of his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you really the one who is to come?” (Mt. 11:3) He knows he is about to give his life for this, and he needs to know. Jesus’ reply is full of meaning. He quotes Isaiah the prophet saying, “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Mt. 11:5). But he leaves out one part of the quote, “the prisoners are freed,” and John must have known this and understood that he would give his life. Jesus ends his message to John by saying, “and blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
Are we able to make sure God’s plan succeeds, even at the cost of our own lives? This is what John ultimately did. So many martyrs have done throughout history. This is the stuff of heroes. This is the power of being humble.
