Jesus embraces life

Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, six months before the birth of Jesus. The stories of their births have lots in common: both were heralded by the Angel Gabriel, both were predicted to be great before the Lord and both were conceived in impossible circumstances. The similarities don’t end there either. When John and Jesus begin their ministries their message is the same, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!’ But then the similarities break down. John is quite an austere figure, living out in the desert. He calls those who follow him to live his rigid lifestyle, abstaining from food and drink. With Jesus, however, it is different. Being with him is like being with the bridegroom at a wedding, and there is copious eating, drinking and celebrating. At one time it was enough for John to question whether Jesus was the Messiah at all (see Matthew 11 verses 2-3). Jesus, however, always had a high regard for John. In his opinion ‘among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist’. But at the same time he represented the old way of doing things, so much so that the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than he. John’s way of life was nothing to the fullness Jesus brought. There is, however, one other way in which John and Jesus are similar: Both were executed by the Establishment. John was Jesus’ forerunner in life and death.

The Rev David Chadwick,

St Paul’s Church, Ryhope