December 18th Advent day 22

Today Joyce Hugget's notes are examining the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth and Zecharia.  A familiar story which I have read and heard countless times.  But today as I was reading it again, I suddenly had a thought I've never had before.  What was the point of John The Baptist??   Why was he so important?.  All 4 Gospels start with reference to him.  There must be a good theological, reasonable reason for his appearance in the plot.  Hmmmmmmm.


I Googled it ! 


And I found something I didn't know before.   Love it when that happens.    There was screeds of it, but here it is in a nutshell as written by someone else.   ( apologies if you have known this for ages :-)  You can just skip to the end and be thankful that you have more revelation than me!)


In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, they were able to atone by laying their hands on the head of a sacrificial animal that was without blemish. In this way, the sin was passed onto the sacrificial animal and the sacrifice died with those sins. Then the animal's throat was cut and the priests placed the blood on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering. This was the way to atone for daily sins. In the case of yearly sins, Aaron the High Priest offered the sacrifice for all the people of Israel. In the Old Testament, Aaron and his sons were ordained by God to serve in perpetuity. All sins had to be washed away through Aaron and his sons. It was as God had ordered.
Because John the Baptist was born to the house of Aaron, ( see Luke 1:5)  it was proper for him to be the high priest, and God predestined him to be the last High Priest, according to His promise of redemption.

So, when John the Baptist laid his hands on Jesus, he passed onto Jesus all the sins of the world. John the Baptist was the representative of all humanity and the last high priest because the Old Testament ended when Jesus Christ was born. John the Baptist passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus when he baptized Him. This would be the last need for the Old Testament method. 

If you want to read the whole thing it's here  http://www.myspace.com/john_the_baptizer/blog/352627177

Now it all makes sense!  I've always wondered why Jesus seemed to need a trailer   ' Coming soon to a wilderness near you! Jesus, Lamb of God!  Hurry hurry hurry, repent before it's too late!'     Jesus didn't need anyone to go before Him and announce His arrival.  Did He?   I don't think so.  Not really.   But as the sacrificial Lamb of God maybe He did technically and legally need a High Priest to lay hands on him and place on Him the sins of the people.

It seems clear that John gained some understanding about what was happening at some point before , and possibly during the baptism, as he explicitly refers to Jesus as the sacrificial offering

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

 ³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”  ( John 1)

You've got to feel sorry for Elizabeth dont you?  She spends years suffering the agonies of being barren.  Then she has a son who is filled with the Holy Spirit from birth - which must have been an interesting parenting experience.  Then he goes off to live in the desert and eat locusts and honey.  And once he has had his short moment of fame he is beheaded. :-(  Im hoping Elizabeth and Zacharia weren't around for that.  Maybe that's why God waited until they were already old before they had him.  

Lord, Christmas isnt just about a baby lying in a manger, it is about an intricate plan set in place before the foundation of the world.  It's about You working to bring every piece into the right place at the right time to fulfil every prophecy and all of the law in order that You can declare us righteous before You.  A rescue mission.  Maybe we shall never understand all that you did 2000 years ago, but I thank you for every detail of Your plan and for every person who said YES to you when You required them to be involved in it.