Prepare the way –
John the Baptist was known as the forerunner for Jesus Christ and played a pivotal role in the salvation mission that Christ came to achieve.
For the ourpose of this reading it is important to note that John came before Jesus and it was His will for Him to prepare the way for Him.
The Amplified version of John 3 states in verse 14 that John told Jesus after He came to him to be baptized “It is I who have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Verse 15 then states “Jesus replied to him, permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for (both of) us to fulfill all righteousness.” John’s question seemed fitting because why was he the one to baptise the Messiah and saviour of all mankind? But Jesus’ response was simple and yet powerful – this was the way for them to fulfill all righteousness, it was the will of the Father for it to go this way and fulfill all prophecies.
Sometimes we think God’s way is opposite to the way we imagine it should go, or it appears ODD, out of order from the order that makes sense to us. But God’s way is His way and I will leave us with that.
God does things out of the ordinary, that is part of his nature. His way is fitting and he expects us to obey in order for what he has planned and promised to be fulfilled.
Prayer :
Lord we may never understand the magnitude of our obedience to your will, but help us never to get lost in the questioning of it that we lose sight of your powerful will and guidance for us. Help us not to step back from saying yes just because it seems odd, out of the ordinary or completely opposite. Your way is your way and we honour and obey that. Forgive us for acting as though we are the lord’s of our own lives. In Jesus’s name, amen.
I encourage you to read John 14 – 15.