The Greatest Prophet of All

dougfloyd
12/2003

Luke 3:4
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD…”

Elijah calls down fire from heaven. Isaiah writes breathtaking poetry about the
coming Messiah. Ezekiel sees strange visions. Daniel helps rule an empire. The
prophets of Lord counsel kings, direct wars, and leave a legacy of signs and
wonders. But what about the greatest prophet of all? His legacy is known through
his absence.

He left no literary masterpieces. He had no record of dramatic signs and wonders.

He led no armies into battle. He lived and died in the shadows.

John the Baptist appears and disappears and leaves virtually no trace. Even his
own disciples eventually leave him to follow another.

He does not appear with angels, fire from heaven or miraculous visions. He appears
as only a voice: the voice of one crying. Stripped of visible identity, this
prophet appears anonymously as a voice that cries out. No fancy titles like the
“Greatest Living Prophet.” Simply a voice crying out.

This is not the thunder of Elijah, but the tears of Jeremiah. John the Baptist
appears as a weeping prophet. We may imagine him prophesying in great anger
because his words of a coming baptism of fire sound so ominous. But he is not
shouting, he is crying.

A broken heart spills out deep anguish over the bankruptcy of his people. This
nameless prophet simply cries. As a forerunner, he bears the image of the Man of
Sorrows. Like Jesus, he weeps. A prophet of the Lord may bring the word of
judgment, but he also comes prepared to bear the judgment. Jesus brought a sword
and not peace, but the sword he brought pierced his own soul. He bore the judgment
in the great and awful Day of the Lord.

John the Baptist is not crying out in the city square or even on the temple steps.
He cries out in the wilderness: the wilderness of that place that is no place. It
is nowhere. The anonymous voice of the crying prophet dwells in wastelands. He is
stripped of title, recognition, place and eventually breath. His death seems
almost as obscure and strange as his life. John the Baptist dies as Herod’s party
favor to his step-daughter.

While alive, he cried out, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” Death didn’t stop the
cry. Even today, the cry continues to go before the Lord, preparing the way.

May we listen and head the call. May we watch and wait. May we behold the Lamb of
God. Like John, if we but see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,
we willingly abandon all else.

During these dark days of Advent, may we be ever watchful for the Light of the
World. Like John, may we decrease, so that Jesus Christ might increase. Let us
follow John the Baptist into the shadows, letting go our need to be recognized,
our need to know it all, our need to be on top, our firm footing.

The glory of the Son of God is so beautiful, so wonderful, so breathtaking, if we

but catch a glimpse, we realize all that we are and all that we know is dust, and
we respond in the only way possible: unending adoration.