Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

The Reappearance of Prophecy

John headed for one of the popular crossings of the Jordan River, where a ready audience awaited him. He was to prepare the way for the Lord's appearance and to help God's people find forgiveness of their sins and the salvation of God. As "the prophet of the Most High" he was to represent and speak on behalf of the Lord and to point the way to the Christ coming after him (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). He declared himself to be the "voice" men tioned by Isaiah (40:3) and that he must fulfill Isaiah 40 by raising val leys and lowering mountains (encouraging the discouraged and rebuk ing the proud). At some point the Lord spoke to him that one of those who would come for baptism would be the Christ (John 1:33). He knew somehow that all interest and importance must focus on this Anointed One, and that it would be his joy simply to be the friend of the Bridegroom and not the Bridegroom Himself (John 3:29). The time would come, John knew, for Christ "to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines" (John 3:30, Message). The prophet would introduce the main act. The impressions of the Spirit let him know that the best way to ac complish this was to preach repentance in open-air settings and bap tize those who truly repented. So he began to declare the arrival of the Kingdom of God and the need to repent and live an ethical lifestyle. Throngs of people flocked out to listen to him at the Jordan River. As Dunn describes John: "The divine compulsion was such that he had to go forth and proclaim. So compelling was his conviction that the way of the Lord must be prepared, so urgent his vision of imminent judg ment that he could do no other than warn the people and give them opportunity to repent." 11 John came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Matthew 11:14; 17:11-13; Luke 1:17), although he performed no signs and wonders (John 10:41). John himself was a sign, in the best tradition of the Hebrew prophets (see chapter 6). The multitudes held him to be a prophet (Matthew 14:5; 21:26, 46; Mark 11:32). Jesus called him "one who is more than a prophet" (Matthew 11:9) and the messenger predicted by Malachi (Luke 7:27). John preached to Israel at the crossroads of the valley and baptized people in droves. He challenged all to repent, showing no favoritism, and clearly stated that he was neither the Christ nor one of the former prophets (John 1:25). His only claim to fame: that he fulfilled Isaiah's prediction of "a voice of one crying in the wilderness" for the people to repent and turn to God (John 1:23). The great purpose of John's existence found dramatic fulfillment when Jesus of Nazareth came to be baptized by him. John saw the Spirit come 135.