Zechariah’s prophecy about his son John continues today.  Often as a parent we can embellish stories about our children a bit.  But in this case it is not really Zechariah speaking.  He is filled by the Holy Spirit and it is really God speaking through him.  The words come from above.

John will be a messanger.  As with all messangers, he is sent before to prepare for another’s arrival.  He does not come to announce himself or to promote his own agenda, but to prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival and ministry.  John’s role is complimentary.

In Jesus and His life, God is about to offer up the saving act of salvation.  Through Jesus Christ, God is providing the means to reconcile us to God and to free us from captivity to and fear of sin and death.  John came to prepare the people for this mighty act of God.  In order to prepare the people, John preached in the desert about sin and offered a baptism of repentance.  He prepared the way for the coming Savior by making people aware of their sin and the need to repent of their sins.

As we walk through Advent, we too are called to prepare ourselves for the the coming of the King.  John’s message about seeing our sin and repenting is as applicable today as it was when he first preached it.  If we are to be ready to receive our Savior on Christmas Eve, we must look within and wrestle with our sins and temptations and work make ourselves ready.  May we see our sins, repent, and prepare for the coming of our Lord and Savior!

Scripture reference: Luke 1: 76-79