The Saint. Have you seen that show or the movie? Roger Moore/Val Kilmer play an orphan boy who refused to go by the name a priest gave him and rather chooses his own name, Simon the Templar after the Saint of magic. He grows up, however, hiding his true identify using the names of past Catholic saints because Simon becomes a master of thievery and disguise. He can elude his pursuers with a craft unlike many others. “24”. Now that was a great series. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is a man on a mission to the save the world. His innate ability to infiltrate and disrupt the enemy made viewers sit on the edge of their seats nearly every episode. The action, suspense, and unknown kept our eyes glued.
Both Simon and Jack had great skills of deceiving others; one a thief, the other a counter-terrorist agent. Their titles imply deception and coercion. But do you have to be a master thief or government agent to be deceptive? I’m going to go out on a limb and say, no. Sure, these men had their job to do and their success depended on their deception, but how often have I deceived others of my identity with no other purpose but to squelch my personal fear?
In the days of John the Baptist, people were flocking to his teachings. A man whose clothing needed much work and his diet even more, people were spiritually parched and wanting, thirsty for living water. His teachings were fresh, delivered with power and hope. Those around him were so moved by the messages that they thought to themselves could this be the Messiah?
Reading John 1, John is confronted by the Jewish leaders asking him who he was. John freely admits that he isn’t the Messiah. For the sake of argument, if John was the Messiah, would it be difficult to deny it? Jesus didn’t proclaim himself – nor did he deny it – until standing before Pilate. The Jewish leaders could have perceived John as trying to avoid them because if he would have proclaimed himself as the Messiah, he surely would have been charged by the leaders as a fraud and plots to kill him would have soon followed, not that plots didn’t develop despite his denial.
No, John’s answer is frank and with no deception. He is neither Elijah nor the Prophet. “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John feared no one except he had a healthy, reverent fear of the Father. He was called to prepare the way for the Messiah and he followed through until his death. What have you been called to? Do you fear others more than the Father? I pray my actions and answers will result from a confident faith and only a healthy fear of the Lord.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:19-28
22 days!
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