The Forerunner of Christ
"But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John."
– Luke 1:13
When God was ready to do very important work throughout humanity, we found a commonality in the Bible. God did the miraculous through women who could not have children. And in the Lord’s timing and for His purposes, He would allow these women to become pregnant when they thought their childbearing days were over.
In their later years, Abram and Sarai had no children, but when God made the Abrahamic covenant, many nations came through their offspring (Genesis 17). When God needed a man to deliver Israel from the Philistines, He promised Manoah and his wife a son; they had Samson (Judges 13). And when God wanted to use a man to lead Israel out of spiritual corruption, He blessed Elkanah and Hannah with Samuel (1 Samuel 1). These women were barren and aged, but God did the impossible through them. In the same way, the Lord used Zacharias and Elizabeth’s lives to bring in their son, John the Baptist.
God was ready to do another critical work. John the Baptist would be used as the forerunner of the Messiah as was prophesied (Isaiah 40:3). John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17; Malachi 3:1-2; 2 Kings 1:8). He was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even out of the womb (Luke 1:15). It is no wonder then why Jesus said there was no greater prophet than John the Baptist. He was the only prophet who was privileged to meet the One he foretold of (Luke 7:28).
God had a specific plan for John and an appointed time for him to be taken from this earth. The years in between those times were the most vital. This is when he would fulfill his calling. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we believe by faith what Jesus has done for us on the cross. That is just the starting point, though. Our faith builds from there by studying God’s Word (Romans 1:17; Romans 10:17). When His plan for us is revealed, we must be sure to fulfill it. The years between our salvation and our call home in heaven are the most valuable. Are we allowing the Lord to use our lives as He did with John the Baptist? We may be the only forerunner of Christ a person may ever hear.
"When they came, the message they heard was simple. Christ is coming! He is already on the way! He had left His Father's home on high and was about to burst upon the nation. Prophecy was about to be fulfilled with a vengeance. John motivated the people to ask, 'What shall we do to prepare for His coming?' He told them that they must take a stand for God against their sins-and enormous crowds repented then and there."
- John Phillips