The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Mark 1:1-8, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
3 THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'”
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
7 And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
8 “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Evangelists do a lot of silly things! My close and loyal Australian friend, the late George Galieh, used to say,

“John the Baptist was a preacher;
John the Baptist was a Jew;
Some folks say he was a Christian;
But he was a Baptist, too.”

Yet, as silly as that little verse might sound to you as a reader, it is packed with genuine truth! For it speaks clearly of John the Baptist, the preacher-
proclaimer of the LORD Jesus Christ, as He entered humanity’s scene as the proclaimer of mankind’s Savior-Redeemer.

John was hardly what the Nation of Israel could have expected. Clothed in camel’s hair and wearing a leather belt around his waist, John was hardly what the religious Jews were expecting. Further, John ate locusts and wild honey! If John were not the Redeemer (and he was not!), what on Earth
would the Redeemer Himself look like?

The LORD possesses a lot of surprises for those who trust Him! Have you noticed that? Have you ever met someone whose presence impressed you
negatively? Yet, when you truly got to know the person, your whole attitude changed!

There were many serious-minded Jewish people who were looking for the Messiah. He was coming; but they have to deal first with John! No one, desiring to take out a loan from a bank, rushes into the building and right into the Bank President’s Office! No, there are “stages” of registration that are first required. So it was with John and Jesus.

John the Baptist was proclaiming the coming of the Savior; still, he was
admitting that he was totally unworthy to even introduce Jesus. Moreover,
he was unworthy of being the lowliest slave, who untied the sandles of the
visitor to a household. Knowing he was nothing was what made him who he was.

By the way, the water in which John immersed Jewish believers was simply symbolic of the Holy Spirit with Whom Jesus immersed the
believing Jews. So it is today. Baptism is merely a sign of one’s having
trusted Jesus as his LORD and Savior. Baptism is not saving! Yet the key is: have you trusted Christ Jesus as your Savior and Lord?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom