Recognizing the Messiah

Have you ever been somewhere, recognized the landmarks, but still have no idea where you're going?

Well, that's me every time I go back "home" to Northern Kentucky to visit.  I lived in the Northern Kentucky area (which is really just a large suburb of Cincinnati) for most of my life.  But eight years ago, I packed up and moved away to pursue ministry opportunities in other parts of Kentucky and Illinois.

Now, when I go back, I routinely have to ask for directions when traveling.  People give me a hard time, since I had lived there so long.  They don't understand how I can forget.  The reality is places change and so do people.  The longer I live elsewhere, the less I remember about the area. 

I can literally drive in parts of Northern Kentucky, recognize the landmarks--the stores, restaurants and parks of my youth--and not really know where I'm at or how to get where I'm going.  I recognize that its familiar, but I don't know fully recognize where I am.

Thus you can sympathize with John the Baptist.  In John 1, John the Baptist clearly states that he didn't know Jesus was the Messiah until AFTER he had baptized him.  He been told to look for a sign--a dove and a loud voice from heaven--which would confirm the identity of the Messiah.

We see clearly in Matthew 3 that John noticed something different about Jesus.  He was hesitant to baptize him.  But according to his own testimony in the book of John, he didn't know for sure until after the signs.  He noticed something familiar but he didn't recognize him for who he was.

Once he did, it changed him forever.  He declares Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He knew Jesus to be the Messiah.  He even encouraged some his own disciples to leave him and follow after Jesus instead.  He recognized Jesus as both LORD and Savior.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we too must recognize Jesus the same way.  He can't just be our savior.  He can't just be the one who saves us from sin and spares us from punishment.  He has to be our Lord as well.  He must be in complete control over our life and be our king.  Only a king can grant mercy and grace, which is exactly what we need to spared from the punishment of sin.

So do you, like John the Baptist, recognize Jesus as the Lord of your life, or are you only comfortable with him being the savior?

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