Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: The Kingdom of God (03/12/09)
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TITLE: John the Beloved's Monologue | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jennifer Weiley
03/18/09 -
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I’ll start by saying, I remember… and will never forget the day I met Jesus. I was a disciple of John the Baptist. Many people, myself included, believed John was the Messiah. He taught repentance and water baptism. I figured John would eventually perform miracles to prove he was the Messiah. That might sound ludicrous to you; let me explain.
First off, I’d never heard about Jesus. Why did I think John was the Messiah? Well, he had credentials. An angel foretold John’s, birth and struck his father, the High Priest, Zacharias mute as a sign. You might remember how God sent the Promised One through Sarah, Abraham’s wife? Like Sarah, Elizabeth, the mother of John, was passed child-bearing years and barren. Then, of course, Herod. Surely you've heard how he slew each male child in Bethlehem, but there was also a decree no male child be born in the region of Judea. John’s family fled to the wilderness.
John grew up as no ordinary son of a priest. He dressed in camel’s skin and had long, unkempt hair. He’d pick up a wiggling, noisy locust and dip it in wild honey for a snack. Obscure for the Messiah, I know, but you should have heard John preach.
John the Baptist was a persuasive speaker; none picked an argument because he’d win. So, standing along the banks of the Jordan John proclaimed, “I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I…” I was stunned. What did John mean? If John would’ve said, “I am the Christ” I would have believed him.
The next day John preached his traditional “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” sermon and baptized again. Suddenly John proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” It angered me. Was John sending mixed messages? Then I saw a man arguing with John.
As I said, none argued with John and won. John didn’t want to baptize him. In a soft-spoken way the man named Jesus said, “Permit it at this time…” and John reverently baptized his cousin Jesus. I was awestruck. It’s the only argument I watched John back out of.
Who was this Jesus anyway? Then a voice from heaven answered, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” I had seen enough. I went home.
Well, sometimes men go fishing to talk over their problems. That’s exactly what my Father, Zebedee, and my brother, James, and I did. Dad suggested John the Baptist was saying Jesus is the Christ. He wanted James and me to consider becoming disciples of Jesus. It gave my father much joy when Jesus called out and asked us to follow him.
I kept in touch with John while he was imprisoned. I asked whether Jesus was the Christ. John smiled, “Why take my word for it when you can ask him yourself?” So I asked Jesus.
Unlike John, Jesus didn’t deny it, “The blind received sight, the lame walk, the leapers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised…” The very thing missing in John’s ministry—miracles. I realized Jesus wanted me to believe the evidence. He didn’t require blind faith.
Each of your lives is a testimony to God’s grace and mercy. I hear His words spoken through you. I see His kindness by your works. I feel His love as you’ve welcomed me here. Jesus said, “As you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done it unto Me.”
Well, that’s my testimony; how I came to know Jesus as the Christ. You know, I’m hungry. I think I’ll get a bite to eat. (exit)
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