I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel – therefore I came baptizing with water. John 1:31
As I sat reading the first chapter of John on a beautiful Sydney morning beside the Cooks River, these words of John the baptizer suddenly struck me as interesting. Now I confess that I haven’t done a thorough study of this, so what I am about to say is just an ‘off the cuff’ thought. John, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Jesus were cousins. When Mary visited Elizabeth both were pregnant. When Mary greeted Elizabeth the spirit within her recognized the significance of her cousin Mary’s son to be (Luke 1:40-45), and she prophesied about him. It seems inconceivable to me that in the ensuing 30 years their children had no face to face contact; yet John says in our text here, “I did not know Him.” I think what happened was that John knew Jesus as his cousin but on this day, the day appointed by God, John received a revelation of the true identity of Jesus, the Christ, the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world.
Revelation is a wonderful thing. Sometimes it comes quickly, other times revelation may dawn slowly, but when it comes our thinking is changed forever. John’s revelation changed him from him from being a relative of Jesus to a revealer of the Redeemer of the world. The most significant revelation a person can and needs to have is the one John experienced that day – Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But that is not the end of revelation. There is so much more truth that God wants to reveal to us if we will only prepare ourselves to receive it.
As we stand on the threshold of a brand new year we wonder what the coming year will hold not only for us personally but also for our family, our nation and for our world. One thing that I am sure of is that God waits to reveal Himself to us. As we take time in His presence and read His word we should ask the Holy Spirit for revelation of the truth God wants us to know. We will be surprised and delighted at what God shows us.
Sometimes you may go for a long time with no fresh revelation, but don’t stop reading your Bible and waiting for it, and don’t stop doing what God has shown you to do while you wait. Did you notice John’s words? He knew that the Saviour was to be revealed sometime, and he said, “therefore I came baptizing…”. He was obedient to God’s call, preparing the way and waiting for the day of revelation.
What has God shown you to do in this season of your life? Are you doing it faithfully, waiting for His next revelation?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing me safely through this past year. I commit this New Year to you, asking that you will strengthen me by your grace to be faithful and obedient to do all that you have revealed to me. Help me not to be discouraged but to patiently wait for your timing as I wait for your promises to me to be fulfilled. Amen
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