The thing you gotta know about John was that …he was a sensation! All kinds of people from Judea and all the region about the Jordan River were flocking to John, and they were hanging on his every word and confessing their sins to him and being baptized by him! Really try to imagine the scenario; put yourself in John’s shoes… thousands upon thousands of people giving you their unrivaled attention and trust!? This is what we most explicitly, compulsively, and addictively crave. This is the stuff of an instagram influencer’s fantasies! If a person had such an impact it’s difficult to imagine how they would ever be able to part with it.

But some of you will say, “John isn’t some superficial social media celebrity! He would never be enticed to mold a movement around himself!” We aren’t given a lot of details about the specific sin proclivities of John, but there’s no getting around the fact that he sinned, and he was capable of every kind of sin. Moreover, whatever John’s evil penchants were, the fierce loyalty and rigid commitment of John’s disciples is well documented. For instance, one time John’s disciples came to him complaining, “He who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” Then John had to explain to them that he was not the bridegroom. John said, “I’m like the maid of honor. My job is to get y’all ready for the bridegroom. But on your wedding day, if you say, ‘The maid of honor helped me with my dress and make up and jewelry; and I’ve fallen in love with the way the maid of honor has made me look …so I shall exclusively commit to the maid of honor!’ you’ve missed the whole point!” John’s joy was to prepare people for another. John’s grand goal was to see people cease following him in favor of following Someone infinitely better.

To be continued…