The
Prescription
40 Days Devoted to Spiritual Growth
Dear Theophilus,
Below is a draft of my research for you so far. I’ve included some minor details about the conception, birth and childhood of both John the Baptist and Jesus. Now, fast-forward rather quickly and we are in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius: both Jesus and John are around 30 years old.
Major political and religious leaders were present and were not happy with the message of John the Baptist. The Roman rulers Tiberius Caesar and Pontius Pilate, both corrupt, along with the local Herodian ruler, Herod Antipas and high priests Annas and Caiaphas, all held compromised roles tied to their political survival.
These times were bleak with evil men in power. They were sick with greed, never hesitant to oppress the poor, and were always willing to compromise with Rome to hold onto power. This corner of the world was riddled with moral decay and religious hypocrisy, and in need of divine healing.
I’ve learned that John the Baptist was born from a mother and father who came from priestly lineages and who honored God. John the Baptist came from solid spiritual roots. He was the cousin of Jesus. Per Mary, she and her cousin Elizabeth were pregnant at the same time. By her account John was filled with the Holy Spirit since before his birth! John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah are blood relatives. They are family.
John’s divine prophetic calling was to showcase in “the spirit and fire of Elijah,” the coming of the Lord God Almighty draped in flesh — His revered cousin! He went ahead of Jesus as His forerunner, proclaiming to “prepare the way for the Lord!” He humbly yet boldly introduced Messiah to the world.
Unlike the compromised religious leaders of his day, who gravitated toward the busy Temple complex in Jerusalem, John began his ministry while living in the wilderness as an ascetic. In the wilderness he communed privately with God and then taught those who sought him out. He avoided societal corruption and distraction. He was considered by some to be unbalanced for living a separate life disconnected from the Temple. The animal furs and crickets for snacks didn’t help his credibility nor point to his sanity.
However, he testified that God gave him a message of warning and invitation for all to get ready for a Messiah whose identity had long been developed in the Jewish scriptures. John went from place to place on either side of the Jordan River preaching that people should be baptized to show they had repented of sin and return to God. (Luke 3:3) Interestingly, his actions fulfilled the 700-year-old Jewish prophesy of Isaiah that he was a “voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming,’” and the 400-year-old prophesy of Malachi which stated that, “I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” Truly the God who developed this plan must sit above time!
After a 400-year absence of bold prophetic ministry, suddenly the Jews were responding in holy fear to John’s message. They even lined up to be baptized as Jews, a ritual that had normally been set aside for we Gentiles wanting to convert to Judaism.
John also boldly called out the compromised religious leaders who came out to test his ministry. He rebuked them in their disingenuous attempts to please God through legalistic ritual! He excoriated them as ones seeking to escape the consequences of God’s judgement and urged them to prove their repentance by the way they live. John was always pushing for action to be taken by each man, woman, boy and girl, to show both an inward and outward expression that they were repenting from the sickness of sin. Fascinating that all kinds of people could be found in these crowds — Jews and Gentiles, soldiers, tax collectors, marginalized citizens — all seeking wisdom from this crazy desert hermit who had been given supernatural authority and influence. It seemed that God had chosen a least likely mouthpiece on purpose to prepare the way for Messiah. His authority and spirit were so influential, in fact, that some wondered if he was the very Messiah he came to announce. His humble reply was always the same, “I’m not worthy to undo the shoe strap of Messiah.”
Then, at the height of John’s ministry, with the testimony of dozens of eyewitnesses to confirm the account, the wilderness coronation of Jesus took place. While dense crowds were present and many were being baptized, John baptized Jesus in front of these witnesses and all present heard an invisible voice say, “You are my dearly loved Son, in You I am well pleased.” Those watching saw what looked like a dove land on Jesus. This is the same manifestation that seems to have happened at the start of His followers’ movement from Jerusalem three years later. This “anointing” was the Spirit of God, announcing to the crowds that what they were witnessing was in fact God’s Messiah being set apart for His work of healing the world of sin, sickness and death.
The last note I have for now is an interesting fact I’ve found in my research of Jesus. He appears to be the 77th person in his direct line descending from Adam. Name by name, in chronological order, using Jewish records, I counted these men — all the way back to Adam. The Jews believed that seven was God’s perfect number (because He finished His work of creation in seven days). Is this coincidental? As the 77th person in the lineage of Adam, could Jesus be the completion of prophesy, scripture and the one who would crush the head of Satan, mankind’s enemy according to Jewish history? I am concluding from this bit of research the same inference I stated earlier: Truly the God who developed this plan must sit above time!
Is He the complete cure, the antidote for the decay of humanity? Is He the name above all names, who will fill the valleys and level the mountains? Will He straighten the curves and make straight the rough places? Could He be all of mankind’s salvation sent from God to cure us from our sins? In this Jesus, can we really overcome death? My research continues to reveal to my own heart that the world finally has its cure!
Yours Truly,
Lukas
Below is a draft of my research for you so far. I’ve included some minor details about the conception, birth and childhood of both John the Baptist and Jesus. Now, fast-forward rather quickly and we are in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius: both Jesus and John are around 30 years old.
Major political and religious leaders were present and were not happy with the message of John the Baptist. The Roman rulers Tiberius Caesar and Pontius Pilate, both corrupt, along with the local Herodian ruler, Herod Antipas and high priests Annas and Caiaphas, all held compromised roles tied to their political survival.
These times were bleak with evil men in power. They were sick with greed, never hesitant to oppress the poor, and were always willing to compromise with Rome to hold onto power. This corner of the world was riddled with moral decay and religious hypocrisy, and in need of divine healing.
I’ve learned that John the Baptist was born from a mother and father who came from priestly lineages and who honored God. John the Baptist came from solid spiritual roots. He was the cousin of Jesus. Per Mary, she and her cousin Elizabeth were pregnant at the same time. By her account John was filled with the Holy Spirit since before his birth! John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah are blood relatives. They are family.
John’s divine prophetic calling was to showcase in “the spirit and fire of Elijah,” the coming of the Lord God Almighty draped in flesh — His revered cousin! He went ahead of Jesus as His forerunner, proclaiming to “prepare the way for the Lord!” He humbly yet boldly introduced Messiah to the world.
Unlike the compromised religious leaders of his day, who gravitated toward the busy Temple complex in Jerusalem, John began his ministry while living in the wilderness as an ascetic. In the wilderness he communed privately with God and then taught those who sought him out. He avoided societal corruption and distraction. He was considered by some to be unbalanced for living a separate life disconnected from the Temple. The animal furs and crickets for snacks didn’t help his credibility nor point to his sanity.
However, he testified that God gave him a message of warning and invitation for all to get ready for a Messiah whose identity had long been developed in the Jewish scriptures. John went from place to place on either side of the Jordan River preaching that people should be baptized to show they had repented of sin and return to God. (Luke 3:3) Interestingly, his actions fulfilled the 700-year-old Jewish prophesy of Isaiah that he was a “voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming,’” and the 400-year-old prophesy of Malachi which stated that, “I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” Truly the God who developed this plan must sit above time!
After a 400-year absence of bold prophetic ministry, suddenly the Jews were responding in holy fear to John’s message. They even lined up to be baptized as Jews, a ritual that had normally been set aside for we Gentiles wanting to convert to Judaism.
John also boldly called out the compromised religious leaders who came out to test his ministry. He rebuked them in their disingenuous attempts to please God through legalistic ritual! He excoriated them as ones seeking to escape the consequences of God’s judgement and urged them to prove their repentance by the way they live. John was always pushing for action to be taken by each man, woman, boy and girl, to show both an inward and outward expression that they were repenting from the sickness of sin. Fascinating that all kinds of people could be found in these crowds — Jews and Gentiles, soldiers, tax collectors, marginalized citizens — all seeking wisdom from this crazy desert hermit who had been given supernatural authority and influence. It seemed that God had chosen a least likely mouthpiece on purpose to prepare the way for Messiah. His authority and spirit were so influential, in fact, that some wondered if he was the very Messiah he came to announce. His humble reply was always the same, “I’m not worthy to undo the shoe strap of Messiah.”
Then, at the height of John’s ministry, with the testimony of dozens of eyewitnesses to confirm the account, the wilderness coronation of Jesus took place. While dense crowds were present and many were being baptized, John baptized Jesus in front of these witnesses and all present heard an invisible voice say, “You are my dearly loved Son, in You I am well pleased.” Those watching saw what looked like a dove land on Jesus. This is the same manifestation that seems to have happened at the start of His followers’ movement from Jerusalem three years later. This “anointing” was the Spirit of God, announcing to the crowds that what they were witnessing was in fact God’s Messiah being set apart for His work of healing the world of sin, sickness and death.
The last note I have for now is an interesting fact I’ve found in my research of Jesus. He appears to be the 77th person in his direct line descending from Adam. Name by name, in chronological order, using Jewish records, I counted these men — all the way back to Adam. The Jews believed that seven was God’s perfect number (because He finished His work of creation in seven days). Is this coincidental? As the 77th person in the lineage of Adam, could Jesus be the completion of prophesy, scripture and the one who would crush the head of Satan, mankind’s enemy according to Jewish history? I am concluding from this bit of research the same inference I stated earlier: Truly the God who developed this plan must sit above time!
Is He the complete cure, the antidote for the decay of humanity? Is He the name above all names, who will fill the valleys and level the mountains? Will He straighten the curves and make straight the rough places? Could He be all of mankind’s salvation sent from God to cure us from our sins? In this Jesus, can we really overcome death? My research continues to reveal to my own heart that the world finally has its cure!
Yours Truly,
Lukas