A Burning and Shining Lamp
John 5:35 (NASB)
After the prophet Malachi gave God’s final warning to His people, the Lord declared, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me.” After roughly four hundred years without a prophetic voice in Israel, God raised up John, the son of Zacharias, a descendant of Aaron. Clothed in camel’s hair and living on locusts and wild honey, John came preaching repentance and preparing the way for the Messiah.
This was a time of great darkness for God’s people. Herod the Great had ruled Judea and ordered the killing of the young boys in Bethlehem. After his death, his son Herod Antipas became tetrarch over Galilee and Perea and lived in open rebellion against God by taking Herodias, his brother’s wife. In the midst of such political, moral, and religious corruption, the Lord sent John to prepare the way for Jesus Christ.
When John entered his public ministry, he was like a flaming sword. He confronted the religious leaders in their hypocrisy, crying, “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He was the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” John was a burning and shining lamp in great darkness. Yet he was not the Light, but a witness to the true Light, Jesus Christ. His purpose was to point sinners to Christ, crying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John’s message did not change according to the person standing before him. He confronted religious leaders, common people, tax collectors, soldiers, and even rulers. When Herod Antipas openly violated the law of God, John declared to him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” John would eventually lose his life because he refused to compromise the truth. He feared God more than he feared man, and he would not soften the commands of God simply because the one standing before him possessed earthly power.
O may the Lord Himself give His beloved children the boldness of His servant John. John was like metal that did not easily bend when the heat was applied. We live in a generation where absolute truth concerning morality is often tossed to the wind. Many live with only an outward form of religion while being driven inwardly by ungodly passions.
Scripture warns us through historical events such as those recorded in Numbers. Balaam counseled Balak, king of Moab, in such a way that became a stumbling block to Israel, leading the people into sexual sin. Zimri, a leader from the tribe of Simeon, fell captive to this corruption and openly brought a Midianite woman into his tent within the camp of Israel. Phinehas, zealous for God’s holiness, followed them into the tent and drove a spear through both of them. Zimri’s sin was open and defiant, committed in full view of the congregation, and God approved Phinehas’ zeal and turned His wrath away from Israel.
Christian, God has called us to shine as lights in this world, holding forth the Word of truth and refusing to compromise with sin. Our lives are to openly reflect a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. True Christianity is more than church attendance, ordinances, and outward religion. It is the inward work of the Holy Spirit upon our deepest affections, creating within us a hatred for sin and a longing for holiness. And we must never forget what is at stake: the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for unrepentant sinners who remain under the wrath of God.
The same Christ whom John proclaimed is the Lamb of God who receives sinners, washes them, sanctifies them, and justifies them through faith. The answer to the darkness of our generation is not greater human determination or mere moral reform. Our great need is Jesus Christ. And God has chosen to use redeemed men and women as His instruments through whom the gospel is made known to the world. Therefore, valiant warriors in Christ, gird yourselves for holy violence and stand faithfully in this generation as burning lamps who are zealous for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though we possess no light of our own, we are called to bear witness to the One who is the true Light. Like John, may we refuse to bend beneath the pressure of this world, faithfully call sinners to repentance, and continually point them to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.