The Man who grew Downward

Preachers need grace, not ‘groupies’ . Chris Hill takes another look at the preacher who was not for sale…

John the Baptist was an extraordinary man. It seems likely that he was prepared at two levels to be the voice that would declare the glories of Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

At the divine level he was prepared through the operations of the Holy Spirit within him. Those operations had commenced at his conception when the Holy Spirit filled him in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). Throughout his years of growing into manhood the Lord fed John by the Spirit with a profound level of understanding as to who Jesus really was. It passed natural understanding. This is made clear by John 1:33 which records the exact words of the Baptist: “I would not have known Him, except that the one who sent me to baptise in water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise in the Holy Spirit. ‘” Divine revelation had prepared John for the moment when Jesus approached him at the Jordan. John was divinely prepared to be “The Voice” .