John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord,  make straight his paths.

Today’s passage ends with a direct quote from the book of Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

So who was this voice? Many believe that because of the old age of his parents that John was sent as a very young boy to live with the Essenes. They were several religous sects in practice during this time. We hear about the Scribes, Pharisees, and Saducees, in the bible, and there were other radical sects like the zealots, but there was at least one other we know of (from the dead sea scrolls) called the Essenes. The Essenes, were what you would call today, religious fundamentalist.  They believed that the temple had been completely corrupted by the Pharasees, and Saducees, and so they lived in the desert, and litterally lived out the words from Isaiah, waiting for the signs of the coming of the messiah.

The Essenes were a cloistered society, and they were segregated by sex as well. The men of this community would prepare all of their own food, they would carry their own water, and they would do all of the things that were traditionally done by both men and women. In community, they wore white like the temple priests, and ate only food that was provided from the community in which they lived. But when outside of the community, they would only use what was provided by nature, wearing animal skins, and eating things like locusts, and wild honey.

It is believed though that John did not agree that the essenes should be totally insular, and not preach to the people about the truth of the temple and the coming of the lord. The average jew was left with only the temple, and the corrupt leaders running it. And the Gentiles had no one to preach the truth to them. So John began teaching and proclaiming outside his community, and as such it is beleived that he was excluded from the essene community, sent out into the desert alone. But because of his pius faith, he maintained his essene religious practices and was thus forced to wear animal skins and eat locusts and honey.

John began his ministry, by setting up camp in the northern area of the dead sea near the Jordan river. This location was pilgrimage route for many jews coming to the temple in Jerusalem.  It was also a major trade route, that gentiles of all kinds would use to trade with the romans and jews in Jerusalem. So John began proclaiming the coming of the lord, and preparing them all for that moment through baptism.  

The essenes had a daily practice of washing (baptizing) for forgiveness, but what John offered in the desert was different, He gave a one time baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. A clear precursor to our current sacrament of baptism. But this was a big deal, for a jew to wash his whole body in baptism, because it meant your whole body was ritually unclean… not something many jews would readily confess, because it required a humiliating public display of guilt and a similar public admission of sin. This kind of ritual washing was only ever done by a jew at the temple, and was performed with a temple priest, and only done so that one could enter the temple, and obtain forgiveness of sins.  But John was offering this same forgiveness, as a stand-in for the priests at the temple, because the pharisees and saducees were so corrupt. It is clear to see why those temple leaders were so upset with John for doing this.

Nevertheless, many flocked to John, and sought his baptism. I think that this points to the fact of how corrupt the Pharisees and Saducees actually were, and to how much the average jew yearned for the temple sacriafices of old, and it also points to the general understanding that the coming of the messiah was imminent. The people knew even if the temple leaders refused to recognize it.

So what is the message for us today. Simple, that the lord is coming symbolically at christmas, but also bodily, when he comes back to render his final judgement. The question is, are you ready? Are you prepared to welcome Him when He arrives. That is what we need to ponder during this season of advent, and to make straight the paths in our own lives for Him to come into our own hearts. Start today, the time is growing short, He will be here before you know it.

Oh lord, help me today to prepare for your coming. Help me to understand what you need from me to recieve you with joy and happiness. Amen.