John the Baptist was the first person to usher Jesus into the Jewish world and call him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Jews asked John if he was the Messiah they had expected to deliver Israel. He said no in reply and called himself a voice shouting in the wilderness, who prepared a straight pathway for the Lord’s coming (v. 23). One day when Jesus came to John to be baptised, John initially rejected his request saying, “I am the one who needs to be baptised by you.” But John consented to baptise Jesus shortly and testified that Jesus was the Son of God after the baptism.

John the Baptism was highly respected among the Jewish people. They thought of him as the Messiah, Elijah coming back to life, or the Prophet. However, he never claimed himself to be someone significant. He said that he was not worthy to untie his (Jesus) sandals or to be his slave. He was a voice calling all sinners to repent because the Kingdom of God was at hand.

Like John the Baptist we are only a voice, the voice to tell people God’s love and mercy. The only way to accept His love is through repentance and receiving Jesus as our Savior, who has died for our sins.