By Larry Stover
Stover lives in Valley Grande and is pastor at Praise Park Ministries Church of the Nazarene

Christmas is all about preparation.  It comes in many forms. Many stores begin stocking shelves with Christmas items in September.

The entrance of John the Baptist on the world scene set the stage for the arrival of the Messiah.  Luke 3:1-2 explains, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene — during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.“

Luke was not only a doctor but also a historian. He gets very precise as to when John enters the scene. Let’s put this into perspective. Tiberias Caesar served AD 14-37; Pontius Pilate was Governor of Judea AD 26-36; Harod Antipas was Tetrarch of Galilee 4 BC until AD 39; His brother Philip was Tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitus from 4 BC until AD 34; Nothing is known about Lysanias, Tetrarch of Abilene; Annas was High Priest AD 6-15; and Caiaphas was High Priest AD 18-37.

John the Baptist comes on the world stage about AD 27-28.  The political world is about to take a back seat to the “Divine Intervention of God Almighty.”  He had a very specific calling.  Again, we read about it in Luke 3:3-5, “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all people will see God’s salvation.” This is a picture of road construction in the Middle East fit for a king.  The road was to as smooth as possible with every detail striving for perfection.

That was the message of John concerning the Messiah.  “Prepare the way of the Lord” was no easy task.  The people had been without any prophetic voice for over 400 years.   They had strayed away from their Judeo principles and standards.  People were being called on to be baptized as a sign of purification and preparation.  Everyone was challenged to produce fruits of righteousness in such a way that their good works might be seen by those who did not believe or by others who had strayed away from their roots.  The ultimate goal was the reconciliation of man to God through Jesus Christ.

As we spend this Advent season preparing for the celebration of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, let’s anticipate the renewal that Jesus wants from all of us.

The first and most important emphasis is our salvation.  The greatest gift that we can give our children is the knowledge that they know we are a follower of Jesus Christ, that our sins have been forgiven, and that we daily seek to reflect Jesus in our lives.