When I was growing up, I was surrounded by lots of cousins, most of whom were younger because my mother was the oldest of her siblings. There was one cousin about the same age as me. We got into some mischief together, as young kids do. One time in particular we ended up starting a fire that got out of control on my grandparents’ farm. Afterwards, he got into more trouble than I did because he was known to be a troublemaker.
When you grow up with someone you tend to know all their youthful indiscretions, mistakes, and poor choices. I knew my cousin very well. So it was a long time before I trusted him as an adult.
That’s why it’s so amazing to me that John the Baptist calls Jesus, his cousin, the Lamb of God. They were nearly the same age, having mothers who were pregnant at the same time. They’d known each other their whole lives. And yet John believed Jesus when He claimed to be God’s Son, the Messiah.
I can’t imagine believing my cousin if one day he began to claim He was some kind of guru. I’d be reluctant to buy any product he was selling. I’d be skeptical if he professed to be an expert and began teaching any high-level subject.
Maybe I’m going a bit too far. He turned out to be a wonderful, successful person and a great husband and father.
But because I knew him when we were kids, I would be dubious of any apparent big character change he claimed.
Not John. He was whole-heartedly in support of Jesus’s outlandish claims. Son of God? Sure, sounds right! The Messiah? Yes, absolutely! In fact, John was so sure about His cousin’s role in our salvation that he devoted his life to teaching about Jesus and preparing people to believe Jesus when His ministry began.
In today’s verse, John is finally seeing His cousin begin His ministry. And he is there, ready to help Jesus kick-start things with absolute certainty and devotion.
To me, that says a lot about Jesus as a child. If John believed Jesus was the Lamb of God, how can I not believe? John knew Him as a toddler. He saw Him grow into a (typically awkward) preteen and (normally surly) adolescent. He witnessed His departure from home as an adult. He was there to see all that and still knew in his heart that this person was definitely God incarnate.
Dear God,
Thank you for the most amazing witness of John the Baptist who knew Jesus better than almost anyone and still believed with all his heart that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Thank you for this reminder. And thank you for sending Jesus to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, including mine!
CamDevo 