John the Baptist, the last Old Testament Prophet

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Devotional Guide
For the week of May 13, 2007

MOTHERąS DAY

John the Baptist, the last Old Testament Prophet

To Read the Bible in one year, today read: Jeremiah 49-50


To Know:

łEven now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.˛ (Lk.3:
9)

How do the prophets relate to the law? Jesus said that he came to fulfill
the law and the prophets. The prophets were sent by God to bring a lawsuit
against his lawless people. The administrative instrument of the kingdom of
God is the covenant. The covenant has been in development ever since God
promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.
(Gen.3: 15) That simple covenant promise was expanded and further developed
in the days of Noah and Abraham. A giant step forward came in the days of
Moses. The covenant was furthered when God promised David that the king of
the kingdom would be one of his sons. That son, Jesus Christ, fulfilled the
covenant when he made it new on the eve of his death and departure back to
his father. The ten commandments were the constitution of the nation formed
by the Lord at Mount Sinai. From the beginning, God kept faith with his
covenant promises, but Israel proved faithless. The last Old Testament
prophet, John the Baptist, preached Godąs ultimatum to the last Old Covenant
generation.

Johnąs ultimatum was repent or perish. Jesus submitted himself to John the
Baptist as a substitute for his people. When the Lord came to repent and be
baptized, John resisted because he knew Jesus was without sin. Christ knew
what he was to do. First, he submitted to the message of the prophets by
repenting in his peopleąs stead. Second, Christ obeyed the will of God from
the heart. He fulfilled the law and the prophets. He did what he did in
order to save sinners. On our behalf, Christ lived an obedient life and died
a sacrificial death. This is the true gospel of God.


To Do:

Of ourselves, we cannot perfectly obey, nor can we offer ourselves to atone
for sin. This is why faith in Christ is our only hope.



05177$-05177


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