Mark 1:5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Again, what strikes me is this sense of community, of uplifting each other. John knows that Jesus is coming after him. He knows that Jesus is the Son of God, fully human, fully divine. He knows that in the hierarchy of holiness, he’s not worthy to untie the straps of Jesus’s sandals.
Mark 1:6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
He knows all of this, yet it doesn’t make him bitter. John doesn’t try to make himself more to outshine Jesus. He’s shining Jesus’s light because he knows that he is baptizing with water, but Jesus will baptize by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 1:7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
Precious Savior, The world tells us that this life is all about being first, being best. Thank You for showing us another way, a better way, Your way. Help us to shine Your light, lift others up, encourage others. Help us to put You first. Always. Amen.
Mark 1:8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Have a blessed day.