There is always a preshow entertainer that “warms up the crowd” before the main attraction hits the stage. The preshow act knows that he/she is not the main attraction, but the one who comes before, to get the audience ready to accept the main presenter, hence the name “preshow act”.

John was the precursor to the greatest act (of sacrifice) of all…Jesus the Christ! And John knew it and proclaimed it! But before Jesus publicly came to John to be baptized, we get to know this John, who prepared the way for our Lord, who “set the stage” to tell the religious of the time that what he was doing was NOT merely a popular performance to be watched, (and mocked and criticized!), but that this was a time to get ready, to change, to transform from the inside out. It was NOT the water that does this! Water is merely a declaration of commitment, of being cleansed by the world’s ways of thinking, as well as our propensity to keep sinning. John brings focus, not to himself, but to the One who will come after him. Listen in to John, “the Baptizer’s”, message. Warning: He is not politically correct…and we love that! Simple and direct…Truth.

“While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called ‘the Baptizer,’ was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: ‘Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.'” Matthew 3, Msg

“John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!'”

“John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life.”

“When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: ‘Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here not there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.” Still Matthew 3, Msg…

“‘I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama–compared to him I’m a mere stagehand–will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house–make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.'” Matthew 3, Msg