1:5
There was an amazing response to John’s preaching, and note that there was nothing seeker-friendly about his message! (Luke 3:7). Many people went out to him confessing their sins and were baptised. Today there is an unfortunate emphasis on not preaching repentance. This is a very unbiblical approach. Revival happens when God ordains it, we cannot manufacture genuine revival by human means, though possibly we might manage to produce a cheap imitation.
1:6
This verse recalls 2 Kings 1:8 speaking of Elijah the prophet. The whole picture is one of him living a very austere life. His lifestyle was actually quite different to that of Jesus. John was very much “one in the wilderness”. When someone speaks to a society calling it back to Godly ways that person will be in some sense separate from society, they will be different.
1:7
John knew full well what his role was. He was pointing towards the Messiah, he had no illusions about his own importance. This did not mean he was unimportant (Luke 7:28), far from it, but he understood the nature of his importance. We should have the same importance. So often a leader will start to think that they are “the man”, they can become so self-centered. We need to remain humble and to appreciate the nature of our importance. Tying someone's sandals was the most menial of tasks.
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