John 1:7

John 1:7 says, The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  John the Baptist was there to prepare people to get ready for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, and then have them follow Christ.   He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. Some people even thought John might be the Messiah. When people are hungry for hope, they will look to anyone for that hope.  John the Baptist was a good man to listen to, even to follow, but he was not the Messiah.  Today, people follow religious leaders as if they were the answer to life's problems themselves.  If they do not point you to following Christ and away from following them, then something is wrong. Verse eight continues, He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  Verse nine says, That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  Again, everything we teach must be founded in the Bible, so we must know what it actually says.  Jesus was and is the true Light of the world. We, like John the Baptist are sent, as followers of His, into the world to bear witness to that Light. Verse ten adds, He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  Verse eleven continues, He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  When Jesus was in the world, a world made by Him, the world did not acknowledge Him.  He had a few who believed and followed, but even they did not understand Who He really was until after His death, burial, and resurrection.  We today need to understand Who we really follow.  He is not just a man Who walked and taught and died and rose again over two thousand years ago.  He was and is the Creator of this world, and He has promised that He will be with those who put their faith in Him in an even more powerful way through the Holy Spirit.   We need to claim that Power.  John the Baptist boldly proclaimed the coming of Christ in the corrupt and evil world in which he lived.  Even the leaders of God's people refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  Today, we have religious leaders who are more concerned with maintaining their status than with sharing the gospel with all people.  We need to be more like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness of lost people, make ready the way of the Lord.  If we truly believe the end is near, we need to be witnessing to as many as we can instead of withdrawing in fear and anguish.  Our commission was not to withdraw and hang on, but to go and witness.  Jesus came to the Jews first and they did not receive Him.