‘….the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

These are the words of a young man named John, a young prophet of wild and dishevelled appearance preaching to the people of his time, about the saviour who was to come:

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” ’

John presents a very odd picture indeed. Matthew describes him as wearing clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt to hold his ensemble together – eating locusts and wild honey – we can imagine dishevelled hair – a wild man, shouting, accusing almost raving.

When today we see John as the forerunner we vastly underestimate his significance,

For John was very great indeed, there were many religious groups and movements around the Judean wilderness, but John’s charismatic preaching and baptism attracted vast crowds including Jesus himself.

There was also a rivalry between the followers of John and Jesus that persisted well after John’s death.

Lives and relationships are complicated, even, sometimes especially, in the most important and profound relationships. And whilst the voice of the leader of any organisation and movement must usually take priority over those of their followers, nevertheless other voices can carry messages of great value and significance.