We live in a world of fakes and counterfeits … therefore, much effort is made to verify our identity. Signature cards at the bank, facial recognition on our phones, fingerprint scanners on our laptops, and two-step authentication on websites are all designed to verify that we are who we say we are.
It matters to us that people pretend to be us. This matters to the first year college student … and even more to someone with a position of responsibility or authority.
When Jesus came into the world, there were many fakes and counterfeits. Others had claimed to be the Messiah, and had gathered groups of followers. In this world, what would be the ID that Jesus might show to reveal that He was who He said He was – the Son of God?
Well, turns out, God had been working for a very long time, and in very consistent ways, to demonstrate what He looked like. While this is true of the character of God revealed through the entire Old Testament, there was a particular prophet who displayed God’s handiwork. Living over 800 years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Elijah showed the world that God was with him, so that the world would know what God looked like when He showed up. In Elijah’s short years of public ministry he: prepared for the start of His ministry by a time in the desert, performed miracles multiplying food, raised a boy from the dead, humiliated the demons of darkness, performed miracles involving the weather, ascended to heaven while alive at the end of His earthly life. Any of that sound familiar?
Elijah was a prophet who prepared the way for the Lord by serving as the two-step authentication of the Son of God who was to come. Elijah was just a “man like us,” but in broad strokes painted against the canvas of his life, God put His signature on Elijah, so that when God showed up with Jesus’ birth 8 centuries later, the signature was recognizable and verified Jesus’ identity.
This Sunday at Wildwood in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 services, we will look at the life of the OT Prophet Elijah and see how he was used to “prepare the way for the Lord.” We will do so in part 8 (the penultimate chapter) of our “Scarlet Thread” sermon series as we trace the shadow of the Savior through 1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 2.
It matters to us that Jesus was who He said He was. If He was an imposter, then our salvation is not secure … so let’s check some ID to see that Jesus is the real deal. We’ll do this together on September 28 by looking at the life of Elijah.
See you there … and bring friends!