What if John the Baptist Was Aquaphobic?

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” Luke 3:7-14

John the Baptist is one of the more interesting figures of the New Testament. He was related to Jesus. He dresses in the form of an Old Testament Prophet, wearing clothing made of camels hair and eating locusts, etc. He did not come into the middle of the city, but instead remained in the country baptizing people in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People came from all of Jerusalem and the surrounding area to the Jordan waters to be baptized. But, what if John was afraid of water?

It may sound like a silly suggestion, but people who suffer from the fear of things (snakes, flying, etc.) are usually debilitated by these fears. In other words, they realize the fears are irrational, yet they cannot control their fear. If John had the fear of water, then Jesus would not have been baptized by John, and as such would have had to be baptized by someone else to receive the Holy Spirit. Or, as is the way with G-d, G-d would have found another way to impart the Spirit into Jesus. Either way, G-d would have acted – even could have acted to heal John of his fear.
What is it you are afraid of about your faith, your life, your daily actions? Fear is not always easy to eliminate, but the more we give things to Jesus, the more Jesus will be invited into your lives to heal you and to set you onto your path of faithful living.

Pastor Dave