The common message of John and Jesus.
Here is a fact of the records to which sufficient attention has not been given. Our Lord did not realize at once the individuality of his Messianic message. He began public labour by doing John's work and repeating's John's message. Both had this for their gospel, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Another remarkable fact needs to be noticed in this connection. When our Lord sent out his apostles on their trial-mission—a beginning of gospel-preaching for them, in which we expect them to deal with first principles—we find that he gave them John's message, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
I. THE HONOUR THUS PUT ON JOHN. It is usual to represent John's work as superseded by Christ's. It is not so. His work was carried on by Christ. The "repentance" he demanded was shown by Christ to be the permanent demand which must be made of every man in all the ages. John never dies; his voice is never silenced; he reappears at Pentecost. "Repent and be converted." John is no mere passing voice. He speaks to the world to-day. His message is. seen to be God's message for humanity when it gains repetition from the lips of the Lord Jesus. "Of those born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist."
II. THE HONOUR THUS PUT ON REPENTANCE. It is seen to stand permanently in the very forefront of the Divine requirements. It is the strait gate at the very head of the Christian way. When the way of salvation is represented as easy, as a weak yielding of the Divine love, it is well to remember that door of repentance which blocks the entrance. So many now take up Christian profession on the persuasion of mere passing emotion, without any soul-humblings through repentance. John and the Lord Jesus gave the first place to repentance. No man can ever apprehend what Jesus is, as the Forgiver of sin, who has not learned of John what is repentance of sin. The weakness of so-called gospel-preaching nowadays is the absence, of Johannine demands of repentance, which both the Lord Jesus and his apostles made.—R.T.