Have you ever known someone to whom you were just immediately drawn? It's hard to explain why they interested you; they simply did. I can't explain why people were going out to the Jordan River to hear the man whose message called them to confess their sins; they were just drawn to him.

Notice that John is described as appearing in the wilderness and that people from the whole countryside were going to him. I don't know about you, but I knew the pastor that baptized me for some time, and I was still skittish about him holding me under water.

Yet there is something about John and his message. I think he must have been a creative spirit. People were drawn to him, including Jesus, to be baptized; but John also knew that one greater than him was coming (John 1:22-23). He thought in ways that were not necessarily those of the religious authorities. John was open to the call of God on his life.

By Brian Foreman from D365