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not worthy

Mark 1:6&7
"6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose."

We are in the Epiphany season leading up to Lent. During these weeks, it's time to remember the events that revealed the divinity of Jesus Christ. This week we are studying Jesus's Baptism from the verses of Mark's Gospel. John the Baptizer is the voice calling out in the wilderness, making way for the Messiah. He is telling everyone who will listen that the Savior is about to arrive. John offers them the chance to repent of their sins and turn their hearts and minds towards GOD!

This event is taking place in the countryside on the banks of the Jordan River. This is the same place that Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land from wandering the wilderness for forty years. John the Baptizer was Jesus's cousin. He lived the life of a Nazarite and was unusual to his contemporaries. And, he talked about his cousin in a way people don't normally talk about their family. "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." At this time it was common practice for a servant (or slave) to loosen and remove the sandals for people of a household. John is vividly saying he is NOT WORTHY of performing this very menial task! (And, he is about to do something FAR GREATER for the Son of God!)
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