The Tablet and the Platter

"And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, 'His name is John'" (Luke 1:63).

"And his head was brought on a platter" (Matt. 14:11).

John the Baptist was six months older than the Christ whose way John prepared (Luke 1:36).  So on June 24, six months until Christmas, we celebrated the birthday of John the Forerunner.  The greeting could be "Merry Johnmas!"

The story of John's birth and circumcision on the eighth day is found in Luke 1:57-64.  And it seems that on very close inspection of the words, there emerges a prophecy of the way John would die.  Most of you know that John was beheaded and his head placed on a platter (Matt. 14:1-12).

The platter is a strangely significant detail in the death of John.  Likewise on the day he was circumcised, there is another curious detail.  His father Zacharias, who was unable to speak (Luke 1:20), requested a tablet on which to write, "His name is John."

Here is the connection.  Remarkably, and in a way only the Holy Spirit and Scripture could arrange, the word "tablet" and the word "platter" are in the original Greek the same basic word!*

The child's name written on a tablet was that of the man whose head was brought on a platter.

As you reflect on this connection, remember that the purpose of John the Baptist is to call you to repentance and point you to your Savior.

*For those who are interested:
     pinakidion (diminutive of pinax) = tablet
     pinax = platter

the ten comMANdments

I. You shall be god.
II. You shall still, however, misuse God's name.
III. Forget old, outdated religious customs.
IV. Disrespect your parents, other authorities, and elders.
V. You shall not call it murder.
VI.
VII. You shall not get caught stealing.
VIII. You shall say what it takes to get ahead.
IX. You shall not be content.
X. You shall never be content!

Being John 3:15

How would you like to be John 3:15?  You're right there all the time next to the great John 3:16.  But nobody has you memorized from childhood.  Nobody holds you up at a football game.  You aren't called "the Gospel in a nutshell."  How many sermons have been given on John 3:16?  How many on you?  Most Christians have no idea what you say.

There exists a sinful desire for recognition and fame.  T.S. Eliot wrote in the poem "Choruses from 'The Rock,'"

Many are engaged in writing books and printing them,
Many desire to see their names in print.

Speaking from experience, pastors in particular wrestle with this temptation.  We want to be seen as successful, as the spiritual leader who "makes it happen."  John the Baptist, who is the model pastor, said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), and, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

John knew the power and personal fulfillment of pointing to another, the way John 3:15 does.  Isn't it true that without John 3:15 we couldn't find verse 16?  But there it is, without fame or recognition, directing the whole world to the Gospel.

You do the same in the place God has put you.  And if anyone ever asks, "Okay, but what do you say?" you can tell them that "whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:15).

I with You Am

"And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20).

Many Christians are more than familiar with these words of Jesus in the final line of the Gospel of Matthew.  It ranks among the greatest promises of God and gives much comfort and assurance to Christians.

While in English it reads, "I am with you," the word order in the original Greek is this:

"I with you am."

It is a kind of word picture in which believers are protected in Christ.  And it gives new meaning to Paul's statement that we "have been baptized into Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:3).  It helps visualize Philippians 3:8-9: "...in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him."  Or Psalm 139:5: "You hem me in, behind and before."

God introduced Himself as I AM all the way back in Exodus 3:14.  But the name reaches its final form in Matthew 28:20: I with you AM.  For in Christ, incarnate, crucified, and risen, God opened Himself up and has taken us in!

He is with you today, tomorrow, and all the days.  Better still, you are safely within Him.