Little People

 August 26, 2024

A bit different theme tonight—one of my favorite Bible verses:

“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

—Luke 3:1-2 

You might rightly ask, “Why is this one of your favorite verses?” The answer is simple. Every name in this list with the exception of Zacharias and John were the high and mighty of their day. They were the rich, the connected, the powerful. Ordinary people would grovel at their feet, hoping for a favor. But if it weren’t for John, the son of Zacharias, most of us would never have heard of them.

People think you have to be rich, famous, and powerful to make a difference in this world, but the Word of God came to none of those “important” people. It came to John in the wilderness. So if you find yourself to be an ordinary person, stranded in a wilderness, a wild place where nothing is familiar or safe, don’t panic. The Word of God comes to little people like you in places like that. Today’s high and mighty will pass away, just as did those in John’s day, but you can rejoice that your name is written down in heaven (Luke 10:20).