The Trail Markings

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:1-15

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.” - Mark 1:14

Our family has finally entered a phase of life that is conducive to hiking.  For the past ten years we’ve had to juggle babies, toddlers, or preschoolers.  And though we never completely avoided hiking during that time, there was always the added challenge of carrying kids or motivating them to keep moving on their own.  Often carrying proved to be the easier of the two options!

We found a few tricks that helped along the way.  Walking sticks and snack breaks are absolutely essential. And trail markers can be used as buttons that can be pushed with sticks or hit with rocks as the family walks by them.

Of course, the real purpose of the trail markers is to keep a hiker on the correct path.

Looking at Jesus’s journey, I find myself wondering if His cousin, John the Baptist, isn’t some sort of metaphorical trail marker for Him.  In the first chapter of the gospel of Mark, we see Jesus going out to be baptized in response to John’s preaching of repentance.  That baptism leads to Jesus journeying into the wilderness to face temptation.  Then in verse 14, there seems to be a link between John’s imprisonment and Jesus beginning His public ministry, preaching throughout Galilee. 

Later, when we read about John’s death in Mark 6, it is immediately followed by a great demonstration of Jesus’s power.  He has been preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out demons.  But now we see Jesus performing an astounding miracle; feeding a crowd of five thousand men plus women and children, using only five fish and two small loaves of bread.  He quickly follows that up with another miracle, by walking on water.

I used to think that Jesus, as fully God, already knew every step of His journey from the moment He was born.  If that was true, He would have had no need of trail markers to guide Him along the way.

But Scripture tells us that Jesus is also fully human.  How can that be true of Him without the very real human experience of having to discern God’s will for His life?  Perhaps, like us, Jesus caught glimpses of Your guidance in the people and events surrounding Him. 

Prayer: Jesus, it is hard to fathom how much You love us, but we see evidence in Your willingness to follow Your earthly trail to its finish.  Help us to see and follow the trail markings you have created to guide our path. Amen.