Fred Flintstone

Matthew describes John the Baptist in his gospel like this. “John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist” (Matthew 3:4). Have you ever wondered why? I mean no disrespect, but I can’t stop myself from picturing Fred Flintstone in my mind. At this time everyone wore a tunic. A simple garment composed of two rectangular pieces of cloth sewn together at the shoulders and sides to make a loose robe, leaving openings for the head and arms. Over their tunic, people would wear a mantle, unless they were doing physical labor. A mantle consisted of a rectangular cloth often woven from wool that would be wrapped around the body.  Men would usually wrap their mantles with the corner of the garment thrown over their left shoulder and wrapped around the left arm. Very “Romanesque.”

John was obviously dressed much differently. How come? Interestingly, the last words of the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, are “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives” (Malachi 4:5). Malachi was not saying Elijah would “come back to life.” He was prophesying that someone “like Elijiah” would appear. When King Ahaziah asked his messengers to describe Elijah in 2 Kings, we read, “‘What sort of man was he?’ the king demanded. ‘What did he look like?’ They replied, ‘He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist’” (2 Kings 1:7-8). In addition, Isaiah also spoke of this person to come, saying, “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God” (Isaiah 40:3)! Is this sounding familiar? 

After Malachi, God was silent for 400 years. Then, John appears on the scene. He lives in the wilderness as Isaiah said he would, and he dressed just as Malachi described. Jesus later connects the dots as well. He says to His disciples, “John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’…before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come” (Matthew 11:10, 13-14).

John set himself apart from the normal lifestyle of his world to do what God had called him to do. He did not drink alcohol or cut his hair. He lived in one of the harshest desert environments in the world, dressing primitively and eating simply. When people flocked into the desert to see him and hear his powerful message, they encountered a man who looked like Elijah, the premier prophet of Israel hundreds of years earlier.

John’s preaching was so effective crowds were confessing their sins and getting baptized in the Jordan River. Many were asking John if he was the Messiah. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

A man who looked like Fred Flintstone and ate locusts and wild honey was the greatest evangelist who ever lived. It doesn’t matter, my friends, what you look like. You can wear a $600 Brooks Brothers suit, an Armani dress, or jeans and a T-shirt. What matters is the message. “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). So, put on your sweatpants, chinos, and flip flops, and share the message. Be a voice shouting in this wilderness we live in – a world at the very best apathetic, at the worst hostile to God. God doesn’t care where we shop. He will use anyone and everyone. He used John. He will use you and me. Let’s just proclaim the gospel. Our world so badly needs it still.     

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