The Baptist
Wildness was not really the word.
Zeal wasn't enough of a word.
Something of both blended there.
His eyes burned with a fire never seen
Since the days of the prophets.
Piercing, they were--
They saw the wickedness of men.
And in the rest of his appearance
He seemed like a prophet reborn:
Sunburnt, hard, unkempt hair.
Clothed in camels hair,
He drew the very air of the wilderness with him.
His message, too, was fiery--wild.
"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
Intrigued by him--
The last prophet being 400 years dead--
All Israel, it seemed, came to him.
He baptized repenters.
And preached of one to come.
Messiah?
So it seemed.
Even the Pharisees came.
With baited breath the masses
Watched if John would baptize them,
The most righteous (it was thought).
No! John refused.
"Bring therefore fruits meet for repentance!"
His cryptic words for them.
It seems repentance is not
Righteous works alone.
Some whispered of his gall,
To speak to Pharisees that way.
Others marveled, remembering Elijah
And Amos.
Then descended to the waters edge
A humble carpenter.
He approached the fiery prophet
With a peaceful, calm demeanor.
Amazed at the zealots response
To Pharisees,
The crowds watched with baited breath
The carpenter.
To their utter shock,
The wild man of the desert
Knelt, protesting
"I have need
To be baptized of thee."
Tenderly, the carpenter raised him,
Explaining the need to
"Fulfill all righteousness."
Then, only then, the prophet
Baptized the carpenter.
As he rose form the water,
God was heard to speak:
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
Well pleased."
And then, to the awe of all,
The wilderness prophet
Who spat words of fire
At the Pharisees,
Knelt and humbly worshipped
The Carpenter.
The Son of God.