A few weeks ago I heard a preacher mention “Heroes of the Faith.” He spoke of how they seem to be holier that we can ever be. Then he pointed out that they were sinful, fallen creatures like the rest of us.

That made me remember the days when I was in parochial school and the teacher would tell us about Abraham and Sarah and Noah and Moses and David and Mary and Peter and Paul and I would marvel at these mighty people of faith. Surely these men and women of God were made of different stuff than I was! In my eyes, they were vastly superior to the person I was or could ever hope to be.

Nope. They were all sinners the same as me. Many of their failings are recorded for all time in Scripture.

Let’s think about John the Baptizer. We usually do that during Advent. We know He was the forerunner of Jesus, the voice of one calling out in the desert “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” He was used powerfully by God to call people to repentance in preparation for the Messiah’s coming and work and ministry. Surely this guy was different, better than us all. Jesus even said of him:

Matthew 11:11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;

That sounds pretty impressive. But read the rest of that verse:

Matthew 11:11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

He’s no better or worse than the rest of us. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And these words were spoken after John, in prison, had voiced his doubts about whether or not Jesus truly was the Messiah.

Matthew 11:2–3 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus told John’s disciples to tell him that He was doing the things the Messiah was prophesied to do. In other words, Jesus was saying “Yes, I’m the One.”

John didn’t know it all. He told the people what God told him to say. But he didn’t have all the answers. Malachi prophesied that before the Lord came, Elijah would return.

Malachi 3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.

Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.

So when John came on the scene the Pharisees asked, “Are you Elijah?” and John said he was not (John 1:21).  But in Matthew 11, Jesus said John was:

Matthew 11:11–15 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.

Was John literally the prophet Elijah, who did not die but was taken up into heaven, come back to earth? No. But Jesus was telling His followers to think differently. He was the Elijah that was promised. That was even indicated in Gabriel’s announcement of his impending birth to Zechariah.

Luke 1:17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Even though John did not recognize himself in this role, God used him as the fulfillment of Elijah coming again. I guess we could call John the Baptizer “John Elijah.” He was the prophet and forerunner of Christ, but he did not see Palm Sunday or Good Friday or Easter. Yet God used him to point others to the One, the Savior, the promised Messiah.

I tell you this today because God can and will use you, too, in ways you might not think possible. You may not even be aware of it when it is happening. But God wants all those who follow Him to be His witnesses, to let their light shine, to share what they know about Jesus. The one whose birth we celebrate in just a few days is your Savior, to be sure, but He is also the Savior of all people. God wants you to let others know about that.

You can be a hero to someone else by sharing this message.