Welcome to Summer 2022! The temperatures are going up and in our part of the United States, so is the humidity! Be careful out there and HYDRATE!!! With the advent of schools dismissing for the Summer break, vacations abound! 
In some of these vacation destinations, you fall witness to something that perhaps you don't see in your town, the Town Crier! Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! (loosely translated as O Yes! O Yes! O Yes!). This person serves as an added "flavor" to the attraction and draws the attention of everyone within hearing distance to what is about to be proclaimed. In our time, they serve as an entertainment add-on to the venue you may be visiting and usually advance the story of the attraction in an accent not native to the time, nor sometimes the region.
As enjoyable, informative, and sometimes startling as these announcers of announcements can be, they are an anachronism in our world. Even in our vacation spots, they seem somehow out of place as we enjoy social media, news, and entertainment at the touch of an app. They do however harken us back to an earlier time. A time before our phones told us to stand up, take steps or give us the weather for the day. They serve the purpose of transporting us, with their usual British accents, to a time and a place we've never experienced and only heard tales about from history books and Revolutionary War films.
Town Criers also cause us to pause and reflect on our past. Those who are older (I count myself among them more and more each day) reminisce about earlier times (no I wasn't around in the time of the Town Criers, despite what my grandchildren might think...). Times that by today's standards seem simpler, but in reality, had similar complexities in which we dealt. Ah yes, the Town Criers might even cause us to harken back to say...1986 and a very important question... Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!
Today's featured song zoomed up the charts in the summer of 1986. This was a great summer, as we've mentioned before, she said "Yes", and we said "I do" that same summer, 36 years ago, but I digress. "Who's Johnny" went all the way to #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles Chart, and peaked at #3 on the Hot 100. It was helped along the way by the major motion picture release, Short Circuit, as "Who's Johnny" was featured prominently in the film and became the moniker for the protagonist robot "Johnny 5". Short Circuit - "Who's Johnny" scene
The single also was the debut solo effort from El Debarge who had been fronting the family band, Debarge ("Rhythm Of The Night"), all through the early 80s. "Who's Johnny" would launch El Debarge into 5 Grammy nominations and partnerships with R&B elites. Unfortunately, his solo fame would also put him in the realm of drug and alcohol abuse. His addiction became so bad that El Debarge served 13 months in prison for crack and paraphernalia possession. He recorded a final studio album aptly titled Second Chances in 2010 and in the course of the tour to support the album relapsed. Seemingly clean and sober, El Debarge made an appearance at the 54th Grammy Awards as he was nominated in 3 categories that year. El Debarge is the only of the family Debarge to receive a Grammy distinction of any kind. "Who's Johnny" remains his biggest hit to date. And for those who like the demographic...El Debarge is 61.
The Gospel of Jesus had been foretold throughout Scripture in the Law, Poems, and Prophets of the Old Testament. These prophecies include a "forerunner", a "Town Crier" if you will for Jesus when He comes. Isaiah 40:3-5 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV, https://www.
Luke tells the birth narrative of John the Baptist. He parallels this with the birth narrative of Jesus. In light of Luke's background as a physician, this makes perfect sense. Luke later will join Matthew, Mark, and John as they detail the way John the Baptist fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. As we visited last week, John the Baptist's life and ministry are some of the moments that all four of the Gospel writers place in their telling of the life of Jesus, the Messiah. More on that to come...keep reading!
So who's Johnny? Luke tells us that he is the cousin of Jesus. His folks were Elizabeth (Mary's older cousin, and a descendent of Aaron, Moses' brother, the first high priest) and Zechariah, a priest who at this time was serving in the temple in Jerusalem. Later in Luke's 1st chapter, we learn of the pregnant Mary visiting her pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Upon their meeting, John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth's womb as he encountered Jesus in Mary's. I guess his heart was in overdrive; it's great to be alive!
We later hear of the ministry of John the Baptist. All four Gospel accounts detail his preaching in the wilderness and that many were coming to God's kingdom because of it. He received his nickname because he was immersing people in water as a sign of their changed life and as a witness to their redemption from their sin. All of the Gospel accounts also attest to the ultimate act of obedience, as Jesus presented Himself to John for baptism as well. The Gospel of Jesus according to the tax collector Matthew, chapter 3 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV, The Gospel of Jesus according to the evangelist Mark, chapter 1 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV, Luke 3 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV, The Gospel of Jesus according to the fisherman John, chapter 1 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV.
As they should, the Gospel writers then take on the account of Jesus' life. But we're not quite done with John the Baptist yet. If I may borrow a television term, John the Baptist takes on a recurring role in the Gospel of Jesus. As Jesus' popularity grows the ruling class takes notice. Jesus' ministry is so impactful that it reminds Herod Antipas of his nemesis John the Baptist who had continued to preach after Jesus' baptism. Because of the growth Jesus' ministry is experiencing, John's followers become fewer as more folks flocked to Jesus.
As John continued to preach, his criticism of the lifestyles of the powerful drew the ire of Herod. John paid particular attention in his commentary on Herod's marriage to his brother's (Phillip) ex-wife Herodias. Herod throws John into prison but does not kill him immediately due to John's unceasing popularity with the people. Soon we see the evidence that playing games is a part of human nature. Through acts of treachery and a seductive dance by Herodias' daughter, (Salome according to Jewish Historian Josephus), Herod succumbs to the dance and subsequently tells the dancer to request whatever she desires. I guess she smiled in her special way... Her desire is to have John the Baptist's head on a platter which Herod provides. Matthew 14:3-12 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV, Mark 6:17-29 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV
The life of John the Baptist fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament and assists the launching of Jesus' ministry in the New Testament. The Gospel writers were familiar with this itinerant, locust and honey-eating preacher. This "voice of one crying in the wilderness" lived where he preached and wore clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt. His proclamations of the coming of the day of the Lord resonated with those familiar with the Old Testament prophet's writings and paved the way for Jesus' to fulfill His mission in this world, that of doing the will of the Father.
So that's Johnny. His profound impact is made through seemingly a small portion of Scripture. How do we know his impact is profound? We hear of one other account of John the Baptist. Matthew records that from prison John hears of Jesus' burgeoning ministry and wants to know if Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus tells them to go and tell John all that they had witnessed. This testimony would be enough for John to know the answers to his questions. Jesus then goes on to make a statement regarding John that He never made about anyone else. "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Matthew 11:7-15 NASB/AMP/KJV/ESV
That my friend is the best answer ever to the question about today's Town Crier..."Who's Johnny?"
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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