The main subject of Luke’s gospel is Jesus. In fact, Jesus is the central figure throughout all of Scripture. So, for Luke to transition to Jesus’ ministry, he has to put John to bed, so to speak. Guess what? So does God the Father. John was the forerunner of Messiah. But in order for Jesus to take center stage, he had to step aside. We will see that happening in today’s text.
There are two key elements to pay attention to in this text. First, John does not resist. He doesn’t fight God when his ministry starts wrapping up. Second, Jesus is introduced through a display of his obedience to the Father. Jesus submits, just as his cousin did, to the father’s will. If we truly want Jesus to have the preeminence in our lives, can we do anything less? No. We must willingly and obediently step aside for Jesus, just as John did.