Mandeans - A Wrong Way

All over the world, there are many religions related to Christianity. What's interesting and attracting with this religion is the way these people live and die. They really have passion in their lives and that's a rare flower between Christians. I read an article about persecution in Iraq among Sabian Mandaeans (one of the oldest religious groups in the world) by Islamic extremists. What makes these people stay firm in front of their extermination? A good leader? A solid doctrine? Both of them?

The Mandaeans believe that you should be a follower, a disciple of John the Baptist. But why is it that we don't need John the Baptist to believe in Him as a Savior? Let's look in the Bible.

First, let's see some words of John the Baptist: "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but I am sent ahead of him.'... He must become greater; I must become less." John said that he is not The Christ and he must become less. If they were equals, why was he saying those words? John 3: 27-30 - selections. "There was a man named John who was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light." John 1:6-8 The Scripture is very clear - he was not the light - so, what happened when people followed anything but the light? They walked in darkness. That's happening with Mandeans.

In Jesus' time, John the Baptist got many followers among Jews and other people around Israel and some of them couldn't understand what was John's mission - that to prepare Lord's coming. Some of John's disciples didn't know that Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecies and His mission - to bring a perfect Savior to the lost world. Actually, followers of John were found by Paul in Ephesus. In Acts 19, Paul is explaining the gospel to a group of John's disciples in Ephesus as the changeover from following John to following Jesus was not as automatic as we may think. In Matthew 11:11-13 Jesus says: "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."

Despite his greatness, John the Baptist was only a man and he remains a man forever. Jesus was, is and will be real God born of real God. John helped Jews to understand that Messiah, waited for so many years was already walking among them, ready to fulfill Father's will - to save a degenerated and corrupted world.

Christianity is a very exclusivist religion because Jesus is very exclusivist, and only HE has the right to be: "I am The Way and The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." If we are trying to ignore Jesus, we are still in sin. We cannot remain in sin and truly believe in Jesus, because if we truly believe what Jesus said, we will believe what He said about sin, righteousness and repentance.

Too many people believe that it was once a good teacher who made miracles and now we have to read what he said - it's good for us. Actually, there were many good teachers who had useful advice, (John the Baptist for example) - but none of them were God. That's Gospel essence - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". Only in Him. Praised be His Name!

All his life John pointed to Jesus. Our life should be the same - always pointing to Jesus. "You can disagree with me and still be wonderfully saved, but you cannot disagree with Jesus and be saved. Jesus is the Truth and I and all other ministers of the gospel merely point to Him." - Excerpt from "The Gospel of John" by John MacArthur.

When God gave the Law to Moses, He said to Israel: "Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God". God is not changing. He's sharing His glory with nobody, so neither John the Baptist, Mary or other saints. The Mandeans needs God, the real God of the Old and New Testament, the One who created and saved this world. Pray for them and Lord will answer.