reed in the wind

was reading on John the Baptist and found this verse interesting

Matt 11:7
What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

people streamed into the dry dusty desert to see this wild man. imagine long hair, locust eating camel skin clad guy. you know, Flintstones like, Neolithic like. was he ever scholarly trained? what's his theological background?
dont people have jobs to do, families to feed, tax reports to file, lunch appointments to meet, kids to bring to school? traveling wasn't cheap or easy. in this verse, the wonder to me is the people, not John. to be a great leader, you got to have supporters, its the people behind him that makes him great. one man can make a difference in rare occasions, but its normally one man who stirs a million to move that makes a mark.
what did he have that caused people to go out of their way to see him, to ask him what to do to repent. stuff that any moral person can answer:

Luke 3:10-14
he crowds asked, "What should we do?"
11 John replied, "If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."
12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?"
13 He replied, "Collect no more taxes than the government requires."
14 "What should we do?" asked some soldiers. John replied, "Don't extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay."
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

ok, looks like some tax collectors and roman soldiers were 'eating snake' at John's meeting, but could not the scribes or teachers of the law give that answer? why did the people go to john instead?

i think John was great because
1. he had a calling to prepare the way
2. he was Jesus' cousin, so genetically they share some DNA. probably the lineage of David had some pretty good genes, since David was successful and so was Jesus and many others in between. i digress....
3. he was strong, not bowing to the wants of authorities but to him black and white is clearly defined. no compromises.
4. he was willing. willing to go through a hard life, willing to be offensive to the government who would later kill him. willing to be poor his whole life, to never be a father, to never have his own family business, willing to be the one.

am i as willing as John. if tonight i get a dream and God says get up, buy a ticket to Zimbabwe leaving tomorrow afternoon and leave everything behind, will i go? and that is why:

Matt 11:11
I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.