John the Baptist
Who was John the Baptist?
Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist at the same time Mary was pregnant with Jesus.
A man dedicated to total devotion and proclaiming of Jesus.
A man who told of Jesus as the Messiah.
He was a prophet and a witness for Jesus.
God selected John the Baptist as an ambassador for the coming of Jesus.
John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river Jordan.
Although his name implies that he baptized people (which he did), John’s life on earth was more than just baptizing. John’s adult life was characterized by devotion and surrender to Jesus Christ and His kingdom. John’s voice was a "lone voice in the wilderness" (John 1:23) as he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a Savior. He was the precursor for the modern-day evangelist as he unashamedly shared the good news of Jesus Christ. He was a man filled with faith and a role model to those of us who wish to share our faith with others.
Most everyone, believer and non-believer alike, has heard of John the Baptist. He is one of the most significant and well-known figures in the Bible. While John was known as "the Baptist," he was in fact the first prophet called by God since Malachi some 400 years earlier. John’s coming was foretold over 700 years previously by another prophet: "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken'" (Isaiah 40:3–5). This passage illustrates God’s master plan in action as God selected John to be His special ambassador to proclaim His own coming.
John’s birth was miraculous. He was born of elderly parents who had never been able to have children (Luke 1:7). The angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah, a Levitical priest, that he would have a son—news that Zechariah received with incredulity (verses 8–18). Gabriel said this about John: “He will be great in the sight of the Lord. He . . . will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (verses 15–17). True to the word of the Lord, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, gave birth to John. At the circumcision ceremony, Zechariah said about his son, “You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; / for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him” (verse 76).
John was related to Jesus, as their mothers were relatives (Luke 1:36). In fact, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, he also told her about John. When Mary was carrying Jesus in her womb, she visited Elizabeth, and John leapt in his mother’s womb for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:39-45).
As an adult John lived a rugged life in the mountainous area of Judea, between the city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, the typical garb of a prophet. His diet was a simple one—locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). John lived a simple life as he focused on the kingdom work set before him.
John the Baptist’s ministry grew in popularity, as recounted in Matthew 3:5–6: "People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." To be baptized by John was to admit your sin and repent of it—which was, of course, a great way to be prepared for the Savior’s coming. The repentance associated with John’s baptism also kept the self-righteous out of the water, as they did not see themselves as sinners. For the self-righteous, John had stern words, calling them a "brood of vipers" and warning them not to rely on their Jewish lineage for salvation, but to repent and "bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:7–10). People of that day simply did not address leaders, religious or otherwise, in this manner for fear of punishment. But John’s faith made him fearless in the face of opposition.
The general opinion of John the Baptist was that he was a prophet of God (Matthew 14:5), and many people may have thought that he was the Messiah. This was not his intent, as he had a clear vision for what he was called to do. In John 3:28 John says, "You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'" John cautioned his disciples that what they had seen and heard from him was just the beginning of the miracle that was to come in the form of Jesus Christ. John was merely a messenger sent by God to proclaim the truth. His message was simple and direct: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2). He knew that, once Jesus appeared on the scene, John’s work would be all but finished. He willingly gave up the spotlight to Jesus, saying, "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30).
Perhaps there is no greater example of humility than what is seen is both Jesus and John in Matthew 3:13–15. Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by John in the River Jordan. John rightly recognized that the sinless Son of God needed no baptism of repentance and that he was certainly not worthy to baptize his own Savior. But Jesus answered John’s concern by requesting baptism "to fulfill all righteousness," meaning that He was identifying Himself with sinners for whom He would ultimately sacrifice Himself, thereby securing all righteousness for them (2 Corinthians 5:21). In humility, John obeyed and consented to baptize Jesus (Matthew 3:13–15). As Jesus came up out of the water, “heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (verses 16–17).
Later, King Herod put John the Baptist in prison. Herod had married the former wife of his brother, Philip. John boldly spoke out against this marriage, much to the dislike of Herodias, Herod’s new wife (Luke 3:19–20; Mark 6:17–20). While John was in prison, he heard of all the things Jesus was doing. In what seems to be a moment of doubt, John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if He truly was the Messiah. Jesus responded by telling the men to tell John what they saw and heard—prophecies were being fulfilled. Jesus never rebuked John; rather, He gave evidence that He was the promised Savior (Matthew 11:2–6; Luke 7:18–23). Jesus then spoke to the crowd about John, saying he was the prophesied messenger who would come before Messiah (Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27; cf. Malachi 3:1). Jesus also said, "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28).
John the Baptist’s ministry, as well as his life, came to an abrupt end at the hand of King Herod. In an act of unspeakable vengeance, Herodias plotted with her daughter to have John killed. Herodias’s daughter danced for Herod and his dinner guests one night, and Herod was so pleased that he said to her, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you” (Mark 6:22). The girl consulted with her mother before she answered that she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter (verse 25). Herod had been afraid of John, “knowing him to be a righteous and holy man” (verse 20), and so was loath to kill the prophet, but he had promised to give the dancing girl whatever she asked. Since John was already in prison, it was a simple thing to send the executioner to behead John, which is exactly what happened (Mark 6:27–28). It was a sad and ignoble end to the life of such a faithful man.
There are several lessons we can learn from the life of John the Baptist. One lesson is that whole-heartedly believing in Jesus Christ is possible. John knew that the Messiah was coming. He believed this with his whole heart and spent his days "preparing the way" for the Lord’s coming (Matthew 11:10). But the road was not an easy one to prepare. Daily he faced doubters who did not share his enthusiasm for the coming Messiah. Under hard questioning from the Pharisees, John shared his belief: "I baptize with water, . . . but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie" (John 1:26–27). John believed in the Christ, and his great faith kept him steadfast on his course until the time when he could say as he saw Jesus approach, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). As believers, we can all have this steadfast faith.
While it is hard to know for sure what John was feeling as he sat in prison, he did certainly seem to have doubts. But John sent a message out to Jesus in an effort to find the truth. As Christians we all will have our faith put to the test, and we will either falter in our faith or, like John, cling to Christ, seek truth, and stand firm in our faith to the end.
John’s life is an example to us of the seriousness with which we are to approach the Christian life and our call to ministry, whatever that may be. John lived his life to introduce others to Jesus Christ; he was focused on the mission God had given him. John also knew the importance of repenting of one’s sins in order to live a holy and righteous life. And as a servant of God, he also was unafraid of speaking truth, even when it meant calling out people such as Herod and the Pharisees for their sinful behavior.
John was entrusted with a unique ministry, yet we, too, are called upon to share the truth of Jesus with others (Matthew 28:18–20; John 13:34–35; 1 Peter 3:15; 2 Corinthians 5:16–21). We can follow John’s example of faithful and obedient trust in God as we live and proclaim His truth in whatever life circumstances God has given us
From gotquestionsdotorg
Matthew 11;11-12
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
Matthew 3
The Preaching of John the Baptist
3 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matthew 11:12
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by
force.
Matthew 14:2
and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Matthew 16:14
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
Matthew 17:13
Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
Mark 1:1
[ Preaching of John the Baptist ] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:4
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 6:14
[ John’s Fate Recalled ] And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”
Luke 1:5
[ Birth of John the Baptist Foretold ] In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.