“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe (John 1:6-7).” If that is all we knew about John the Baptist, that would be significant enough. But each of the Gospel writers provide much more colorful information about this unique character from the story of the coming of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was indeed sent from God. He was filled with the Holy Spirit at birth and lived as one set apart and fully devoted to the service of God. He went on to be the greatest of those born of women. He died as a great hero of the faith.
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
Prior to his birth, the Angel Gabriel was dispatched to announce his conception to his old and previously infertile parents. Zechariah, his father, doubted the message, even though he had just prayed about that exact thing as he was fulfilling his role as Priest and offering prayers at the altar of incense inside the temple. Because of Zechariah’s doubt, the angel told him he wouldn’t be able to speak at all until his son was born. After his shift at the temple concluded, Zechariah went home and was with his wife and she conceived. The angel had given instructions to name him John. Sure enough, eight days after his birth at his circumcision ceremony where the Jews traditionally name their children, Zechariah named him John. He did this despite objections from some others present who said that didn’t make any sense because there was no one in their family with that name. As soon as Zechariah confirmed the name John by writing on a tablet, he was given back his ability to speak and began praising God.
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.And 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,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
John 1:67-80
John was the Fulfillment of Prophecy
John the Baptist ended 400 years of silence from any legitimate prophet of God. The prophets Isaiah and Malachi both previously prophesied that one would come before Christ and would announce his coming (Isaiah 40:3-8, Malachi 4:5-6). John fulfilled this role perfectly. He was born about 6 months before his cousin Jesus was born. He began his public ministry some time before Christ began his, but all the time John preached a message of repentance and baptized his followers as a sign of their repentance and for the forgiveness of sin and encouraged them to bear fruit in keeping with their repentance. The thrust of his message was that one who was greater would come after him and warned his listeners to be prepared for it.
John stayed secluded in the wilderness and dressed in camel’s hair and a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild honey. He didn’t seek listeners, he expected people to come to him. He was like Elijah, who preferred seclusion and dressed in much the same way (2 Kings 1:7-8). The prophet Malachi prophesied that the Lord said he would send the prophet Elijah to them before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Since Elijah had long since been carried away to heaven in a whirlwind without experiencing death, Malachi was not talking about the literal Elijah, but merely one who would carry on in the same rugged manner as Elijah and one who shared his blunt message of warning and repentance. John was the fulfillment of this prophecy as confirmed by Jesus (Matthew 11:14). Malachi closed out the Old Testament portion of Scripture and there were 400 years with no word from God. And then there was John. His message went beyond repentance. He consistently spoke about one who would come after him. John saw himself as the forerunner to the Messiah. He knew his own ministry and popularity would fade and yield to the person and work of Jesus Christ. He humbly stated that he was not worthy to untie the straps of Christ’s sandals, and when Jesus asked to be baptized by John, he balked and said no, I should be baptized by you. Ultimately, John did agree to baptize Christ and when he did, he saw a dove come down on him. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment 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 (Matthew 3:16-17).” If John had any doubt about his mission or ministry, it was surely cleared up at that moment.
John preached about repentance, bearing good fruit and baptized many to prepare them for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But he also had strong words to speak against the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These were the religious leaders in Jerusalem at the time. Israel’s wayward path manifested itself in these self-righteous leaders.
But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”**
Matthew 3:7-12
No Doubt
Many speculate about John’s apparent doubt after he had been imprisoned for nearly a year. In an effort to strengthen the faith of his disciples and to squash any unwarranted doubt, he sent them on a quest to Christ himself. He did this instead of just repeating the same things he had already said of Christ. So he sent them to Christ directly with instructions to question him saying “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? (Matthew 11:2-3).” This was probably designed to be John’s final way to fade into the sunset and allow Christ to shine brightly. John said he must decrease and Christ must increase. He said he was not worthy to untie Christ’s sandals. He said of Christ, Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He heard the voice from heaven which said, “This is my Son”. No he did not have any doubt! But as a caring teacher and faithful worshiper of God, he sent his discouraged disciples right to the source and Christ himself picked up on John’s strategy and “answered John” giving the disciples a message to relay to him. The message wasn’t intended to answer John, but to demonstrate to John’s disciples that they were able to maintain their faith in what they were taught because of the evidence they saw manifested in miracles that Christ performed. It shifted their focus from John to Christ! These miracles were all prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures that spoke of the coming Messiah. As they carried the answer back to John, they undoubtedly strengthened their faith and continued to believe even when John was beheaded. Even as they mourned the death of the beloved teacher, they had indisputable evidence that Christ was the Messiah. It was probably after John’s death that they realized why he sent them on that quest. They received a clear answer right from Jesus that basically said, yes indeed I am the one, and don’t let anyone tell you differently! And Jesus took that opportunity to commend the life and work of John the Baptist. Not once did he reprimand him or speak disparagingly about him.
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
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. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Matthew 11:1-19
We can be sure that Jesus considered John to be a wise and faithful servant of God. When Jesus said “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds” he was indicating that John will be proved right by his deeds, which is in essence the exact message John spent his life preaching-produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
The Privileged Status of Believers of the Gospel
Jesus did say something about John that seems cryptic to a casual reader of God’s Word. He 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).” This is best understood in context on the entire plan of God revealed throughout the Bible. The Bible moves through several dispensations where God’s expectation of mankind changes based on the amount of revelation and divine assistance they are given. The dispensation of the Law began at Mount Sinai when the 10 commandments were given along with the rest of the law code. The prophets from Moses to John the Baptist all lived and died under this dispensation. The following dispensation is known as the “Church Age” or the Dispensation of Grace. Believers of this present dispensation have greater revelation, greater divine assistance and greater privilege than those of previous dispensations. We are born once via our mothers. But when we believe the gospel, we are born again by the Spirit (John 1:5-8). This dispensation of grace began with the death and resurrection of Christ- more specifically, with the tearing of the temple veil at the moment of Christ’s death (Matthew 27:50-52). This signified the way to God was not limited by old order of things as taught by Moses, but was now open to all through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The new dispensation Christ brought in opened up our minds to exactly how God could justly reconcile sinful mankind to be Holy. He accomplished this by sending his Son, Jesus Christ to become a man like us yet to live a holy and blameless life so he could be our pure and blameless sacrifice thus redeeming our race from condemnation and wrath. For believers of the gospel, for those who believe in efficacy of Christ’s death and resurrection, we are all baptized into the Spirit just as John prophesied we would be (Mark 1:8). The fact is that believers today are indwelled by the Holy Spirit the moment we believe (Romans 6:1-8). We have full access to the entire canon of Scripture including the teachings from the Apostles which blend the Old Testament types into their New Testament antitypes. And together we form the body and bride of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27; Revelation 19:6-8). We are in fact, born again when we believe the gospel. So each of us are born physically, but only those who believe the gospel of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection are born again spiritually. John never had that opportunity. But believers of our dispensation are made to be a new creation and through our faith and God’s grace, we become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). These are privileges that John, nor any of the saints from the prior dispensations enjoyed in their lifetime.
We can clearly understand that Jesus was not comparing the individual John to a hypothetical individual from the following dispensation. All believers of the dispensation of grace are given special privilege and standing in Christ and are known as the body and bride of Christ. Believers prior to the dispensation of grace are not given that same designation. John faithfully fulfilled his God-given mission to the fullest. He will be commended for his faith and service but he won’t be included with the members of the church from the dispensation of grace. Thus, whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest of the saints of old (see Matthew 11:11).
These [Old Testament heroes of the faith] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40
John’s Death
The last public act of John the Baptist was to confront King Herod about his immoral marriage to his brother’s wife. That was a sinful and unacceptable union. Because of this public rebuke, Herod had John imprisoned but at the same time held a degree of respect for him (Mark 6:20). However, his wife Herodias nursed a strong grudge against John and when the opportunity presented itself, she seized the chance to have him eliminated (Mark 6:19). In the end, Herod succumbed to her devious manipulation and ordered the beheading of John while he was in prison. His head was then presented to Herodias on a plate at their large banquet (Mark 6:16-29).
John suffered a ignoble death in what was likely a cold, dark and dirty prison cell. But we can imagine that when the executioner arrived with his sword in hand, John probably uttered words to the effect of, Amen Lord Jesus, so shall it be. As I become less, may you become great and complete the mission we both know you have been sent to complete. John may be less than the least in the kingdom of heaven, but he focused on his divinely established purpose and mission as he was born filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15) and lived and died with the same unwavering faithful disposition. He may not be included with the church age saints who form the body and bride of Christ, but he will be there with us as a friend along with all the other saints of all time.
To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”
John 3:27-30
Even in his death John seemed to say: “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me (John 1:15).” We can be sure John heard the bridegrooms reassuring voice as he was about to be beheaded saying, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21).
John demonstrated to the world how death to self leads to true life with God. We must remember his wholehearted dedication and unwavering faith as he kept his eyes fixed on God’s revelation, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in much the same way as this hero of the faith known as John the Baptist.
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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