Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #6 John the Baptist

Time for a wilderness walk! Yes, a walk into the wilderness of Judea to find John the Baptist. And we find him there preaching to all who had come out to hear him. But first, we’ll track back to find out more about John, the son of Zacharias.

John the Baptist: The Man and The Mission

When Zacharias was in the temple of the Lord to execute the priest’s office before God, the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias to tell him that God had answered his heart-felt prayer for Israel by giving him a son.

But this would be no ordinary son! He would take on a very difficult mission. This son, later known as John the Baptist, would play an integral part in fulfilling God’s ancient promise to His people by preparing the way for God’s own son, Jesus the Messiah.

In their older years together, Zacharias and Elizabeth were given the extraordinary responsibility of raising their son who had been “filled with the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] from his mother’s womb,” and who would “be great in the sight of the Lord.”

Luke 1:13-17:
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Later, after John had been put in prison, Jesus described him in the same manner—John was a great man, more than a prophet, and prepared the way for the Lord’s Messiah, the Son of God.

Matthew 11:7-11:
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

What Went Ye Out to See?

John did not dress or live as would have been expected of a “great man of God” in that day. Three times, Jesus asked the multitudes, “What went ye out to see?” First, “a reed shaken with the wind?” John certainly was not a man blown about by every wind of doctrine. Nor did he shape his message to the popular issues of the day. No, the man had great integrity and walked with God.

How about “a man clothed in soft raiment?” Quite to the contrary, his dwelling place in the wilderness, his rough clothing of camel’s hair cinched in by a leather girdle, his food of locusts and wild honey—all revealed an austere lifestyle reflecting John’s humility and strength of purpose (Matthew 3:4).

Finally, Jesus asks the multitude, “What went ye out to see? A prophet?” What they saw and heard was “much more”, “there has not risen a greater.” John fulfilled his calling to prepare the way for the Lord; he was great in the sight of the Lord.

Yet all of us—even “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven”— only have any entrée into the kingdom of heaven because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none greater than the only begotten Son of God who finished his course and redeemed us all out of the hand of the enemy.

Malachi, the last prophet in the Old Testament, had spoken nearly four centuries before (Malachi 4) about the Messiah and an “Elijah” to come (referring to John the Baptist). After this tremendous dearth of true prophecy, John was preparing the way for the Christ, and the people who heard him were starting to remember and beginning to believe.

The Multitudes Came

Multitudes of people flocked to John, drawn to the powerful message he proclaimed. Had the kingdom of God arrived? Had their king who would restore all rule to the God of Israel appeared? Crowds of people went out to him from Jerusalem, all the land of Judea, and all the region round about Jordan (Matthew 3:5; Mark 1:5; Luke 3:7).

Later in his own ministry, Jesus continued to describe the coming of the kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven as it is usually described in Matthew).

Matthew 11:12,13:
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence [biazō], and the violent [biastēs] take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

Luke 16:16: 
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth [biazō] into it.

Picture a prosperous country bringing a great store of food to a neighboring country that had been suffering famine for many years. Can you see the hungry crowd “pressing into” the distribution center, almost violent in their desire to “take it by force”? Upon their hearing John the Baptist preaching the kingdom of God, the multitudes stormed the gates of the kingdom to make their way into it by force.

The Law and the Prophets

And so it was, that first to John and then to Jesus, the masses came out in desperation to find relief after centuries of oppression, under both the rule of Rome and the manipulations of their own leaders. All the law and the prophets had prophesied of this very time, the coming of the king and the herald who would precede him. And it had finally arrived! Could it be true? They at least had to come and find out.

The Prophet Elijah

Of all the law and the prophets, the Word of God in the gospel records mention two Old Testament prophets specifically in connection with John, Isaiah and Elijah. In Gabriel’s message to Zacharias, John’s father, the angel spoke of John “going before” Jesus in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Luke 1:16,17:
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children [Malachi 3:1], and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

It’s quite breathtaking to see the many Biblical references connecting Elijah with John the Baptist. For a more complete look at these, see our blog, Twenty-five Similarities between Elijah and John the Baptist.

The Prophet Isaiah

Isaiah spoke about John the Baptist as 1) the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 2) preparing the way of the Lord, and 3) making his paths straight.

Isaiah 40:3-5:
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Have you noticed the “advance crews” that go to prepare a large meeting area for the President or others who are running for political office? This is nothing new. Even during Bible times in preparing the way for a traveling king, workers would be sent ahead to “make his paths straight.” Through the wilderness, they would build new roads, repair any existing roads and clear them of debris, open obstructed passages, remove all impediments.

And ancient rulers also had “press agents” to make sure everyone knew about the big event. A herald or “harbinger” would go in ahead of the monarch and call out to the people to prepare to receive the king. Here the gospels declare the same as John prepared the way for the true king of Israel.

Matthew 3:3:
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mark 1:2,3:
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

The gospel of Luke declares the same and then adds the rest of the passage from Isaiah:

Luke 3:4-6:
As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Later, in the land beyond the Jordan, when priests and Levites from Jerusalem came to inquire about him, even the Baptist himself declared who he was and what he was to do in these same words from Isaiah.

John 1:22,23:
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

The Baptism of Repentance

Since Israel had been forced to endure the dominion of Rome for more than a century, many expected that God Himself would have to strike down their oppressors by force. Others made compromise with Roman leaders to bring power and authority to themselves. Plenty of them had dreams of material wealth, along with political power and influence as a sovereign nation. Their vision of the kingdom of God had become so secular that they had forgotten what the “rule of God,” the kingdom of God meant.

How then did John prepare and make straight the way of the Lord? Not by rolling away boulders blocking the way through the narrow passages, nor by building new roads through the rocky way of the mountains, nor by clearing the tangled underbrush through the forests. His work was to prepare the way for the king in the wilderness of people’s hearts. He needed to preach a baptism of repentance.

Matthew 3:1,2:
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

John’s message? Repent! It’s time! The kingdom of heaven is almost here, ready to be revealed!

This was not just the opportunity of a life-time, it was THE opportunity of the ages! To be ready to receive it, they needed to change their thinking, dig out the boulders of hardheartedness, and clear out the rubble of pride and self-sufficiency in their hearts to make way for the king and his kingdom. To make way for the rule of God in their hearts.

Mark 1:4:
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Luke 3:2,3:
…the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

The Jewish people generally did not practice baptism as John did, but they did know a symbolic washing with water as a Levitical practice when making sacrifices to God, or for the cleansing of those with infectious diseases. When John’s preaching of a baptism of repentance by water was made available to any and all who would repent, multitudes of people submitted to John’s baptism to show their earnest desire to repent of their sins.

Matthew 3:5,6:
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

Fruits Meet for Repentance

Some were not so willing to repent. Continuing in Matthew 3, we read of John confronting the hypocrisy of many of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Also see a parallel record in Luke 3:7-9.)

Matthew 3:7-10:
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

The baptism of John was not for show, it had to be a change of the heart. Only a change of the heart would be evident when they brought forth “fruits meet for repentance.” John exposed their worldly belief that, simply as Abraham’s descendants, they were entitled to entry into the kingdom of God.

And he further warned them that every tree devoid of good fruit would ultimately be destroyed. This prompted some concern from the people.

Luke 3:10-14:
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

These three specific groups—the common people, the publicans, and the soldiers—asked him what they should do to demonstrate their repentance, their change of thinking. It’s interesting to note that each of John’s replies involves the love of God versus the love of money.

John told the people that if they had more than they needed, they should give to those who had need. The publicans, Jewish tax collectors for the Roman government, were instructed not to take a cut of the tax money for themselves, as some were known to do. Along with doing violence to no man and making false accusations, the soldiers were to be content with their wages. All these would be fruits worthy of repentance.

Let’s read again Luke 3, where we read a full description of preparing the way of the Lord as written in the book of Isaiah.

Luke 3:4-6:
As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

In preparing the way of the Lord into people’s hearts, the inference is that the lowly and meek of the common people shall be exalted (every valley shall be filled); the prideful as the Pharisees and Sadducees, shall be brought low (every mountain and hill); the crooked Publicans (tax collectors) shall be made straight; and the rough ways of the soldiers made smooth.

All flesh would see the salvation of God, but each one would make their own decision to accept or reject it. John’s baptism of repentance certainly separated the men from the boys. The scripture in Luke 7 describes the result of John’s preaching.

Luke 7:29,30:
And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Jesus later confronted these hard-hearted religious leaders and asked them if they believed that John’s baptism was really from God (Matthew 21:25; Mark 11:30; Luke 20:4). After Jesus completed his mission, the apostles Paul, Peter, and others, continued to proclaim the salvation of God, and we have the witness of the Word of God to this day. Today as it was then, true repentance is the beginning of our accepting the salvation of God.

Acts 26:20:
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Heralding the One to Come

John came to prepare, to make straight, the way of the Lord. He also heralded his arrival, pointing to the one who was to come, the Christ, the savior of the world.

John 1:19,20,24-28:
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Walking in the grace and humility of God, John was great in the sight of the Lord. He had come in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of Israel to the Lord. He made ready a people prepared for the Lord. And John fulfilled his mission by pointing to the one to come: to Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, the savior of the world.

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