“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but sent to bear witness of that Light.” So wrote (John 1:6-8).
According to Luke, Christ spoke of him in these words, “For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” (Luke 7:28).
Someone of this stature in the eyes of God and of Christ deserves more consideration of his mission and purpose than is generally accorded him. Because he was contemporary with Christ and placed himself in a lower position when compared with Christ, his importance is generally overlooked. To most people he is better known for his tragic death than his preaching of repentance. To fully understand the mission of Christ we must realize and appreciate the preparatory work of John the Baptist.
Of the many prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and His work in restoring Israel and establishing the Kingdom of God, there are two that refer to a forerunner of Christ to prepare the way. Seven hundred years before the birth of John, Isaiah prophesied “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: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
Four hundred years before the birth of John this prophecy was made by Malachi, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord of Hots.” (Malachi 3:1).
Concerning the birth of John, the angel Gabriel appeared to his father Zacharias, and 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 Spirit, 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 of Elias, 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.” (Luke 1:13-17).
Shortly after John’s birth Zacharias, having an understanding of the earlier prophecies and being filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:76-79).
Such were the wondrous prophecies concerning the preparatory work of John. The record of his childhood is very limited. The similarity between John and Christ as recorded by Luke is very striking. Concerning John, Luke wrote, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.” (Luke 1:80) Concerning Christ: “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40).
God called John
The next recorded event is John’s introduction to Israel, which according to Luke, occurred in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius was appointed military ruler over the Roman province by his father-in-law, Augustus, in A.D. 12. The fifteenth year of his reign would be A.D. 27. At that time, “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.” (Luke 3:2-3).
His introduction was striking and spectacular in appearance, in manners and in teaching. He had raiment of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey. His preaching was a denunciation of all wickedness, with vehement criticisms of the influential classes. Also he identified himself as the one prophesied by Isaiah. He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” (John 1:23).
While many were baptized by John, he had created such a stir in the region many went out to see and hear him out of curiosity. News was spread throughout of this strange person preaching on the banks of the Jordan, and the report was circulated that he was possessed of demons.
Later on Christ reminded the people of this, when he said, “John came neither eating or drinking and they say he had a devil.” (Matthew 11:18) He put questions to the curiosity seekers, asking why they went to hear 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 which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.” (Luke 7:24-25) He then tells them what they should have gone out to see. “But what went ye out for to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:26-28)
People in Expectation
There was a further powerful attraction to the work of John which was the nature of the time. Luke states, “The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not.” (Luke 3:15) No prophet appeared in Israel for over four hundred years, and when John appeared, speaking of the Kingdom of God, many came to listen from this viewpoint.
John attracted the multitude because of his appearance, his preaching, his baptism, and the expectations of the people. His preaching was revolutionary to the Jews. It was a point in history where a change occurred in the preaching of God’s word. As Jesus explained, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” (Luke 16:16) John was the first to proclaim the new doctrine. His message was something to which no Israelite could be indifferent. He startled them with the announcement that the long looked for period foretold in prophecy was near at hand.
More startling was the way in which it was to be brought in. Not by an immediate and glorious victory over Israel’s enemies, but by a judgment on all the unrepentant Israelites. He termed them a generation of vipers and asked them who had warned them to flee from the wrath to come. They were told to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance and not to depend on their ancestry through Abraham for their salvation. He gave scathing rebuke to the hypocritical religious authorities. When the common people asked what they must do, he gave simple straightforward answers. He commanded the people with authority to repent, to turn from their sins, and to submit to baptism. All this was part of John’s work as prophesied to prepare the way of the Lord.
After this preparatory work with the people was far enough advanced he was called upon to perform his most important act, the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. When his authority for baptising was questioned, John replied, “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:33)
John the Baptist was God’s messenger, especially raised up and equipped, ‘filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb.” He was sent forth at the proper moment to do the work of preparing the way of the Lord. His baptism was part of the work God gave him to do. He did it because he was commanded to do so when the word of God came to him in the wilderness.
When we consider all these points we can appreciate the words of Christ, “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” (Luke 7:28).
This should bring to our minds the wonders that are in store for those who are acceptable when Christ returns. Of them he says, he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist.
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