John the Baptist The Forerunner for Christ
Multitudes came from Jerusalem, Judea and all the region around Jordan went out to him to hear him preach and be baptized. Who was this man John, whose surname we only know as, “The Baptist”? What was so special about his life that Jesus proclaimed him to be the greatest man born of a woman? Some confused him for being the Messiah some confused the Messiah for being John. Yet many others could not discern one from the other despite the claims they made and extraordinary lives they each lived.
Dressed in camel’s hair and leather and eating a diet of wild honey and locusts, could John really have been the returning Elijah foretold by the prophets Malachi and Isaiah? What was he sent for? What was John’s message? How did John go about fulfilling his destiny? What can we learn from John’s life that will help us follow the Lord more successfully? How did John die? Did he leave any followers and if so what does that signify? Read on as we endeavor to answer these questions about the life of John the Baptist.
The circumstances surrounding John’s birth marked his entrance into this world as divinely irregular to say the least. For example, the angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias, John’s father to be, and declares that he will have a son and to name him John (Luke 1). This occurrence bears many likenesses to the man from God appearing to Abraham and announcing that he and Sarah would bear Isaac. I can briefly mention the facts that Elizabeth, John’s mother, was barren and that both parents were well-aged. The angel told Zacharias what to name the child. When Zacharias argued why logically this cannot happen, Gabriel sealed his voice from being able to speak until he was asked to name his son. When he wrote “His name is John” on the tablet, his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed and he prophesied as to what kind of child this would be.
Gabriel told Zacharias that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. This was evidenced when John leaped in the womb when Mary came to visit Elizabeth while pregnant with Jesus. It was for the very purpose of announcing the Messiah, that John was created he was the forerunner. Luke 1:76 as part of Zacharias’ prophesy; “You child… …will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” This is noteworthy that John was chosen, created, ordained and empowered for his ministry while still in mom’s womb. There was no way he could have earned by “works” the powerful ministry which he held!
John did, however, separate himself for the destiny which God had chosen for him. Scripture says that John did not drink wine or strong drink; he was raised in the wilderness where he grew in spiritual strength. Couple these aspects of his life with the strange clothing of camel’s hair and leather, and his weird diet of wild honey and locusts, and one could assume that he was keeping some kind of vow similar to the Nazarite vow of Samson.
John’s message was quite straightforward. “Repent and prepare your hearts for the coming Messiah.” John also confirmed when Jesus showed up, that this is Him. This man is the Messiah, Christ has come, follow him. Today, I would guess, that most of the “Christian” sect, at least in western society, would call him crazy and never listen to him again. But, there is a part of me that wonders what impact could have been made by the church over the years, if we all strived to walk the same walk of holiness and power that John did? Multitudes followed John! They came out from the cities and listened to him then obeyed by repenting and being baptized. Yes, some despised him for his message and possibly his delivery. This resulted in the spiritual warfare that eventually led to his death.
If you tell the king, like John did, to repent and turn from your immorality and adultery, you may expect to be imprisoned as John was. John knew who it was that he served. He knew he served the King who sits on the throne of all creation. Yet something happened while John was in prison. His humanity began to surface as he faced the kind of mental doubts that one might experience when going through such an ordeal as imprisonment and the possibility of death. So we read in Mt. 11, that John sent his disciples to see if Jesus really is the Messiah to come.
Jesus describes his own ministry to John’s disciples and sends them back to tell John that the blind see, lame walk, the deaf hear and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Then Jesus himself confronts the crowd and defends the validity of John’s ministry! What a powerful endorsement of John made by the Lord in Mt.11:7-15, “John is more than a prophet… of those born of woman there has not risen one greater than John…if you are willing he is Elijah who is to come!” In vs.12 he refers to John to teach us all something about the nature of our calling and the warfare that comes with it. “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force!”
John was executed soon after Jesus made these powerful statements concerning him. John’s head was served to Herod’s wife on a platter. But he was not soon forgotten. His disciples were found several years later at Ephesus by Paul and converted to Christ. John’s life was one of confrontation as he paved the way for our savior. John’s was a life we can use as an example of spiritual warfare as we remember the words of Jesus himself “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” We can learn that confrontational Christianity is not only allowed by our Lord it at times is required and applauded by Him. However, John also submitted to law and authority when it was required of him. The important thing about him is that he was Spirit led to do what God called him to do, and he did it regardless of the cost to his image or his life.
Multitudes came from Jerusalem, Judea and all the region around Jordan went out to him to hear him preach and be baptized. Who was this man John, whose surname we only know as, “The Baptist”? What was so special about his life that Jesus proclaimed him to be the greatest man born of a woman? Some confused him for being the Messiah some confused the Messiah for being John. Yet many others could not discern one from the other despite the claims they made and extraordinary lives they each lived.
Dressed in camel’s hair and leather and eating a diet of wild honey and locusts, could John really have been the returning Elijah foretold by the prophets Malachi and Isaiah? What was he sent for? What was John’s message? How did John go about fulfilling his destiny? What can we learn from John’s life that will help us follow the Lord more successfully? How did John die? Did he leave any followers and if so what does that signify? Read on as we endeavor to answer these questions about the life of John the Baptist.
The circumstances surrounding John’s birth marked his entrance into this world as divinely irregular to say the least. For example, the angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias, John’s father to be, and declares that he will have a son and to name him John (Luke 1). This occurrence bears many likenesses to the man from God appearing to Abraham and announcing that he and Sarah would bear Isaac. I can briefly mention the facts that Elizabeth, John’s mother, was barren and that both parents were well-aged. The angel told Zacharias what to name the child. When Zacharias argued why logically this cannot happen, Gabriel sealed his voice from being able to speak until he was asked to name his son. When he wrote “His name is John” on the tablet, his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed and he prophesied as to what kind of child this would be.
Gabriel told Zacharias that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. This was evidenced when John leaped in the womb when Mary came to visit Elizabeth while pregnant with Jesus. It was for the very purpose of announcing the Messiah, that John was created he was the forerunner. Luke 1:76 as part of Zacharias’ prophesy; “You child… …will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” This is noteworthy that John was chosen, created, ordained and empowered for his ministry while still in mom’s womb. There was no way he could have earned by “works” the powerful ministry which he held!
John did, however, separate himself for the destiny which God had chosen for him. Scripture says that John did not drink wine or strong drink; he was raised in the wilderness where he grew in spiritual strength. Couple these aspects of his life with the strange clothing of camel’s hair and leather, and his weird diet of wild honey and locusts, and one could assume that he was keeping some kind of vow similar to the Nazarite vow of Samson.
John’s message was quite straightforward. “Repent and prepare your hearts for the coming Messiah.” John also confirmed when Jesus showed up, that this is Him. This man is the Messiah, Christ has come, follow him. Today, I would guess, that most of the “Christian” sect, at least in western society, would call him crazy and never listen to him again. But, there is a part of me that wonders what impact could have been made by the church over the years, if we all strived to walk the same walk of holiness and power that John did? Multitudes followed John! They came out from the cities and listened to him then obeyed by repenting and being baptized. Yes, some despised him for his message and possibly his delivery. This resulted in the spiritual warfare that eventually led to his death.
If you tell the king, like John did, to repent and turn from your immorality and adultery, you may expect to be imprisoned as John was. John knew who it was that he served. He knew he served the King who sits on the throne of all creation. Yet something happened while John was in prison. His humanity began to surface as he faced the kind of mental doubts that one might experience when going through such an ordeal as imprisonment and the possibility of death. So we read in Mt. 11, that John sent his disciples to see if Jesus really is the Messiah to come.
Jesus describes his own ministry to John’s disciples and sends them back to tell John that the blind see, lame walk, the deaf hear and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Then Jesus himself confronts the crowd and defends the validity of John’s ministry! What a powerful endorsement of John made by the Lord in Mt.11:7-15, “John is more than a prophet… of those born of woman there has not risen one greater than John…if you are willing he is Elijah who is to come!” In vs.12 he refers to John to teach us all something about the nature of our calling and the warfare that comes with it. “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force!”
John was executed soon after Jesus made these powerful statements concerning him. John’s head was served to Herod’s wife on a platter. But he was not soon forgotten. His disciples were found several years later at Ephesus by Paul and converted to Christ. John’s life was one of confrontation as he paved the way for our savior. John’s was a life we can use as an example of spiritual warfare as we remember the words of Jesus himself “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” We can learn that confrontational Christianity is not only allowed by our Lord it at times is required and applauded by Him. However, John also submitted to law and authority when it was required of him. The important thing about him is that he was Spirit led to do what God called him to do, and he did it regardless of the cost to his image or his life.
RSS Feed