Reference: John the Baptist
Easton
the "forerunner of our Lord." We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1Ch 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron (Lu 1:5). The mission of John was the subject of prophecy (Mt 3:3; Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1). His birth, which took place six months before that of Jesus, was foretold by an angel. Zacharias, deprived of the power of speech as a token of God's truth and a reproof of his own incredulity with reference to the birth of his son, had the power of speech restored to him on the occasion of his circumcision (Lu 1:64). After this no more is recorded of him for thirty years than what is mentioned in Lu 1:80. John was a Nazarite from his birth (Lu 1:15; Nu 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Mt 3:1-12).
At length he came forth into public life, and great multitudes from "every quarter" were attracted to him. The sum of his preaching was the necessity of repentance. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them of the folly of trusting to external privileges (Lu 3:8). "As a preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and covetousness were the prevalent sins of the people at large. On them, therefore, he enjoined charity and consideration for others. The publicans he cautioned against extortion, the soldiers against crime and plunder." His doctrine and manner of life roused the entire south of Palestine, and the people from all parts flocked to the place where he was, on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in Nazareth (Mt 3:5), and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John, on the special ground that it became him to "fulfil all righteousness" (Mt 3:15). John's special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his disciples, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip (Lu 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus (q.v.), a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Mt 14:3-12). John's death occurred apparently just before the third Passover of our Lord's ministry. Our Lord himself testified regarding him that he was a "burning and a shining light" (Joh 5:35).
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The Lord instructed Moses: "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, read more. he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow. "You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord. He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, because the hair consecrated to his God is on his head. He is holy to the Lord during the time of consecration. "If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day. On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he sinned because of the corpse. On that day he must consecrate his head [again]. He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a restitution offering. But do not count the previous period, because his consecrated hair became defiled.
A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
"See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire-see, He is coming," says the Lord of Hosts.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" read more. For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!"
For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!" John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. read more. Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,
Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. read more. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to take off His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out."
Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him [to be baptized].
For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, since John had been telling him, "It's not lawful for you to have her!" read more. Though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, since they regarded him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday celebration came, Herodias' daughter danced before them and pleased Herod. So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. And prompted by her mother, she answered, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter!" Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests. So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah's division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue [set free], and he began to speak, praising God.
The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother's wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,
John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a time you were willing to enjoy his light.
Fausets
Son of Zacharias (of the course of Abijah, 1Ch 24:10) and Elisabeth (of the daughters of Aaron), who both "walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Elisabeth was related to the Virgin Mary; but Scripture does not state the exact relationship; the Greek in Lu 1:36 (sungenees), which our Bible renders "cousin," means any "relation" or "kinswoman," whether by marriage or birth. It is noteworthy that Jesus, of the Melchizedek order of priesthood, was related to but not descended from the Aaronic priests. Zacharias was old, and Elisabeth barren, when, as he was burning incense at the golden altar, Gabriel announced the answer to his prayers (not directly for a son, but, as Israel's representative, for Messiah the Hope of Israel) in the coming birth of a son, the appointed forerunner of Messiah; John (Jehovah's gift) was to he his name, because his supernatural birth was a pledge of the Lord's grace, long looked for, now visiting again His people to their joy (Luke 1).
John was to be "great in the sight of the Lord" (contrast Baruch, Jer 45:5). He should be in himself a pattern of that self denial which accords best with his subject of preaching, legal repentance, "drinking no strong drink, but filled with the Holy Spirit (see the same contrast, Eph 5:18, the minister's enthusiasm ought to be not from artificial stimulant but from the Spirit's unction) from the mother's womb," a Nazarite (Nu 6:1-21). Like the great prophet reformer (compare 1Ki 18:36-37) Elijah in "spirit. and power" of preaching, though not in miracles (Joh 10:41), he should turn the degenerate "children to the Lord and to" their righteous "fathers, and the heart of the fathers to the children," their past mutual alienation being due to the children's apostasy; fulfilling Mal 4:4-6; bringing "Moses' law" to their remembrance, "lest Jehovah at His coming should smite the earth with a curse." Thus John should "make ready a people for the Lord." Zacharias for unbelief in withholding credit without a sign was punished with dumbness as the sign until the event came to pass.
In the hill country, where Elisabeth had retired, her cousin Mary saluted her, and the babe leaped in Elisabeth's womb. His birth was six months before our Lord's. At his circumcision on the eighth day Zacharias gave his name John; and his returning faith was rewarded with returning speech, of which his first use was to pour forth a thanksgiving hymn, in which he makes it his son's chief honour that he should be "prophet of the Highest, going before the Lord's face to prepare His ways" as His harbinger. John had the special honour of being the subject off prophecy ages before, and of being associated in close juxtaposition with Messiah Himself. John "waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel" (Lu 1:80). Meanwhile God's interposition in the wonders of his birth caused "all the people to be in expectation, musing in their hearts whether he were the Christ" (Lu 3:15). The thinly-populated region adjoining the hill country of Judea was his haunt; there communion alone with God prepared him for his work.
At 30, when "the word of God came to" him (Lu 3:2), he went forth, his very appearance a sign of the unworldliness and legal repentance. which he preached; his raiment a camel's hair garment secured with leather girdle (2Ki 1:8) as Elijah's; his food that supplied by the desert, locusts (Le 11:22) and wild honey (Ps 81:16). All classes, Pharisees, Sadducees, the people, publicans, and soldiers, flocked to him from every quarter, Jerusalem, Judea, and the, region round Jordan (Mt 3:5; Luke 3). The leading sects he denounced as a "generation of vipers" (compare Ge 3:15, the serpent's "seed"), warning them that descent from Abraham would not avail with out doing Abraham's works (compare Joh 8:39), and telling all practically and discriminatingly that the repentance needed required a renunciation of their several besetting sins; and that whereas, on their confession, he baptized with water baptism, the Mightier One would come baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11-12). (See BAPTISM.)
When the ecclesiastical authorities sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, Who art thou? John replied, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" (Joh 1:19-23). The natural wilderness symbolized the moral (Isa 32:15), wherein was no highway for the Lord and for righteousness. The hills of pride and the valleys of degradation must be brought to the one holy level before the Lord (Isaiah 40). John was the forerunner of the reigning Messiah (Mt 3:2; Mal 3:1), but through the nation's rejection of Him that reign was deferred (compare Nu 14:34 with Mt 23:37-39). John baptized Jesus and though knowing Him before as a man and his kinsman, yet then first knew His divine Messiahship by the Spirit's visible descent (Joh 1:30-34). (See JESUS; BAPTISM.) John thence forth witnessed to Jesus, desiring to "decrease that He might increase." By his testimony at Bethany (so oldest manuscripts for Bethabara) beyond Jordan, "Behold the Lamb of God," he led two of his disciples to Him, Andrew and John the apostle and evangelist (Joh 1:35 ff; Joh 3:23-36; 4:1-2; Ac 19:3).
Yet John never formally joined Jesus; for he was one of the greatest among the Old Testament prophets, but not strictly in the New Testament kingdom, the least in which, as to spiritual privileges, was greater than he (Lu 7:28). His standing was the last of Old Testament prophets, preparatory to the gospel. He taught fasting and prayers, rather in the spirit and therefore with the forms of, the old dispensation which the new would supersede, its new spirit creating its appropriate new forms (Lu 5:33-38; 11:1). Herod Antipas beheaded him in the fortress Machaerus E. of the Dead Sea, to gratify Herodias' spite for John's faithfulness in denouncing her adultery, and in slavish adherence to his reckless oath to give Herodias' daughter Salome, for dancing on his birthday, whatever she might ask. (See HEROD ANTIPAS.)
From the prison John had sent two (the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts read Mt 11:2 "by," dia, for duo, two) disciples to Jesus to elicit from Himself a profession of His Messiahship, for their confirmation in the faith. (See JESUS.) Jesus at once confirmed them and comforted John himself (who probably had expected to see Jesus more openly vindicating righteousness, as foretold Mal 3:2-5; 4:1-3), by an appeal to His miracles and preaching, the very credentials promised in Isa 35:5; 61:1. Jesus at the same time attested John's unshaken firmness, appealing to His hearers' own knowledge of him (Matthew 11). No reed shaken by the wind, no courtier in soft raiment, was John. But whether it was the ascetical forerunner, or the social Lord Himself, that preached, that generation was dissatisfied, with John because he was too self denying, with Jesus because He would not commend their self-righteous fastings: "we have piped unto you (unto John) and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you (unto Jesus) and ye have not lamented."
Of John as of Jesus they said, he hath a devil. John fell just before the third Passover of Christ's ministry; his disciples buried him Self denial, humility, wherewith he disclaimed Messiahship and said he was not worthy to unloose His shoes' latchet, zeal for the Lord's honour, and holy faithfulness at all costs, were his prominent graces. (On the "Elias who shall yet come," see ELIJAH, end.) John's ministry extended at its close into Peraea at the S.E. end of the lake of Galilee. When the herald was silenced the Master took up the message (Mr 1:14) in the same quarter. John's labours there so impressed Herod that, "he feared and observed him, and when he heard him did many things, and heard him gladly"; but would not do the one thing needed, give up his adulterous paramour, his brother Philip's wife.
Elijah was translated in a chariot of fire; but John died a felon's death, for the forerunner was to be as his Lord. The worthless Ahab reappears in Herod with similar germs of good struggling with evil. Herodias answers to the cruel Jezebel. As Ahab
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I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
You may eat these: the various kinds of locust, the various kinds of katydid, the various kinds of cricket, and the various kinds of grasshopper.
The Lord instructed Moses: "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, read more. he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow. "You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord. He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, because the hair consecrated to his God is on his head. He is holy to the Lord during the time of consecration. "If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day. On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he sinned because of the corpse. On that day he must consecrate his head [again]. He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a restitution offering. But do not count the previous period, because his consecrated hair became defiled. "This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to present an offering to the Lord of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering, along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. "The priest is to present [these] before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite's sin offering and burnt offering. He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering. "The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put [it] on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put [them] into the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. The priest is to wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine. "This is the ritual of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the ritual for his consecration."
You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know My displeasure.
At the time for offering the [evening] sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached [the altar] and said, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things. Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back."
They replied, "A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist." He said, "It's Elijah the Tishbite."
But He would feed Israel with the best wheat. "I would satisfy you with honey from the rock."
until the Spirit from heaven is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners;
But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I am about to bring disaster on every living creature'-[this is] the Lord's declaration-'but I will grant you your life like the spoils [of war] wherever you go.' "
"See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire-see, He is coming," says the Lord of Hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who will be able to stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire and like cleansing lye. read more. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by. "I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny [justice to] the foreigner. They do not fear Me," says the Lord of Hosts.
"For indeed, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them," says the Lord of Hosts, "not leaving them root or branches. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. read more. You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing," says the Lord of Hosts. "Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to [their] children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse."
and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!"
Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to take off His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out."
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent [a message] by his disciples
When Jesus became aware of this, He withdrew from there. Huge crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. He warned them not to make Him known, read more. so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: Here is My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul delights; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not argue or shout, and no one will hear His voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick, until He has led justice to victory. The nations will put their hope in His name.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. read more. For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! "
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God:
And consider your relative Elizabeth-even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.
The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God's word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds whether John might be the Messiah.
Then they said to Him, "John's disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but Yours eat and drink." Jesus said to them, "You can't make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? read more. But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them-then they will fast in those days." He also told them a parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine should be put into fresh wineskins.
I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples."
This is John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: "I am not the Messiah." read more. "What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Who are you, then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord -just as Isaiah the prophet said."
This is the One I told you about: 'After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.' I didn't know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel." read more. And John testified, "I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. I didn't know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on-He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!" Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples.
John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, since John had not yet been thrown into prison. read more. Then a dispute arose between John's disciples and a Jew about purification. So they came to John and told him, "Rabbi, the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, is baptizing-and everyone is flocking to Him." John responded, "No one can receive a single thing unless it's given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I've been sent ahead of Him.' He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom's friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom's voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease." The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. For God sent Him, and He speaks God's words, since He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
"Our father is Abraham!" they replied. "If you were Abraham's children," Jesus told them, "you would do what Abraham did.
Many came to Him and said, "John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true."
"Then with what [baptism] were you baptized?" he asked them. "With John's baptism," they replied.
And don't get drunk with wine, which [leads to] reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit:
Hastings
The single narrative of John's birth and circumcision (Lu 1) states that, as the child of promise (Lu 1:13), he was born in 'a city of Judah' (Lu 1:39), when his parents were old (Lu 1:7). They were both of priestly descent (Lu 1:5), and his mother was a kinswoman of the mother of Jesus (Lu 1:36). John was a Nazirite from his birth (Lu 1:15); he developed self-reliance in his lonely home, and learnt the secret of spiritual strength as he communed with God in the solitudes of the desert (Lu 1:80). In the Jud
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to [their] fathers' households, one animal per household.
"This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar every day: two year-old lambs.
You may eat these: the various kinds of locust, the various kinds of katydid, the various kinds of cricket, and the various kinds of grasshopper.
"Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil.
A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth.
"As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their maggots will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all mankind."
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
for I am about to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
"On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, [to wash away] sin and impurity.
Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!"
and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!" read more. John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,
Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? read more. Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. read more. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to take off His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out." Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.
Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him [to be baptized].
and asked Him, "Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"
if you're willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.
But if we say, 'From men,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet."
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way. read more. A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!" John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. read more. John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. He was preaching: "Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
King Herod heard of this, because Jesus' name had become well known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that's why supernatural powers are at work in him."
John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife!"
But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him."
But if we say, 'From men' "-they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was a genuine prophet.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah's division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years.
But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.
And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.
And consider your relative Elizabeth-even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.
In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah
The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 14-37 while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God's word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God's word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight! read more. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth, and everyone will see the salvation of God." He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What then should we do?" the crowds were asking him. read more. He replied to them, "The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same." Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He told them, "Don't collect any more than what you have been authorized." Some soldiers also questioned him: "What should we do?" He said to them, "Don't take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages." Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out."
His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out." Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. read more. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother's wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done, added this to everything else-he locked John up in prison. When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened,
But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."
He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
(John testified concerning Him and exclaimed, "This was the One of whom I said, 'The One coming after me has surpassed me, because He existed before me.' ") Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness, read more. for although the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son- the One who is at the Father's side- He has revealed Him. This is John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: "I am not the Messiah." "What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.
"What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Who are you, then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?" read more. He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord -just as Isaiah the prophet said."
He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord -just as Isaiah the prophet said." Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. read more. So they asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you aren't the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?"
So they asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you aren't the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John answered them. "Someone stands among you, but you don't know [Him]. read more. He is the One coming after me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to untie." All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One I told you about: 'After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.' read more. I didn't know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel." And John testified, "I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. I didn't know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on-He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!"
He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom's friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom's voice. So this joy of mine is complete.
So He departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and He remained there.
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught the things about Jesus accurately, although he knew only John's baptism.
"Then with what [baptism] were you baptized?" he asked them. "With John's baptism," they replied.
This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants-not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of Abraham's faith. He is the father of us all
Neither are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants. On the contrary, in Isaac your seed will be called.
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Morish
Son of Zacharias, priest of the order of Abia, or Abijah (1Ch 24:10), and of Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, born when they were both old. The conception was foretold by the angel Gabriel, who announced that John was to be a Nazarite, and should be filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth. His mission was also foretold: in the spirit and power of Elias he would be the forerunner of Christ, and would call the people to repentance, according to the prophecy in Isa 40:3. All that is recorded of his early life is "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel." Lu 1:80.
When he began his ministry he is described as having on "raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey." He preached in the wilderness, calling on the people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The people went out to him, and were baptised of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Mt 3:1-6. A godly remnant morally apart from the nation was thus prepared in spirit for the Lord. With these (the excellent in the earth, Ps. 16) the Lord Jesus identified Himself.
To the Pharisees and the Sadducees he was especially severe, calling them a 'generation of vipers' (Mt 3:7), but in Luke the multitude are so designated, for all must flee from the wrath to come, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. The axe was laid to the root of the tree. There was One coming with the winnowing fan, who would divide the wheat from the chaff.
When the religious authorities at Jerusalem sent to John to ask who he was, he declared that he was not the Christ, nor Elias, nor 'that prophet.' De 18:15,18. He was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord," as Isaiah had prophesied. Joh 1:19-23. The Lord, in speaking of John, said, "Elias is indeed come," Mr 9:13, which seems to clash with Joh 1:21; another passage however explains it: "If ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come." Mt 11:14. He had come in the spirit and power of Elias, as foretold by Gabriel; and he was Elias to those who received him and who afterwards followed the Lord, as Andrew and another in Joh 1:40.
So far we have considered John's official place as the forerunner of Christ, but in John's gospel the Baptist's testimony is given to the Lamb of God. He also adds, "I knew him not," but he had been told that He upon whom he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain was the Baptiser with the Holy Ghost; and he adds, "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." He may have known Jesus in a natural way, but his knowing Him as Son of God was by a divinely-given testimony. John proclaimed Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world;" and in the hearing of two of his own disciples he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Jesus was to be the object of their hearts, and they followed Him. Afterwards, when John was told that Jesus was baptising, and that all the people were going to Him, he gave a remarkable answer: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." John was the friend of the bridegroom. The Lord said that among those born of women no one was greater than John; but the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than he, because the latter was in a new dispensation, John being connected with the law and the prophets of the old dispensation. Mt 11:11-13.
While in prison John's faith or patience seems in measure to have failed him, and he sent two of his disciples to the Lord with the question, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" He evidently had not apprehended the humiliation and rejection of the Messiah, and expected to have been delivered from prison by the power which he knew had been exercised in grace by the Lord. The Lord wrought various miracles while John's disciples were there, and bade them tell him what they had seen and heard, adding, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Lu 7:19-23.
It was because of John's faithfulness in reproving the sins of Herod Antipas that he had been by him cast into prison. This led to his death through Salome and her guilty mother. John's work was done; he was faithful unto death. Mr 6:14-29.
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"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" read more. For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!" John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
"I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the 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 suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. read more. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; if you're willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.
King Herod heard of this, because Jesus' name had become well known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that's why supernatural powers are at work in him." But others said, "He's Elijah." Still others said, "He's a prophet-like one of the prophets." read more. When Herod heard of it, he said, "John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!" For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife!" So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, because Herod was in awe of John and was protecting him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him he would be very disturbed, yet would hear him gladly. Now an opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. When Herodias' own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I'll give it to you." So he swore oaths to her: "Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom." Then she went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" "John the Baptist's head!" she said. Immediately she hurried to the king and said, "I want you to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter-right now!" Though the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her. The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John's head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him."
The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
and sent them to the Lord, asking, "Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?" When the men reached Him, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to ask You, 'Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?' " read more. At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many blind people. He replied to them, "Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. And anyone who is not offended because of Me is blessed."
This is John's testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: "I am not the Messiah." read more. "What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.
"What then?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Who are you, then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?" read more. He said, "I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord -just as Isaiah the prophet said."
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him.
Smith
was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father, Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or Abijah,
and Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron.
Lu 1:5
His birth was foretold by an angel sent from God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of John preceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth.
Lu 1:15
Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which he had been divinely called. His dress was that of the old prophets --a garment woven of camel's hair,
attached to the body by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the desert afforded --locusts,
and wild honey.
And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the discharge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and the general expectation that some great one was about to appear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude from "every quarter."
Many of every class pressed forward to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himself came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [JESUS] From incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples continued to baptize some time after our Lord entered upon his ministry. See
See Jesus Christ
Joh 3:23; 4:1; Ac 19:3
We gather also that John instructed his disciples in certain moral and religious duties, as fasting,
Mt 9:14; Lu 5:33
and prayer.
Lu 11:1
But shortly after he had given his testimony to the Messiah, John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins,
Lu 3:19
Herod cast him into prison. (March, A.D. 28.) The place of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here that reports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was working in Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday. After supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the king by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave instructions to an officer of his guard, who went and executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third passover, in the course of the Lord's ministry. (March, A.D. 29.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
You may eat these: the various kinds of locust, the various kinds of katydid, the various kinds of cricket, and the various kinds of grasshopper.
They replied, "A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist." He said, "It's Elijah the Tishbite."
But He would feed Israel with the best wheat. "I would satisfy you with honey from the rock."
Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,
Then John's disciples came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah's division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.
But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother's wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,
Then they said to Him, "John's disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but Yours eat and drink."
He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples."
John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized,
When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John
"Then with what [baptism] were you baptized?" he asked them. "With John's baptism," they replied.
Watsons
JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of the Messiah, was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and was born about six months before our Saviour. His birth was foretold by an angel, sent purposely to deliver this joyful message, when his mother Elizabeth was barren, and both his parents far advanced in years. The same divine messenger foretold that he should be great in the sight of the Lord: that he should be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb; that he should prepare the way of the Lord by turning many of the Jews to the knowledge of God; and that he should be the greatest of all the prophets, Lu 1:5-15. Of the early part of the Baptist's life we have but little information. It is only observed that "he grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel," Lu 1:80. Though consecrated from the womb to the ministerial office, John did not enter upon it in the heat of youth, but after several years spent in solitude and a course of self-denial.
The prophetical descriptions of the Baptist in the Old Testament are various and striking. That by Isaiah is: "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," Isa 40:3. Malachi has the following prediction: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse," Mal 4:5. That this was meant of the Baptist, we have the testimony of our Lord himself, who declared, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias who was to come," Mt 11:14. The appearance and manners of the Baptist, when he first came out into the world, excited general attention. His clothing was of camel's hair, bound round him with a leathern girdle, and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey, Mt 3:4. The message which he declared was authoritative: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and the impression produced by his faithful reproofs and admonitions was powerful and extensive, and in a great number of instances lasting. Most of the first followers of our Lord appear to have been awakened to seriousness and religious inquiry by John's ministry. His character was so eminent, that many of the Jews thought him to be the Messiah; but he plainly declared that he was not that honoured person. Nevertheless, he was at first unacquainted with the person of Jesus Christ; only the Holy Ghost had told him that he on whom he should see the Holy Spirit descend and rest was the Messiah. When Jesus Christ presented himself to receive baptism from him, this sign was vouchsafed; and from that time he bore his testimony to Jesus, as the Christ.
Herod Antipas, having married his brother Philip's wife while Philip was still living, occasioned great scandal. John the Baptist, with his usual liberty and vigour, reproved Herod to his face; and told him that it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife, while his brother was yet alive. Herod, incensed at this freedom, ordered him into custody, in the castle of Machoerus; and he was ultimately put to death. (See Antipas.) Thus fell this honoured prophet, a martyr to ministerial faithfulness. Other prophets testified of Christ; he pointed to him as already come. Others saw him afar off; he beheld the advancing glories of his ministry eclipsing his own, and rejoiced to "decrease" while his Master "increased." His ministry stands as a type of the true character of evangelical repentance: it goes before Christ and prepares his way; it is humbling, but not despairing; for it points to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." The Jews had such an opinion of this prophet's sanctity, that they ascribed the overthrow of Herod's army, which he had sent against his father-in- law, Aretas, to the just judgment of God for putting John the Baptist to death. The death of John the Baptist happened, as is believed, about the end of the thirty-first year of the vulgar era, or in the beginning of the thirty-second.
The baptism of John was much more perfect than that of the Jews, but less perfect than that of Jesus Christ. "It was," says St. Chrysostom, "as it were, a bridge, which, from the baptism of the Jews, made a way to that of our Saviour, and was more exalted than the first, but inferior to the second. That of St. John promised what that of Jesus Christ executed. Notwithstanding St. John did not enjoin his disciples to continue the baptism of repentance, which was of his institution, after his death, because, after the manifestation of the Messiah, and the establishment of the Holy Ghost, it became of no use; yet there were many of his followers who still administered it, and several years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, did not so much as know that there was any other baptism than that of John. Of this number was Apollos, a learned and zealous man, who was of Alexandria, and came to Ephesus twenty years after the resurrection of our Saviour, Ac 18:25. And when St. Paul came after Apollos to the same city, there were still many Ephesians who had received no other baptism, and were not yet informed that the Holy Ghost was received by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, Ac 19:1. The Jews are said by the Apostle Paul to have been "baptized unto Moses," at the time when they followed him through the Red Sea, as the servant of God sent to be their leader. Those who went out to John "were baptized unto John's baptism;" that is, into the expectation of the person whom John announced, and into repentance of those sins which John condemned. Christians are "baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," because in this expression is implied that whole system of truth which the disciples of Christ believe; into the name of the Father, the one true and living God whom Christians profess to serve; of the Son, that divine person revealed in the New Testament whom the Father sent to be the Saviour of the world; of the Holy Ghost, the divine person also revealed there as the Comforter, the Sanctifier, and the Guide of Christians.
JOHN THE EVANGELIST was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, son of Zebedee and Salome, by profession a fisherman. Some have thought that he was a disciple of John the Baptist before he attended Jesus Christ. He was brother to James the greater. It is believed that St. John was the youngest of the Apostles. Tillemont is of opinion that he was twenty-five or twenty-six years of age when he began to follow Jesus. Our Saviour had a particular friendship for him; and he describes himself by the name of "that disciple whom Jesus loved." St. John was one of the four Apostles to whom our Lord delivered his predictions relative to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the approaching calamities of the Jewish nation, Mr 13:3. St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were chosen to accompany our Saviour on several occasions, when the other Apostles were not permitted to be present. When Christ restored the daughter of Jairus to life, Mr 5:37; Lu 8:51; when he was transfigured on the mount, Mt 17:1-2; Mr 9:2; Lu 9:28; and when he endured his agony in the garden, Mt 26:36-37; Mr 14:32-33; St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were his only attendants. That St. John was treated by Christ with greater familiarity than the other Apostles, is evident from St. Peter desiring him to ask Christ who should betray him, when he himself did not dare to propose the question, Joh 13:24. He seems to have been the only Apostle present at the crucifixion, and to him Jesus, just as he was expiring upon the cross, gave the strongest proof of his confidence and regard, by consigning to him the care of his mother, Joh 19:26-27. As St. John had been witness to the death of our Saviour, by seeing the blood and water issue from his side, which a soldier had pierced, Joh 19:34-35, so he was one of the first made acquainted with his resurrection. Without any hesitation, he believed this great event, though "as
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A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.
John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
if you're willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. He was transformed in front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light.
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James' brother.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transformed in front of them,
While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple complex, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified.
Then after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah's division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in God's sight, living without blame according to all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. read more. But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years. When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear. But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.
The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
After He came to the house, He let no one enter with Him except Peter, John, James, and the child's father and mother.
About eight days after these words, He took along Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
And while He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.
Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was He was talking about.
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then He said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth.
For they still did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead.
Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them,
Then the high priest took action. He and all his colleagues, those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. So they arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail.
When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God's message, they sent Peter and John to them. After they went down there, they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught the things about Jesus accurately, although he knew only John's baptism.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples
But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him:
Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard.
The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. read more. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn't know where he's going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God's children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn't know Him.
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's were righteous.
We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. read more. This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion from him-how can God's love reside in him? Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth;
Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us.
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. read more. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us.
And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; for we are as He is in this world. read more. There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from Him: the one who loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves his child. This is how we know that we love God's children when we love God and obey His commands. read more. For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,
I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.
The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
For I was very glad when some brothers came and testified to your [faithfulness] to the truth-how you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth. read more. Dear friend, you are showing your faith by whatever you do for the brothers, and this [you are doing] for strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, since they set out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such men, so that we can be co-workers with the truth. I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive us.
Demetrius has a [good] testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. And we also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true. I have many things to write you, but I don't want to write to you with pen and ink. read more. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.
I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God's word and the testimony about Jesus.