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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And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate themselves unto the LORD, read more. they shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall they drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried. All the days of their Nazariteship they shall eat nothing that is made of the wine vine, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of their Nazariteship no razor shall come upon their head, until the days are fulfilled of their separation unto the LORD; they shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of their head grow. All the days that they separate themselves unto the LORD they shall come in unto no dead body. They shall not make themselves unclean for their father or for their mother, for their brother or for their sister, when they die because the consecration of their God is upon their head. All the days of their Nazariteship they are holy unto the LORD. And if anyone dies very suddenly beside them, and they have defiled the head of their Nazariteship, then they shall shave their head in the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day shall they shave it. And on the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and the priest shall offer the one as the sin and the other as a burnt offering and reconcile the one that sinned upon the dead and shall sanctify their head that same day. And they shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of their Nazariteship and shall bring a lamb of the first year for their guilt; but the days that were before shall be lost because their Nazariteship was defiled.
The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. read more. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. read more. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him
Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. read more. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I say unto you that God is able to raise up children unto Abraham of these stones. And now the axe is also laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand; and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with fire that shall never be quenched.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it is expedient for us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
For Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. read more. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John the Baptist's head in a platter. And the king was sorry; nevertheless because of the oath and of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a platter and given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
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 his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke blessing God.
And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Then Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife and for all the evils which Herod had done,
He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing to rejoice for one hour in 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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and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; that seed shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
these of them ye may eat: the locust according to his species and the bald locust according to his species and the beetle according to his species and the grasshopper according to his species.
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate themselves unto the LORD, read more. they shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall they drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried. All the days of their Nazariteship they shall eat nothing that is made of the wine vine, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of their Nazariteship no razor shall come upon their head, until the days are fulfilled of their separation unto the LORD; they shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of their head grow. All the days that they separate themselves unto the LORD they shall come in unto no dead body. They shall not make themselves unclean for their father or for their mother, for their brother or for their sister, when they die because the consecration of their God is upon their head. All the days of their Nazariteship they are holy unto the LORD. And if anyone dies very suddenly beside them, and they have defiled the head of their Nazariteship, then they shall shave their head in the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day shall they shave it. And on the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and the priest shall offer the one as the sin and the other as a burnt offering and reconcile the one that sinned upon the dead and shall sanctify their head that same day. And they shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of their Nazariteship and shall bring a lamb of the first year for their guilt; but the days that were before shall be lost because their Nazariteship was defiled. This is, therefore, the law of the Nazarite, in the day in which their Nazariteship is fulfilled: they shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the testimony; and they shall offer their offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish as the sin and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil and their present and their drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the LORD and shall offer his sin and his burnt offering; and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall likewise offer his present and his drink offering. Then the Nazarite shall shave the head of their Nazariteship at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony and shall take the hair of the head of their Nazariteship and put it upon the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace. Then the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite after their Nazariteship is shaven; and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD, which shall be a holy thing of the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder; and after that the Nazarite shall drink wine. This is the law of the Nazarite who made a vow of their offering unto the LORD for their Nazariteship, beside that which their means allows, according to the vow which they vowed, so they must do according to the law of their Nazariteship.
After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days, each day for a year, ye shall bear your iniquities forty years, and ye shall know my reason for annulling my promise.
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, LORD God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and that I am thy slave and that I have done all these things at thy word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God and that thou shalt convert their heart back again to thee.
And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah, the Tishbite.
And God would have fed them also the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock I would have satisfied thee.
until the spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness is turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted for a forest.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good tidings unto those who are cast down; to bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound;
And dost thou seek great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I bring evil upon all flesh, said the LORD: but I will give thee thy life as a spoil of battle in all places where thou goest.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts. But who may abide the time of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he shall be like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap: read more. And he shall sit to refine and to purify the silver: for he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant unto the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. And I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts.
For, behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the LORD of the hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness be born, and in his wings he shall bring saving health; and ye shall go forth and jump like calves of the herd. read more. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, said the LORD of the hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my slave, which I commanded unto him in Horeb statutes and my rights over all Israel. Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD: and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him
I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand; and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with fire that shall never be quenched.
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there; and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; and strictly charged them that they should not make him known; read more. so that it which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, who said, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall declare judgment unto the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking flax he shall not quench until he sends forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles wait.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that didst kill the prophets and stone those who are sent unto thee, how often I desired to gather thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. read more. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me from now on until ye shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God
And, behold, thy relative Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came upon John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness.
And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not,
Then they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? read more. But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he also spoke a parable unto them: No one takes a piece of a new garment to mend an old one; if otherwise, then the new one is rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new does not agree with the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled and the wineskins shall perish. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
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.
And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. read more. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.
This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. read more. And John gave testimony, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have given testimony that this is the Son of God. And again the next day John stood, and two of his disciples,
And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim because there was much water there, and they came and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. read more. Then there arose a question between the disciples of John and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan of whom thou gave witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing except it is given him from the heaven. Ye yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled. It is expedient unto him to increase, but unto me, to decrease. He that comes from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks earthly things: he that comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and no one receives his testimony. He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He that believes in the Son has eternal life, and he that does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples),
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If ye were Abraham's sons, ye would do the works of Abraham.
And many came unto him and said, John certainly did no sign, but all the things that John spoke of this man were true.
And he said unto them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.
And be not drunk with wine, in which there is excess, 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
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Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month let each man take a lamb according to the families of the fathers, a lamb per family;
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year every day continually.
these of them ye may eat: the locust according to his species and the bald locust according to his species and the beetle according to his species and the grasshopper according to his species.
Then the word of the LORD came unto Samuel, saying,
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he did not open his mouth.
And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
For, behold, I will command, and I will cause the house of Israel to be sifted among all the Gentiles like as the grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall to the earth.
In that time there shall be an open fountain for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem against sin and against uncleanness.
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD:
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. read more. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him
Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come? read more. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I say unto you that God is able to raise up children unto Abraham of these stones.
and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I say unto you that God is able to raise up children unto Abraham of these stones. And now the axe is also laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. read more. I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand; and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with fire that shall never be quenched. Then Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it is expedient for us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
And if ye will receive it, this is that Elijah who was to come.
But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, Son of God, as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. read more. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. John baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
John baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea and those of Jerusalem and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. read more. John was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth a city of Galilee and was baptized of John in the Jordan.
And king Herod heard of him (for his name was spread abroad), and he said, John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and therefore virtues operate in him.
For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
But I say unto you, That Elijah has indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they wished, as it is written of him.
But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people, for everyone judged regarding John that he truly was a prophet.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they had no child because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
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 he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the prudence of the just, to make ready a prepared people for the Lord.
And, behold, thy relative Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda
And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came upon John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness.
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came upon John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. read more. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the saving health of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; every tree therefore which does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; every tree therefore which does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? read more. He answered and said unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. Then the publicans also came to be baptized and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Oppress no one, neither accuse anyone falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you in water, but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and will gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and will gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And exhorting many other things he announced the gospel unto the people. read more. Then Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife and for all the evils which Herod had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that, Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened,
But and if we say, Of men, all the people will stone us; for they are certain that John was a prophet.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
John bore witness of him and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spoke, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. read more. For the law was given through Moses, but the grace and the truth of God came through Jesus, the Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? read more. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And those who were sent were of the Pharisees. read more. And they asked him and said unto him, Why dost thou baptize then if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?
And they asked him and said unto him, Why dost thou baptize then if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you, whom ye know not; read more. he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me. read more. And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John gave testimony, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have given testimony that this is the Son of God.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode.
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, teaching only in the baptism of John.
And he said unto them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.
Therefore by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to that which is of the law, but also to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are all sons, but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
So that we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the 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 thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken,
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. read more. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come?
Verily I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, life is given unto the kingdom of the heavens, and the valiant take hold of it. read more. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is that Elijah who was to come.
And king Herod heard of him (for his name was spread abroad), and he said, John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and therefore virtues operate in him. Others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is the prophet or one of the prophets. read more. But when Herod heard of it, he said, This is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him and would have killed him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and respected him; and when he heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his princes and tribunes and to the principal people of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and those that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it unto thee. And he swore unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it unto thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in with haste unto the king and asked, saying, I will that thou give me immediately in a platter the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry, yet for his oath's sake and for the sakes of those who sat with him, he would not reject her. And straightway the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought, and he went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head in a platter and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
But I say unto you, That Elijah has indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they wished, as it is written of him.
And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? read more. And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go and tell John the things ye have seen and heard: how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached; and blessed is whoever shall not be offended in me.
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. read more. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? read more. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, brother of Simon Peter.
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.)
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these of them ye may eat: the locust according to his species and the bald locust according to his species and the beetle according to his species and the grasshopper according to his species.
And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah, the Tishbite.
And God would have fed them also the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock I would have satisfied thee.
Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples do not fast?
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
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.
Then Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife and for all the evils which Herod had done,
Then they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?
And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.
And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim because there was much water there, and they came and were baptized.
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John
And he said unto them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.
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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The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD:
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
And if ye will receive it, this is that Elijah who was to come.
And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, and brought them apart up into a high mountain and [he] was transfigured before them, and his face shined as the sun, and his raiment was as white as the light.
Then Jesus came with them unto a place called Gethsemane and said unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
And he suffered no one to follow him, except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
And six days afterwards Jesus took Peter and James and John, and separated them apart by themselves unto a high mountain; and he was transfigured before them.
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
And they come to the place which is named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit ye here while I pray. And he takes with him Peter and James and John and began to be alarmed and to be anguished
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. read more. And they had no child because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years. And it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense entering into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
And when he came into the house, he allowed no one to go in except Peter and James and John and the father and the mother of the maiden.
And it came to pass about eight days after these words, he took Peter and John and James and went up into the mountain to pray.
And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to this one that he should ask him who it was of whom he spoke.
When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then he said to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith blood and water came out. And he that saw it gives testimony, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he says the truth, that ye also might believe.
For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
And as they spoke unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
Then the prince of the priests rose up, and all those that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees) were filled with jealousy and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John unto them, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, teaching only in the baptism of John.
And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples,
But whosoever keeps his word, in him verily is the charity of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
He that says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. read more. But he that hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he goes, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.
Behold, what charity the Father has given us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world does not know us, because it does not know him.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, That we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
We know that we are passed from death unto life, in that we love the brethren. He that does not love his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. read more. In this we have known the charity of God because he laid down his life for us; we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whosoever has this world's goods and sees his brother have need and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how does the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he has commanded us.
Beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. Anyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He that does not love does not know God, for God is charity. read more. In this was the charity of God demonstrated in us, in that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. In this does the charity consist, not because we had loved God, but because he loved us and has sent his Son to be the reconciliation for our sins.
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his charity is completed in us.
And we have known and believed the charity that God has in us. God is charity, and he that abides in charity abides in God, and God in him. In this the charity with us is made perfect, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, that as he is, so are we in this world. read more. In charity there is no fear; but charity that is perfect casts out fear; because fear has torment; from which he that fears is not complete in charity. We love him, because he first loved us. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he that does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from him, That he who loves God loves his brother also.
Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and anyone that loves him that begat also loves him that is born of him. In this we know that we love the sons of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. read more. For this is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous.
I have rejoiced greatly, for I have found of thy sons that they walk in the truth, as we have received the commandment from the Father.
The sons of thy chosen sister greet thee. Amen.
For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou dost walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my sons walk in the truth. read more. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatever thou doest regarding the brethren and with the strangers, who have borne witness of thy charity before the congregation , whom if thou wilt help them as is convenient according to God, thou shalt do well; because for his name's sake, they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We, therefore, ought to receive such, that we might be fellow workers to the truth. I wrote unto the congregation , but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, did not receive us.
Everyone gives testimony of Demetrius, even the truth itself; and we also bear witness, and ye have known that our witness is true. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee, read more. For I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
For I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
I John, your brother and participant in the tribulation and in the kingdom and in the patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.