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 Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man or woman shall separate to vow a vow, being consecrated, to be separated to Jehovah: read more. From wine and strong drink he shall be separated; vinegar of wine and vinegar of strong drink he shall not drip and the steeping of grapes he shall not drink, and grapes fresh and dry, he shall not eat All the days of his consecration, from all which shall be made from the vine, of the wine, from the grape kernels, even to the skin, he shall not eat All the days of the vow of his consecration a razor shall not pass over upon his head: till the filling up of the days which he shall consecrate to Jehovah, he shall be holy, increasing the locks of the hair of his head. All the days of his consecrating himself to Jehovah, he shall not go in to a dead soul. For his father, and for his mother, for his brother and for his sister, he shall not be defiled for them in their dying: for the consecration of his God upon his head. All the days of his consecration he holy to Jehovah. And when the dying shall die by him suddenly, in a moment, and the head of his consecration was defiled and he shaved his head in the day of his cleansing, in the seventh day shall he shave it And in the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two sons of the dove to the priest, to the door of the tent of appointment: And the priest did the one for sin, and one for a burnt-offering, and he expiated for him for what he sinned for the soul, and he consecrated his head in that day. And he consecrated to Jehovah the day of his consecration, and he brought a lamb, the son of a year, for trespass: and the former days shall fall because his consecration was defiled.
The voice of him calling in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the sterile region a highway for our God.
Behold me sending my messenger, and he looked upon the way before my face: and suddenly Jehovah whom ye seek shall come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in: behold him coming, said Jehovah of armies.
In these days John the Baptist is present, proclaiming in the desert of Judea; And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near. read more. For this is he spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.
For this is he spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. And this John had his garment from camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. read more. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan;
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan; And they were immersed in Jordan by him, acknowledging their sins. read more. And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has indicated to you to flee from the wrath about to come? Do ye therefore fruit worthy of repentance. And think not to say in yourselves we have Abraham a father; for I say to you that God can of these stones raise up children to Abraham. And now also the axe lies at the root of the trees; therefore every one not making good fruit is cut off and cast into fire. I truly immerse you in water to repentance; but he coming after me is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not fit to lift up; he shall immerse in the Holy Spirit, and fire Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the store; but he will burn down the chaff in inextinguishable fire.
And Jesus having answered said to him, Permit now; for so it is suitable for us to complete all justice: then he permitted him.
For Herod, having seized John, bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife: For John said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her: read more. And wishing to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, because they held John as a prophet. The festivities of Herod's birthday being celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. Wherefore, with an oath, he agreed to give her whatever she should ask. And having been urged on by her mother, Give me, she says, here upon a board, the head of John the Baptist. And the king was grieved: but for his oath, and those reclining together at the table, he ordered to be given. And having sent, he beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought upon a board, and given to the girl, and she brought to her mother. And his disciples having come near, took away the body, and interred it; and having come, they announced to Jesus.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the daily order of Abia: and his wife the daughter of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
For he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and fermented liquor he should not drink; and with the Holy Spirit shall he be filled, even from his mother's womb.
And his month was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spake, praising God.
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing forth to Israel.
Do ye therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to, say in yourselves, We have a father A braham : for I say to you, That God is able to raise children to Abraham of these stones.
And Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod did,
He was a burning and manifest light: and ye wished to rejoice for a time 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 between the woman, and between thy seed and between her seed; it shall lie in wait for thee as to the head, and thou shalt lie in wait for him as to the heel.
These from them ye shall eat; the locust according to its kind, the winged locust according to its kind, and the locust without wings according to its kind, and the leaping locust according to its kind.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man or woman shall separate to vow a vow, being consecrated, to be separated to Jehovah: read more. From wine and strong drink he shall be separated; vinegar of wine and vinegar of strong drink he shall not drip and the steeping of grapes he shall not drink, and grapes fresh and dry, he shall not eat All the days of his consecration, from all which shall be made from the vine, of the wine, from the grape kernels, even to the skin, he shall not eat All the days of the vow of his consecration a razor shall not pass over upon his head: till the filling up of the days which he shall consecrate to Jehovah, he shall be holy, increasing the locks of the hair of his head. All the days of his consecrating himself to Jehovah, he shall not go in to a dead soul. For his father, and for his mother, for his brother and for his sister, he shall not be defiled for them in their dying: for the consecration of his God upon his head. All the days of his consecration he holy to Jehovah. And when the dying shall die by him suddenly, in a moment, and the head of his consecration was defiled and he shaved his head in the day of his cleansing, in the seventh day shall he shave it And in the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two sons of the dove to the priest, to the door of the tent of appointment: And the priest did the one for sin, and one for a burnt-offering, and he expiated for him for what he sinned for the soul, and he consecrated his head in that day. And he consecrated to Jehovah the day of his consecration, and he brought a lamb, the son of a year, for trespass: and the former days shall fall because his consecration was defiled. And this the law of him consecrated: in the day of filling up the days of his consecration, he shall bring himself to the door of the tent of appointment: And he brought his offering to Jehovah, one blameless lamb, the son of his year, for a burnt-offering, and one blameless ewe lamb, the daughter of her year, for the sin, and one blameless ram for peace; And a basket of unleavened of fine flour cakes mingled with oil, and thin unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and their gifts and their libations. And the priest brought before Jehovah, and did his sin and his burnt-offering. And the ram he shall do a sacrifice of peace to Jehovah, upon the basket of unleavened: and the priest did his gift and his libation. And he being consecrated, shaved the head of his consecration at the door of the tent of appointment, and took the hair of the head of his consecration, and gave upon the fire which under the sacrifice of peace. And the priest took the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake from the basket, and one thin unleavened cake, and gave upon the hands of him consecrated, after his shaving his consecration. And the priest lifted them up a lifting up before Jehovah: it holy to the priest upon the breast of the lifting up and upon the leg of the offering: and afterwards, he being consecrated shall drink wine. This the law of him consecrated who shall vow his offering to Jehovah for his consecration, besides what his hand shall attain: according to his vow which he vowed, so shall he do according to the law of his consecration.
According to the number of days which ye searched out the land, forty days, a day a year, a day for a year, shall ye your iniquities; forty years, and ye knew my withdrawal.
And it will be in the going up of the gift, and Elijah the prophet will draw near and say, Jehovah God of Abraham, Isaak, and Israel, this day it shall be known that thou art God in Israel, and I thy servant, and by thy words I did all these words. Answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people shall know that thou art Jehovah God, and thou didst turn their heart backwards.
And they will say to him, A man possessing hair, girded with a girdle of skin upon his loins. And he will say, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
And he shall cause them to eat from the fat of wheat, and from the rock with honey will I satisfy thee.
Until the spirit shall be poured upon us from on high, and the desert be for Carmel, and Carmel be reckoned for a forest.
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened.
The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah anointed me to announce good news to the afflicted, he sent me to bind up to the broken of heart, to call freedom to the captives, and the opening of the prison to the bound.
And thou, wilt thou seek great things to thyself? thou shalt not seek: for behold me bringing evil upon all flesh, says Jehovah: and I gave to thee thy soul for a booty to all the places where thou shalt go there.
Behold me sending my messenger, and he looked upon the way before my face: and suddenly Jehovah whom ye seek shall come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in: behold him coming, said Jehovah of armies. And who enduring the day of his coming? and who standing in his being seen? for he is as the fire of the crucible, as the alkali of the fuller. read more. And he sat melting and cleansing silver: and he cleansed the sons of Levi, and he purified them as gold and as silver, and they were to Jehovah bringing near the sacrifice in justice. And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem was pleasant to Jehovah, as the days of old and as the former years. And I came near to you for judgment: and I was a swift witness against those practicing magic, and against those committing adultery, and against those swearing to falsehood, and against those oppressing the hire of the hireling, the widow and the orphan, and those turning aside the stranger, and they feared not me, said Jehovah of armies.
For behold, the day coming, burning as a furnace; and all the proud and all doing injustice were straw: and the day coming burnt them, said Jehovah of armies, that it shall not leave to them root and branch. And to you fearing my name the sun of justice arose, and healing in his wings; and ye went forth and spread as calves of the stall. read more. And ye tread down the unjust; for they were ashes under the soles of your feet in the day which I doing, said Jehovah of armies. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the laws and the judgments. Behold, I send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the day of Jehovah, great and terrible: And he turned back the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I shall come and strike the earth with utter destruction.
And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan;
I truly immerse you in water to repentance; but he coming after me is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not fit to lift up; he shall immerse in the Holy Spirit, and fire Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the store; but he will burn down the chaff in inextinguishable fire.
And John having heard in prison the works of Christ, having sent two of his disciples,
And Jesus having known, withdrew from thence; and many crowds followed him, and he cured them all; And he rebuked them that they should not make him known: read more. So that that spoken by the prophet Esaias might be completed, saying, Behold my servant, which I have chosen: my dearly beloved, in whom my soul was contented; I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim judgment to the nations. He shall not contend, nor cry; nor shall any hear his voice in the streets. He shall not break a bruised reed, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he should draw forth judgment to victory. And in his name shall the nations hope.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets, and stoning those sent to her; how often did I wish to gather thy children together, which manner a bird gathers together her young broods under the wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. read more. For I say to you, Ye should not see me from henceforth, till ye should say, Praised be he coming in the name of the Lord.
And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God,
And, behold, Elizabeth thy kinsman, she also having conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month to her, called barren.
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing forth to Israel.
Upon Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests, the word of And was upon John, son of Zacharias in the desert.
And the people awaiting, and all reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether he may not be the Christ;
And they said to him, Wherefore do the disciples of John fast frequently, and make prayers, and likewise they of the Pharisees; and they to thee eat and drink And he said to them, Ye cannot make the sons of the nuptial-chamber fast, when the bridegroom is with them. read more. But the days will come also, when the bridegroom shall be carried away from them; then shall they fast in those days. And he also spake to them a parable; That none put a piece of new garment, upon an old garment; and if not so, the new also splits, and the piece from the new agrees not with the old. And none put new wine into old wineskins; and if not so, the new wine bursts the wine-skins, and it will be poured out, and the wine-skins will perish. But new wine cast into new wine-skins; and both are kept.
For I say to you, Among the begotten of women none is a greater prophet than John the Immerser; and the less in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
And it was in his being in a certain place praying, when he ceased, a certain of his disciples said to 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 that they might ask him, Who art thou? And he acknowledged, and denied not; and he acknowledged, That I am not the Christ. read more. And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they to him, Who art thou? that we might give answer to them having sent us. What sayest thou for thyself? He said, I the voice of him crying in the desert, Make ye straight the way of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.
This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who was before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he might be manifested to Israel, for this I came immersing in water. read more. And John testified, saying, That I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it remained up on him. And I knew him not: but he having sent me to immerse in water, this said to me, Upon whomsoever thou shouldest see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, this is he immersing in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and testified that this is the Son of God. Again on the morrow John stood, and two of his disciples;
And John was also immersing in AEnon near Salim, for many waters were there: and they came near and were immersed. For John was not yet cast into prison. read more. Then was there an investigation of John's disciples with Jesus about purification. And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou hast testified, behold, he immerses, and all come to him. John answered and said, No man can receive anything except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves testify to me, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He having the bride is the bridegroom: and the friend of the bridegroom, standing and hearing him, rejoices with joy for the bridegroom's voice: therefore this my joy has been completed. He must increase, and I must be diminished. He coming from above is above all, he being of the earth is of earth, and speaks of earth: he coming from heaven is above all. And what he saw and heard, this be testifies: and none receives his testimony. He having received his testimony has fixed a seal that God is true. For he whom God sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and he has given all things into his hand. He believing in the Son has eternal life: and he not believing the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God remains upon him.
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus makes and baptizes more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself immersed not, but his disciples,)
They answered and said to him, Abraham is our Father. Jesus says to them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye had done Abraham's works.
And many came to him, and said, That truly John did no sign: but all which John said of him was true.
And he said to them, Into what then were ye immersed? And they. said, Into John's immersion.
And be not drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; 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 ye to all the assembly of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month and they shall take to them each a sheep, according to the house of the fathers; a sheep for a house.
This which thou shalt do upon the altar; two he lambs the sons of a year for the day continually.
These from them ye shall eat; the locust according to its kind, the winged locust according to its kind, and the locust without wings according to its kind, and the leaping locust according to its kind.
And the word of Jehovah will be to Samuel, saying,
Wash ye, cleanse yourselves: turn away evil from your doings from before mine eyes; leave off the evil;
The voice of him calling in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the sterile region a highway for our God.
He was pressed, and he was afflicted, and he will not open his mouth: he was brought as a sheep for the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers being dumb and he will not open his mouth.
And they went forth and saw the carcasses of the men transgressing against me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they were an abhorrence to all flesh.
And I sprinkled clean waters upon you, and ye were cleansed: from all your uncleannesses and from all your blocks will I cleanse you.
For behold, I command, and I caused the house of Israel to move to and fro among all nations as it will move to and fro in a sieve, and a stone shall not fall to the earth.
In that day shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for putting away.
Behold, I send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the day of Jehovah, great and terrible:
In these days John the Baptist is present, proclaiming in the desert of Judea; And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.
And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near. For this is he spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. read more. And this John had his garment from camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
And this John had his garment from camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan;
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan; And they were immersed in Jordan by him, acknowledging their sins.
And they were immersed in Jordan by him, acknowledging their sins. And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has indicated to you to flee from the wrath about to come? read more. Do ye therefore fruit worthy of repentance. And think not to say in yourselves we have Abraham a father; for I say to you that God can of these stones raise up children to Abraham.
And think not to say in yourselves we have Abraham a father; for I say to you that God can of these stones raise up children to Abraham. And now also the axe lies at the root of the trees; therefore every one not making good fruit is cut off and cast into fire. read more. I truly immerse you in water to repentance; but he coming after me is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not fit to lift up; he shall immerse in the Holy Spirit, and fire Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the store; but he will burn down the chaff in inextinguishable fire. Then Jesus approaches from Galilee to Jordan, to John, to be immersed by him.
And Jesus having answered said to him, Permit now; for so it is suitable for us to complete all justice: then he permitted him.
He said to him, Art thou he coming, or should we look for another?
And if ye will receive, this is Elias he about to come.
But if we say, Of men; we fear the crowd; for all hold John as a prophet.
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it has been written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. read more. A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his beaten paths straight. John was immersing in the desert, and proclaiming the immersion of repentance for the remission of sins.
John was immersing in the desert, and proclaiming the immersion of repentance for the remission of sins. And the Judean country, and the Jerusalemites, were going out to him, and all were being immersed by him in the river Jordan, acknowledging their sins. read more. And John was dressed in camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and eating locusts and wild honey; And he proclaimed, saying, The stronger than I comes after me, of whom I am not sufficient, having bent the head, to loose the strings of his shoes. I truly immersed you in water: but he shall immerse you with the Holy Spirit.
I truly immersed you in water: but he shall immerse you with the Holy Spirit. And it was in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was immersed by John in Jordan.
And king Herod heard his name; (for it was manifest:) and said, That John the Immerser was raised from the dead, and for this the powers were energetic in him.
For John said to Herod, That it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
But I say to you, that Elias also has come, and they did to him whatever they would, as it has been written of him.
But if we say, Of men; they feared the people : for all held John, that he was truly a prophet.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the daily order of Abia: and his wife the daughter of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
And no child was to them, as Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
And the messenger said to him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy supplication has been heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
For he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and fermented liquor he should not drink; and with the Holy Spirit shall he be filled, even from his mother's womb.
And he shall come before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the intelligence of the just; to prepare a people having been put in order for the Lord.
And, behold, Elizabeth thy kinsman, she also having conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month to her, called barren.
And Mary having risen in those days, went into the mountainous country with haste, into a city of Judah;
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing forth to Israel.
Now in the fifteenth year of the supremacy of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being leader of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother being tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Upon Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests, the word of And was upon John, son of Zacharias in the desert.
Upon Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests, the word of And was upon John, son of Zacharias in the desert. And he came into all the country round about Jordan, proclaiming the immersion of repentance for remission of sins;
And he came into all the country round about Jordan, proclaiming the immersion of repentance for remission of sins; As it has been written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his footpaths straight. read more. Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mount and hill shall be lowered; and the crooked shall be into straightness, and the rough into smooth ways. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the crowds coming out to he immersed by him, Generation of vipers, who indicated to you to flee from the anger about to come Do ye therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to, say in yourselves, We have a father A braham : for I say to you, That God is able to raise children to Abraham of these stones.
Do ye therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to, say in yourselves, We have a father A braham : for I say to you, That God is able to raise children to Abraham of these stones.
Do ye therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to, say in yourselves, We have a father A braham : for I say to you, That God is able to raise children to Abraham of these stones. And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees: therefore every tree not making good fruit is cut down, and cast into fire.
And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees: therefore every tree not making good fruit is cut down, and cast into fire. And the crowds asked him, saying, What therefore shall we do? read more. And he having answered, says to them, He having two coats, let him impart to him having none; and he having food, let him do likewise. And publicans came to be immersed, and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do nothing more than that appointed you And they making war asked him, saying, And what shall do? And he said to them, Shake none violently, neither make slanderous accusation; and be content with your pay. And the people awaiting, and all reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether he may not be the Christ; John answered to all, saying, I truly immerse you with water; and he stronger than I comes, of whom I am not worthy to loose his shoes' strings: he shall immerse you with the Holy Spirit and fire: Whose winnowing fan in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and gather the wheat into his store; and the chaff he will burn down with inextinguishable fire.
Whose winnowing fan in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and gather the wheat into his store; and the chaff he will burn down with inextinguishable fire. And then truly many other things beseeching, he evangelized the people. read more. And Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod did, And he added this to all, and shut up John in prison. And it was in all the people having been immersed, and Jesus having been immersed, and praying, heaven was opened,
And if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded John to be a prophet.
This came for testimony, that he might testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through him.
John testifies for him, and he tried, saying, This was he of whom I said, He coming after me was before me: for he was before me. And of his completion we all received, and grace for grace. read more. For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth were by Jesus Christ. None has seen God at any time; the only born Son, he being in the bosom of the Father, he has declared. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem that they might ask him, Who art thou? And he acknowledged, and denied not; and he acknowledged, That I am not the Christ. And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No.
And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they to him, Who art thou? that we might give answer to them having sent us. What sayest thou for thyself? read more. He said, I the voice of him crying in the desert, Make ye straight the way of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.
He said, I the voice of him crying in the desert, Make ye straight the way of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet. And they having been sent were of the Pharisees. read more. And they asked him, and said to him, Why immersest thou then, if thou art not Christ, neither Elias, neither a prophet?
And they asked him, and said to him, Why immersest thou then, if thou art not Christ, neither Elias, neither a prophet? John answered them saying, I immerse in water: but he stands the midst of you, whom ye know not; read more. This is he coming after me, who was before me, of whom I am not worthy that I might loose the strings of his shoes. These things were in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was immersing. In the morrow John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, be taking away the sin of the world.
In the morrow John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, be taking away the sin of the world.
In the morrow John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, be taking away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who was before me: for he was before me. read more. And I knew him not: but that he might be manifested to Israel, for this I came immersing in water. And John testified, saying, That I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it remained up on him. And I knew him not: but he having sent me to immerse in water, this said to me, Upon whomsoever thou shouldest see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, this is he immersing in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and testified that this is the Son of God.
He having the bride is the bridegroom: and the friend of the bridegroom, standing and hearing him, rejoices with joy for the bridegroom's voice: therefore this my joy has been completed.
And again he departed beyond Jordan to the place where John was first immersing; and he remained there.
He was instructed in the way of the Lord; and boiling up in the spirit, he spake and taught attentively the things of the Lord, knowing only the immersion of John.
And he said to them, Into what then were ye immersed? And they. said, Into John's immersion.
Therefore of faith, that according to grace; the promise to be firm to all the seed; not to that of the law only, but also to that of the faith of Abraham; who is father of us all,
Neither that the seed of Abraham, are all children: but, In Isaac shall the seed be called to thee.
And we, brethren, as 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
A prophet from the midst of thee, from thy brethren, like me Jehovah thy God shall raise up to thee; to him shall ye hear.
A prophet will I raise up to them from the midst of their brethren, like thee, and I gave my word in his mouth, and he spake to them all that I shall command him.
The voice of him calling in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the sterile region a highway for our God.
In these days John the Baptist is present, proclaiming in the desert of Judea; And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near. read more. For this is he spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. And this John had his garment from camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan; And they were immersed in Jordan by him, acknowledging their sins. And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has indicated to you to flee from the wrath about to come?
Verily I say to you, in the begotten of women has there not risen a greater than John the Immerser; but the less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. From the days of John the Immerser till now the kingdom of the heavens is achieved by force, and they committing violence seize it eagerly. read more. For all the prophets, And the law prophesied till John. And if ye will receive, this is Elias he about to come.
And king Herod heard his name; (for it was manifest:) and said, That John the Immerser was raised from the dead, and for this the powers were energetic in him. Others amid, That he is Elias. And others said, That he is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. read more. And Herod, having heard, said, That John whom I beheaded, this is he; he was raised from the dead. For this Herod, having sent, took John, and bound him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife: for he married her. For John said to Herod, That it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. And Herodias had a grudge against him, and desired to kill him; and could not: For Herod feared John, knowing him a just and holy man, and he observed him: and having heard him, did many things, and heard him cheerfully. And a convenient day having come, when Herod in the festivities of his birthday made a supper to his leading persons,, and to the captains of thousands, and to the first of Galilee; And the daughter of this Herodias, having come in, and danced, and pleased Herod and those reclining together at table, the king said to the little girl, Ask me whatever thou wishest, and I will give thee. And he swore to her, That whatever thou shouldest ask, I will give thee, even to half my kingdom. And she having come out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Immerser. And having come quickly with haste to the king, she asked, saying, I wish that thou wouldest give me by itself, upon a board, the head of John the Immerser. And the king having been sorely grieved on account of the oaths and those reclining at table together, wished not to refuse her. And quickly the king, having sent a scout, commanded his head to be brought: And he having departed, beheaded him in prison, and brought his head upon a board, and gave it to the little girl: and the little girl gave it to her mother. And his disciples, having heard, came and took up his corpse, and put it in a tomb.
But I say to you, that Elias also has come, and they did to him whatever they would, as it has been written of him.
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing forth to Israel.
And having called certain two of his disciples, John sent to Jesus, saying, Art thou he coming? or should we expect another? And the men, having approached to him, said, John the Immerser has sent us to thee, saying, Art thou he coming? or should we expect another? read more. And in that same hour he cured many of diseases, and scourges, and evil spirits, and to many blind he conferred the favor to see. And Jesus having answered said to them, Having gone, announce to John what ye saw and heard; for the blind look up, the lame walk, the leprous are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are announced good news. And happy is he, whoever should not be offended in me.
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem that they might ask him, Who art thou? And he acknowledged, and denied not; and he acknowledged, That I am not the Christ. read more. And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No.
And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they to him, Who art thou? that we might give answer to them having sent us. What sayest thou for thyself? read more. He said, I the voice of him crying in the desert, Make ye straight the way of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.
It was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, one of the two having heard of 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
These from them ye shall eat; the locust according to its kind, the winged locust according to its kind, and the locust without wings according to its kind, and the leaping locust according to its kind.
And they will say to him, A man possessing hair, girded with a girdle of skin upon his loins. And he will say, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
And he shall cause them to eat from the fat of wheat, and from the rock with honey will I satisfy thee.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all round about Jordan;
Then came to him the disciples of John; saying, Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the daily order of Abia: and his wife the daughter of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
For he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and fermented liquor he should not drink; and with the Holy Spirit shall he be filled, even from his mother's womb.
And Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod did,
And they said to him, Wherefore do the disciples of John fast frequently, and make prayers, and likewise they of the Pharisees; and they to thee eat and drink
And it was in his being in a certain place praying, when he ceased, a certain of his disciples said to him Lord, teach us to pray, as John also -taught his disciples.
And John was also immersing in AEnon near Salim, for many waters were there: and they came near and were immersed.
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus makes and baptizes more disciples than John,
And he said to them, Into what then were ye immersed? And they. said, Into John's immersion.
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 calling in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the sterile region a highway for our God.
Behold, I send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the day of Jehovah, great and terrible:
And this John had his garment from camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
And if ye will receive, this is Elias he about to come.
And after six days Jesus takes Peter, James, and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart. And he was transformed before them: and his face shone as the sun, and his garments were white as the light.
Then comes Jesus with them into the place called Gethsemane, and says to the disciples, Sit here, till I, having gone, shall pray. And having taken Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved, and to be dejected.
And he permitted not any to follow him, except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
And after six days Jesus takes Peter, and James, and John, and brings them up into a high mountain apart alone: and he was transformed before them.
And he sitting in the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him apart,
And they came to a place, the name of which Gethsemane: and he says to his disciples, Sit here, while I shall pray. And he takes Peter and James and John with himself, and began to be amazed, and to be dejected.
Truly therefore the Lord, after ho had spoken to them, was taken up into the heavens, and sat on the right hand of God.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the daily order of Abia: and his wife the daughter of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, going faultless in all the commands and precepts of the Lord. read more. And no child was to them, as Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days. And it was in his being priest, in the arranging of the daily order before God, According to the custom of the priesthood, he drew lots to burn incense, having entered into the temple of the Lord. And all the multitude of people were praying without at the hour of incense. And a messenger of the Lord was seen to him, standing from the right of the altar of fumigation. And Zacharias having seen, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. And the messenger said to him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy supplication has been heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And joy shall be to thee, and gladness: and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and fermented liquor he should not drink; and with the Holy Spirit shall he be filled, even from his mother's womb.
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing forth to Israel.
And having come into the house, he suffered not any to come in, except Peter, and James, and John, and the father and mother of the child.
And it was after these words about eight days, and having taken Peter and John and James, he went up into the mount to pray.
And it was in his praising them, he was separated from them, and carried into heaven.
Then Simon Peter nodded to this one, to inquire who it might be of whom he speaks.
Jesus then having seen the mother, and the disciple standing near, whom he loved, says to his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then says he to the disciple, Behold thy mother And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.
But one of the soldiers with a javelin pricked his side, and quickly came out blood and water. And he having seen has testified, and his testimony is true: and he knows that he says true, that ye might believe.
For not yet knew they the writing, that he must rise from the dead.
And they speaking to the people, the priests, and commander of the temple, and the Sadducees, resisted them,
And the chief priest having risen, and all they with him, (the sect being of the Sadducees,) they were filled with zeal, And put their hands upon the sent, and set them in the public keeping.
And the sent in Jerusalem having heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John: Who, having gone down, prayed for them, that they receive the Holy Spirit
He was instructed in the way of the Lord; and boiling up in the spirit, he spake and taught attentively the things of the Lord, knowing only the immersion of John.
And it was in Apollos' being in Corinth, Paul having passed through the higher parts, caine to Ephesus: and having found certain disciples,
Whoever should keep his word, truly in him has the word of God been completed: in this we know that we are in him.
Brethren, I write no new command to you, but an old command which ye had from the beginning. The old command is the word which ye heard from the beginning.
He saying he is in the light, and hating his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He loving his brother remains in light, and there is no stumbling-block in him. read more. And he hating his brother is in darkness, and walks about in darkness, and knows not where he goes forward, for darkness has blinded his eyes.
Love not the world, nor the things in the world. If any love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
See ye, what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God: for this the world knows us not, for it knew him not.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what slew he him? Because his works were evil, and those of his brother just.
We know that we have passed from death to life, for we love the brethren. He not loving the brother remains in death. Every one hating his brother is a manslayer: and ye know that no man-slayer has eternal life remaining in him. read more. In this have we known love, for he set his soul for us: and we ought to set the souls for the brethren. And whoever has the life of the world, and sees his brother having need, and should shut up his bowels from him, how remains the love of God in him? My little children, we should not love in word, neither in tongue; but in work and truth.
And this is his command, That we believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us command.
Dearly beloved, we should love one another: for love is of God; and every one loving has been born of God, and knows God. He not loving knows not God; for God is love. read more. In this was the love of God manifested in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world, that we might live by him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son a propitiation for our sins.
None has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is completed in us.
And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love; and he remaining in love remains in God, and God in him. In this has love been completed with us, that we might have freedom of speech in the day of judgment: for as he is, so are we in this world. read more. Fear is not in love; but perfected love casts out fear: for fear has restraint. And he fearing has not been perfected in love. We should love him, for he first loved us. If any say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he not loving his brother whom he has seen, God whom he has not seen, how can he love? And this command have we from him, That he loving God love his brother also.
Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God: and every one loving him having begotten, loves him also begotten of him. In this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commands. read more. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commands: and his commands are not heavy.
I was greatly rejoiced that I found of thy children walking about in the truth, as we received a command from the Father.
The children of thy chosen sister greet thee. Amen.
For I was greatly rejoiced, the brethren coming and testifying to thy truth, as thou walkest about in the truth. I have no joy greater than these that I hear my children walking in truth. read more. Dearly beloved, thou doest faithfully whatever thou dost work for the brethren, and for strangers; Who testified to thy love before the church: thou shalt do well, having sent them forward worthily of God. For, for his name went they forth, receiving nothing from the nations. Therefore ought we to receive such, that we might be workers together in the truth. I wrote to the church: but Diotrephes, seeking the superiority over them, receives us not.
It has been testified to Demetrius by all, and by the truth itself: and we also testify; and know that our testimony is true. I have many things to write, but I will not by ink and pen write to thee: read more. { And I hope presently to see thee, and we will speak mouth to mouth. Peace to thee. The friends greet thee. Greet the friends by name.}
{ And I hope presently to see thee, and we will speak mouth to mouth. Peace to thee. The friends greet thee. Greet the friends by name.}
I John, and your brother, and partaker in pressure, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, I was in the island called Patmos, for the sake of the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.