The Life
of John The Baptist
In the days of Herod, the king of Judea a priest named Zacharias of
the division of Abijah, his wife was also a descendent of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth. They were
both righteous before GOD walking blameless in all the
commandments and ordinances of the LORD. They
had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they were both well advanced in
years.
So it was that while he was serving as priest before GOD in the order of his division, according to the
custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into
the temple of the LORD. All of the people were
outside praying at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the LORD appeared to Zacharias standing on the right side
of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw him he was troubled and afraid,
the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid Zacharias for your prayer is heard and
your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name
John. You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth.
For he will be great in the sight of the LORD,
he will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy
Spirit even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of
Israel to the LORD their GOD. He will go before the Christ in the spirit
and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and
the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for
the LORD.” Zacharias said to the angel, “How
shall I know this for I am an old man and my wife is well advanced in years?”
The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of GOD and was sent to speak to you and bring you these
glad tidings. Therefore you will be mute and not able to speak until the
day these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be
fulfilled in their own time.”
The people waited for Zacharias and marveled that he lingered so long in
the temple. When he came out he could not speak to them and they perceived
that he had seen a vision in the temple; for he motioned to them and remained
speechless. So as soon as the days of his service were completed he
departed to his own house. When his wife Elizabeth conceived she hid herself
five months saying, “The LORD has dealt with me in the days
when He looked on me to take away my reproach among people.”
Mary the betrothed of Joseph rose and went into the hill country to a
city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted her cousin Elizabeth. When
Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice
and said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why is this granted to me that the mother of
my LORD should come to me? For indeed as
soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears the babe leaped in my
womb for joy. Blessed is she
who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told
her from the LORD.”
Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered and she brought forth
a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the LORD had shown great mercy to her they rejoiced
with her. So it was on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the
child and they would have called him Zacharias after his father. His
mother said, “No he shall be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one
among your relatives who is named John.” So they made signs to Zacharias
what he would have him named. He motioned for a writing tablet and wrote, “His
name is John.” so they all marveled. Immediately Zacharias was filled with
the Holy Spirit his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke praising GOD and prophesied saying, “Blessed is the LORD GOD of Israel for He has
visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in
the house of His servant David as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets since
the world began. That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of
all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham. To grant us that we being
delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear in
holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. You child will
be called the prophet of the Highest for you will go before the face of
the LORD to prepare His way, to give
knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins through
the tender mercy of our GOD, with which the Dayspring from
on high has visited us. To give light to those who sit in darkness and the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Then fear came
on all who dwelt around them and all these sayings were discussed throughout
all the hill country of Judea. All those who heard kept these things in their hearts
saying, “What kind of child will this be?” The hand of the LORD was with the child so John grew and became strong
in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to
Israel.
There was a man sent from GOD whose name was John this man came to bear witness of the Light that
all through him might believe. He was not that Light but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Now John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his
waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch
of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
while Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests, the word of GOD came to John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness and he went into all the region around the Jordan preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in
the book of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be
filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be
made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all humanity shall see the
salvation of GOD.’”
The people were in expectation and all reasoned in their hearts about
John whether he was the Christ or not. The testimony of John when the Jews sent
priests and Levites from Jerusalem to asks Him, “Who are you?” John confessed, “I
am not the Christ!” And they asked him, “What then are you Elijah?” He said, “I
am not.” “Are you the prophet?” he answered, “No.” So they asked him, “Who are
you, we have to give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say for
yourself?” John said, “I am, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight
the way of the LORD,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’
Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees, and they asked him, “Why then
do you baptize if you are not the Christ, or Elijah or the prophet?” John answered,
“I baptize with water but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It
is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not
worthy to loose.” These things were done near Bethabara beyond the Jordan where
John was baptizing.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by
him. John tried to prevent Him saying, “I need to be baptized by You and are
You coming to me?” Jesus answered, “Permit it to be so, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John baptized Jesus, immediately when
Jesus came up out of the water the heavens were opened to Him and He saw The
Spirit of GOD descending like a dove and
alighting on Him. Suddenly a voice from Heaven said, “This is My Beloved Son,
in whom I Am well pleased.”
The day after Jesus returned from His temptations John saw Him coming
toward him and said, “Look! 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.’ I did not know Him
only that He should be revealed to Israel, for this reason I was sent
baptizing with water. I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and
He remained upon Jesus. I did not know Him but GOD who sent me to baptize
with water said to me, ‘On whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on
Him this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and
testify that Jesus is the Son of GOD.”
The following day John stood with two of his disciples and looking at Jesus as
He walked he said, “See the Lamb of GOD!”
After those days Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea and
there He remained with them and baptized, He did not baptize but His
disciples did. John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim because there
was much water there and people came and were baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison. When
the LORD knew
that the Pharisees had heard that He made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus Himself did not baptize but His disciples, He left Judea and went again to Galilee.
To all the evils Herod had done he added this above
all for He had sent John to prison for the sake of Herodias; his brother
Philip’s wife; for he had married her and John had said to Herod, “It is not
lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Therefore Herodias held it against
him and wanted to kill him but she could not for Herod feared John
knowing that he was a
just and holy man, so he protected him and listened to him whenever he could.
An opportune day came when Herod on his
birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers and the chief men of Galilee. When
Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and those who
sat with him the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I
will give it to
you.” He swore to her, “Whatever you ask me I will give you up to
half my kingdom.” So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”
her mother said, “The head of John the Baptist!” Immediately the girl came in
to the king saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist
on a platter.” The king was exceedingly sorry yet because of the oaths and because
of those who sat with him he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king
sent an executioner and commanded John’s head to be brought. So they beheaded
John in prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl
and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard of it they came
and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb and went and told Jesus.
Matthew 3:13-17, 14:1-12; Mark 1:9-11, 6:14-29; Luke 1:5-25, 39-45,
57-80, 3:21-22, 9:7-9; John 1:6-9, 19-36, 3:22-24
The
Sermons of John The Baptist
All Jerusalem, all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out
to John and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. When he
saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism he said to them, “Brood
of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits
worthy of repentance and do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our
father.’ For I tell you that GOD is able
to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the axe is laid to
the root of the trees, therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am
not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing fan is in His hand and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing
floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire.”
So the people asked him saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered
them, “He who has two tunics let him give to him who has none and he who has
food let him do likewise.” Then tax collectors came to be baptized
and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more
than what is appointed for you.” Likewise the soldiers asked him saying, “What
shall we do?” He said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or falsely accuse
and be content with your wages.”
After those days Jesus and His disciples went into
the land of Judea and there He remained with them and baptized, He did not
baptize but His disciples did. John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim
because there was much water there and people came and were baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the
Jews about purification. So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who
was with you beyond the Jordan of whom you have testified, He is baptizing
and all are coming to Him!” John answered, “A man can receive nothing
unless it has been given to him from Heaven. You yourselves bear witness that I
said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before
Him.’ He who 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. For this joy of mine to be fulfilled He must increase
and I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all and he
who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from Heaven
is above all and what He has seen and heard that He testifies and no one
receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has
certified that GOD is true. For He whom GOD has sent speaks the words of GOD, for GOD
does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has
given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting
life and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life for
the wrath of GOD abides on him.”
Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 3:25-36
What Jesus
Said About John
Now it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding His disciples that
He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. When John had
heard in prison about the works of Christ he sent two of his disciples to ask
Jesus, “Are You the coming One or do we look for another?” Jesus answered, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see”
The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the
dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed
is he who is not offended because of Me.”
As they departed Jesus began to say to the
multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft
garments? Indeed those who wear soft garment are in king’s houses. But what did
you go out to see? A prophet? Yes I say to you and more than a prophet. For
this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold I send My messenger before Your face,
who will prepare Your way before you.’ Assuredly I say to you, among those born
of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is
least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John
the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent
take by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if
you were willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to
hear, let him hear!” When all the people heard Him even the tax collectors
justified GOD having been baptized with the baptism of
John. The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of GOD for themselves not having been baptized by him. The
LORD said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation
and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and
calling to one another saying, ‘We played the flute for you and you
did not dance; we mourned to you and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist
came neither eating bread or drinking wine and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man
has come eating and drinking and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a
winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But Wisdom is
justified by all her children.”
“There
is another who bears witness of Me and I know that His witness of Me is true. You have sent to John and he has
borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not
receive testimony from man but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning
and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his
light. I have a greater witness than John’s.”
“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time
the Kingdom of GOD has been preached and everyone is pressing in and it is easier
for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.”
Matthew 11:1-19; Luke 7:24-35, 16:16-17; John 5:31-36a
