1. The Ministry of John the Baptist
Authored by Smitha Basil George under the complete direction and guidance of God, the Holy Spirit, dated August 21, 2023.
Scriptural and historical references are provided throughout the article and in the ‘References’ section at the end.
Abstract
John the Baptist heralded the public ministry of Lord Jesus Christ, by proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and that people needed to repent of their sins in preparation to welcome the King Jesus. John was given as an answer to many years of prayers of his parents, and was separated out, from the womb, for the purpose to announce the public ministry of Jesus Christ, and Jesus’ office of being the sacrificial Lamb to take upon Himself the sin of mankind, and to destroy those through His death on the cross. While John was performing his ministry of preparing the people and baptizing those who were ready to repent of their sins, he saw Jesus coming to him. During Jesus’ baptism, he witnessed the manifestation of all personalities of the Holy Trinity — God the Father testifying as a voice from heaven that Jesus is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove. This confirmed his understanding of who Jesus was and he pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of mankind.
Scripture references [1] : Isaiah 40: 3–5; Matthew 3, 11: 7–15; Mark 1: 1–11; Luke 1: 5–25, 39–45, 3: 1–22; John 1: 19–34, 3: 22–36
Historic references: Writings of Flavius Josephus [2]
John the Baptist, consecrated for a divine mission
Scriptures for the section [1]: Luke 1: 5–25, 39–45
John the Baptist was born to the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who belonged to the Levitical priestly lineage, after the proclamation through Angel Gabriel, who visited Zechariah while he was burning incense in the Temple of the Lord. Gabriel conveyed to him the miraculous conception of a male child by the old and barren parents, instructed his name to be John (meaning God is gracious), consecration of the child by God, him being anointed by the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, and that he must refrain from wine or strong drink throughout. Gabriel highlighted that John’s ministry will be in the pattern of the ministry performed by the Old Testament prophet Elijah, empowered by the Holy Spirit. He also pointed towards John preparing the hearts of many of the children of Israel to turn towards the LORD, their God and be ready for the arrival of Lord Jesus Christ.
The consecration of John from conception holds weight in the light of the very profound purpose he needed to fulfill in God’s plan of salvation for mankind. When Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb visited Elizabeth, John sensed the presence of Jesus and leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This indicates the power and enlightenment that God graciously provided upon John, a six month old unborn child, in understanding the proximity of Jesus, who Himself was in very early unborn human form. John could understand who Jesus really was, and how great a reason that was, to be filled with joy!
The Ministry
Scriptures for the section [1]:
- Isaiah 40: 3–5
- Matthew 3, 11: 7–15
- Mark 1: 1–11
- Luke 3: 1–22
- John 1: 19–34, 3: 22–36
John, being an adult, was found to be leading a separated life, not focussed on ambitions driving towards accomplishments on earth. He was found in the wilderness wearing clothes made of camel hair with a leather belt, and food consisting of locusts and wild honey. When the time was ripe for Jesus to appear in public, the Word of God came to him, and he immediately went into all the region around the Jordan river, to proclaim that people need to repent of their sins. He knew that Jesus would soon be revealing many facets of the Kingdom that God would establish on the earth. He understood that people’s hearts should be prepared to receive what Jesus was going to teach them. He cried out that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and exhorted different sections of the society to reflect a changed behavior in line with repentance from the way they were thinking and behaving earlier. He performed baptism for the people who repented, in the Jordan river, as a symbol of their repentance.
Isaiah’s prophecy regarding John got fulfilled word by word. John came as the voice crying out in the wilderness. When people prompted him with different questions on who he was — whether he was a prophet or Elijah, or the Christ, he denied all those. He made sure to refer to himself just as a voice preparing the way for the Lord. In preparation for Jesus to make His way to people’s hearts and lives, to make His paths straight, John needed to adapt his instructions to different persons based on their lifestyle and potential areas needing improvement — to share their food and clothes with those who do not have them, tax collectors to not collect more than what is owed and soldiers to not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusations and to be content with their wages. Isaiah prophesied on what it would take to get the paths straight: “every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill shall be made low, crooked shall become straight, rough places shall become level ways.”
John reminded the crowd that being Abraham’s descendants would not help them to escape God’s punishment for the sins that they commit. He pointed out that God could raise children for Abraham from the stones of the ground if He chooses so. Abraham’s descendants are no better than stones in that respect. God’s justice would eventually demand punishment for every human being’s sin, which they themselves cannot atone for. Atonement is to be performed by the blood of a being who is perfect, which no human being is. Imperfection can only be reversed by perfection, and not by more imperfection. In the fallen human nature, every one conducts innumerable amounts of sin, knowingly or unknowingly, during their lifetime (for further reference to know what is counted as sin, reading through [3] the 10 commandments in Deuteronomy 5 : 6–21 and [4] Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 will help). John pointed out that Jesus was the perfect lamb of God, who would take away the sin of mankind. He testified that he himself was not even worthy to stoop down and untie the sandals of Jesus. He proclaimed that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire (power), while he was just baptizing them with water as a sign of their repentance.
John also made it clear about what would become of those who do not produce the fruit of repentance. The fruits produced by a human’s own merit and ways deviated from God’s righteousness would not be eventually useful for anyone or for anything. Those fruits may appear like wheat, but they don’t have the nutritious essence in them, and so they are just chaff. They could only be thrown out to fire, not to take up space and further effort, from those who deal with them. Only real wheat, produced according to God’s way of truth and righteousness, will be stored up in barns, that will provide nourishment and sustenance for the ones who use them.
The Outcome
Scriptures for the section[1]:
- Matthew 3: 13–17
- Mark 1: 9–11
- Luke 3: 21–22
- John 1: 29–34, 3: 22–36
- Matthew 11: 2–15
- Matthew 14: 1–13
John’s ministry had a significant impact on the region. People from Jerusalem, all Judea and all the region about the Jordan river went out to listen to him. Many repented of their sins and received the baptism performed by John. Then one day, like he believed and proclaimed, John saw Jesus Himself, coming to him. John was surprised that Jesus would ask to be baptized by him, and voiced his concern saying that it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus. Jesus replied that it would be fitting for them to fulfill all righteousness, by John baptizing Him. Thus, Jesus not only endorsed John’s ministry, but also identified Himself with mankind, whose sins He came to take upon Himself, even if He Himself didn’t need to repent of anything.
Following Jesus’ baptism, John saw the amazing manifestation of the Trinity of God. He heard God the Father testifying as a voice from heaven, saying that Jesus is His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. He also saw God the Holy Spirit, descending on Jesus like a dove. This was a great confirmation to John as to the office of Jesus being the Christ, the Anointed One, who would be atoning for human sin, as a perfect sacrificial Lamb of God. This is because, earlier, he had received word from God that the One upon whom he would see the Holy Spirit descends and remains would be the one, who would be baptizing mankind with the Holy Spirit.
John later saw and heard Jesus immersing Himself in public ministry, performing signs and wonders, teaching crowds in the most compassionate way about God’s Kingdom, how we ought to be to enter in that Kingdom, and His plan for salvation for the whole mankind. He was filled with joy over the way he saw people following Jesus, and he proclaimed that ‘the bride belongs to the bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.’ He also proclaimed that his joy was then complete and that he must decrease, but Jesus must increase.
Later, we see John being imprisoned by King Herod Antipas because John criticized him and his wife Herodias for their adulterous marriage (Herod, marrying Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip). In Matthew 11: 2–15, we see John being anguished by his imprisonment and sending a message to Jesus through his disciples, asking whether Jesus indeed was the Anointed One. Here, we can understand the human weak side of John, brought out by his circumstances, and his expectation upon Jesus for deliverance. Jesus took time to explain to John’s disciples, the work of God’s Kingdom that He was doing — the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing and the dead being raised up to life, as proof that He was the Anointed One. Jesus conveyed his instruction of not to be offended at Him, alluding to trust in God’s better plan and timing. Jesus then exalted John, saying that no one born of a woman was greater than John. John, while being a man on earth, could receive such commendation from his God. Jesus also mentioned that the least in the Kingdom of God would be greater than John on earth as a man. He was highlighting the transformation into perfection that those would receive, who would eventually be part of God’s Kingdom.
Eventually John was executed in prison at the orders of Herod, at the request of his wife through her daughter in a deceptive setting (Matthew 14: 1–13). Even in death, he stood for righteousness and as an example of not deviating from the way of God. Jesus, on hearing about John’s death, was so affected that He tried to go to a desolate place in a boat by Himself (but He couldn’t get much time because the crowd followed Him there, and He needed to continue ministering to them). John lived a life honoring God, and honored by God, fulfilling his mission of preparing the hearts of people for the arrival and reception of God the Son, King Jesus Christ, who would become their Savior and Lord according to His most profound plan.
References
- The Holy Bible, https://www.biblegateway.com/, New King James Version.
- Livius.org, Josephus on John The Baptist, 06/05/2020, as retrieved on 08/18/2023, from https://www.livius.org/sources/content/josephus/jewish-antiquities/josephus-on-john-the-baptist/
- 10 Commandments, the Holy Bible — Deuteronomy 5: 6–21, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+5+%3A+6+-+21&version=NKJV
- The Sermon on the Mount , Matthew 5–7, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew++5+-+7&version=NKJV
Helpful Reads
Wallace. J.Warner, 08/18/2017, as retrieved on 08/18/2023 from https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/unbelievable-does-josephus-account-of-john-the-baptist-invalidate-the-gospels/
