Who was John the Baptist in the Bible?

JOHN THE BAPTIST. This remarkable man was chosen to be the forerunner of our Lord, as prophesied in Isaiah 40:3-5. He was miraculously born, for his mother, Elizabeth, was barren; and she and her husband, Zacharias, well stricken in years. The beginning of his history is marked in a very unusual way. We read: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrach of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrach of Ituraea, and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrach of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness” (Luke 3:1-2).

The deep importance of the coming of the Messiah, and the tremendous issues dependent upon it, led God in His great mercy to appoint a forerunner who should prepare the way for His reception. This gracious arrangement put altogether beyond excuse those who refused Him. The forerunner thus holds an important place in Scripture, and in the development of the ways of God in connection with the earth. Both the first and the last of the prophets — Isaiah and Malachi — predicted his coming (Mark 1:1-3), and described beforehand the character of his mission. His own account of his errand runs thus: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'make straight the way of the Lord'" (John 1:23). His whole business therefore was to prepare men for the Christ. It is true he himself attracted much attention, the whole country being filled with discussion concerning him, but with all inquirers he sought to divert attention from himself, and to fix attention upon his more glorious Master and Lord. "I am not the Christ." "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:20, 29). This is after all the proper function of every true servant of God in every age.

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. Matt. 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.

John the Baptist, greatest of all the prophets, herald of the King, and preacher of the kingdom, was cast by Herod into prison, and his bold and faithful testimony was rudely stopped.

John Was the Elijah promised in Malachi 4:5; not literally the same man (Jn.1:21), but a prophet of the same character (Lk.1:17). The expression "if ye will receive it" indicates this spiritual explanation, as does the following verse, "He that both ears to hear, let him hear."

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." Luke 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. Mark 6:14-29.

"Now in those days comes John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea , and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh. For this is He, who has been spoken of through Esaias the prophet saying, A voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths. And John himself had his garments of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey" (verses 1-4).

The forerunner is John the Baptist, a typical Old Testament person, of whom the Lord says later in the Gospel, "Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet, this is he of whom it is written, Behold I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among the born of women a greater than John the Baptist, but he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he" (chapter 11:9-11). In the same discourse the Lord' says, in vindication of John, who was then in prison: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias who is to come." In the first chapter of Luke the angel announces his birth and says: "For he shall be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine or strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to the thoughts of just men, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people" (Luke 1:15-17). In these words, given through the Holy Spirit, the Lord Himself and an angel of the Lord, we have the three prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the forerunner quoted. These are: Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; 4:5, 6. That he was sent in fulfillment of these prophecies is therefore unquestionable. To this comes the manner of his dress and the nourishment. It reminds us of the great prophet Elias, the Tishbite. "He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins" (2 Kings 1:8).

John knew His personality and His mission, for he said: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias" (John 1:23). But when asked, Art thou Elias? he answered, I am not. The Jews expected Elijah, as the orthodox Jews expect him still, as the forerunner of King Messiah. At every passover ceremony a cup is reserved for the prophet Elijah, and at the circumcision of the child a chair is placed for that person, and many are the prayers which are said, that God may send soon the prophet Elijah, for his presence would indicate to them the nearness of the King. The character and preaching of Elijah were clearly reproduced in John. He was the Elias for his day. If they had received it, he would have been Elias. In this sense, Matthew 17:12, is to be understood: "Elias cometh and restoreth all things; But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they did not recognize him, but did unto him whatever they would." He was rejected, and his rejection foretold how things would go, that the King Himself would be rejected. We would only mention that before the King comes again there will be once more a forerunner. Once more the message will be heard, The kingdom of the heavens draweth nigh. It will be the Gospel of the Kingdom preached by the remnant during the great tribulation. All we have in Malachi 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," will then be fulfilled. In Revelation 13 one of the two witnesses is, without question, one like Elijah. It is necessary to state, that no great and miracle-working preacher of repentance, in the spirit of Elijah, is promised to Christendom. We make this remark, because in our days persons stand up and declare that they are forerunners, or one of the witnesses or messengers of the covenant. These poor people err and know not the Scripture, and by their conceited claims work untold harm.

I think you will find, in taking up the teaching of Scripture upon the subject of baptism, that it nearly always, if not entirely, signifies introduction into a place. "They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. 10:2); that is, they were brought out fully into relationship with Moses as their leader, and the cloud and sea marked this connection. It was in contrast with their previous servitude to Pharaoh. So with all other baptisms. John's was not, as many may think, Christian baptism at all, but the badge of discipleship for those who heard and bowed to his message. They owned their sin and their desert of death, and in token of it were buried by baptism. Thus they were marked as John's disciples (John 4:1). They were not Christians, for they knew not Christ, but their baptism with water set forth discipleship to John, as penitents who bowed to the sentence of death. Acts 19:1-6 shows this was not Christian baptism, for it was repeated, upon the confession of faith in Christ.

Then Jesus bore witness to John. No oscillating reed nor man of luxury was he; but more than a prophet, even the messenger predicted by Malachi, who should prepare the way of the Lord. Moreover John was the "Elijah" of the first advent. and he marked the end of an epoch. The dispensation of law and prophets ran up to him, and from his day onward the kingdom of heaven was open, if there was the "violence" or vigour of faith to gain an entrance. When the kingdom arrives visibly, there will not be the same need for such vigour of faith. All this showed how great a man John was, nevertheless the least inside the kingdom would have a position greater than this great man, who prepared the way but did not live to enter himself. John's moral greatness was unsurpassed, though many of much less moral weight would be greater as to outward position.

John was the forerunner of the King, come to prepare the way of the Lord, and spoken of as a voice crying in the wilderness, in fulfillment Of Isaiah 40:3. No fanfare, no public celebration, no great rejoicing is seen at all, in view of the presentation of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords. His herald is the very epitome of lowly self-denial, wearing a rough garment of camel's hair. Camel means "a bearer," symbolizing John's bearing the burden of Israel's sad condition of quilt. The leather girdle speaks of the self-discipline that leaves no loose ends. His diet of locusts (which appear in times of drought) reminds us of Israel's desolate spiritual condition; and the wild honey, of the sweetness of the truth gathered independently of men's institutions.

All of this is in great contrast to the way in which kings are usually presented; yet great numbers were gathered from the city of Jerusalem and all the surrounding areas to hear this austere preacher of repentance. Only the sovereign (and unusual) work of God can account for this. Confessing their sins, they were baptized in the river Jordan. Having broken God's law, how could Israel rightly face their promised Messiah? They deserved the sentence of death, and in being baptized they were publicly submitting to this sentence, for baptism speaks of burial (Rom.6:4). Israel had once victoriously passed through Jordan (Josh.3:14-17); but now, in shameful defeat, they are buried in it.