Early Life of John the Baptist
John was born from a priestly descent. His mother, Elisabeth, was from the daughters of Aaron, while his father, Zacharias, was a priest from the course of Abija, and served in the temple at Jerusalem. It is said that “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6).
We know from Luke’s account that John was born about six months before Jesus. The only thing we know about the location is that it was a city of the highlands of Judah. Our definite information concerning his youth is summed up in the angelic prophecy, “Many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:14-16), and in Luke’s brief statement, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80). The character and spiritual insight of the parents shown in the incidents recorded are ample evidence that his training was a fitting preparation for his great mission.
The Ministry of John the Baptist
Location
The location of the Baptist’s ministry was partly in the wilderness of Southern Judea and partly in the Jordan valley. Two regions are mentioned, Bethany or Bethabara (John 1:28), and Aenon near Salim (John 3:23). Neither of these places can be positively identified. We may infer from John 3:2 that he also spent some time in Peraea beyond the Jordan.
First Appearance
The unusual array of dates with which Luke marks the beginning of John’s ministry (Luke 3:1,2) reveals his sense of the importance of the event as at once the beginning of his prophetic work and of the new dispensation. His first public appearance is assigned to the 15th year of Tiberius, probably 26 or 27 AD, because the first Passover attended by Jesus can hardly have been later than 27 AD (John 2:20).
His Dress and Manner:
John’s dress and habits were strikingly suggestive of Elijah, the old prophet of national judgment. His desert habits have led some to connect him with that strange company of Jews known as the Essenes. There is, however, little foundation for such a connection other than his ascetic habits and the fact that the chief settlement of this sect was near the home of his youth. It was natural that he should continue the manner of his youthful life in the desert, and it is not improbable that he intentionally copied his great prophetic model. It was fitting that the one who called men to repentance and the beginning of a self-denying life should show renunciation and self-denial in his own life. But there is no evidence in his teaching that he required such asceticism of those who accepted his baptism.
His Message:
The fundamental note in the message of John was the announcement of the near approach of the Messianic age. But while he announced himself as the herald voice preparing the way of the Lord, and because of this, the expectant crowds gathered to hear his word, his view of the nature of the kingdom was probably quite at variance with that of his hearers. Instead of the expected day of deliverance from the foreign oppressor, it was to announced to be a day of judgment for Israel. It meant good for the penitent, but destruction for the ungodly. “He will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with …. fire” (Matthew 3:12). ” The axe also lieth at the root of the trees every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:9). Yet this idea was perhaps not entirely unfamiliar. It was commonplace for their teachers to announce that the delay of the Messiah’s coming was due to the sinfulness of the people and their lack of repentance. (Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, I, 169).
The call to repentance was a natural message of preparation for such a time of judgment. But for John repentance was a very real and radical thing. It meant a complete change of heart and life. “Bring forth …. fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). He made it clear in his answers to the inquiring multitudes and the publicans and soldiers what these fruits were. (Luke 3:10-14). It is noticeable that there is no reference to the usual ceremonies of the law or to a change of occupation. Do good; be honest; refrain from extortion; be content with wages.
Another major John’s ministry was his baptism. This topic is significant enough that it has been separated into its own page: The Significance of John’s Baptism
His Severity:
It is doubtless that John used such violence in addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees to startle them from their self-complacency. They were hopelessly blinded by their sense of security as the children of Abraham, and by their confidence in the merits of the law, is attested by the fact that these parties resisted the teachings of both John and Jesus until the very end. John the Baptist preached his demand for righteousness with vigor and fearlessness which can be seen in his stern reproof for the sin of Herod and Herodias, that inevitably led to his imprisonment and eventually his death.
The Baptism of Jesus.
While the multitudes flocked to the Jordan, Jesus came also to be baptized with the rest. “John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-15). Wherein was this act a fulfillment of righteousness? We cannot believe that Jesus felt any need of repentance or change of life. May we not regard it rather as an identification of Himself with His people in the formal consecration of His life to the work of the kingdom?
Imprisonment and Death.
No exact time for John’s imprisonment or the length of time between his imprisonment and his death can be determined. On the occasion of the unnamed feast of John 5:1, Jesus refers to John’s witness as already past. At least, then, his arrest, if not his death, must have taken place prior to the second Passover of Jesus’ ministry.
According to the Gospel accounts, John was imprisoned because of his reproof of Herod’s marriage with Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip (Luke 3:19,20; compare Matthew 14:3,1; Mark 6:17,18). Josephus says (Ant., XVIII, v, 2) that Herod was influenced to put John to death by the “fear lest his great influence over the people might put it in his power or inclination to raise a rebellion.” Accordingly, he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious temper, to Macherus, and was there put to death.” This account of Josephus does not necessarily conflict with the tragic story of the Gospels. If Herod desired to punish or destroy him for the reasons assigned by the evangelists, he would doubtless wish to offer as the public reason some political charge, and the one named by Josephus would be near at hand.
John and His Disciples.
The Inner Circle:
Frequent references are made in the Gospel narrative to the disciples of John. As the crowds gathered for his baptism, it was natural that he should gather around him an inner circle of men who would receive special instruction in the meaning of his work and aid him in baptisms, which likely would have increased beyond his ability to perform alone quickly. It was in the formation of this inner circle of followers that he prepared a firm foundation for the work of the Messiah since Jesus mainly drew His disciples from this inner group and with John’s consent and testimony to the superior work of Christ, Jesus gained immediate followers. (John 1:29-44).
Their Training:
We know from the disciples of Jesus (Luke 11:1) that training under John the Baptist included forms of prayer, and from John’s own disciples (Matthew 9:14) we learn that frequent fastings were observed. We can be assured that he taught them much about the Messiah and His work.
Their Faithfulness:
There is abundant evidence of the great faithfulness of these disciples to their master. This may be observed in their concern at the over-shadowing popularity of Jesus (John 3:26); in their loyalty to him in his imprisonment and in their reverent treatment of his body after his death (Mark 6:29). It can be seen that John’s work was extensive and his influence lasting through the fact that 20 years afterward Paul found in far-off Ephesus certain disciples, including Apollos, the educated Alexandrian Jew, who knew no other baptism than John’s. (Acts 19:1-7).
John the Baptist Interactions with Jesus:
John assumed from the beginning the role of an announcer preparing the way for the approaching Messianic age. He clearly regarded his work as Divinely appointed (John 1:33), but was well aware of his subordinate relation to the Messiah (Mark 1:7) and of the temporary character of his mission (John 3:30). The Baptist’s work was twofold. In his preaching, he warned the nation of the true character of the new kingdom as a reign of righteousness, and by his call to repentance and baptism, he prepared at least a few hearts for a sympathetic response to the call and teaching of Jesus. He also formally announced and carried frequent personal testimony to Jesus being the Messiah.
There is no necessary discrepancy between the synoptic account and that of the Fourth Gospel in reference to the progress of John’s knowledge of the Messianic character of Jesus. According to Matthew 3:14, John is represented as declining at first to baptize Jesus because he was conscious of His superiority, while in John 1:29-34 he is represented as claiming not to have known Jesus until He was manifested by the heavenly sign. The latter may mean only that He was not known to him definitely as the Messiah until the promised sign was given.
The message which John sent to Jesus from prison seems strange to some in view of the signal testimonies which he had previously held about His character. This does not necessarily indicate that he had lost faith in the Messiahship of Jesus, but rather was perplexed by the course of events. The question may have been in the interest of the faith of his disciples or his own relief from reservations due to Jesus’ delay in assuming the expected Messianic authority. John evidently held the prophetic view of a temporal Messianic kingdom, and some readjustment of view was necessary.
Jesus’ Estimate of John:
Jesus was no less frank in His appreciation of John. If praise may be measured by the worth of the one by whose lips it is spoken, then no man ever received such praise as the one who was called by Jesus a shining light (John 5:35), more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9), and of whom He said, “Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). If, on the other hand, He rated him as less than the least in the kingdom of heaven, this was a limitation of circumstances, not of worth.
Jesus paid high tribute to the Divine character and worth of John’s baptism; first, by submitting to it Himself as a step in the fulfillment of all righteousness; later, by repeated utterance, especially in associating it with the birth of the Spirit as a necessary condition of inheriting eternal life (John 3:5); and, finally, in adopting baptism as a symbol of Christian discipleship.