John the Baptist
Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
Matthew 11:11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist
What this is saying is that outside of Jesus himself there is no human up until this point that Jesus would say is greater. That should cause us to pause and really look at who this man is.
1. In Luke 1, the birth of John the Baptist is reveled through the angel Gabriel before the birth of Jesus was revealed, and we know that John the Baptist’s life calling was Preparing the Way for Jesus.
Luke 1:16-17
16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
2. John's actions were a completion of the prophecy from Isaiah.
Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
3. We see that the person that John the Baptist is, is what really sets him apart. In the case of John the Baptist, and even all of us, I think it’s fair to assume that the blessing from God and the personality / actions of the person go hand in hand.
1 Samuel 16:7
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
SOME OF THE OTHER GOSPEL ACCOUNTS ABOUT JOHN
The Gospel According to Matthew:
Matthew 3:4-6
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
The Gospel According to Mark:
Mark 1:4-8
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
I think that John the Baptist just genuinely didn’t care what anyone else in the world thought. Even when people tried to give him attention, and tried to point to his righteousness, he always pointed to Jesus.
The Gospel According to John:
John 1:19-21
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
When everyone was looking to exalt John, he denied every single accolade they tried to pin to him, and instead humbly pointed to Jesus.
JOHN BOLDLY POINTED TOWARDS JESUS
Luke 3:7-16
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism of Jesus
Luke 3:21-23
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
The word for baptism in greek is bautizo, which means: to submerge. The act of baptizing someone is a literal symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus being baptized by John, was a book-end to his ministry of reconciliation with us.
