Lesson 6
John the Baptist
II.
John the Baptist
The Old Testament
prophets had predicted the coming of one who would prepare the way for the
Messiah.
"The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it" (Isaiah 40:3-5).
"Behold,
I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord,
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of
hosts" (Malachi 3:1).
These
predictions were fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist.
".
. .the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And
he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias
the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and
every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the
salvation of God" (Luke 3:2-6).
"For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee" (Matthew 11:10).
A. John
Preached Repentance and Baptism
John the
Baptist preached repentance and water baptism for the remission of sins (Mark
1:2-4). Many came to hear John and to be baptized.
B.
John—Forerunner of Jesus Christ
John preached
that he was not the Christ but that another would come, and it would be he they
should follow.
"I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes Iam not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11, see also Mark 1:7-8).
The One
whom John predicted was none other than Jesus Christ. John introduced Him.
C. John
Revealed Jesus as the "Lamb of God"
"The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me
cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him
not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come
baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of
God" (John 1:29-34).
John's
statement not only identified Jesus as the Messiah, but also described the
foundation of His ministry: "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world." This had been revealed in advance to Joseph, Mary's husband:
"But
while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21).
In
Germany many years ago, a man was working high upon the steeple of a church.
Suddenly he lost his footing and fell headlong to the ground beneath. Grazing
on the grass in the churchyard was a lamb. The body of the man fell on the
lamb, and thus his fall was broken. The lamb perished, but the man was saved.
As a token of his gratitude, he carved in one of the stones over the doorway of
the church the figure of a lamb. Every true church has that lamb, as it were
carved in the stone of its wall. "Behold the lamb of God."