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Introduction
The life and ministry of John the Baptist started several years before his birth. His coming is prophesied in the Old Testament, even before his parents were in existence. His life is well mapped out and planned by God since He foretells his role in his plan for salvation. That is, John the Baptist is the forerunner of Christ. God predestines him for the fulfillment of the promise He had made to the Israelites. His ministry is one of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Everything about his life foretells the life and mission that Jesus Christ would fulfill in the world. The life of John the Baptist was a ministry that made away for Christs ministry.
Prophesy in the Old Testament
The Old Testament presents a lot of prophecies about Christ as the Messiah, who would take away the sins of the world by dying on the cross. The Old Testament also talks about Christs forerunner, who would prepare the way for Him (Wiersbe 12). The forerunner was to act as a herald for Christ and prepare everyone for the kings arrival. The messenger, John the Baptist, was prophesied in various scripture in the Old Testament. This essay focuses on the life of John the Baptist and thus highlights why God chose him to prepare the way for Christ the Messiah.
There are two main verses used to describe John the Baptists prophecy:
The voice of him that cried in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God&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
Isaiah made the above prophecy while comforting the Israelites when they were held captive by the Babylonians. Isaiah talks to the Israelites about a voice that cries in the wilderness, telling people to prepare the way for the LORD. Here the prophesy talks about Johns ministry, even before it started. It prophesied that John would cry out in the desert, urging people to get ready for Christs coming. He also urges the people to mend their ways since God was coming to man through Jesus Christ. The verse also talks about the paradox that will take place before Christ comes. It talks about how tables will turn when Christ comes. John is prophesied to inform people about the turn of events that would occur when Christ comes. Through John the Baptist, the crooked will be straight, the valleys shall be high, while the mountains become low.
In Malachi 3:1, the prophecy made about John the Baptist reads as follows:
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
It appears that the verse talks on behalf of God. The prophecy is about John the Baptist, the messenger God sends to prepare a way for Christ. According to the prophecy, the Lord will appear in the temple (Arnold 3). The passage ends with the prophecy that the messenger in whom the people delight will come. In other words, this prophecy describes John the Baptist. These two passages provide comprehensive information about the prophecy that John the Baptist would come to the people.
Reactions following the birth of John the Baptist
According to Luke 1:57-58, Elizabeth, John the Baptists mother, gave birth to a son. The neighbors and relatives rejoiced on hearing the news. People rejoiced because they were happy that Elizabeth had finally been blessed with a child, in her old age, despite being barren for a long period. In other words, it was because of the great mercy that God had shown Elizabeth, and by extension, the Israelites, and by large, the whole world (Bebbington 11). It was a great moment of celebration, given the fact that this was the start of Gods salvation plan, as John was prophesied to prepare the way for Christ. This was followed by several events that indicated that God was fulfilling His promise to humanity. It was a great plan also to make sure that human beings were following through with Gods plan to save humankind.
After the birth of John the Baptist, other activities took place (Wiersbe 34). The first event to occur was the naming of the child. In Luke 1:59-63, John was circumcised and named according to the Law of Moses. Relatives had convened for the ceremony and wanted to name him after his father, Zacharias. Elizabeth, however, interjected and said that the child should be called John, even though no other child in the family had the name John. Zacharias backed Elizabeth by also writing the name of the child as John. It was at that point that Zachariahs speech was restored. When he talked again, Zachariah composed a song to praise God for His doing, according to Luke 1:6775. Zechariah was delighted in Gods plan to save humankind which was now in motion. God was now working His plan to save humanity. The reaction of Johns parents and that of their relatives and neighbors indicated that the birth of John was received with gladness. Most people were happy that God was taking action towards fulfilling His promise of salvation to His people.
John the Baptists family composition
Zachariah and Elizabeth were Johns parents. Zachariah and Elizabeth lived in Judea, where they raised John the Baptist. Zachariah was a priest of the order of Abidjan. He led the rest of the congregation in making sure that they performed the rituals in the church, such as offering sacrifices to God in the evening. It is one of the evenings, according to Luke 1: 8-23. Zachariah and Elizabeth were old and were not blessed with a child. One day, Zachariah was offering the evening sacrifice when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him of the birth of John the Baptist (Osei-Bonsu 50). Elizabeth was Marys relative, and the latter even went to visit the former during the birth of John. May was also pregnant at the time, so the two women were elated to see each other. This was an indication that John the Baptist was indeed part of the journey that Christ was taking in the world. These are the relatives of John the Baptist that are mentioned in the Bible.
Why the Lord has this life planned for him?
John the Baptists life was mapped out by God since He was supposed to perform a very important role in the life of salvation of the Israelites. According to Exodus 32, there are instances when the people of Israel showed the Egyptians need for salvation from slavery. In Isaiah 40:1-2, Isaiahs comfort to the Israelites is that God would end the Israelites warfare and pardon their iniquities. The context of this passage is during the period when the Israelites were being exploited and in exile in Babylon. God follows this comfort and the promise of salvation from captivity with John the Baptists coming.
God begins His journey of saving the Israelites through prophesying the birth and preparation of the way for the savior by sending John the Baptist. Johns life had to be re-commissioned due to the weight of the ministry he was to lead. He was to prepare the way for the savior of the world, whom God had promised the Israelites. God needed to plan the life of Christs forerunner (Ellen et al. 50). There were timelines that God had set of when various tasks would take place during the ministry of Jesus (Campbell-Reed 170). Thus, John the Baptists timelines had to be in line with the schedule of Christ.
Different tasks had to take place before the others, such as the baptism of Christ. This meant that John the Baptist was supposed to be in River Jordan baptizing other Christians before Christ showed up, as is written in Matthew 3:13. God had a plan for John the Baptist due to the great purpose he was to fulfill, in making sure that he prepared the way for Christs coming. This was Gods master plan, and all involved participants had to play according to Gods timelines. John the Baptist was important to start this mission, hence having his life well planned.
Johns ministry
The ministry of John the Baptist is predicated in Matthew 3:1-13. In this passage, Johns ministry connects the prophecy that was made in the Old Testament and the life that he is living. Johns ministry, according to Matthew 3:1-2, was to call people to repentance as a sign of preparation for Christ, who was coming after Him. This passage fulfills the prophecy that had been made in the Old Testament, about a voice crying in the desert for people to prepare the way for the Messiah. As it had been prophesied in Isaiah 40, John the Baptist wore garments made of camels skin and ate locusts and wild honey in the desert. He also baptized people from all Judea and Jerusalem and led them towards repentance of sins in preparation for the Messiah. John also criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, as he preached, by asking them to repent since the kingdom of God was at hand (Porter et al. 95). John asked them to stop considering themselves righteous because they followed the Law of Moses. According to John the Baptist, He who was coming was greater than the law. The prophecy about turning things was coming to pass because there was no more regard for the law but rather the salvation of Christ.
Johns ministry was critical to the mission that Jesus was to carry out. In this way, John represented how Christ would fulfill His mission (Francis 2). People had to be ready since the way things operated would be different. According to Matthew 3:11, He who was coming after John was greater, such that he was not worthy to tie His sandals. This meant that believers had to prepare for the coming of one who was greater than the messenger. Thus, Johns role was very important in making people aware of the Messiah coming to save the world. Even after the birth of Christ, John continued in his ministry, baptizing people with water in River Jordan (Church-hill 169). This is where Jesus came to be baptized by John. Though John was hesitant about baptizing Jesus, he did fulfill Gods scripture and plan for his ministry. In Matthew 3: 16-17, the voice of the Lord spoke about Jesus as the son whom God was pleased. John provided that opportunity for Jesus Christ to be confirmed as the son of God among the people.
John the Baptist also provided a framework through which Christ would work. For instance, John had disciples whom he had sent to Jesus during His ministry. Jesus also had His disciples, who assisted Him in His ministry (Gray 5). The fact that John the Baptist was not contaminated in any way, as seen in Luke 1:59-80, meant that the one coming after him was holier and had no blemish at all.
Conclusion
John the Baptist represented the life that Christ was to live. He introduced Jesus Christ to the entire world, which was part of His ministry. Thus, he was the fulfillment of the scriptures written in the Old Testament about the messenger who would pave the way for the Messiah. John the Baptist lived a life in line with the prophecies made by Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Malachi. His birth was received with happiness due to his role in performing to the world. His life and ministry foreshadowed the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this showed that the one coming after He was greater and needed to be welcomed in clean hearts.
Works Cited
Arnold, Clinton E. The Role of Biblical Exegesis within the Christian College Curriculum. Where Wisdom May Be Found: The Eternal Purpose of Christian Higher Education, 2019.
Bebbington, David. Baptists and the Gospel in the Twentieth Century. Baptist Quarterly, Vol. 52, no. 1, 2021, pp. 2-20.
Campbell-Reed, Eileen R. Living Testaments: How Catholic and Baptist Women in Ministry Both Judge and Renew the Church. Ecclesial Practices, Vol. 4, no. 2, 2017, pp. 167-198.
Church-hill, Amadi-nche. The Message of John the Baptist on Repentance in Luke 3: 1-12 As a Panacea for Socio-Political Change in Nigeria. Jalingo Journal of Christian Religious Studies, Vol. 7, 2020, pp. 1-233.
Ellen et al. A Biblical Critique of the Incompatibility of the Twentieth-and Twenty-First-Century Concepts of Self-Esteem with a Biblical Theological Framework of Self. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019.
Francis, James MM. Jesus Public Ministry Part 1: Words and Works. Supporting A-level Religious Studies. The St Mary¼s and St Giles¼ Centre, no. 18, 2021, pp. 1-44.
Gray, Adrian. The Felkin Family: The Decline of a Baptist Family. Baptist Quarterly, 2021, pp. 1-13.
Osei-Bonsu, Robert. Johns Baptism and Christian Baptism: A Comparative Study. Asia-Africa Journal of Mission and Ministry (AAMM) Vol. 23, 2021, pp. 47-63.
Porter et al. The Gospel of John in modern interpretation. Kregel Academic, 2018.
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