When we look at Jesus’ ministry, we are amazed at what He was able to accomplish in just 3-1/2 years. Yet, it is probably fair to say that Jesus could not have done it in that short amount of time if it hadn’t been for John the Baptist.
In his inspired Gospel, Luke describes John’s ministry in chapter 3, verses 1 through 20, “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth. All flesh will see God’s salvation.’” He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.” The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?” He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.” Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.” As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.”
Something we learn from this account is that John’s ministry is not a fabricated story, made up to advance someone’s religious agenda. On the contrary, John and what he did are firmly rooted in actual history. The rulers Luke lists are well known to us from both Jewish and Roman historians. It would have been extremely easy for people of that day to verify the truth of what Luke wrote.
We also learn that John’s ministry was the fulfillment of prophecy. Hundreds of years before the Prophet Isaiah predicted that someone would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. This was one of the main purposes of John’s ministry.
How did John prepare the way for Jesus? One thing he did was awake in people a realization that they were sinners in need of forgiveness. He also taught that true repentance would demonstrate itself in a changed way of living. Instead of only thinking of oneself, people should be generous to each other. Tax collectors should not use their position to defraud. Soldiers should be content with their pay and not threaten or accuse people unjustly.
Because of their acting on John’s teaching, people could accept Jesus’ teaching more readily. For example, in chapter 7, verses 29 through 30 of his account Luke remarks, “All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.” (NIV)
John not only taught a message of repentance, he consistently said that he was not the Messiah. Though he, himself, was not the Messiah, the Messiah’s coming was near. John’s proclamation of the Messiah awoke an expectation among the people and made them more ready to accept Jesus when He came. For example the Apostle John writes, “Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.” And in that place many believed in Jesus.” (John 10:40-42 NIV)
John also pointed out that there was a difference between his work and that of the coming Messiah. John baptized in water. The One who was coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was absent in John’s ministry or that it was not the Spirit which moved people to repent and be baptized by him. However, the full blessing and power of the Holy Spirit would only be granted through the Messiah. Nor should we take John’s statement to mean that the Holy Spirit replaces baptism in water. Christ, Himself, baptized in water and taught His disciples to do so. The difference is that after the coming of Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to His followers at the time of their baptism in water. For example, on the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter said to those who were listening to him, “…Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NIV) If we want the Holy Spirit we, too, must repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. John said the Messiah would also baptize with fire. Fire refines and purifies. Jesus purifies His followers so they can stand in God’s holy presence. However, John also mentioned another kind of fire – the unquenchable, eternal fire which will consume those who reject Christ. Jesus gives us the choice of which fire we will experience – the fire of the Holy Spirit which cleanses and purifies or the fire which destroys.
John was impartial. He not only spoke out against the sins of the common people and called them to repentance, he also spoke out against the sins of the rich and powerful. But integrity can be dangerous. When John rebuked King Herod for his evil deeds, Herod threw him in prison.
If you would like to know what happened when John encountered the Messiah whose coming he predicted, please listen to our next program.