John The Baptist

by J.D. Terrell, Carlisle | Category: Profiles Of The Prophets | Dec 1978

"What went ye out into the wilderness to behold?", the Lord demanded of those around Him - people who may have overheard the appeal for re-assurance which John made from his dismal cell in the fortress of Machaerus. Let none of them be in doubt for a moment about the spiritual and moral stature of this rugged and fearless character. We do not readily appreciate the far-reaching nature of Christ's assessment, "Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11); nor His following pronouncement, "Yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he". Herein lies the secret of the vast superiority of the New Covenant whose divine Messenger was foretold by Malachi, the same prophet as spoke of "My messenger... (who) shall prepare the way before Me" (Mal. 3:1). The former was the Lord from heaven Himself, the latter His noble cousin and forerunner, John.

It was given, appropriately, to Luke the beloved physician to record the intimate narrative of the births of both Jesus and John. For Luke presents these sacred events very much as an integrated sequence in which the advent of the Lord and the appearance of the Baptist are evidently inseparable in the divine purpose of grace. This is but one of the indications in the New Testament of the unique distinction of the last of the worthy men of God who, in the Old Covenant context, were called "the prophets". None was more acutely conscious than John of the surpassing excellence of the One "the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose"; yet in the same narrative which contains the angelic prediction of Christ, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High", the Holy Spirit records of John that, "he shall be great in the sight of the Lord" (Luke 1:32,15). Furthermore, Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaims joyfully, "Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High" (Luke 1:76).

We would fain stay with the story of John's birth, if space allowed, to enter into the holy joy of the godly Elisabeth as she joins the blessed

company of good women of Scripture who realized the promise of a son, beyond all natural laws or human expectation - Sarah, Hannah, and the wife of Manoah. As we listen to the wondering of the Judeans about John, "What then shall this child be?" (Luke 1:66) we cannot but recall the devout question of Manoah, Samson's father, "What shall be the manner of the child, and what shall be his work?" (Judg. 13:12). We have seen that the Spirit left Zacharias in no doubt about the glory of John's ministry and to this prospect Zacharias gave voice in the choice psalm of Luke 1:67-79, words which richly repay prayerful meditation, and which close on the sweetest of notes, "Whereby the Dayspring from on high shall visit us, to shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace".

And so into the obscurity of the wilderness preparation years went the chosen young Nazirite, while up in Nazareth his carpenter Cousin learned the skills of the bench and "opened His ear morning by morning". Speculation about John's possible early association with the Essene sect, of Dead Sea Scrolls fame, is of little relevance to Scripture revelation. For John's insight into his mission was clear; indeed acutely so, as the Gospel according to John makes plain. 'There came a man, sent from God, and, "He that sent me ... said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending... the same is He ...(John 1:6,33); and Luke declares that "the word of God came unto John ... in the wilderness" (Luke 3:2). The voice of God was unmistakable to the man whose own distinctive title was to be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness". Thus he described himself to the enquiring priests and Levites, the emissaries of the Jerusalem Pharisees who evidently recognized a man of commanding religious significance in their midst (John 1:19-28). The time of John's revealing to Israel had come and the nation's leaders were quite unprepared for either the messenger or his message. Rugged, fearless and faithful as Elijah, in whose spirit and power he came, John entertained no compromise with hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism - a baptism which was indeed "unto the remission of sins" but in which a false profession was both ineffectual and anathema to the baptizer. "Ye offspring of vipers...". These have their counterpart today in lip-servers of a form of godliness but who have denied the power. Repentance, evidenced by its fruits, was his unsparing demand, with inevitable judgement as the only alternative. The path prepared for the coming divine baptizer in the Holy Spirit must be undeviatingly straight. Wholly expendable in his dedication to his mission, John ploughed a furrow that was totally true. What a joy and strength it must have been to the Lord as His footsteps approached Jordan's banks, to observe His forerunner's complete integrity.

Now the cry so long awaited by a sin-weary creation rings out, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" a witness little understood or appreciated, no doubt, by the multitude, but one which appealed to the hearts of men whom God was preparing for His Son's service. So we read that "the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus" - precious words to be cherished by any witness to the saving Name of Christ and His call to discipleship. Perhaps John, son of Zebedee, the writer of these words (John 1:37) was one of the two; certainly Andrew was one and his immediate and spontaneous concern for his brother Simon glows heart-warmingly from the sacred page. John must have rejoiced, but with a little pang, as he generously relinquished his best men to a service infinitely higher and nobler.

Resolute in his rebuke alike of serf and monarch, John soon looks out from Herod's prison bars. It was this worthless king's crowning act of pique and cowardice that he "added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison". Yet, in the sovereign purpose of God and of His Christ, this was apparently the moment for the Lord to enter into His main Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14). The people that sat in darkness were about to experience a great light. Although John was careful to describe himself only as coming "to bear witness of the Light" (John 1:7) the Lord offers generous praise of His herald, "He was the lamp that burneth and shineth: and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light" (John 5:35). Meanwhile the Lord graciously awaits the transfer of allegiance of some of John's disciples whose loyalty to their early master is touching in its constancy. Both Mark (2:18) and Luke (5:33-39) recount the question to Jesus concerning fasting, and the patient but radical teaching of the Master about the presence of the Bridegroom, and the new wine for fresh wineskins. Indeed, one of John's most telling descriptions is "the friend of the Bridegroom", borrowing its message of intimacy from the Jewish marriage ceremony with its rich pageantry.

And so the iron enters into the soul of the weary prisoner in his lonely dungeon. Again these dear devoted men convey their leader's message to Jesus, "Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another?" Back comes the re-assuring evidence of the out-flowing blessings of the proclaimed kingdom. And for those around who listened the Lord issued His glowing tribute to "a prophet ... and much more than a prophet". We almost feel sad that the messengers of John had departed and were not able to report to him the warm eulogy which the Lord Jesus made to the multitude.

But the beloved Baptist had few more days left in which to languish in Herod's pit of suffering. The cell door swung open and in moments the great man's service and suffering were at an end. No nobler head, alive or dead, ever graced a royal banquet. But for that deed of squalid cowardice the divine assize will exact an appropriate penalty. When devoted disciple hands had buried John and the news reached Jesus, He withdrew seeking the quietness for which the grieving spirit longs.

The law and the prophets, we are instructed, were until John (Luke 16:16). We are conscious of standing at a unique milestone in divine purposes as the last representative of the dispensation of law embraces, on the banks of the Jordan, the One 'full of grace and truth'. God's purpose, in the ultimate, is one, and each development is articulated beautifully to the next. We stand today, it may well be, on the threshold of God's next major initiative - the personal return of His beloved Son. Perhaps John's camel-hair coat and leather girdle have a message for our hearts, which are so readily seduced by the myriad appeals of the world around. Should our pre-occupation be in any way different from the heroic Baptist's? "Behold, the Lamb of God".

J.D. Terrell, Carlisle | Dec 1978
Profiles Of The Prophets