John the Baptist and Jesus
By Peter Amsterdam
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Early in Luke’s Gospel we are told of the events surrounding John the Baptist’s birth, including the proclamation of the Angel Gabriel and the prophecy of John’s father Zechariah. The only thing we know of John’s youth is that “the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”1 He resurfaces about thirty years later in the Gospels, when Luke tells us that “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”2
The word of God coming to John is significant because after the last three Jewish prophets—Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi—there were no further prophets who spoke to the nation of Israel. After 400 years of silence, God was once again speaking to the nation. People were excited, as evidenced by the numbers that sought John out.
We’re told that “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”3 “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”4
John, called “the Baptist” in the Gospels, conducted his ministry around the Jordan River. Large numbers of people would come to hear John preach and be baptized by him. Matthew’s statement that “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him” indicates that John had become very well known, so much so that even many Pharisees and Sadducees came to hear him.5 Priests and Levites were dispatched from Jerusalem to inquire about who he was.6
John not only drew crowds, he also had a considerable number of disciples who followed his practices and preaching. In the Gospel of John we read that some of Jesus’ first disciples were originally John’s disciples.7 The book of Acts indicates that John had a following even many years after his death.8
The Gospels tell us that Jesus called John “Elijah who was to come,” said he was more than just a prophet, and that he was the greatest person ever born.9 John certainly had an impact, so it’s worth looking at his life more closely. Who was he exactly, and what was his role in relation to Jesus?
We know from the stories about Jesus and John’s birth that John was the son of Zechariah, who was a priest, which meant John was eligible to become a priest as well. However, from before his birth, God had called John in a different direction, and instead of participating in the priestly duties in Jerusalem, he went out into the wilderness.
John powerfully preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and baptized all those who made the decision to repent. His baptism signified their new or renewed allegiance to God’s purpose, and their commitment to living in a way that reflected their being true children of Abraham. His message was that Jewish heredity, being children of Abraham, wasn’t sufficient—repentance of sin was needed. He said: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”10
John expressed the urgency of repentance when he said, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”11
The crowds asked John: “What then shall we do?” To which he answered: “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”12 John’s brief answer clearly showed the listeners that repentance required more than following rituals or offering burnt offerings. It meant manifesting godly action in their day-to-day lives.
After John’s general answer to the crowds, the scope narrows as Luke tells us that the toll (tax) collectors and soldiers ask John what they should do. The toll collectors were known to exploit the tax system by collecting taxes above and beyond what was owed for their own profit. They were generally despised by the populace as collaborators with Rome. John’s response is that their “fruits of repentance” should be carried out in their daily lives by not collecting more taxes than they were authorized to. His response to the soldiers is similar: “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”13 These examples highlight the effect John’s preaching was having, not just on the general populace, but on those on the fringes of Jewish society as well.
John accompanied his preaching with baptism. The Greek word used for baptize (baptizo) means “to immerse, to submerge.” In similar Jewish water rites at the time, most individuals immersed themselves; however, in the case of John’s baptism, he immersed them. His wasn’t just a cleansing or purification ritual, it was a baptism of repentance—an outward manifestation partaken of only by those who repented, who had a change of heart and mind. It was symbolic of the death of a whole way of life and the rebirth of another.14 It was a new start, and the expectation was that the one who was baptized would change and that their lives would show fruits of their repentance.
Besides preaching the urgency of repentance and the consequences of not repenting, John also announced that “he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”15 The baptism of the coming one would be a baptism of the Holy Spirit and with fire, greater and more powerful than John’s baptism.
Luke tells us that by this point, people were wondering if John was the Messiah.16 In the Gospel of John, the question is raised by the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem: “‘Who are you?’ He confessed … ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’”17
In answer to “Who are you?” John said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”18 Later he reiterates that “I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.”19 John understood his calling as the forerunner of the one to come.
John contrasted his baptism with the baptism of the one to come. “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”20 John’s was a cleansing baptism of repentance; the greater one who was coming would bring a baptism of salvation.
News of John’s preaching and baptizing reached not only Jerusalem and the province of Judea, but spread to Galilee as well. Jesus heard about the prophet in the wilderness, and He went from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him21 when He was “about thirty years of age.”22
Mark’s Gospel tells us that when Jesus came out of the water, “immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.”23 The concept of the heavens being opened indicates a visionary experience, as seen elsewhere in Scripture. It was on this day, when He was baptized, that God’s Spirit and anointing came and remained upon Jesus. Besides the Spirit descending, a voice spoke from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”24
The significance of the events which occurred at the time of Jesus’ baptism, and the change it brought in His life from that point on, can be understood as God anointing Him as the Messiah and equipping Him to be His messenger and the Savior of the world. Robert Stein expresses it this way: “Serving God quietly as a carpenter in Nazareth was a thing of the past. The Spirit had anointed him, and his messianic mission had begun.”25
Backtracking for a moment: In Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus came to John to be baptized, we’re told that “John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’”26
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, a call to those who had sinned to confess and change their ways; yet Jesus, who was sinless, came to John to be baptized. Jesus partook of John’s baptism, not because He needed to repent, but so that He could identify Himself with sinners and through that identification become their substitute. Scripture tells us: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”27
When Jesus presented Himself for baptism, John recognized that the mighty one had arrived: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! … And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”28
God’s voice from heaven proclaims Jesus as His Son, thus identifying their relationship as Father and Son. Jesus is now ready to begin His ministry, empowered by the Holy Spirit—to preach the kingdom of God, to be God’s presence on earth, and to fulfill the messianic task given to Him by His Father to redeem humanity.
Originally published February 2015. Adapted and republished July 2022.
Read by Jon Marc.
1 Luke 1:80.
2 Luke 3:2.
3 Mark 1:4–5.
4 Luke 3:3.
5 Matthew 3:5, 7.
6 John 1:19.
7 John 1:35–40.
8 Acts 19:1–7.
9 Matthew 11:14; Luke 7:26, 28.
10 Luke 3:8.
11 Luke 3:9.
12 Luke 3:10–11.
13 Luke 3:14.
14 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992), 56.
15 Luke 3:16.
16 Luke 3:15.
17 John 1:19–21.
18 John 1:22–23.
19 John 3:28.
20 Mark 1:8.
21 Matthew 3:13.
22 Luke 3:23.
23 Mark 1:10.
24 Mark 1:11.
25 Robert H. Stein, Jesus the Messiah (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 99.
26 Matthew 3:14–15.
27 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV.
28 John 1:29–34.
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