John 1: 6-8,15, 19-27
[6] “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. [7] He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. [8] He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light…
[15] (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”)…
[19] Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. [20] He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” [21] They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” [22] Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” [23] John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ [24] Now the Pharisees who had been sent [25] questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” [26] “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. [27] He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

Enter John the Baptist, a mysterious figure who appeared on the scene, in John’s story, with no history and no credentials, only a voice and a message. This leaves us to examine other sources to find out who this John was and what his claim to fame.

Luke gives us the story of his background and ancestry. He was the son of a Jewish priest, born miraculously to a childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, in their old age. We know nothing of his upbringing except that his father knew that he had a divine calling and must have coached him in his youth to prepare him for his role in Jewish history.

They named him John.

Why “John”? Why not “Zechariah Junior” as tradition demanded? John, Yohanan in Hebrew, means “God is gracious”… a prophetic name for the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets who would be the bridge between law and grace.

John appears on the public scene as a wild man from the desert. Dressed in animal skins and eating off the land, he must have spent many moons in the wild places away from human company, doing what?

Judging by his father’s prophetic message at his circumcision ceremony…

Luke 1:67, 76-79 NLT
[67] Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:…
[76] “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. [77] You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. [78] Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, [79] to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

… John knew he had a mission.

Luke 1:80 NLT
[80] “John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.”

Perhaps, then, his strange garb and diet must have been of necessity, not because he was crazy.

It would have taken great sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to recognise the person he was to introduce and to know the moment when his mission would begin. He was to be on the lookout for a man like no other. The sign?

When John was questioned about the identity of Messiah who, he declared, he was not, he had this to say…

John 1:32-34 NLT
[32] Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. [33] I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

So, until that moment, John was faithful to his mission. His message was not focused on the past and the dismal story of failure but on the future…one is coming who will usher in a new dispensation of grace.

The call to repentance, “Return to the path,” was the necessary preparation for Messiah’s arrival. God’s people had wandered so far from the path of obedience to His covenant, egged on by unscrupulous religious “hirelings”, that they needed a serious about-turn before they would understand Messiah’s role. They were so embroiled in the details of the law that they had lost the message of God’s mercy and the forgiveness of sin.

Before they could ever receive Messiah’s revelation of the real Father through His words and deeds, they needed to understand the nature of their own wicked hearts and the identity of the one who was calling them back to the path.

Who was He?

John’s message was clear and to the point…He was the Lamb of God who would take away, remove from sight and memory forever, the sin of the world. This was radical stuff, not a lamb raised on their own property to be sacrificed for their ceremonial uncleanness but THE LAMB, sent from heaven to remove all the sin of all the people for all time, by His own death, forever.

As we trace John the Baptist’s short but powerful ministry in John’s story, one thing is clear…he knew who he was, just a voice…he knew his message, “Behold the Lamb of God” …and he stuck to his place until his last breath. Popular as he was for a moment in time, his finger always pointed away from himself to the one he was born to introduce to the world.

John 3:25-27, 29-30 NLT
[25] “A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. [26] So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” [27] John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven…
[29] It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. [30] He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

So, Jesus could cover John’s back during a moment of doubt.

Luke 7:18-20, 22, 24, 26-28 NLT
[18]” The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, [19] and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” [20] John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”…
[22] Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”…
[24] After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?…
[26] Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. [27] John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’ [28] I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

Great though he was, John was the last prophet of the Old Covenant. His ministry lasted approximately six months. When Jesus appeared, John’s work was done. He was eliminated by the unscrupulous wife of Herod. given an ignominious exit by beheading…and Jesus did nothing to intervene!

So, it had to be. Dying violently as a wrongdoer for speaking the truth did nothing to prevent this man of God from receiving his reward for a mission well done, Jesus’ affirmation and, no doubt, the Father’s “Well done!”