6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. [1]
John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He came in the Spirit of Elijah, meaning that he was filled with the Holy Spirit at all times. Before the New Testament era, the Holy Spirit came and went on people. Now we have the filling at all times, as we are in a different dispensation. He was baptizing people as a ritual of cleansing, and that is how he got the name, “The Baptist.”
John was a messenger sent from God to announce the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. His baptizing, the ritual of cleansing, could also been seen as preparing people for the arrival of the Messiah. Even to John, and to the Jews of the day, Baptism was not seen as something that would save a person, but it was seen as a symbol of one’s cleansing through repentance.
Luke Chapter 1 gives the details of the birth of John and Jesus. Mary the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptizer, were relatives. Some translations say cousins, but the Greek word there can also be translated relative. It isn’t clear exactly what the relation was.
John was about six months older than Jesus in human and physical terms. They knew each other, and probably played together as children. They had grown up not too far apart. Mary had gone to stay with Elizabeth when she found out she was pregnant. Jesus and John both were born through supernatural means.
We don’t know much about their situation from the time of their birth until the time of their public ministry.
John knew his relationship to the Messiah. He knew he was the messenger, and that the Messiah would be the one to receive all the glory and honor. He seems quiet content in this role, and seems to never seek his own glory.
Later in John, the Jews came to ask The Baptist who he was. They of course were looking for the Messiah, and apparently someone out by the river baptizing huge crowds, must have raised their curiosity. Was he the prophet? The Messiah? Elijah? He denied being all three and only gave them his message, which was that the Messiah was coming.
Today we have a lot of people claiming to be prophets. There seems to be more of them now than at most times in history. Some will say this means the return of the Lord is coming real soon.
Perhaps we should use John the Baptist as a measuring stick to see if they are real prophets. Scripture says we should test the spirits.
The Baptist took no honor for himself, he was just the messenger (one crying in the wilderness.) He cared little what others thought, and he made no effort to defend himself even when he was being beheaded. He never engaged in petty arguments, but focused on his message and upon the Messiah.
If we used this as a measuring stick, how many modern day prophets would measure up?