John the Baptist is one of the best-known people of the Bible. He was considered very highly by Jesus the Messiah Who said about him, "Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11). John was a prophet whose own coming was prophesied by an earlier prophet over 700 years before (Isaiah 40:3-5)

 John was a Levite His father Zechariah was a Temple priest of the line of Abijah, and his mother Elizabeth was also descended from Aaron (Luke 1:5). Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were related. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins. (Luke 1:36). John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus Christ (Luke 1:36). The angel Gabriel separately announced the coming births of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist.

LISTEN TO THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY OF JOHN

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth." Luke 3:4-5 John the Baptist performed the duties of a "King's Herald," one who went ahead of the chariot with a road crew to smooth out the bumpy road, remove the boulders, fill the potholes and shout, "Make way ,The King is coming."

John the Baptist wears clothing like the Prophets of Old

"And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins..." Matthew 3:4a "And they answered him, 'He was an hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.' And he said, 'It is Elijah the Tishbite.'" II Kings 1:8

John The Baptist Ate Desert Food

"And his meat was Locusts and wild honey." Matthew 3:4b "Even these may ye eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper." Lev.11:22a The Greek word translated locust refers to an insect, not the pod of a tree. Levitical Law permitted the use of locusts for food. They are still eaten by Bedouins and the poor...sometimes roasted, broiled or prepared in stew.

Seeking desert solitude 

  Seeking the purifying of the desert was a tradition going back to Moses, Elijah and the Prophets of old. After the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, the ruins of the scriptorium where the scrolls were written was discovered. Scholars have suggested that Quamran may have served as a rest stop for travelers crossing the Dead Sea from Jerusalem. One of the areas was used for production of perfume from the balsam plant. The Essenes, whom Josephus described as "excellent men, wholly given over to agricultural labor"......... Antiquities 18:1-19 . They chose Quamran as a place where they could make their living while pursuing the solitude of desert life. It is quite possible that John the Baptist was aware of this community although he was not a part of it.

The Hebrew word "Nazar" or Nazir" means set apart or consecrated.

"He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4..All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree from the kernels to the husk. 5..All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow." Numbers 6:3-5

30 YEARS OLD BEFORE THE PEOPLE LISTENED

John, being six months older than Jesus, began preaching at the age of thirty. The Levites were forbidden to engage in active ministry until the age of thirty and the people would not receive a teacher under thirty years of age. "3.From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host to do the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation." Numbers 4:3

LISTEN TO THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

John had a popular ministry. "People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea, and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:5-6). John the Baptist humbly baptized Jesus Christ. "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me? Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:13-15)  John's ministry became so popular that some wondered if he was the messiah. He answered, "I am not the Messiah, but I am sent ahead of Him." (John 3:28).

  With the ministry of Jesus Christ then begun, John recognized that his own mission was nearing its end: "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30) John's ministry, and life, came to an end when he admonished Herod for his sinful behavior (Luke 3:19-20). He was imprisoned at Machaerus, "The Black Fortress", a fortress built by Herod the Great in the gorge of Callirhoe, one of the wadies 9 miles east of the Dead Sea. John the Baptist was cast into the prison connected with this castle by Herod Antipas, who was at this time marching against Aretas, king of Perea, to whose daughter he had been married. During the revelry of the banquet held in the border fortress, to please Salome, who danced before him, he sent an executioner, who beheaded John, and "brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel" (Mark 6:14-29).

 

This castle stood "bold and clear" 3,860 feet above the Dead Sea, and 2,546 above the Mediterranean. Its ruins, now called M'khaur, are still visible on the northern end of Jebel Attarus. After he was killed, John's disciples came and buried his body, and then went and told Jesus all that had happened (Matthew 14:12). Jesus responded to the news of John's death by saying, "John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light." (John 5:35)