The Ministry of John the Baptist

In Part 3 of the "Profile of the Doubter" series that I posted a few days ago, I wrote about John's father, Zacharias, so I wanted to also reshare this post. Because I mentioned it in my post about Zacharias, I will not get into the miracles surrounding John's birth, but I will explore his life as an adult and the message that he was born to share. 

In the four gospels, John is only mentioned in two or three chapters per book. In other words, his story is brief.  And yet, he is such an important part of Jesus' story.   

His message was so simple, yet timeless and perfect for his time and much needed for every generation until today. He was the one mentioned in Isaiah 40:3, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord."   

And his father Zacharias said of John:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins. Luke 1:76  

As I said, his message was simple:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  Matthew 3:3

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14

 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance... And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Luke 3:8-9 (said by John)

It's pretty clear, isn't it?  The one preaching repentance was the one whose ministry was foretold in Isaiah, whose birth was announced by an angel, whose conception was miraculous (as his mother was past the age of childbearing), who was filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb, and was the cousin of Jesus Christ. Does he ever say there is grace for all sins whether we repent or not?  No!  Does he say Jesus has come and will die for our sins, so we no longer need to strive for righteousness?  No! He preaches that we must repent and bear good fruit or be cut off from heaven and thrown into hell.  Jesus says the exact same thing. 

"Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  Matthew 7:17-19 (said by Jesus)

We need to repent of our sins and bear good fruit.  Bearing good fruit is not just about doing good works and treating each other with love and kindness, it is also about pursing holiness and doing our very best to daily (Luke 9:23) put down sins.  Pretty simple.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:19-26

In spite of John's success as a preacher (he had many disciples as well), he never allowed anyone to glorify him, and always pointed them to Jesus.  He tells his followers that he is not the Messiah and humbly states: 

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Matthew 3:11

May we have the same desire as John, to lead people to Christ, teach them to repent of their sins, and bear good fruit.  May we always be bold enough to speak the Truth as John did, even if it means respectfully disagreeing with false religious teachings. And may our goals never, ever be about exalting ourselves, but to point to Jesus as the true teacher, and the only way to Salvation through repentance.  

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him...' Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.  John 3:27-30 

Even Jesus spoke good things about his faithful messenger. I pray Jesus will also find me doing my best to be a "burning and shining lamp" that points to Jesus and that my "witness" bares only "the Truth"!  

“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. John 5:31-36