Part 2: The Shaping Of The Man For His Ministry
Matthew 3:1-2; Mark 1:4; Luke 1:80; 3:1-3; John 1:6
Introduction
From the time of the prophet Malachi, four hundred years before, there had been no direct word from God to his people. Then suddenly the strident sounds of John’s prophecy were heard over the land of Judea for one brief moment of history. The Bible gives him several titles, all related to his relationship with coming Messiah. He was the Prophet of the Most High proclaiming God’s word about the coming of the King (Luke 1:76). He was the Messenger from God delivering the message that the people should prepare for the coming of the King (Mal. 3:1). He was the Doorkeeper opening the door for the King (John 10:3). He was the Witness testifying of the identity of the King (John 1:7, 15). He was the Friend of the Bridegroom coming to support the bride of Israel when the bridegroom comes (John. 3:29).
The Bible says of him, “There was a man sent from God whose name was John” (John 1:6). In Part 1 we learned how God presided over the details of John’s birth for his key role in the history of salvation. [2] We saw how the events of his conception and birth were intertwined with those of Jesus the Messiah who was his contemporary. In this second part we will examine how God shaped the man he would use to introduce his Son as the promised Messiah. Certain events ordered by God during his growth through childhood and manhood prepared him for his ministry. From these we can learn how God prepares believers for ministry today.
Of those things God used to shape John for his unique ministry we will note five in particular.
- He was born to fulfill a predestined purpose.
- He was brought up by his parents to know the history of Israel.
- He spent time alone with God in the wilderness getting to know God.
- He was obedient to carry out God’s purpose.
- He was obedient when the word of God came to him.
Keep in mind the purpose for which God selected John. First, he was to announce the imminent coming of Messiah. Second, he was to confront the people with their sinfulness and rebellion against God. Third, he was to preach that they should repent, confess their sins, and be baptized. In this way they were to prepare themselves for Messiah’s coming. They were to reorder their moral lives toward righteousness. The fourth purpose for which John was chosen was to announce that those who received the coming King could look forward to salvation and forgiveness of sins.
Educated To Know The Word Of God
The only son of a hill-country priest, John was no doubt educated by his parents in their village home in Judah. They taught him reading, writing, and the history of his people. His father was a priest and no doubt emphasized God’s role in history, starting with creation. He would learn how God had chosen Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the patriarchs of the Hebrew people. No doubt his father took John on “field trips” to nearby historical sites such as the cave of Machpelah in Hebron where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried. His family had descended from Jacob’s third son, Levi, as did Moses the great lawgiver and leader. Moses’ brother Aaron was the first priest, and from him the other priests, including John’s father, had descended. Zacharias would no doubt have taken John to Bethlehem, David’s ancestral home. It is not hard to imagine that John and his father would have explored the caves and rocky valleys of the wilderness of Judah where David and his four hundred men hid from King Saul for fifteen years. John would thrill to see the valley of Elah where David killed Goliath and the cave of Adullam where he trained his rag tag army.
Three times a year Zacharias would have taken John to the great feasts in Jerusalem—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They would have seen Herod’s temple, still being built, and priests offering sacrifices. John would learn of the system of worship and national life that God had revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai and how most of it had since degenerated into empty ritual. John learned that the temple had become primarily a showpiece, the sacrifices had lost their spiritual significance, and the priesthood was riddled with corruption.
John’s Biblical Education Regarding The Destiny Of Israel
John’s father as a priest would carefully teach him from the scrolls of Scripture. He learned the flow of the story, how God was restoring his relationship with man that had been broken by sin in Eden, and that the enemy, Satan, would be defeated by God’s anointed one. He would teach him that the blood sacrifices offered to atone for sin were only symbols of the one true sacrifice, the sacrifice of the coming Lamb of God.
When David became king of Israel, God made a covenant with him that his dynasty would be established forever (2 Sam. 7:8-17). The dynasty of David was interrupted when the people rebelled against God and were taken into exile by the Babylonians. The land and the people remained under the domination of Gentile powers, including the Persians, then the Greeks, and finally the Romans, just as the prophets had said. Those same prophets predicted the return of the rule by David’s dynasty when Messiah would come. The last Old Testament prophet concluded his prophecy with the promise that the day was coming when Messiah as the Sun of Righteousness would come to heal the broken nation and its sinful people and to be their King. He would be introduced by a special messenger chosen by God and lead them in righteousness.
Then Zacharias, with excitement in his voice would tell John that the time had come. God had chosen him to be the man who would prepare the people for the coming of Messiah and introduce him to the nation. He went on to explain what the angel Gabriel had told him when he was in the temple offering incense (Luke 1:15-17). Gabriel explained that God had a unique plan for John before he was born, that he would be great in the sight of the Lord, and that he would be filled with the Spirit to accomplish what God had planned for him. He would preach in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet. Elijah had stood alone for God on Mount Carmel, opposing the worship of the idol god Baal and pronouncing judgment on the wicked dynasty of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21).
John’s Training For Coming Ministry
Then, too, Zacharias would tell John that on the day he was named the Spirit of God had inspired him to prophesy. In that prophecy he said that Messiah was coming into the world as the “horn of salvation” (a mighty Savior). He also said that God was about to fulfill the oath he made to Abraham that all the world’s nations would be blessed through his descendents. Then Zacharias said something like this: When I named you John, as Gabriel had commanded, my voice returned and God’s Spirit came upon me. I prophesied, “You, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest.” You will go before the Lord and announce him as the ‘Dayspring’ (Sunrise) who would shine on people in darkness and bring salvation and forgiveness of sins (Luke 1:67-79). John’s education made him ready for the ministry.
John’s response would be to prepare himself by studying Elijah’s life from the Scriptures (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 2). He would learn how Elijah spoke to the Israelite priests and to wicked King Ahab. How did Elijah handle the immorality and idolatry of Baal worship? Did he train other men? How did he do it? He would also study other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Malachi who spoke of the coming of the Messiah so clearly. John’s father, Zacharias, would counsel him to denounce their sin, to warn them of coming judgment from God, to plead with them to publicly confess their sins, and turn away from them to repent, and prepare themselves for the coming of Messiah.
Then Zacharias might say to his son: “And John, the coming Messiah is alive and growing up like you are. He is your cousin Jesus, the son of your aunt Mary in Nazareth. He is the Messiah, but like you he is still unknown to anyone outside the family. He has not yet been revealed.” It is very likely that the two cousins had met as boys, perhaps at the feasts in Jerusalem. Both families would have been faithful in keeping the feasts. However, after John’s parents died and he went to live alone in the wilderness, he would have no contact with Jesus for probably ten or fifteen years. When the time came for them to meet at the Jordan, John needed God to tell him how to recognize Jesus.
John’s Education In Spiritual Things
What a wonderful education John’s parents no doubt gave him! What an inspiration to us as parents today to fulfill our responsibility to train our children in the things of God. We should remember that what our children learn directly from us about God and their relationship with him is more important than all the other components of their education put together. Don’t leave it solely to the Sunday school or the Christian school, fine as those things are. Open your Bible around the kitchen table, discuss it, and pray with them about the daily challenges in their lives. Talk with them about the place of God in your life. Make spiritual values be the first consideration in every choice you make. Then help your children do it too. How can they stay true to God while living in our culture? Figure out ways to interest them. Try to link their temporal interests in sports, art, history, birds, flowers, dinosaurs etc. with God’s creative genius and his biblical revelation. Join with them in developing these.
Alone With God In The Wilderness (Luke 1:80)
Most commentators assume that John’s parents died when he was about twenty years old. John took up a solitary life in the wilderness, living in caves and moving from place to place. His food was wild honey and grasshoppers. He dressed in clothes of leather and camel’s hair (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6). He deliberately avoided the material comforts that the temple priests loved so much. He lived in isolation from the religious and political world while he waited for God’s time for him to begin his ministry to Israel.
The Wilderness As A Training Ground
The wilderness for John was more than a solitary place and an opportunity for reflection. God spoke directly to him while he was there and gave him a sign by which he would recognize the Messiah and know for certain who he really was (John 1:33). It was in the wilderness that God spoke to Elijah (1 Kings 19:4). It was in the wilderness that God revealed himself to Moses at Mount Sinai. It was in the wilderness that God taught his people to worship and live together as a nation. When they reached the border of the Promised Land, God replaced their leader Moses with Joshua. Joshua brought them across the Jordan and into their inheritance in the Promised Land. Joshua’s name in Hebrew is the same as that of Jesus. As the second “Joshua” Jesus would lead his people into their spiritual inheritance. John was the man God chose to introduce Jesus to the nation.
John had time in the wilderness to meditate on the history of the nation and the prophecies in the Scriptures that led up to the time for him to enter public ministry. Thus he grew “strong in spirit” (Luke 1:80). Just as he had become strong to refuse the comfortable life of fine clothing and dining, he also became strong to confront the wickedness of his nation and to call them to repentance. He became strong in hope of the coming Messiah through whom they could have forgiveness of sins.
John’s rough physical lifestyle in the wilderness was living in caves, dressing in camel’s hair, and eating locusts and wild honey. These conditions were helpful in focusing his resolve to discipline himself spiritually to:
- Concentrate on knowing God better.
- Communicate with God by prayer.
- Meditate on the revealed Word of God.
- Dedicate himself to face the nation with his unpopular message.
Obedient To The Call To Public Ministry (Luke 3:2)
Luke pictures John the Baptist as an aesthetic monk in the wilderness of Judea. He does it to prepare us for John’s dramatic appearance in the biblical story. In his introduction he names no less than seven historical figures to establish the context and the date of John’s appearance about ad 28-29 (Luke 3:1). Five of them were political leaders: Tiberius, Pilate, Herod, Phillip, and Lysanias, all of whom were connected with wickedness in government. Two were religious figures: Annas and his son-in-law Caiaphas. They were leaders in the corrupt priesthood of the Jews. Thus John is pictured suddenly appearing against the background of political and religious darkness.
“The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2). This is typical language for a biblical summons to prophetic ministry such as with Isaiah (Isa. 38:4) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1-2). Did God speak to John? The answer is yes. We know at least one direct revelation John received. “He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is…the Son of God’” (John 1:33-34). When John was about thirty years old, he understood that God’s time had come to preach. He was in the wilderness of Judea and the district around the Jordan, perhaps near Jericho. God’s call to John marked “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).
Obedient To Preach The Word Of God (Matt. 3:1-6; Mark 1:1-5; Luke 3:3-6)
John came out from his seclusion in the wilderness and began to preach his message. The prophecy of Malachi indicates that John was sent by God as a “messenger” to prepare the way for Messiah (Mark 1:2, Mal. 3:1). His message, was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). To those who believed the message John preached the “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3).
It all began something like this, perhaps near the road that led from Jericho in the Jordan valley to Jerusalem. We can imagine traders with a train of donkeys going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho after selling their produce in the market. As they made their way down, they may have passed a group of Levites and priests going to the temple in Jerusalem for their service. Suddenly they heard someone calling out. They looked up to see John standing on an outcrop of rock above the road. He looked like a man of the desert. They heard him shouting, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Turn away from your sins. Prepare to meet your Messiah. He is the one whom God has anointed to be the King and he is coming very soon. If you want to prepare for Messiah’s coming, you must confess your sins to God. Then come to the River Jordan and be baptized publicly to show your sincerity. Prepare for Messiah’s coming. God will forgive your sins and he expects you to demonstrate your faith in Messiah the King. So turn away from your ungodly lifestyle and start living to please God. Meet me at the River Jordan to be baptized with all those who are looking for Messiah.”
We can imagine that when the traders got back to Jericho and the Levites arrived at the temple in Jerusalem they would be talking about the man they saw who looked a lot like Elijah the prophet, dressed in leather and camel’s hair. And, they would say, he talks like a prophet too. He is in the wilderness near the Jordan and wants everyone to come and prepare for Messiah’s coming by confessing their sins. He will dip you in the river as a sign of your repentance. Then others arrived with a similar story. It became the talk of the town. When the Levites arrived in Jerusalem there was an even bigger stir, especially among the religious community. People were saying, “Let’s go and see what is happening.” At first a few came, then hundreds, and finally thousands from all over the land. They came from Judah, Samaria, Galilee, and Perea—common people, fishermen, businessmen, priests, Levites, and Pharisees. They came from the north, south, east, and west. Every rocky trail and road that led to the Jordan area was soon filled with pilgrims to hear John. His preaching was like a spark falling on a dry forest floor.
Faithful To Deliver God’s Message (Matt. 3:2)
The core message of John was, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). The kingdom of heaven is a term that describes the rule of God on the earth at any given period. When it is used in regard to the future, it refers to the establishment of the kingdom of Israel on earth when Messiah rules (Acts 1:6). This coming messianic kingdom is the focus of many prophecies in the Old Testament (Ps. 2:6; 32:1; 89:4; Jer. 33:15; Dan. 7:13-14; Zech. 9:10; 14:9, etc.). In his covenant with David, God promised that a descendent of his would set up his throne in Jerusalem. He would be the Son of God and rule the world forever (2 Sam. 7:4-17).
Looking forward to this kingdom became the national hope of Israel. Thus John’s announcement that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” aroused great interest right away. To help the people of Israel prepare for the coming of the Son of God as King, John told them to repent from their sins. When Jesus began his own ministry to the Israelites, he took up the same message: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). As John and Jesus preached this message, many individuals responded in faith, but as a whole, the nation of Israel rejected the King and his kingdom (John 1:11). Its leaders shouted, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). They also shouted, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15). But even when they rejected him, Jesus did not abandon them or his purpose to be King. As certain as the Bible is true, he will yet establish his worldwide kingdom. He will rule from the throne of David when he comes again in power and great glory (Matt. 24:31).
Repentance
Repentance was a key component in John’s ministry because the people had offended God by their sin. In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, they needed to understand God’s view of their sin and that it separated them from him. They could not enter his kingdom until they acknowledged their sin and repented. It was this matter of dealing with sin that caused the proud Pharisees to resist John’s preaching and to refuse to be baptized publicly. In modern English to repent means to be sorry for your sin, but to John it meant to change the whole course of your life. Biblical repentance is to determine that sin is morally offensive to God and therefore we must turn away from it and move in the direction that pleases God.
The Baptism Of Repentance
John demanded that if their repentance was sincere they should be baptized (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8). All four gospel-writers tell us that John associated repentance with public baptism. Indeed it is called the baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4; Acts 13:24). It is also called the baptism of John to distinguish it from the Christian baptism of believers (Acts 1:22; 10:37; 18:25; 19:3). When repentant people came to John at the Jordan River, they confessed their sins and he baptized them. By doing that they were publicly renouncing their sinful lifestyle and declaring their faith in the coming Messiah. Their baptism was like an engagement before marriage. They were committed to the coming Messiah and looked forward to fuller understanding when Jesus came to be their redeemer.
There are no Old Testament precedents for baptism as John was practicing it, although there is plenty of discussion about it by some commentators. What we do read in Scripture is that John was sent by God to baptize (John 1:33). When the people confessed their sins, they were plunged into the water. Going down into the water symbolized the end of their old life. Coming up out of the water symbolized the beginning of a new life to which they looked forward when Messiah would come. Their baptism anticipated the coming of Messiah. Although John’s baptism was similar to Christian baptism in form, it was different in significance. John’s baptism anticipated a new relationship with the coming Christ. Christian baptism pictures the believer’s new position as being dead to sin and risen with Christ.
John’s whole ministry lasted only a few months. After Jesus began his ministry, John’s work was finished. He was imprisoned and later killed by King Herod. Jesus and his disciples also baptized those who repented in a similar way, especially early in his ministry (John 3:22; 4:1-2). Those baptized by his disciples acknowledged Jesus as their Messiah, though he had not finished his saving work. After Jesus rose from the dead, new believers were baptized as Christians. Christian baptism will continue during this present age until Jesus returns as King. There is one instance in Acts 19 where some “disciples of John” were re-baptized, but it does not appear to be the general rule.
Conclusion
In conclusion let us review the principles of preparation from John’s life summarized as follows:
- He was born to fulfill a predestined purpose.
- He was, as a youth, raised by his parents to know the Word of God.
- He spent time alone with God in the wilderness getting to know God.
- He was given spiritual strength to carry out God’s purpose.
- He was obedient when the word of God came to him.
- Ken Fleming is faculty emeritus at Emmaus Bible College. For twenty-five years he was a missionary in South Africa among the Zulu people. From 1977 to 2002 he was head of the Missions department at Emmaus. He continues an active ministry of preaching and writing.
- See “John the Baptist, Prophet of the Highest: Part 1: The Birth of John the Baptist,” EmJ 17 (2008): 185-196.
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