Malachi 3:1: “Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord of host.”

John 1:6-8 “There was a man sent from God whose name was John”. “The same came to bear witness of the Light; that all men through him might believe”. “He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light”.

The Story of John the Baptist was written for a purpose. The purpose was to testify concerning the ‘Light’, that is, the ‘Light’ of Jesus Christ. John came to prepare men’s hearts to receive the light: ‘the same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe”. (John 1: 7-8 Vs) John told the people that Christ, the Messiah was about to appear.

John’s brief ministry was thus terminated by a monstrous crime. There was great sadness among the people who had hearkened to him, and when the disciples of Jesus heard the news of John’s death, they came and took the body and laid it reverently in a tomb. Jesus, with some of his disciples, retired “to a desert place apart,” to mourn.

John the Baptist was called the Precursor or Forerunner of the Lord, with some variation of detail, in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as in the Book of John. Luke tells us of the birth of John the Baptist in a town of Judaea, about six months before the birth of the Savior. The attendant circumstances, which we have already recounted, suggest the miraculous and wonderful coming of John the Baptist.

Herod feared and reverenced John, knowing him to be a holy man, and he followed his advice in many matters; but he could not endure having his private life castigated. Herod stimulated his anger with lies and artifices. His resentment at length got the better of his judgment and he had John cast into the fortress of Machaerus, near the Dead Sea.

When he came back to start preaching in the villages of Judaea, he was haggard and uncouth, but his eyes burned with zeal and his voice carried deep conviction. John came back preaching a Babtism of repentance. He felt that in order to receive Jesus as your Savior, John wanted the Jews to realize that they were sinners and had to repent of their sins. However, the Jews did not think they needed to be baptised, because they were the descendants of Abraham, God’s chosen people. The Jews did not realized that being descendants of Abraham did not keep them from repentance. John warned them that being a descendant, according to the flesh, was not important to God. The Jews were accustomed to preachers and prophets, who gave no thought to outward appearances, so they accepted John at once; the times were troubled, and the people yearned for reassurance and comfort. So ultimate was the power emanating from the holy man that after hearing him many believed he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. John quickly put them right, saying he had come only to prepare the way, and that he was not worthy to unloose the Master's sandals.

The rite of baptism, a symbolic act signifying sincere repentance as well as a desire to be spiritually cleansed in order to receive the Christ, was so strongly emphasized by John that people began to call him "the baptizer." John was baptizing people in Bethabara beyond Jordan, when he saw Jesus coming unto him: “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world”. The Scriptures tell us of the day when Jesus joined the group of those who wished to receive baptism at John's hands. John knew Jesus for the Messiah they had so long expected, and at first excused himself as unworthy. Then, in obedience to Jesus, he acquiesced and baptized Him. Although sinless, Jesus chose to be baptized in order to identify Himself with the human lot. And when He arose from the waters of the Jordan, where the rite was performed, "the heavens opened and the Spirit as a dove descended. And there came a voice from the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11 Vs). John continued his journey of spreading the message of the ‘Light’.

Some topics in this essay:
John Baptist, Holy Spirit, Baptist Testament, Country Judea, Kingdom Heaven, John John, Messiah Herodias, Vs John, Christ John, John” Zechariah, john baptist, holy spirit, bear witness, bear witness light, fit loosen sandal, vs john, water fit, “i baptizing, baptizing water, “i baptizing water, loosen sandal, water fit loosen, light believe”, baptizing water fit, witness light,