A prophet in the desert
The next time we hear from John, he has a ministry in the Judean wilderness.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’” —Matt 3.1–3″ data-version=”nasb95″ data-purpose=”bible-reference”>Matthew 3:1–3
Where has he been all this time? We’re not really sure. It’s likely that his elderly parents died pretty early in his life. Many people believe John was put in the care of the Essenes, a group of desert-living Jewish mystics. We do know that he lived a very poor, ascetic lifestyle of eating bugs and wearing less-than-comfy camel hair blazers (Matt. 3:4).
Did he grow up with the weight of prophetic expectation on him? Nearly everyone in Judea knew about his divine birth and the prophecies that surrounded him. Obviously, there had to be enough eyewitness testimony for Luke to be able to pull together John’s birth story.
It’s very likely that John grew up with the knowledge and weight of expectations that he was to do amazing things in preparation for God’s Messiah to be revealed.
That is probably why he adopted a severe lifestyle similar to the Old Testament prophets, because, after all, that’s what is expected of those Ezekiel types. Apparently, people were curious enough to come out in droves to confess their sins to him and get baptized — a purifying practice popular with the Essenes (Matt. 3:5).
Jesus takes over
We’re told that Jewish leaders were pressing John to find out if he was the Messiah. John denies it. He was never in this for personal glory or fame.
Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” —Jn. 1:19–21
When John sees Jesus, he immediately identifies him. This identification shifts the focus off his ministry onto Jesus where it belongs.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! —Jn. 1:29
John baptizes Jesus (Matt. 3:13–17), and two of John’s disciples leave John to follow him.
It’s probably significant to note that John knows who Jesus is and addresses him as if he is the Messiah. He was probably instructed about Mary and her divine child during his childhood, even if the two children never had a chance to meet.
Whatever he’s been told, he recognizes that Jesus is greater than him and willingly gives his disciples up to Christ. He knows at this point that he has fulfilled his purpose of pointing people to the chosen one.
In John’s most famous quote, we’re given a hint into the true piety of his heart: “He (Jesus) must become greater,” he says, “I must become less. (Jn. 3:30)”
Sadly, John has no idea how true this is.
John gets thrown in prison and begins to doubt
Always the outspoken prophet, John begins to criticize Herod publicly for his evil behavior — mostly because of Herod’s questionable new marriage.
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. —Lk. 3:19–20
It’s important to know that, despite being imprisoned, John still has followers that are loyal to him. As he sits in Herod’s dungeon, he’s getting reports about Jesus’ activities. Just think about the information that’s coming in:
- Jesus is hanging out with tax gatherers and prostitutes
- He’s talking to Samaritan women
- He’s healing Gentiles
- He’s healing on the Sabbath