Activities Of John The Baptist Series

Introduction

The coming of the Son of God to this world in human form is a decisive event in saving sinners. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will be saved and will go to heaven, but if anyone rejects and does not believe in Jesus Christ, he or she will be eternally destroyed. However, no matter how precious the Son of God is, it is of no use if people do not know about it. Someone trustworthy must introduce Jesus Christ.

So, the four Gospels consistently begin the ministry of Jesus Christ with John the Baptist testifying about Jesus Christ. Of course, Jesus could have ministered without John the Baptist. But why did God send John the Baptist first? We can think of two reasons: One is because people are too suspicious. So, when Jesus testified about himself, there were many people who doubted and did not believe. Who could believe that a Galilean who looked just like them and came from humble origins was the Messiah or the Son of God? However, when someone like John the Baptist, who is recognized by the Jews, testifies about Jesus, people are less suspicious. For example, if a person suddenly appears at a gathering and introduces himself and boasts about himself, people are unlikely to believe what he says. However, when a famous person who is recognized by society introduces him, people believe him. John the Baptist was a prophet recognized by most Jews. As John the Baptist testified about Jesus, many people came to believe.

Another thing is that the period during which Jesus could minister was too short. To use a short period of time efficiently, it is best to prepare in advance. For example, when a good doctor has a very short period of time to examine patients, it is like having nurses check basic things such as blood pressure and temperature before treating patients. This saves the doctor time because he only needs to check the important parts. Likewise, the time given to Jesus was only three years. In order to get everything done in three years, it was necessary for someone to come first and prepare for Jesus' ministry. That person was John the Baptist.

I. Beginning of John’s activities (vv. 1-2)

Luke first explained the situation of the world at that time (v. 1). The Roman emperor at that time was Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius Caesar was the successor to Caesar Augustus, who took the census at the time of Jesus' birth. Judah was ruled by governor Pilate, and Galilee was ruled by Herod as tetrarch. This Herod was Herod Antipas, the second son of Herod the Great, who ruled when Jesus was born. The people who ruled Judea and Galilee at that time were Gentiles and did not fear God at all.

The high priests of Israel at that time were Annas and Caiaphas (v. 2a). Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, was deposed by the governor of Judea named Balelius in 14 AD, and Caiaphas, his son-in-law, became high priest. However, because the high priest was a lifelong position, Annas was still called high priest even after Caiaphas took office as high priest. So there were two high priests.

During this time, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the desert (v. 2b). Why was John in the desert? I don't know the exact reason because it is not in the Bible, but if I were to guess, it would be as follows. John must have heard everything about how he was born from his mother and father, who were devout priest. When John's father, Zechariah, went into the temple to burn incense in his order, the angel Gabriel appeared and told him that his older wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to a son and that he should name him John. The angel said that in order for John to become great in the sight of the Lord, he was never to take wine or other fermented drink, but would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth and bring many of the people of Israel back to God (1:15-16). Next, the angel said that John would go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and prepare a people for the Lord (1:17). Zechariah said that when John was circumcised and named, his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he prophesied that John would be called a prophet of the Most High (1:76).

John must have lived with his parents from a very young age, learning the word of God from his father, who was a priest, and living a life close to God. Then he would have performed a coming-of-age ceremony called a ‘bar mitzvah.’ And from then on, John did not follow his father's path as a priest, but lived in the desert on his own until the day he appeared to Israel to be called a prophet (1:80). The desert is called ‘Eremos’ in Greek, which is the same as ‘Midbar’, the Hebrew word for desert. Midbar is a derivative of ‘Dabar (Word)’. The desert is the place where the word of God comes. Most of the Old Testament prophets, such as Moses and Elijah, were people in the desert, and Jesus also began his public ministry after fasting for forty days in the desert.