John the Baptist

We know that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, and there is much that can be said.  But this blog was impressed with the birth story of John.  We will look at that rather closely.  And we will be examining his beginnings as reported in the book of Luke.  The book of Luke gives a detailed account of the birth of John and of Jesus. 

John's father, Zacharias, was a Jewish priest, his mother a descendant of Aaron, the priestly tribe.  An angel, Gabriel, appeared to Zacharias.

Luke 1:12-17New International Version (NIV)
¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

There are a lot of amazing things here.  One is that these are old people, too old for childbearing.  But God makes it happen.  So when Elizabeth has been with child going into the 6th month, Mary, the mother of Jesus, finds out from the angel that she will bring forth a child of the Holy Spirit.  She visits her cousin Elizabeth and spends 3 months with her:

Luke 1:39-45New International Version (NIV)³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

As the story continues, John is born....and he is truly a special child, to become a special man.  The end of chapter one of Luke one reads:

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit^[a]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

So much more can and should be said about John the Baptist.  He was a great preparer for the Lord Jesus.

Thanks for reading.  Have a wonderful week!