John The Baptist

[GallagherM]

Mark 1:6

Now John was clothed with camels hair and with a leather around his waist and he ate locus and honey.

So John was the Son of Zacharias and Elizabeth; He was a baptizer and had followers. He was prophesied about in Isaiah 40:1-3; and Malachi 4:5, and his life is indicated in all of the recorded gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. He had courage, obedience, was a powerful preacher, humility, holiness, burning zeal, was honored by Christ, did no miracle, suffered martyrdom. He was a person who was predestined to baptize Jesus Christ to fulfill what was prophesied.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Have you ever wondered by Jesus said the following about John the Baptist?

Matthew 11:11 NLT - "I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!"

Is there any chance that he had anything to do with True Believers? Are you [sure] that he performed no "miracles"?

Luke 7:29-30 NLT – “When they heard this, all the people--even the tax collectors--agreed that God's way was right, for they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God's plan for them, for they had refused John's baptism.”

It seems that this is exactly why Jesus said that “John was preparing the way.” But how and why? Consider the following verse, as it should illuminate the reason for John’s Baptism.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB – “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Therefore, I am suggesting that John’s Baptism changed the Hearts and minds of those who received his Baptism so that they would be Enabled to “understand” and “Spiritually appraise,” which is what those who [did not] receive the Baptism of John could not do.

Malachi 3:1 NLT - 1 "Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies.

Mark 1:3 NLT - 3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the LORD's coming! Clear the road for him!'"

John 3:28 NLT - 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, 'I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.'

Is it possible that John the Baptist had been given the ability to lift the Adamic Curse from the Human Heart so that those who received his baptism would understand the Ways of the Lord? Is it possible that John had been given the ability to lift the Veil that causes blindness? No doubt, there is something going on with the Baptism of John the B. There was some kind of miraculous power, or mircale, behind what he was doing. Again, is this the reason for why John is more than a prophet? Was He able to lift the Curse of the Sinful Nature? I am inclined to believe so!

Luke 7:26-27 NLT - "Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 27 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you."

This preparation is the lifting of the Adamic Curse, so that the lame might "walk", the blind might "see," and the deaf might "hear."

 

[GallagherM]

Here is what Scripture says about John the Baptist in John 10: 40And He (Jesus) went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. 41And many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” 42And many believed in Him (Jesus) there.