People of the Bible

John the Baptist

Around Jesus · First century · Appears in The four Gospels · Also known as John the Baptizer, the Forerunner

John the Baptist is the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus, calling the nation to repentance in the wilderness and baptizing in the Jordan. When he saw Jesus he cried, Behold the Lamb of God, and said of him, He must increase, but I must decrease. He was the forerunner of the Messiah and, in Jesus' own words, the greatest born of women.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.John 1:29 (KJV)

A child of promise

John's birth was itself a wonder. His father Zacharias, an aged priest, was serving in the temple when the angel Gabriel appeared and told him that his barren wife Elisabeth would bear a son, to be named John, who would be great before the Lord and would turn many of the children of Israel back to God in the spirit and power of Elijah. Zacharias doubted because of their old age and was struck mute until the child was born, when he named him John and his tongue was loosed to prophesy.

The infant was set apart for God from before his birth, and when he was born the neighbors marveled and asked what manner of child this would be, for the hand of the Lord was with him. He was a cousin of Jesus, born six months before him, and even in the womb, at the sound of Mary's greeting, he had leaped for joy in Elisabeth's belly. He grew and waxed strong in spirit, and lived in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.

The voice in the wilderness

When the time came, John appeared in the wilderness of Judea, a startling figure clothed in camel's hair with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey, living apart from the comforts of the world. The word of God came to him there, and he began to preach, crying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and calling people to be baptized in the Jordan as a sign of turning from their sins. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah's ancient prophecy, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Crowds streamed out from Jerusalem and all Judea to hear him and be baptized, confessing their sins. He preached with fearless directness, warning the self-satisfied religious leaders not to trust in their descent from Abraham, and telling the people plainly to share their food and clothing, to deal honestly, and to be content. He gathered disciples and stirred the whole nation to wonder whether he himself might be the Messiah, a question he answered by pointing always away from himself.

Behold the Lamb of God

When Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized, John protested that he was unworthy, saying he needed rather to be baptized by Jesus. But at Jesus' insistence he baptized him, and saw the heavens open and the Spirit descend like a dove and rest upon him, and heard the voice from heaven declaring Jesus the beloved Son. From that moment John knew his own role was to make Jesus known. Seeing Jesus coming, he cried out, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, naming him the true sacrifice before his ministry had even begun.

John gladly sent his own disciples to follow Jesus, and when they came worried that everyone was now going to him, John rejoiced rather than resenting it. He compared himself to the friend of the bridegroom, whose joy is made full simply to hear the bridegroom's voice, and he summed up his whole calling and character in one unforgettable sentence: He must increase, but I must decrease. His greatness lay precisely in his willingness to grow smaller so that Christ might be seen.

Faithful unto death

John did not soften the truth even for the powerful. He rebuked Herod the tetrarch for taking his brother's wife, and for this he was arrested and imprisoned. In prison, in the darkness of confinement and perhaps of doubt, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether he was the one who should come, and Jesus answered by pointing to the works of healing and good news to the poor, and blessed those who would not be offended in him. Then Jesus turned to the crowds and praised John as more than a prophet, saying that among those born of women there had not risen a greater than John the Baptist.

His end was cruel and unjust. At a birthday feast, Herodias, whom John had rebuked, used her daughter's dancing to trap Herod into a rash oath, and John was beheaded in prison, his head brought in on a platter. So the forerunner sealed his witness with his blood, having faithfully prepared the way and pointed to the Lamb, and his disciples took his body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

Fruits worthy of repentance

John's preaching was searching and practical. He warned the crowds not to rest in their descent from Abraham but to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, for the axe was already laid to the root of the trees. When the people asked what they should do, he did not send them into the wilderness but back into their ordinary lives changed: let the one with two coats share with the one who had none, let tax collectors take no more than was appointed, let soldiers do violence to no one and be content with their wages.

And he pointed always beyond himself. He told them plainly that he baptized with water, but one mightier than he was coming, whose shoes he was not worthy to unloose, who would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He spoke of the coming one with a winnowing fan in his hand, ready to gather the wheat into his barn. John's whole message was preparation: turn your life around, and be ready, for the Lord himself is about to come.

His significance and where he points to Christ

John is the last and greatest of the prophets who pointed forward to the Messiah, the bridge between the old covenant and the new. He fulfilled the promise that Elijah would come before the Lord, turning hearts back to God and preparing a people ready for him. His baptism of repentance and his fearless witness set the stage for the whole ministry of Jesus, and his humble, courageous faithfulness, even unto death, has inspired the church ever since to point away from itself and toward Christ.

John's entire life was a signpost to Jesus. He came, in the words of his father's prophecy, to give knowledge of salvation to God's people and to go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. He named Jesus the Lamb of God and told everyone to follow him and not himself. His motto, He must increase, but I must decrease, is the whole calling of every witness who has ever lived, and John lived and died to make Jesus known, the friend of the bridegroom rejoicing to hear his voice.

A note on the sources: everything above is drawn from the biblical text itself. Where a detail comes from later tradition rather than Scripture, it is named as tradition. Dates for the earliest figures are traditional and approximate, and Scripture does not always give them. The aim is to tell each life honestly, and to let it do what the whole Bible does, point to Jesus Christ the Lord.

Related: Mary (mother of Jesus) · Elijah · All the people of the Bible