01 - OT Prophesies, John's Miraculous Birth, John's Parents
Introduction:
In the Bible, we read about a man named John.
Not John the apostle, but another John who was just as important.
This John was prophesied about in the Old Testament.
This John was born by miraculous means.
This John was a personal acquaintance with Jesus Christ.
This John was so influential that some people thought Jesus Christ was John resurrected.
This John is the one normally called “John the Baptist.”
The work of John the Baptist is important to understand so that you don’t fall into the trap of false teachings that are popular in the religious world.
Before we delve into the life of John the Baptist, there are some things we need to understand.
John was not a member of the Baptist Church, for that denomination was not started until 1611.
The literal translation of “John the Baptist” is “John, the one who immerses,” “John the Immerser,” or “John the baptizer.”
“Baptist” is an adjective which describes what John did: he was one who baptized people.
Today we are going to begin a short series of lessons learning about John the Baptizer and how he fits in the grand scheme of the Bible.
The person and work of John the Baptizer was prophesied in the Old Testament .
Hezekiah had just been told that Jerusalem was going to be carried away into captivity by Babylon and that many of his descendants would be castrated and be made servants of the king of Babylon (Isaiah 39, fulfilled in Daniel 1).
After that, Isaiah was told to comfort the people (Isaiah 40:1-2).
The people would eventually return from this captivity after God decided they had been punished enough.
Jeremiah prophesied that this return would take place after 70 years (II Chronicles 36:21, Daniel 9:2).
The people would need to prepare their hearts for the return to being the people of God.
God would care for them again in their own land (Isaiah 40:11).
The ultimate fulfillment of this, however, was not in their return from captivity, but in the first century with John the Baptizer paving the way for Jesus Christ.
John was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight” (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4-6, John 1:23).
It is interesting that John is said to have fulfilled this prophecy in ALL FOUR of the gospel accounts.
Just like today, when an important person travels, there are others that are sent ahead of time to make sure everything is just right for their visit.
John was to get people prepared in order to make things as easy as possible for them to accept Jesus.
This is why John preached a gospel of repentance.
This is why John pointed people to Christ.
This is why John was sent to baptize “for the remission of sins.”
After the voice [John] would cry in the wilderness, the glory of the LORD shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together because the mouth of the LORD has spoken it (Isaiah 40:5).
It was after John began his preaching in the wilderness that Jesus came to him to be baptized (Matthew 3:13).
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, and God spoke from heaven, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
After that, good tidings would be brought from Jerusalem (Isaiah 40:9).
Where was the good news (the literal translation of “gospel”) proclaimed from? Jerusalem!
The message would proclaim: Behold your God!
God would be the Shepherd (40:11).
As just a side note, Jesus was the one who called himself the good Shepherd (John 10:11).
This passage (Isaiah 40) shows that John the Baptizer was preparing the way for Jehovah.
The fulfillment (recorded in the gospel accounts) shows that John the Baptizer was preparing the way for Jesus.
Add these things together, and you end up with the unmistakable conclusion that Jesus is Jehovah!
The final passage in the final book of the Old Testament was a prophecy about John the Baptizer.
The people are told at the end of the Old Testament to “remember ye the Law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments” (Malachi 4:4).
It is after this that He tells the people, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5).
Was He going to send Elijah back in the whirlwind which took him away?
Was it literally going to be Elijah?
Or was it something else?
This prophet would “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children…” (Malachi 4:6).
John the Baptizer is the one who fulfills this prophecy.
Zacharias, a Levite priest of God, was told by the angel known as Gabriel (literally either “man-God,” “man of God,” or “the power/might of God”) that he would bear a son (Luke 1:13).
That son would turn many to the Lord their God (Luke 1:16).
This son would go in the spirit and power of Elijah (Elias in the KJV) “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children…” and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:17).
At the Mount of Transfiguration, the literal Elijah (along with Moses) appeared and spoke with Jesus (Matthew 17).
After they faded away (a sign from God that the Law and the Prophets – aka the Old Testament—was ending), they said, “why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?” (Matthew 17:10).
Jesus’ response was “Elijah truly shall come first and restore all things. But I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them” (Matthew 17:11-12).
After that, they understood that Jesus meant John the Baptizer was the Elijah of prophecy (Matthew 17:13).
How was John like Elijah?
Both were inspired by God (John was “full of the Holy Ghost” (Luke 1:15).
Listen to the physical description of both men.
Elijah was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (II Kings 1:8).
John was clothed with camel hair with a girdle of skin (leather) about his loins).
Both of them had a similar mission: bring people back to God.
When Jesus says it, and all four gospel writers plainly state it, there can be no doubt that John the Baptizer and his mission were prophesied about in the Old Testament.
John’s birth was miraculous (Luke 1:11-25, 36-37).
Zacharias’ wife Elizabeth was past childbearing age.
Zacharias was also old (Luke 1:18).
He expressed doubt to the angel Gabriel which said she would conceive, saying “Whereby shall I know this…my wife [is] well-stricken in years?”
Gabriel also expressed this fact to Mary by saying, “thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren” (Luke 1:36).
His birth was announced by an angel of heaven.
God never sent His angels for insignificant events.
The birth of John was a significant thing, for it led to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (some over 700 years old).
It was a direct act of God that allowed Elizabeth and Zacharias to have a child.
So, not only was John and his mission prophesied, his birth was miraculous.
When God intervenes and miraculously allows someone to conceive, it is usually important.
Hannah was barren, yet God permitted her to conceive and bear Samuel, the final judge of Israel (I Samuel 1).
Abraham and Sarah bore Isaac, the ancestor of the entire Israelite nation and Jesus specifically, when they were well-past childbearing age (Genesis 21).
Mary, a virgin, conceived a child by direct action of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to our Savior Jesus Christ (Matthew 1).
So, can we doubt that John was going to be an important player in the plan of God?
John’s parents made sure he was dedicated to God.
The angel gave Zacharias specific instructions on how he was to raise John (Luke 1:13-15).
They were to not let him have wine nor strong drink. Period.
Many people believe this means John was a Nazarite from birth, which would then also include not ever cutting his hair.
John was “full of the Holy Ghost” from the womb (Luke 1:15).
But imagine what would have happened if his parents did not raise him as they should?
Just because someone was filled with the Holy Spirit did not mean they were incapable of sinning.
Judas Iscariot had miraculous abilities, yet he betrayed Jesus Christ.
If John’s parents did not do their part, then John would not have turned out the way he did.
This is why God specifically chose Zacharias and Elizabeth.
He knew the type of people they were.
He knew He could trust them to carry out the commands that He had given them in this matter.
We are given commands directly from God (via the Bible) about how to raise our children.
We are to raise them in the nurture (caring, building up) and admonition (correcting, disciplining) of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
We are to punish them (including spanking) so that they learn their lesson and mature the way God wants them to mature (Proverbs 22:15, 23:13).
Those parents who just want to be friends with their children will end up with children who are not mature, and who will not be properly prepared to go to heaven.
Even though God’s prophets foretold of the work John would do; even though God’s angel foretold of his miraculous birth, his parents still had to do their part in raising him properly.
Conclusion:
John the Baptizer plays a very important part in the gospel accounts.
This should be understood, because his work was prophesied, his birth was prophesied (and miraculous), and he was “full of the Holy Ghost” from the womb.
As we will see next week, John’s mission was one of preparation and leading people to Christ.
Just because John played an important part, we do not need to make him more important than he really was.
Not to downplay his significance, but John did not start the church as a certain group claims he did.
It is just as wrong to give Peter too much importance (like the Catholics) as it is to give John the Baptizer too much importance.
The true focus should be on Jesus Christ.
Do you consider yourself to be the important one?
Do you put the emphasis on yourself in your life?
Or do you put the emphasis on Jesus Christ?
Each day as you go through your life, ask yourself, “am I doing this for Jesus? Or am I doing this only for myself?”
Here’s something you can do for Jesus which also helps yourself: Become a Christian!