Luke 1:15-17
King James Version
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost,
even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elias,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
I had no idea the volume of material that would result from this 63rd blog when I first started the blog this morning.
Neither had I any idea I would be writing much about John the Baptist.
But SPIRIT made sure I honored GOD's messenger, who prepared the way for JESUS as well as baptizing Him, before the LORD started His ministry.
John's birth was special, too.
GOD sent His angel Gabriel to tell the good news that Zacahriah and Elizabeth were going to have a son.
Luke 1:13-14
King James Version
13 But the angel said unto him,
Fear not, Zacharias:
for thy prayer is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son,
and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness;
and many shall rejoice at his birth.
JESUS thought highly of His cousin.
Matthew 11:7-15
King James Version
7 And as they departed,
Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John,
What went ye out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went ye out for to see?
A man clothed in soft raiment?
behold,
they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see?
A prophet?
yea, I say unto you,
and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he,
of whom it is written,
Behold,
I send my messenger before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you,
Among them that are born of women
there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it,
this is Elias,
which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
JESUS was saying John is prophet Elijah.
Proof of that will be for the next post.
Sadly, John's life fell into the hands of women who influenced a ruler to do away with him.
Mark 6:17-29
King James Version
17 For Herod himself
had sent forth and laid hold upon John,
and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake,
his brother Philip's wife:
for he had married her.
18 For John had said unto Herod,
It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him,
and would have killed him;
but she could not:
20 For Herod feared John,
knowing that he was a just man and an holy,
and observed him;
and when he heard him,
he did many things,
and heard him gladly.
21 And when a convenient day was come,
that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords,
high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in,
and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him,
the king said unto the damsel,
Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt,
and I will give it thee.
23 And he sware unto her,
Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me,
I will give it thee,
unto the half of my kingdom.
24 And she went forth,
and said unto her mother,
What shall I ask?
And she said,
The head of John the Baptist.
25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king,
and asked, saying,
I will that thou give me by and by in a charger
the head of John the Baptist.
26 And the king was exceeding sorry;
yet for his oath's sake,
and for their sakes which sat with him,
he would not reject her.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner,
and commanded his head to be brought:
and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 And brought his head in a charger,
and gave it to the damsel:
and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29 And when his disciples heard of it,
they came and took up his corpse,
and laid it in a tomb.
How did the LORD react, upon hearing of John's death?
Matthew 14:12-14
King James Version
12 And his disciples came,
and took up the body,
and buried it,
and went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard of it,
he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart:
and when the people had heard thereof,
they followed him on foot out of the cities.
14 And Jesus went forth,
and saw a great multitude,
and was moved with compassion toward them,
and he healed their sick.
Despite the LORD's grief, He had to continue ministering to others, for people kept seeking Him out.
We can only honor John the Baptist's dedication to JESUS, in these posts:
We mentioned earlier that JESUS spoke of John, as prophet Elijah.
Let's learn more about that here.
Image: Free Bible Images
