Jesus and John the Baptist
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Chapter Ten
Just as the Israelites were to follow Moses all the way to the Promised Land, John the Baptist was to “make a people prepared for the Lord.” This was the foundation of substance centering on John. This was to be accomplished through the condition of baptism.
There is no question that John amassed a large following. According to some historical records, John baptized hundreds of thousands of people.
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Matthew 3:5
This is why Jesus waited until the age of 30 to reveal himself as messiah. Jesus was waiting for the providential foundation for the messiah to be accomplished by John. John’s baptizing Jesus is reminiscent of Jacob’s course at the ford of Jabbok where he received the angel’s blessing.
Observing the sign of the dove, the spirit coming down and remaining on Jesus, John gives his most resounding endorsement of Jesus with the words, “behold the lamb of God!” This was a key moment in God’s dispensation to bring the messiah. This was the moment for John and all his foundation to move with Jesus just as the Israelites had moved with the Tabernacle whenever the cloud appeared overhead.
Yet, strangely, we see that Jesus and John separate. Jesus heads into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan and John continues to baptize.
Even before this moment, inconsistencies with the initial preparation that took place in John’s family were beginning to manifest. They begin to reveal themselves as John begins his mission “to make a people prepared for the Lord.” Remember, for all intents and purposes, John should know that he is Elijah and that Jesus is the messiah. That is, if his parents and kinsmen had been preparing him properly.
John 1:19-23
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
This is a very disturbing response because there will be no other Elijah that is going to arrive except the one who “was born in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Why did John answer incorrectly? We will never know for sure, but the direct result of his failure to clearly explain that he was the expected Elijah is that the people will continue to wait for Elijah’s arrival and, therefore, will be faced with an apparent contradiction whenever Jesus is proclaimed as messiah. If the orthodox teaching is that the messiah will only come after Elijah appears, then how can Jesus be recognized as the messiah as long as John denies he is the Elijah who is to appear?
Matthew 17:10-11:
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.”
You can detect a bit of frustration in their question to Jesus. Obviously they have been trying their best to represent Jesus, the messiah. No doubt, day in and day out, they have had to field the question, “If your Jesus is the messiah, then where is Elijah? Did we miss something?”
Jesus continues to explain to them and provides the answer to their question:
“But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Remember Malachi’s warning that God would “strike the land with a curse” if Elijah were not heeded. Jesus indicates that the people did not recognize that John was Elijah and as a result Jesus himself was going to suffer at their hands. Would not John, in denying he was the Elijah, bear the brunt of the responsibility for that circumstance?
This is the bigger problem created when John denied that he was the Elijah. We must consider that if John, in fact, is unaware that he is the Elijah, then John too may begin to struggle with Jesus as messiah for the very same reasons all of Israel struggles: How could Jesus be the messiah if Elijah had not come?
There is no question that John amassed a large following. According to some historical records, John baptized hundreds of thousands of people.
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Matthew 3:5
This is why Jesus waited until the age of 30 to reveal himself as messiah. Jesus was waiting for the providential foundation for the messiah to be accomplished by John. John’s baptizing Jesus is reminiscent of Jacob’s course at the ford of Jabbok where he received the angel’s blessing.
Observing the sign of the dove, the spirit coming down and remaining on Jesus, John gives his most resounding endorsement of Jesus with the words, “behold the lamb of God!” This was a key moment in God’s dispensation to bring the messiah. This was the moment for John and all his foundation to move with Jesus just as the Israelites had moved with the Tabernacle whenever the cloud appeared overhead.
Yet, strangely, we see that Jesus and John separate. Jesus heads into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan and John continues to baptize.
Even before this moment, inconsistencies with the initial preparation that took place in John’s family were beginning to manifest. They begin to reveal themselves as John begins his mission “to make a people prepared for the Lord.” Remember, for all intents and purposes, John should know that he is Elijah and that Jesus is the messiah. That is, if his parents and kinsmen had been preparing him properly.
John 1:19-23
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
This is a very disturbing response because there will be no other Elijah that is going to arrive except the one who “was born in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Why did John answer incorrectly? We will never know for sure, but the direct result of his failure to clearly explain that he was the expected Elijah is that the people will continue to wait for Elijah’s arrival and, therefore, will be faced with an apparent contradiction whenever Jesus is proclaimed as messiah. If the orthodox teaching is that the messiah will only come after Elijah appears, then how can Jesus be recognized as the messiah as long as John denies he is the Elijah who is to appear?
Matthew 17:10-11:
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.”
You can detect a bit of frustration in their question to Jesus. Obviously they have been trying their best to represent Jesus, the messiah. No doubt, day in and day out, they have had to field the question, “If your Jesus is the messiah, then where is Elijah? Did we miss something?”
Jesus continues to explain to them and provides the answer to their question:
“But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Remember Malachi’s warning that God would “strike the land with a curse” if Elijah were not heeded. Jesus indicates that the people did not recognize that John was Elijah and as a result Jesus himself was going to suffer at their hands. Would not John, in denying he was the Elijah, bear the brunt of the responsibility for that circumstance?
This is the bigger problem created when John denied that he was the Elijah. We must consider that if John, in fact, is unaware that he is the Elijah, then John too may begin to struggle with Jesus as messiah for the very same reasons all of Israel struggles: How could Jesus be the messiah if Elijah had not come?
