John the Baptist was in his personality and in his ministry a pattern after the prophet Elijah: They used the same type of clothing (Mat 3:4, 2 Kings 1:8).
They were both familiar with living in the desert (Mat 3:1, Mark 1:4a, Luk 3:2b,
1 Kings 17:2–6). They both spoke to powerful people, to a king and his wife
(Mat 14:4, Mark 6:18, 1 Kings 19:1–2). They both fearlessly called Israel to repentance (Mat 3:2, 5–6, Mark 1:4b, Luk 3:3, 1 Kings 18:21).
Both had bouts of depression (Mat 11:2–6, Luk 7:18–23, 1 Kings 19:4).
Prophet Isaiah said about John:
"A voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and all the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough place shall become plains. Then the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God, because the Lord has spoken.'" (Isa 40:3–5 (LXX)).
John the Baptist would be the voice in the wilderness who would prepare the way
for Messiah (Mat 3:1–3, 11:7–10, Mark 1:2–3, Luk 3:4–6, 7:27, John 1:19, 23,
Mal 3:1a). Messiah would be God (Phil 2:5–8), see Jesus is God.
John was prophesied as the coming of Elijah, see it explained in The Book of Malachi.
John was a very humble person (John 3:26–30), see time 6:41–31:50
in John 3 (Part 3) :22-36 • He must increase and I must decrease.
John was to be called the prophet of the Most High; for he would go before
the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins (Luk 1:76–77, 3:2b, John 1:29, 34, 36).
John went out in the wilderness, to Bethany across the Jordan (John 1:28, 3:26, 10:40), to speak of their sins, confronting them about their sins (Mat 3:7–10,
Luk 3:7–9, 18). He told them how to live (Luk 3:10–14). He baptized them in water which was a baptism of repentance (Mat 3:4–6, 11a, Mark 1:4–6, Luk 3:3), see time 11:38–13:08 Acts 19 (Part 1) :1-7 • The Ministry of Apollos. This is a picture of how God forgives: Their sins were washed away in the water as dirt is washed away. John also baptized at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (John 3:23).
But the essence of John's message wasn't just to preach repentance, it was to preach that Messiah would come and that they must get ready for him.
They did so by admitting that they were sinners and needed to repent.
John pointed to Jesus as Christ who would fulfill all these promises of forgiveness from sin and make salvation a reality through his death on the cross (Mat 3:11b–12, Mark 1:7–8, Luk 3:15–17, John 1:24–31, 35–36).
He baptized Jesus even though Jesus was without sin (Mat 3:13–15), see it explained in Christian Water Baptism in The Book of Romans. When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove and came to rest upon him and remained upon him; and a voice came from heaven (from God the Father): "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." (Mat 3:16–17, Mark 1:9–11, Luk 3:21–22, John 1:32–34).
See The Trinity.
See the dove explained at time 28:47–31:50 in Mark 1:1-11 – Who Is Jesus?
God the Father said similar at the Mount of Transfiguration, see Listen to Jesus.
God the Father also said about the Son through Isaiah:
"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations." (Isa 42:1).
John had a twofold ministry:
- Speak to the people of their sins and need for repentance and forgiveness.
- Prepare them for Jesus as Christ who would make salvation a reality.
John was successful in his ministry: "All the people, even the tax collectors,
when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John." (Luk 7:29–30 (NIV)). See this explained at time 5:15–10:11 in
John 1 (Part 2) :6-18 • The Word Became flesh and Dwelt among Us.
See also Jesus Denouncement of the Jewish Religious Leaders.
This shows the power that repentance plays in our lives, see Salvation. We repent when we are saved, but it's also a work in progress that continues to keep our hearts soft and pliable in the hand of our God, see Sanctification.
See also Some stories in the gospels at the bottom of The Four Gospels.
