William A. Simmons asserted that “apart from Jesus Christ, John the Baptist is probably the most theologically significant figure in the Gospels.” There are several reasons to agree with Simmons relating to family, prophecy, activity, and humility.
The Family Connection
John was Jesus’ cousin, and his conception and birth were important enough to be described in detail. John was the older cousin, born to Elizabeth, who, like Sarah and Rebecca, was beyond childbearing age. Conceiving John was miraculous, and his life was important in the gospel story.
We have no idea from the gospels how much time they spent together while growing up if any. Mary went to visit her cousin for a period of months during her pregnancy, indicating that the two were separated by some distance (Luke 1:39-40).
The cousins certainly recognized each other in utero, for “when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (v.41).
In spite of being just months apart in age and in spite of their family connection, the lives of these men were totally different. Jesus lived in community and learned a trade.
We do not know exactly how old John was when he departed for a life in the wilderness, but “the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel” (Luke 1:80).
John was very young when he left community for what Simmons calls an “ascetic” lifestyle, meaning there was nothing frivolous about his life — no soft edges.
No wonder this young man, when he emerged from the wilderness, cut straight to the chase when dealing with people and did not possess the same warm personality for which Jesus is well known. Unlike the Messiah, “he expected people to come to him, rather than he going to them” (Ibid.).
Why do these details matter to our understanding of Jesus? For one thing, they offer a contrast. Jesus’ character manages to be all things — straightforward about God yet also loving and tender.
Jesus was direct, firm, and even scathing when it came to hypocrisy. His parables gave nuanced, puzzling answers to the questions and challenges from the religious leaders. Meanwhile, John was a one-track record with no filter.
Though not sinless because no person is without sin, John lived a life of integrity and purpose. Yet, we hold Jesus up against John and say that Jesus is a better version of even this good man, one of the best men according to the Bible record.
If John is not good enough to enter the gates of heaven based on his own merits, then no one is; no good man is good enough, except Jesus, who said, “You call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).
Not even the zealous cousin of Jesus who baptized him, related by blood and both so clearly brothers under one Father.
John and Prophecy
The people might have recognized that John was a prophet from what he said or from his wildness and asceticism. “Indeed, John’s desert-dwelling, coarse clothes, and harsh diet of eating locusts were, at least in part, what signaled to the people that he was a prophet!” declared Matt Slick.
He would have also been recognized by his confident exclamation of God’s Word, combined with the purifying act of baptism, so much like the Jewish purification ritual.
John had not emerged from the wilderness with a crazy new concept; he adapted an old ritual to the purpose of calling all people to repentance.
Robert R. Cargill explained that “long before Christianity developed the idea of baptism, Jews had been practicing ritual immersion in the form of entering into a mikveh, immersing ones selves and then emerging from that purified.”
His job was very specific: urge people to be cleansed of the dirtiness inside, not the dust on their feet. They needed to prepare for their Messiah’s arrival.
Faithful Jews who had studied Scripture would have remembered the words of Isaiah, 40:3 of which Matthew’s gospel speaks, “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight”’” (Matthew 3:3).
However, even non-Jews knew that John was different. Something special was happening here.
John was a devout Jew who had separated himself from the world in order to know only God and to prepare himself for this time when he would do something perplexing: baptize the Messiah himself.
After this point, Jesus would begin his ministry. John realized his privilege even though he felt the roles should have been reversed. He argued, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
John recognized Jesus instantly as the Messiah they had waited for, even though they had not lived their lives together. Had he even seen his cousin during those many years?
He was instantly confident that Jesus was the one whom Scripture had foretold would come and rescue his people; he knew right away, without doubt, that Jesus did not need to be purified.
“John would have prevented him, saying ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’” (Matthew 3:14) He declared that “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” meaning Jesus (v.2). John fulfilled prophecy, ending 400 years of silence from the Father.
What John Did
John ushered in this Kingdom with an act, which foreshadows resurrection life, available to anyone who confesses, repents, and calls on the name of Jesus for salvation and transformation.
A reasonable claim against the church today is that Christians are frequently guilty of misconduct and even jailed for crimes; they commit sins in front of the world, sometimes immediately after decrying others for their sinfulness.
Temptation so often leads ordinary human beings, even faithful believers, to sin. This is why John did something radical — he completely cut himself off from society and the temptations lurking there all the time.
“John’s wilderness life, including his pattern of eating what he could find in the desert rather than what he could farm or fetch in the town market, was a picture of repentance, a literal separation from the defiled generation of his day,” explains Matt Slick.
Slick called it “an outward picture of the inner reality to which John called his people; a living parable of repentance and faith.” This is why John was so scathing of the religious leaders: he knew they only wanted to rinse off their soiled feet, not cleanse their unrighteous souls.
But John the Baptist also called everyone to repent, and not everyone who heard him in the wilderness was a Jew. John did not discriminate.
Repentance and Preparation
Simmons identifies John as “an end-times prophet” who “demanded immediate action. He taught that judgment is at hand.”
When modern Christians read, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2), they recognize that John is also saying, “the end is near; God will deliver judgment soon.”
Daniel 2:44 looks forward to this time: “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.”
John’s assertions about Jesus are compelling and ring true. After all, other biblical families were often divided by envy. Joseph’s brothers envied him because of his status with their father. Think of Miriam challenging Moses, her brother.
One writer recalls that “Miriam’s leprosy convicted Aaron of the foolish words they had spoken against God’s chosen servant; it should also remind us not to judge those around us or live in jealousy when God has given a specific call to someone else.”
John could have been jealous of his cousin, but he was devoted to preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah, to come and urge sinners his listeners to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
John happily retreated into the shadows as soon as he had done what God had sent him to do. “He was the greatest born among women because he had the privilege of pointing to the Lamb of God” (Ibid.). While he did not seem to have sinned, even John took a lowly posture before his cousin.
Out of the Wilderness, into the Wilderness
How fitting that John would exit the wilderness before Jesus would enter it. John escaped temptation in the wilderness; Jesus entered the wilderness in order to face down the devil and to defeat temptation.
Each man relied on Scripture, John to justify his declaration, and Jesus to defend himself against Satan.
Ultimately, Jesus did the work, but we still remember John’s bravery and single-minded devotion to the Lord even before the cross and the resurrection.
We have the benefit of knowing the whole story, unlike John, whose faith is a remarkable testimony to the veracity of this claim: Jesus is Lord.
For further reading:
What Is the Significance of Jesus’ Baptism?
What Does Jesus’ Baptism Tell Us about Our Baptism?
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