“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.”
People who believe in Christ and have given their lives over to him know they have divine purposes in life. Would you want to know the specifics, as John the Baptist knew? He was born to announce the coming of the Messiah. Can you imagine such a mission? In Mark 1 we read:
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (1-11)
John, a distant cousin of Jesus, had the honor of being his forerunner, the one who prepared the way. Read more about John’s mission. His birth also was foretold.
But John was beheaded for the faith. King Herod jailed him because he dared show “intolerance” toward the king. John informed him that it was unlawful to be married to his own brother’s wife. The king’s wife wanted John killed, but the king refused. He knew John was a righteous man and feared him. But…
On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:21-29)
The head of John the Baptist ended up on a platter. But no worries! He’s in heaven right now with his Lord and Savior.
So what prompted me to blog about John the Baptist? Last night, I heard on the radio about the possible discovery of a cave where John baptized his followers.
I found a link to the article: Israel Cave Linked to John the Baptist:
Archaeologists think they’ve found a cave where John the Baptist baptized many of his followers — basing their theory on thousands of shards from ritual jugs, a stone used for foot cleansing and wall carvings telling the story of the biblical preacher.Only a few artifacts linked to New Testament figures have ever been found in the Holy Land, and the cave is potentially a major discovery in biblical archaeology. “John the Baptist, who was just a figure from the Gospels, now comes to life,” British archaeologist Shimon Gibson said during an exclusive tour of the cave given to The Associated Press….
John, a distant relative of Jesus — their mothers were kin, according to the Bible — was a fiery preacher with a message of repentance and a considerable following. Tradition says he was born in the village of Ein Kerem, which today is part of modern Jerusalem. Just 2.5 miles away, on the land of Kibbutz Tzuba, a communal farm, the cave lies hidden in a limestone hill — 24 yards long, four yards deep and four yards wide.
Interesting stuff. More on biblical archaeology later.
(Hat tip: ChristWeb.)
