A. The Baptist

John the Baptist’s place in history

Bible readers are often not sure what to do with John the Baptist. In terms of simple volume he is one of the most important characters in the New Covenant scriptures but is he New Covenant or is he Old Covenant?

The four accounts of the gospel all give much space to John the Baptist and yet his ministry probably lasted for less than two years. During that time he was a like a meteor flashing across the sky and then gone almost as soon as he appeared. His influence clearly continued into the early years of the Christian era. He was the starting point for Peter’s message in the home of Cornelius:

The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: (Acts 10:36–37 NKJV)

When Paul preached in Antioch in Pisidia Paul addressing the synagogue. He gave a summary of the history of the Jewish nation under God beginning with Moses and the Sinai Covenant and ending with John the Baptist.

…God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus— after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. (Acts 13:23–24 NKJV)

When we are introduced to Apollos, we find John the Baptist in the account again.

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:24–25 NKJV)

When Paul arrived in Ephesus some time later, he encountered this group of ‘disciples’ whose experience was clearly deficient in some way. In Chapter 19 the scriptures go on to describe the event that is the final reference to John the Baptist in the scriptures. The incident is interesting. It probably took place more than 20 years after Pentecost and yet there were still ‘disciples’ who associated their personal crisis of faith with the ministry and teaching of John the Baptist. On hearing their personal history Paul discerns that what is missing is a conscious receiving of the Holy Spirit. In their theology, these Ephesian disciples were stuck in a pre-Pentecost experience. Paul sums up the moment succinctly.

Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” (Acts 19:4 NKJV)

These men were ‘disciples’, a term that is usually used only of Christian disciples at this stage, but their experience was clearly incomplete. Paul identifies John the Baptist’s ministry as one of preparation and his practice of baptism was to prepare men and women for their encounter with Jesus, the King of the Kingdom. It is an interesting distinction. These people had believed the Baptist’s teaching but they had never put their trust in the person of Christ.  They have heard truth, they have responded to that truth, they have repented and under John the Baptist’s ministry they had believed in the coming King, but they had not yet believed on Him who would come after John the Baptist. They had lived on, in hope, but they had not tasted the reality of their theology: they could have signed the doctrinal statement but they were still outside the Kingdom. I cannot help but wonder how many today find themselves in a similar position.

The successful athlete

This brings us to two of Christ’s remarkable sayings and one of Paul’s.

You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  (John 5:33–35 NKJV)

“…For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28 NKJV)

These sayings are important in understanding John’s role. His ministry was only ever ‘for a time’: it was necessarily temporary. And his ministry was never intended to be more than an introduction to the coming Messiah: it was necessarily preparatory.

Paul’s testimony to John

God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus— after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’ (Acts 13:23–25 NKJV)

The word ‘course’ is dromos. It’s the word we still hear in hippodrome:It’s the word for a race circuit. It’s a word that was frequently in Paul’s mind. (Acts 13:25; 20:24; 2 Tim 4:7) Paul certainly did not regard John the Baptist as a failure but rather as an athlete who had finished his circuit of the relay.

John the Baptist’s ministry was like a shooting star that lit up the sky for a very brief period and then it was gone. And Christ adds a startling statement:

…But he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Surely that must mean that the man who was the herald of the coming kingdom was never a member of it! If we are honest I suspect that this offends us. We see his faithfulness and his humility: he was the best man and not the bridegroom. He sealed his testimony with his blood. And yet we have here a stark statement that there are potentially two orders of men and women: those who are ‘in the kingdom’ and those who are ‘not in the kingdom’ and John is clearly defined as being one who was ‘not in the kingdom’. And yet he was the greatest of those ‘not in the kingdom’ or as Christ described them, those born of women.

Christ said these words to a group of people that included his own disciples. They too, at this stage of their pilgrimage, must be described as those born of women. John the Baptist had not been born from above and neither had his disciples. In their different ways, they were empowered by Christ, and they bore witness to the Christ, but they lacked what was not available to them in those days. John the Baptist was filled with Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb but he had not been born again, from above. They did not have Christ within. They were not yet in Christ. John and his disciples, and prior to Pentecost, Christ’s own disciples, did not have Christ within.

John the Baptist was the best of the Old Covenant. He is a thrilling man. He was the best, perhaps, that the Old Covenant ever produced. Filled with the Spirit, a bright and shining lamp. He was a Nazarite from his birth, totally at God’s disposal for the whole of his life. The greatest prophet ever, of those born of women. He was the shining example of all that the Old Covenant might have been. So what was lacking?

He answered the question himself:

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (Matt 3:13–14 KJV)

Or if we wish to see the emphatic biblical statements recorded by all three of the gospel narrators:

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matt 3:11 NKJV)

John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16 NKJV)

I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ (John 1:33 NKJV)

Simply stated, John was a water-baptist; Jesus was to be a Spirit-baptist. This is the great gulf between the two. John, the water-baptist finished his course but knew his work was incomplete and preparatory. Jesus, the Spirit-baptist continues his great mission. In John’s gospel account we have two crystal clear statements which set forth the characteristic nature of Christ’s ministry.

 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!  (John 1:29 ASV)

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.  (John 1:33 ASV)

A final note: In 1890 FB Meyer wrote “John the Baptist”.It is a feast. It is available as a free download for Kindle. FB Meyer was one of the great Bible teachers. He was the man mainly responsible for inviting DL Moody to Britain. His style is leisured and somewhat Victorian but there is gold in this book. Heartily recommended. You may even become a FB Meyer fan. In my personal, and frequently eccentric view he comes a close second to G. Campbell Morgan. If you don’t know his writings I heartily encourage you to give them a try.