John the Baptist

John the Baptist John the Baptist was a fearless preacher who followed the example of a prophet named Elijah from over 800 years earlier. Here is what the Gospel of Matthew says about John: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 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.’” Now John wore a garment of camel&hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:1-5) John helped create a spiritual fervor among many people in Judea. He rejected the corrupt priesthood in Jerusalem and sought the Judean Wilderness instead. His ministry was located in the Jordan River Valley, about a day’s walk from Jerusalem. The presence of John the Baptist in the Judean Wilderness was seen by many as the fulfillment of prophecies made by Isaiah and Malachi. Hundreds of years earlier, these two prophets predicted a man would prepare the way in the desert for the coming of the Messiah. Baptism was a form of ritual cleansing. As John the Baptist’s name would suggest, that’s just what he did. He baptized his disciples in the Jordan River as a sign of their repentance before God.