John The Baptist - Research Paper Example

?Henry Nabea # Religion and Theology 12th Nov. John the Baptist According to the Christian traditions, John the Baptist is the last prophet, prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. The main purpose of John’s Gospel was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ; he was the precursor of Jesus Christ; Christians believe that John the Baptist was the greatest last prophet before the birth of Jesus Christ. His father was Zechariah while his mother was Elizabeth. The life of John the Baptist is surrounded by mysteries right from his birth up to the time of his death through the beheading. This paper looks at the life of John the Baptist in general; the paper explores the life of John the Baptist from his birth up to the time of his death. John Baptist’s Parents John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah and his mother was Elizabeth. Zechariah was from the priestly family of Abijah. Both Zechariah and his wife were righteous people before the lord and they blamelessly obeyed all the commands of the lord (John the Baptist, online). Zechariah and Elizabeth, however, were very old and Elizabeth was barren. The couple had lost hope of ever having a child of their own. The lord however performed a miracle for them and this led to the birth of John the Baptist. John Baptist’s Birth and Childhood John the Baptist was born in the late first century, at around 5 B.C., during the reign of king Herod of Judea. The history of the birth and childhood of John the Baptist can be obtained from the four Gospels in the Bible and also from the writings of the Roman historian Josephus (The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist, online). John the Baptist is believed to have been born in Judea, near Jerusalem. Both John’s father and mother were of Aaron descent and John, therefore, was of Aaron descent from both his father and mother. Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist was sister to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The Gospel recounts that when Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John the Baptist, Mary mother of Jesus visited her and John the Baptist leapt in the womb of her mother for joy when Mary greeted Elizabeth. Zechariah’s vision and the subsequent conception and birth of John the Baptist According to the account of the birth of John the Baptist by Luke the evangelist, the birth of John the Baptist was prophesied to Zechariah, John’s father, by the angel Gabriel. This happened when Zechariah was performing his priestly duties in the temple of Jerusalem; Zachariah was burning incense in the temple when angle Gabriel appeared to him. When Zechariah first saw the angel he was startled, but the angel told him not to be afraid for the lord had heard his prayers. The angel of the lord then told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, and the angel told him that he should call the child John. The angel of the lord then told Zechariah that the child to be born would be a great joy to his parents and many people would rejoice because of his birth. The angel of the lord told Zechariah that the child to be born would be great in the eyes of the lord. Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that the child to be born would never drink wine or any other fermented drink, angel Gabriel told him that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth; Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that John the Baptist would bring many people of Israel back to God. The angel of the Lord also said that John the Baptist would have the spirit and the zeal of Prophet Elijah; through this spirit and zeal of Prophet Elijah he would bring many people to righteousness. But Zechariah doubted the words of the angel of the Lord and wondered how the words of the angel would come true for he was very old and his wife Elizabeth too was very old and barren. But angel Gabriel assured him that he was sent by God and that his words will come true. And for failing to believe in the words of angel Gabriel, the angel told Zechariah that he would be silent from that moment till when the child John the Baptist would be born. And indeed this is what happened, from that moment on Zechariah became dumb and regained his ability to talk only after the birth of John the Baptist. All the other prophecies of the angel of the Lord came true as we shall see later in this paper. John Baptist’s lifestyle and personality John the Baptist is one of the outstanding characters in the New-Testament. John the Baptist lived an extremely austere lifestyle. His clothing was comprised of wild-looking attire made of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist (John the Baptist in the New Testament, online). He lived in the desert and his food was locust and wild honey. John’s life was dedicated completely to preaching the good news and he preached with great passion and zeal. His message was centred on repentance, he called on the people to repent and turn to the Lord. Unlike many people of his time, John the Baptist clearly new his mission in life. He understood that he had been set apart by the Lord to preach and to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. John Baptist’s life was a message in itself; he lived a very simple life in which he was detached from the daily hustles of life that destructs many people from seeking the Lord with all their being. John the Baptist lived a very holy life and he was dedicated completely to his work and to God. This austere and genuine lifestyle made many people to believe in his message and to turn to the lord. John Baptists Mission and Accomplishments John the Baptist was a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ. As such his mission was geared towards preparing the way for Jesus Christ by calling upon the people to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist as a prophet foretold about the future especially the works of the messiah for whom he was preparing the way. One of the outstanding achievements of John the Baptist was the baptism of Jesus Christ at river Jordan. It was at this instance, immediately after the baptism of Jesus Christ that God declared Jesus Christ to be his beloved son and called upon the witnesses to listen to him, LK. 3:21-23.This was a very important confirmation for it made people to believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God. The confirmation also added credence to the work of John the Baptist as a prophet and a messenger of God. Prior to Jesus’ baptism, when Jesus had presented himself for baptism by John the Baptist, John had hesitated to baptise him saying that he wasn’t worthy even to untie the laces of Jesus’ shoes. But Jesus Christ prevailed upon John to baptise him saying that the baptism was necessary for the fulfilment of all righteousness. The confirmation by God therefore that Jesus Christ was indeed his son made the people to believe in John’s claim that Jesus Christ was superior to him and that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. The second major accomplishment of John the Baptist was the fearless and the relentless call upon the people of his time to repent and change their sinful ways in preparation for the coming of the messiah. Those who accepted John’s call for repentance were baptised by him. This baptism, however, was only preparatory as John himself taught; John taught that he baptised with water but when the Messiah comes, he would baptise with water and the Holy Spirit. Jesus baptism therefore ushered in the age of Messiah and immediately after his baptism Jesus withdrew into desert where he was tempted by the devil. John the Baptism preaching in the desert involved criticising the evils of his time, especially the evils made by those in authority. This made John the Baptist to face a lot of hatred from those in authority and eventually he was beheading for criticising Herod of Antipas of adultery. But despite the severe criticisms that he faced from those he criticized, John the Baptist continued with the zeal and courage of Prophet Elijah to preach against all forms of evils of his time. There are actually many similarities between Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist, and John the Baptist is actually viewed as the fulfilment of the prophecy in the Old Testament of prophet Elijah coming back to life; John the Baptist is viewed as the reincarnation of Prophet Elijah. Death of John the Baptist John’s death resulted from his stringent criticism of Herod of Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee, and his wife Herodias for their adulterous and incestuous relationship. Herodias was also the wire of Herod’s half brother Philip. Following this criticism, Herod had John the Baptist arrested and imprisoned. Later, Herod Antipas was greatly impressed by Salome, the daughter of Herodias, dance performance and he offered to grant her any wish that she would make. Asked what she would like to be given for an outstanding performance, Salome said, at the instigation of her mother, that she would like to be given the head of John the Baptist on a plate. Since Herod Antipas had promised to grant Salome any wish that she would make, king Herod fulfilled Salome’s wish and John the Baptist was beheaded and Salome was given John the Baptist’s head has she had wished. That’s therefore marked the end of John the Baptist’s life and mission. Works Cited John the Baptist Biography. Web John the Baptist in the New Testament. Web. The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist. Web. Read More