John the Baptist Biography by John Butler
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JOHN THE BAPTIST The Herald of Christ Bible Biography Series Number Seven John G. Butler Contents Preface 4 I. Background 4 A. THE POLITICAL CONDITIONS 5 B. THE PARENTAL CONDITIONS 6 C. THE PRIESTLY CONDITIONS 8 II. Biography 11 A. THE MOMENT OF THE REVELATION 12 B. THE MESSAGE OF THE REVELATION 13 C. THE MISTRUST OF THE REVELATION 20 III. Birth 24 A. THE DELIVERING OF THE CHILD 25 B. THE DISPUTE ABOUT THE CHILD 27 C. THE DECLARATION ABOUT THE CHILD 29 D. THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE CHILD 31 E. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD 33 IV. Beginnings 35 A. THE MANDATE ACTIVATING THE MINISTRY 36 B. THE MAN ASSIGNED THE MINISTRY 40 C. THE MESSAGE ACCOMPANYING THE MINISTRY 43 D. THE MULTITUDES ATTENDING THE MINISTRY 46 V. Baptizing 47 A. THE BAPTIZING OF THE CROWD 48 B. THE BAPTIZING OF THE CHRIST 56 VI. Behold 62 A. THE WITNESS OF CHRIST 63 B. THE WORK OF CHRIST 65 2. His Work and the Judgment of God 67 C. THE WORSHIP OF CHRIST 71 VII. Believers 74 A. THE LOWLINESS OF HIS FOLLOWERS 74 B. THE LEARNING OF HIS FOLLOWERS 78 VIII. Belligerents 81 A. THE INDICTMENT OF THE BELLIGERENTS 82 B. THE INTERROGATION BY THE BELLIGERENTS 84 C. THE INDECISION IN THE BELLIGERENTS 91 IX. Bound 94 A. THE DETAINING OF JOHN 94 B. THE DOUBTING BY JOHN 99 X. Beheaded 106 A. THE PROVOKER OF THE BEHEADING 106 B. THE PARTICULARS OF THE BEHEADING 113 C. THE POSTLUDE OF THE BEHEADING 118 XI. Bouquets 120 A. THE CONTRASTS IN JOHN 120 B. THE CONSECRATION OF JOHN 126 C. THE CONFIRMATION OF JOHN 129 D. THE CONFUSION ABOUT JOHN 131 Quotation Sources 133 JOHN THE BAPTIST Book Outline 134 PREFACE John the Baptist as the herald of Jesus Christ was the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments. Like Samuel of old, John closed out one era and ushered in another era. As Samuel concluded the time of the judges in Israel and ushered in the times of the kings, so John the Baptist closed out the law and Moses and ushered in grace and Jesus Christ (Luke 16:16). It takes a man of tremendous character to be faithful in a transitional ministry. Such a ministry is extremely difficult. Popularity will rise and fall in a moment’s notice. People will not understand nor appreciate this type of ministry well, and the one ministering will have to really know his calling well for he acts without precedence, without the example of past ministries. This book will demonstrate that John the Baptist had the great character necessary to serve in a transitional ministry. No human, in fact, served better, more faithfully, and lived more uprightly than John. The outstanding salient features of John the Baptist which this book focuses upon include such things as his miracle birth, his disciplined and self-denial living, his challenging preaching to the multitudes, his practice of baptism from which he got his name, his great delight in and devotion to Jesus Christ, and his stand against divorce and remarriage—a stand few take today—which cost him his head. John so excelled in his service and godly living that when reading in the Scripture of John the Baptist’s great performance, we are reminded of a statement in Hebrews concerning the great men of faith which says of them, “Of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). Surely the world was not worthy of a ministry like John the Baptist, and it will ever be to their condemnation that they did not respond better to it. I. BACKGROUND Luke 1:5–7 The appearance of John the Baptist on the world scene was a very significant event. It signaled a monumental change in things. “The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached” (Luke 16:16). John’s coming heralded a new day. Shadow would become substance; prophecy would become fulfillment; the focus would shift from Sinai to Calvary; the Gospel, salvation, and the church would come front and center; and the Gentiles would be included in the family of God. All of this was wrapped up in Jesus Christ, the One Whom John came into the world to herald. The world into which John came certainly needed his ministry. He came into a hostile, godless world. “Darkness” (Luke 1:79) is the one-word description of the times given by Scripture, and it is a most accurate and adequate one-word description. The righteous were few and far between. The wicked were in power, and wickedness dominated the deeds of man. To begin our study of John the Baptist, we will examine in more detail the conditions of the world into which John was ushered. We will note the political conditions, the parental conditions, and the priestly conditions. This will give us a look at the nation, home, and religion that encompassed John at his coming and will thus give us a good picture of just what sort of world John entered. A. THE POLITICAL CONDITIONS “In the days of Herod, the king of Judea” (v. 5) succinctly describe the terribly dark political situation in Israel when John was born. Herod (distinguished from the other Herods of history as Herod “the Great”) ruled over all the land of Palestine. Though called the “king of Judea,” Herod’s rule covered more than the province of Judea. It also took in Galilee, Samaria, and considerable territory east of the Jordan River. Thus as king he ruled over all the land of Israel. Better we should say, as king he oppressed all the land of Israel. Herod was not a true king of Israel, however. He was not a Jew nor a descendant of David. He was, in fact, an Idumean, an Edomite, which means he was a descendant of Esau. How repugnant this would be to the Jewish mind to have an Edomite, of all things, to sit on the throne of the Jewish nation. What a sad state of affairs this indicated for the Jewish people. Few things would so disgrace the nation of Israel as to be ruled by an Edomite. It was all contrary to the Word of God; it was a reverse of the plan of God. Jacob should rule, not Esau. But Israel had forsaken God, and this was part of their judgment. Great sin brings great judgment. And great judgment it was to have an Edomite ruling them. Since Herod was not of the line of David nor even a Jew, he did not gain his kingly throne by rightful heritage but had to gain the throne by other means. The means he used was to court the favor of Rome, which was the power of the nations then. Through bribery, fast talking, corrupt politics, and constant scheming, Herod was able to maintain favor with Rome for many years. The prestigious and coveted title “king of Judea” was bestowed upon him by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Anthony and Octavious about thirty- five years before the birth of John the Baptist. Not all those who ruled for Rome were given the title of king. It had to be gained by political maneuvering. As G. Campbell Morgan rightly says, “The title was the result of his sycophancy with the Roman empire.” But though Herod was called a king, he was still a vassal of Rome. Herod was a moral cesspool (he had ten wives), and he was terribly brutal and bloody. He did not hesitate to kill whenever it served his purpose. He killed his competitors. He killed his enemies. He killed a number of wealthy Jews and confiscated their wealth for his own coffers. He even executed a number of the members of his own family. One of his wives, some sons, and other relatives were executed when he felt they were in the way and threatened his rule. Through stabbing, forced drowning, strangulation, poisoning, and other violent means, he executed people. His most famous brutal act is recorded in Scripture. This act was his ordering the killing of all the children two years and under in Bethlehem after the wise men had visited the Christ Child (Matthew 2:16–18). With such a history of bloody behavior, it certainly is no wonder that one of his sons, Herod Antipas, ordered the beheading of John the Baptist some years later. But as terrible and treacherous as the days were, it was still “in the days of Herod” that God brought John the Baptist—and also Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:1)—into the world. We must ever remember this fact, for it is a great encouragement to our faith. God delights to show His power in the most difficult of situations, and so we should not be surprised when in the darkest of times God does a great work. God is not limited by the circumstances, by dark times, by great difficulties. We often forget that truth and have a habit of adopting in our mind a theology which limits God to circumstances. When the Herods are in power, we conclude God is shackled. But how foolish and faithless. God is greater than any circumstance, any difficulty, any Herod. And He delights to do great works when the conditions are the worst so that His power will better be seen and honored. How encouraging this should be to His people. When we are in an “in the days of Herod” situation, we need not give up, cease to expect God’s help, and deny our faith.