John’s father was a priest named Zechariah. He prayed to God for his wife Elizabeth because they didn’t have children. God granted his request for a son and sent an angel to tell him the good news. Zechariah was in the temple, the holy house, in Jerusalem to burn incense. Suddenly an angel from God appeared to him. The angel said that his prayers had been heard and that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a son who would be a joy and delight to him. His son must not take wine or strong drink. He would be great in the sight of the Lord. They were to name him John.

Zechariah and Elizabeth thought the opportunity for children had finished because they were elderly. Zechariah didn’t believe what the angel said to him. So the angel said he would be unable to speak until it happened. Zechariah couldn’t speak after that and so he had to use sign language.

Later on Elizabeth became pregnant and gave birth to their son. When the family gathered, in order to give him a name, Zechariah wrote on a writing tablet – ‘His name is John’. God restored his ability to speak and he began praising God immediately. Zechariah spoke while all the family were listening, and he said to the child – ‘You will be called a prophet of God and you will prepare people for the Lord’s coming. God will bring salvation to the people and their sins will be forgiven. God ‘s light will shine in their lives and bring them peace.’

John became a young man and became strong in his spirit. He lived in the desert until he began to preach. His clothes were made of hair from camels and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. John preached in the wilderness area, the desert of Judea, and his message was helping people to come close to God. People came from Jerusalem and all over the surrounding countryside to listen to him. He told them that the kingdom of heaven was near to them.  He called them to repent of their evil and to choose to live differently.  John helped them to go down into the waters of the River Jordan as they called on God to wash away their sins.

John preached powerfully. This worried the religious authorities. They sent a team of experts in order to examine him and they demanded answers. In reply, John quoted from the prophet Isaiah. John said about himself that he was just a voice crying out in the desert – “You must get ready for the coming of the Lord.  You must turn away from evil and show love to one another, and then it will be easy for God to come to you.”

John also said to them, “Among you stands someone you do not know. He is the one who comes after me. He has more power than me.  I don’t think that I even deserve to be a slave for him and remove the sandals which he is wearing!’

The very next day John saw Jesus. Jesus was walking towards him and John said ‘Here he is! – the Lamb of God, who removes the sin of the world’. Then he added: ‘This is the person I was talking about when I said, ‘I am here to introduce someone. He has a higher status than me. He is much more important because he existed before me.’’

John told the people what he saw when Jesus went into the River Jordan. As Jesus prayed the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. John confirmed that he had seen this. God told him previously that there was someone coming, and that John must watch out for him. God told John that he would see the Holy Spirit come down on this person and remain on him. ‘I have seen’ said John, ‘and I testify that this is God’s Chosen Messiah.’

There were crowds who were listening to Jesus and the crowds were increasing. However, the crowds who were listening to John were becoming smaller. The people who were following John were disappointed because of this, but John said he was pleased! He explained it like this:

‘A man can only receive what God gives him. I told you that I wasn’t the Messiah, but that I am the person who was sent ahead of him.  I’m like the best man at the wedding who rejoices with the bridegroom, but the bride belongs to the bridegroom.   I have such joy about this, and now it’s completed.’

Material sourced from Isaiah 40, Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 1-3 and John 1-3

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Photo of River Jordan: CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=672809, on Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Garden Locust by Charlesjsharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59068817, on Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Dove by Schwarzenarzisse from Pixabay