Reference: John the Baptist
Easton
the "forerunner of our Lord." We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1Ch 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron (Lu 1:5). The mission of John was the subject of prophecy (Mt 3:3; Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1). His birth, which took place six months before that of Jesus, was foretold by an angel. Zacharias, deprived of the power of speech as a token of God's truth and a reproof of his own incredulity with reference to the birth of his son, had the power of speech restored to him on the occasion of his circumcision (Lu 1:64). After this no more is recorded of him for thirty years than what is mentioned in Lu 1:80. John was a Nazarite from his birth (Lu 1:15; Nu 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Mt 3:1-12).
At length he came forth into public life, and great multitudes from "every quarter" were attracted to him. The sum of his preaching was the necessity of repentance. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them of the folly of trusting to external privileges (Lu 3:8). "As a preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and covetousness were the prevalent sins of the people at large. On them, therefore, he enjoined charity and consideration for others. The publicans he cautioned against extortion, the soldiers against crime and plunder." His doctrine and manner of life roused the entire south of Palestine, and the people from all parts flocked to the place where he was, on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in Nazareth (Mt 3:5), and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John, on the special ground that it became him to "fulfil all righteousness" (Mt 3:15). John's special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his disciples, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip (Lu 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus (q.v.), a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Mt 14:3-12). John's death occurred apparently just before the third Passover of our Lord's ministry. Our Lord himself testified regarding him that he was a "burning and a shining light" (Joh 5:35).
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In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea, "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near." read more. (This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.')
(This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.') This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey. read more. Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him
Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. read more. But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? Now, produce fruit that answers to your repentance, instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand, he will clean out his threshing-floor, his wheat he will gather into the granary, but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable."
But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.
For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip, since John had told him, "You have no right to her." read more. He was anxious to kill him but he was afraid of the people, for they held John to be a prophet. However, on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced in public to the delight of Herod; whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she wanted. And she, at the instigation of her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head this moment on a dish." The king was sorry, but for the sake of his oath and his guests he ordered it to be given her; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, his head was brought on a dish and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. His disciples came and removed the corpse and buried him; then they went and reported it to Jesus.
In the days of Herod king of Judaea there was a priest called Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; he had a wife who belonged to the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;
Instantly his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke out blessing God.
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.
Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife as well as for all the wickedness that he, Herod, had committed,
he was a burning and a shining lamp, and you chose to rejoice for a while in his light.
Fausets
Son of Zacharias (of the course of Abijah, 1Ch 24:10) and Elisabeth (of the daughters of Aaron), who both "walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Elisabeth was related to the Virgin Mary; but Scripture does not state the exact relationship; the Greek in Lu 1:36 (sungenees), which our Bible renders "cousin," means any "relation" or "kinswoman," whether by marriage or birth. It is noteworthy that Jesus, of the Melchizedek order of priesthood, was related to but not descended from the Aaronic priests. Zacharias was old, and Elisabeth barren, when, as he was burning incense at the golden altar, Gabriel announced the answer to his prayers (not directly for a son, but, as Israel's representative, for Messiah the Hope of Israel) in the coming birth of a son, the appointed forerunner of Messiah; John (Jehovah's gift) was to he his name, because his supernatural birth was a pledge of the Lord's grace, long looked for, now visiting again His people to their joy (Luke 1).
John was to be "great in the sight of the Lord" (contrast Baruch, Jer 45:5). He should be in himself a pattern of that self denial which accords best with his subject of preaching, legal repentance, "drinking no strong drink, but filled with the Holy Spirit (see the same contrast, Eph 5:18, the minister's enthusiasm ought to be not from artificial stimulant but from the Spirit's unction) from the mother's womb," a Nazarite (Nu 6:1-21). Like the great prophet reformer (compare 1Ki 18:36-37) Elijah in "spirit. and power" of preaching, though not in miracles (Joh 10:41), he should turn the degenerate "children to the Lord and to" their righteous "fathers, and the heart of the fathers to the children," their past mutual alienation being due to the children's apostasy; fulfilling Mal 4:4-6; bringing "Moses' law" to their remembrance, "lest Jehovah at His coming should smite the earth with a curse." Thus John should "make ready a people for the Lord." Zacharias for unbelief in withholding credit without a sign was punished with dumbness as the sign until the event came to pass.
In the hill country, where Elisabeth had retired, her cousin Mary saluted her, and the babe leaped in Elisabeth's womb. His birth was six months before our Lord's. At his circumcision on the eighth day Zacharias gave his name John; and his returning faith was rewarded with returning speech, of which his first use was to pour forth a thanksgiving hymn, in which he makes it his son's chief honour that he should be "prophet of the Highest, going before the Lord's face to prepare His ways" as His harbinger. John had the special honour of being the subject off prophecy ages before, and of being associated in close juxtaposition with Messiah Himself. John "waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel" (Lu 1:80). Meanwhile God's interposition in the wonders of his birth caused "all the people to be in expectation, musing in their hearts whether he were the Christ" (Lu 3:15). The thinly-populated region adjoining the hill country of Judea was his haunt; there communion alone with God prepared him for his work.
At 30, when "the word of God came to" him (Lu 3:2), he went forth, his very appearance a sign of the unworldliness and legal repentance. which he preached; his raiment a camel's hair garment secured with leather girdle (2Ki 1:8) as Elijah's; his food that supplied by the desert, locusts (Le 11:22) and wild honey (Ps 81:16). All classes, Pharisees, Sadducees, the people, publicans, and soldiers, flocked to him from every quarter, Jerusalem, Judea, and the, region round Jordan (Mt 3:5; Luke 3). The leading sects he denounced as a "generation of vipers" (compare Ge 3:15, the serpent's "seed"), warning them that descent from Abraham would not avail with out doing Abraham's works (compare Joh 8:39), and telling all practically and discriminatingly that the repentance needed required a renunciation of their several besetting sins; and that whereas, on their confession, he baptized with water baptism, the Mightier One would come baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11-12). (See BAPTISM.)
When the ecclesiastical authorities sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, Who art thou? John replied, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" (Joh 1:19-23). The natural wilderness symbolized the moral (Isa 32:15), wherein was no highway for the Lord and for righteousness. The hills of pride and the valleys of degradation must be brought to the one holy level before the Lord (Isaiah 40). John was the forerunner of the reigning Messiah (Mt 3:2; Mal 3:1), but through the nation's rejection of Him that reign was deferred (compare Nu 14:34 with Mt 23:37-39). John baptized Jesus and though knowing Him before as a man and his kinsman, yet then first knew His divine Messiahship by the Spirit's visible descent (Joh 1:30-34). (See JESUS; BAPTISM.) John thence forth witnessed to Jesus, desiring to "decrease that He might increase." By his testimony at Bethany (so oldest manuscripts for Bethabara) beyond Jordan, "Behold the Lamb of God," he led two of his disciples to Him, Andrew and John the apostle and evangelist (Joh 1:35 ff; Joh 3:23-36; 4:1-2; Ac 19:3).
Yet John never formally joined Jesus; for he was one of the greatest among the Old Testament prophets, but not strictly in the New Testament kingdom, the least in which, as to spiritual privileges, was greater than he (Lu 7:28). His standing was the last of Old Testament prophets, preparatory to the gospel. He taught fasting and prayers, rather in the spirit and therefore with the forms of, the old dispensation which the new would supersede, its new spirit creating its appropriate new forms (Lu 5:33-38; 11:1). Herod Antipas beheaded him in the fortress Machaerus E. of the Dead Sea, to gratify Herodias' spite for John's faithfulness in denouncing her adultery, and in slavish adherence to his reckless oath to give Herodias' daughter Salome, for dancing on his birthday, whatever she might ask. (See HEROD ANTIPAS.)
From the prison John had sent two (the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts read Mt 11:2 "by," dia, for duo, two) disciples to Jesus to elicit from Himself a profession of His Messiahship, for their confirmation in the faith. (See JESUS.) Jesus at once confirmed them and comforted John himself (who probably had expected to see Jesus more openly vindicating righteousness, as foretold Mal 3:2-5; 4:1-3), by an appeal to His miracles and preaching, the very credentials promised in Isa 35:5; 61:1. Jesus at the same time attested John's unshaken firmness, appealing to His hearers' own knowledge of him (Matthew 11). No reed shaken by the wind, no courtier in soft raiment, was John. But whether it was the ascetical forerunner, or the social Lord Himself, that preached, that generation was dissatisfied, with John because he was too self denying, with Jesus because He would not commend their self-righteous fastings: "we have piped unto you (unto John) and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you (unto Jesus) and ye have not lamented."
Of John as of Jesus they said, he hath a devil. John fell just before the third Passover of Christ's ministry; his disciples buried him Self denial, humility, wherewith he disclaimed Messiahship and said he was not worthy to unloose His shoes' latchet, zeal for the Lord's honour, and holy faithfulness at all costs, were his prominent graces. (On the "Elias who shall yet come," see ELIJAH, end.) John's ministry extended at its close into Peraea at the S.E. end of the lake of Galilee. When the herald was silenced the Master took up the message (Mr 1:14) in the same quarter. John's labours there so impressed Herod that, "he feared and observed him, and when he heard him did many things, and heard him gladly"; but would not do the one thing needed, give up his adulterous paramour, his brother Philip's wife.
Elijah was translated in a chariot of fire; but John died a felon's death, for the forerunner was to be as his Lord. The worthless Ahab reappears in Herod with similar germs of good struggling with evil. Herodias answers to the cruel Jezebel. As Ahab
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"Repent, the Reign of heaven is near."
Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand, he will clean out his threshing-floor, his wheat he will gather into the granary, but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable."
Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent his disciples
but as Jesus knew of it he retired from the spot. Many followed him, and he healed them all, charging them strictly not to make him known ??17 it was for the fulfilment of what had been said by the prophet Isaiah,
Here is my servant whom I have selected, my Beloved in whom my soul delights; I will invest him with my Spirit, and he will proclaim religion to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or shout, no one will hear his voice in the streets. read more. He will not break the bruised reed, he will not put out the smouldering flax, till he carries religion to victory: and the Gentiles will hope in his name.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! slaying the prophets and stoning those who have been sent to you! How often I would fain have gathered your children as a fowl gathers her brood under her wings! But you would not have it! See, your House is left to you, desolate. read more. For I tell you, you will never see me again till you say, Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name."
After John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the gospel of God;
Look, there is your kinswoman Elizabeth! Even she has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month;
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert;
Now as people's expectations were roused and as everybody thought to himself about John, "Can he be the Christ,"
They said to him, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, as do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your adherents eat and drink." Jesus said to them, "Can you make friends at a wedding fast while the bride groom is beside them? read more. A time will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will fast at that time." He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new cloak and sews it on an old cloak; otherwise he will tear the new cloak, and the new piece will not match with the old. No one pours fresh wine into old wineskins; otherwise the fresh wine will burst the wineskins, the wine will be spilt and the wineskins ruined. No, fresh wine must be poured into new wineskins.
I tell you, among the sons of women there is none greater than John, and yet the least in the Realm of God is greater than he is."
He was praying at a certain place, and when he stopped one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
Now here is John's testimony. When the Jews of Jerusalem despatched priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" he frankly confessed ??he did not deny it, he frankly confessed, "I am not the Christ." read more. They asked him, "Then what are you? Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Then who are you?" they said; "tell us, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'level the way for the Lord' ??as the prophet Isaiah said."
That is he of whom I said, 'The man who is to succeed me has taken precedence of me, for he preceded me.' I myself did not recognize him; I only came to baptize with water, in order that he might be disclosed to Israel." read more. And John bore this testimony also: "I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and rest on him. I myself did not recognize him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descending and resting, that is he who baptizes with the holy Spirit.' Now I did see it, and I testify that he is the Son of God." Next day again John was standing with two of his disciples;
John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, as there was plenty of water there, and people came to him and were baptized (John had not yet been thrown into prison). read more. Now a dispute arose between John's disciples and a Jew over the question of 'purification'; and they came and told John, "Rabbi, the man who was with you on the opposite side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore testimony ??here he is, baptizing, and everybody goes to him!" John answered, "No one can receive anything except as a gift from heaven. You can bear me out, that I said, 'I am not the Christ'; what I said was, 'I have been sent in advance of him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is heartily glad at the sound of the bridegroom's voice. Such is my joy, and it is complete. He must wax, I must wane." He who comes from above is far above all others; he who springs from earth belongs to earth and speaks of earth; he who comes from heaven [is far above all others. He] is testifying to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept it, certifies to the truth of God. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God ??God gives him the Spirit in no sparing measure; the Father loves the Son and has given him control over everything. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life ??God's anger broods over him."
Now when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard of Jesus gaining and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus himself did not baptize, it was his disciples),
They answered him, "Abraham is our father." "If you are Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then do as Abraham did;
and many came to him, saying, "John did not perform any Sign, but all he ever said about this man was true."
"Then," said he, "what were you baptized in?" "In John's baptism," they replied.
and do not get drunk with wine ??that means profligacy ??but be filled with the Spirit,
Hastings
The single narrative of John's birth and circumcision (Lu 1) states that, as the child of promise (Lu 1:13), he was born in 'a city of Judah' (Lu 1:39), when his parents were old (Lu 1:7). They were both of priestly descent (Lu 1:5), and his mother was a kinswoman of the mother of Jesus (Lu 1:36). John was a Nazirite from his birth (Lu 1:15); he developed self-reliance in his lonely home, and learnt the secret of spiritual strength as he communed with God in the solitudes of the desert (Lu 1:80). In the Jud
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In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea, "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near."
"Repent, the Reign of heaven is near." (This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.') read more. This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.
This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him
Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? read more. Now, produce fruit that answers to your repentance, instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. read more. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand, he will clean out his threshing-floor, his wheat he will gather into the granary, but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable." Then Jesus came on the scene from Galilee, to get baptized by John at the Jordan.
But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.
to ask him, "Are you the Coming One? Or are we to look out for someone else?"
And if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God]. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Here I send my messenger before your face to prepare the way for you: read more. the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him' ??4 John appeared baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
and the whole of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. John was dressed in camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. read more. He announced, "After me one who is mightier will come, and I am not fit to stoop and untie the string of his sandals: I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit."
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit." Now it was in those days that Jesus arrived from Nazaret in Galilee and got baptized in the Jordan by John.
Now this came to the hearing of king Herod, for the name of Jesus had become well known; people said, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, that is why miraculous powers are working through him;"
John had told Herod, "You have no right to your brother's wife."
As for Elijah, I tell you he has come already, and they have done to him whatever they pleased ??as it is written of him."
No, let us say, From men" ??but they were afraid of the multitude, for the people all held John had been really a prophet.
In the days of Herod king of Judaea there was a priest called Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; he had a wife who belonged to the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
but they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren. Both of them were advanced in years.
but the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard; your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you must call his name John.
for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;
he will go in front of Him with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make a people ready and prepared for the Lord."
Look, there is your kinswoman Elizabeth! Even she has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month;
In those days Mary started with haste for the hill-country, for a town of Judah;
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, Philip his brother tetrarch of the country of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert;
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert; and he went into all the Jordan-district preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ??4 as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah, The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.
and he went into all the Jordan-district preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ??4 as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah, The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled up, every hill and mound laid low, the crooked made straight, the rough roads smooth; so shall all flesh see the saving power of God.' read more. To the crowds who came out to get baptized by him John said, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." The crowds asked him, "Then what are we to do?" read more. He replied, "Let everyone who possesses two shirts share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise." Taxgatherers also came to get baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what are we to do?" He said to them, "Never exact more than your fixed rate." Soldiers also asked him, "And what are we to do?" He said to them, "Never extort money, never lay a false charge, but be content with your pay." Now as people's expectations were roused and as everybody thought to himself about John, "Can he be the Christ," John said to them all, "I baptize you with water, but after me one who is mightier will come, and I am not fit to untie the string of his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to purge his threshing-floor, to gather the wheat into his granary and burn the straw with fire unquenchable."
His winnowing-fan is in his hand to purge his threshing-floor, to gather the wheat into his granary and burn the straw with fire unquenchable." Thus with many another appeal he spoke his message to the people. read more. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife as well as for all the wickedness that he, Herod, had committed, crowned all by shutting John up in prison. Now when all the people had been baptized and when Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven opened
And if we say, 'From men,' the whole of the people will stone us, for they are convinced John was a prophet."
he came for the purpose of witnessing, to bear testimony to the Light, so that all men might believe by means of him.
(John testified to him with the cry, 'This was he of whom I said, my successor has taken precedence of me, for he preceded me.') For we have all been receiving grace after grace from his fulness; read more. while the Law was given through Moses, grace and reality are ours through Jesus Christ. Nobody has ever seen God, but God has been unfolded by the divine One, the only Son, who lies upon the Father's breast. Now here is John's testimony. When the Jews of Jerusalem despatched priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" he frankly confessed ??he did not deny it, he frankly confessed, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then what are you? Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.
They asked him, "Then what are you? Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Then who are you?" they said; "tell us, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?" read more. He said, "I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'level the way for the Lord' ??as the prophet Isaiah said."
He said, "I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'level the way for the Lord' ??as the prophet Isaiah said." Now it was some of the Pharisees who had been sent to him; read more. so they asked him, saying, "Then why are you baptizing people, if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet?"
so they asked him, saying, "Then why are you baptizing people, if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet?" "I am baptizing with water," John replied, "but my successor is among you, One whom you do not recognize, read more. and I am not fit to untie the string of his sandal." This took place at Bethany on the opposite side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Next day he observed Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, there is the lamb of God, who is to remove the sin of the world!
Next day he observed Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, there is the lamb of God, who is to remove the sin of the world!
Next day he observed Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, there is the lamb of God, who is to remove the sin of the world! That is he of whom I said, 'The man who is to succeed me has taken precedence of me, for he preceded me.' read more. I myself did not recognize him; I only came to baptize with water, in order that he might be disclosed to Israel." And John bore this testimony also: "I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and rest on him. I myself did not recognize him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descending and resting, that is he who baptizes with the holy Spirit.' Now I did see it, and I testify that he is the Son of God."
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is heartily glad at the sound of the bridegroom's voice. Such is my joy, and it is complete.
and went across the Jordan, back to the spot where John had baptized at first. There he stayed;
He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and he preached and taught about Jesus with ardour and accuracy, though all the baptism he knew was that of John.
"Then," said he, "what were you baptized in?" "In John's baptism," they replied.
That is why all turns upon faith; it is to make the promise a matter of favour, to make it secure for all the offspring, not simply for those who are adherents of the Law but also for those who share the faith of Abraham ??of Abraham who is the father of us all
they are not all children of Abraham because they are descended from Abraham. No, it is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ??8 meaning that instead of God's children being the children born to him by natural descent, it is the children of the Promise who are reckoned as his true offspring.
Now you are the children of the Promise, brothers, like Isaac;
Morish
Son of Zacharias, priest of the order of Abia, or Abijah (1Ch 24:10), and of Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, born when they were both old. The conception was foretold by the angel Gabriel, who announced that John was to be a Nazarite, and should be filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth. His mission was also foretold: in the spirit and power of Elias he would be the forerunner of Christ, and would call the people to repentance, according to the prophecy in Isa 40:3. All that is recorded of his early life is "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel." Lu 1:80.
When he began his ministry he is described as having on "raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey." He preached in the wilderness, calling on the people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The people went out to him, and were baptised of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Mt 3:1-6. A godly remnant morally apart from the nation was thus prepared in spirit for the Lord. With these (the excellent in the earth, Ps. 16) the Lord Jesus identified Himself.
To the Pharisees and the Sadducees he was especially severe, calling them a 'generation of vipers' (Mt 3:7), but in Luke the multitude are so designated, for all must flee from the wrath to come, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. The axe was laid to the root of the tree. There was One coming with the winnowing fan, who would divide the wheat from the chaff.
When the religious authorities at Jerusalem sent to John to ask who he was, he declared that he was not the Christ, nor Elias, nor 'that prophet.' De 18:15,18. He was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord," as Isaiah had prophesied. Joh 1:19-23. The Lord, in speaking of John, said, "Elias is indeed come," Mr 9:13, which seems to clash with Joh 1:21; another passage however explains it: "If ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come." Mt 11:14. He had come in the spirit and power of Elias, as foretold by Gabriel; and he was Elias to those who received him and who afterwards followed the Lord, as Andrew and another in Joh 1:40.
So far we have considered John's official place as the forerunner of Christ, but in John's gospel the Baptist's testimony is given to the Lamb of God. He also adds, "I knew him not," but he had been told that He upon whom he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain was the Baptiser with the Holy Ghost; and he adds, "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." He may have known Jesus in a natural way, but his knowing Him as Son of God was by a divinely-given testimony. John proclaimed Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world;" and in the hearing of two of his own disciples he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Jesus was to be the object of their hearts, and they followed Him. Afterwards, when John was told that Jesus was baptising, and that all the people were going to Him, he gave a remarkable answer: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." John was the friend of the bridegroom. The Lord said that among those born of women no one was greater than John; but the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than he, because the latter was in a new dispensation, John being connected with the law and the prophets of the old dispensation. Mt 11:11-13.
While in prison John's faith or patience seems in measure to have failed him, and he sent two of his disciples to the Lord with the question, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" He evidently had not apprehended the humiliation and rejection of the Messiah, and expected to have been delivered from prison by the power which he knew had been exercised in grace by the Lord. The Lord wrought various miracles while John's disciples were there, and bade them tell him what they had seen and heard, adding, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Lu 7:19-23.
It was because of John's faithfulness in reproving the sins of Herod Antipas that he had been by him cast into prison. This led to his death through Salome and her guilty mother. John's work was done; he was faithful unto death. Mr 6:14-29.
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In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea, "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near." read more. (This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.') This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath?
I tell you truly, no one has arisen among the sons of women who is greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the Realm of heaven is greater than he is. From the days of John the Baptist till now the Realm of heaven suffers violence, and the violent press into it. read more. For all the prophets and the law prophesied of it until John: ??14 if you care to believe it, he is the Elijah who is to come.
Now this came to the hearing of king Herod, for the name of Jesus had become well known; people said, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, that is why miraculous powers are working through him;" others said, "It is Elijah," others again, "It is a prophet, like one of the old prophets." read more. But when Herod heard of it he said, "John has risen, the John I beheaded." For this Herod had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison on account of his marriage to Herodias the wife of his brother Philip; John had told Herod, "You have no right to your brother's wife." Herodias had a grudge against him; she wanted him killed but she could not manage it, for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing he was a just and holy man; so he protected John ??he was greatly exercised when he listened to him, still he was glad to listen to him. Then came a holiday, when Herod held a feast on his birthday for his chief officials and generals and the notables of Galilee. The daughter of Herodias went in and danced to them, and Herod and his guests were so delighted that the king said to the girl, "Ask anything you like and I will give you it." He swore to her, "I will give you whatever you want, were it the half of my realm." So she went out and said to her mother, "What am I to ask?" "John the Baptizer's head," she answered. Then she hurried in at once and asked the king, saying, "I want you to give me this very moment John the Baptist's head on a dish." The king was very vexed, but for the sake of his oaths and his guests he did not like to disappoint her; so the king at once sent one of the guard with orders to bring his head. The man went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it they went and fetched his body and laid it in a tomb.
As for Elijah, I tell you he has come already, and they have done to him whatever they pleased ??as it is written of him."
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.
So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord, "Are you the Coming One? Or are we to look out for someone else?" When the men reached Jesus they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask if you are the Coming One or if we are to look out for someone else?" read more. Jesus at that moment was healing many people of diseases and complaints and evil spirits; he also bestowed sight on many blind folk. So he replied, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he who is repelled by nothing in me!"
Now here is John's testimony. When the Jews of Jerusalem despatched priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" he frankly confessed ??he did not deny it, he frankly confessed, "I am not the Christ." read more. They asked him, "Then what are you? Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.
They asked him, "Then what are you? Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered. "Then who are you?" they said; "tell us, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?" read more. He said, "I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'level the way for the Lord' ??as the prophet Isaiah said."
One of the two men who heard what John said and went after Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Peter.
Smith
was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father, Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or Abijah,
and Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron.
Lu 1:5
His birth was foretold by an angel sent from God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of John preceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth.
Lu 1:15
Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which he had been divinely called. His dress was that of the old prophets --a garment woven of camel's hair,
attached to the body by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the desert afforded --locusts,
and wild honey.
And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the discharge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and the general expectation that some great one was about to appear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude from "every quarter."
Many of every class pressed forward to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himself came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [JESUS] From incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples continued to baptize some time after our Lord entered upon his ministry. See
See Jesus Christ
Joh 3:23; 4:1; Ac 19:3
We gather also that John instructed his disciples in certain moral and religious duties, as fasting,
Mt 9:14; Lu 5:33
and prayer.
Lu 11:1
But shortly after he had given his testimony to the Messiah, John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins,
Lu 3:19
Herod cast him into prison. (March, A.D. 28.) The place of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here that reports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was working in Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday. After supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the king by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave instructions to an officer of his guard, who went and executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third passover, in the course of the Lord's ministry. (March, A.D. 29.)
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Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him
Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast a great deal, and your disciples do not fast?"
In the days of Herod king of Judaea there was a priest called Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; he had a wife who belonged to the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;
But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife as well as for all the wickedness that he, Herod, had committed,
They said to him, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, as do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your adherents eat and drink."
He was praying at a certain place, and when he stopped one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, as there was plenty of water there, and people came to him and were baptized
Now when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard of Jesus gaining and baptizing more disciples than John
"Then," said he, "what were you baptized in?" "In John's baptism," they replied.
Watsons
JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of the Messiah, was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and was born about six months before our Saviour. His birth was foretold by an angel, sent purposely to deliver this joyful message, when his mother Elizabeth was barren, and both his parents far advanced in years. The same divine messenger foretold that he should be great in the sight of the Lord: that he should be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb; that he should prepare the way of the Lord by turning many of the Jews to the knowledge of God; and that he should be the greatest of all the prophets, Lu 1:5-15. Of the early part of the Baptist's life we have but little information. It is only observed that "he grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel," Lu 1:80. Though consecrated from the womb to the ministerial office, John did not enter upon it in the heat of youth, but after several years spent in solitude and a course of self-denial.
The prophetical descriptions of the Baptist in the Old Testament are various and striking. That by Isaiah is: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God," Isa 40:3. Malachi has the following prediction: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse," Mal 4:5. That this was meant of the Baptist, we have the testimony of our Lord himself, who declared, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias who was to come," Mt 11:14. The appearance and manners of the Baptist, when he first came out into the world, excited general attention. His clothing was of camel's hair, bound round him with a leathern girdle, and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey, Mt 3:4. The message which he declared was authoritative: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and the impression produced by his faithful reproofs and admonitions was powerful and extensive, and in a great number of instances lasting. Most of the first followers of our Lord appear to have been awakened to seriousness and religious inquiry by John's ministry. His character was so eminent, that many of the Jews thought him to be the Messiah; but he plainly declared that he was not that honoured person. Nevertheless, he was at first unacquainted with the person of Jesus Christ; only the Holy Ghost had told him that he on whom he should see the Holy Spirit descend and rest was the Messiah. When Jesus Christ presented himself to receive baptism from him, this sign was vouchsafed; and from that time he bore his testimony to Jesus, as the Christ.
Herod Antipas, having married his brother Philip's wife while Philip was still living, occasioned great scandal. John the Baptist, with his usual liberty and vigour, reproved Herod to his face; and told him that it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife, while his brother was yet alive. Herod, incensed at this freedom, ordered him into custody, in the castle of Machoerus; and he was ultimately put to death. (See Antipas.) Thus fell this honoured prophet, a martyr to ministerial faithfulness. Other prophets testified of Christ; he pointed to him as already come. Others saw him afar off; he beheld the advancing glories of his ministry eclipsing his own, and rejoiced to "decrease" while his Master "increased." His ministry stands as a type of the true character of evangelical repentance: it goes before Christ and prepares his way; it is humbling, but not despairing; for it points to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." The Jews had such an opinion of this prophet's sanctity, that they ascribed the overthrow of Herod's army, which he had sent against his father-in- law, Aretas, to the just judgment of God for putting John the Baptist to death. The death of John the Baptist happened, as is believed, about the end of the thirty-first year of the vulgar era, or in the beginning of the thirty-second.
The baptism of John was much more perfect than that of the Jews, but less perfect than that of Jesus Christ. "It was," says St. Chrysostom, "as it were, a bridge, which, from the baptism of the Jews, made a way to that of our Saviour, and was more exalted than the first, but inferior to the second. That of St. John promised what that of Jesus Christ executed. Notwithstanding St. John did not enjoin his disciples to continue the baptism of repentance, which was of his institution, after his death, because, after the manifestation of the Messiah, and the establishment of the Holy Ghost, it became of no use; yet there were many of his followers who still administered it, and several years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, did not so much as know that there was any other baptism than that of John. Of this number was Apollos, a learned and zealous man, who was of Alexandria, and came to Ephesus twenty years after the resurrection of our Saviour, Ac 18:25. And when St. Paul came after Apollos to the same city, there were still many Ephesians who had received no other baptism, and were not yet informed that the Holy Ghost was received by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, Ac 19:1. The Jews are said by the Apostle Paul to have been "baptized unto Moses," at the time when they followed him through the Red Sea, as the servant of God sent to be their leader. Those who went out to John "were baptized unto John's baptism;" that is, into the expectation of the person whom John announced, and into repentance of those sins which John condemned. Christians are "baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," because in this expression is implied that whole system of truth which the disciples of Christ believe; into the name of the Father, the one true and living God whom Christians profess to serve; of the Son, that divine person revealed in the New Testament whom the Father sent to be the Saviour of the world; of the Holy Ghost, the divine person also revealed there as the Comforter, the Sanctifier, and the Guide of Christians.
JOHN THE EVANGELIST was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, son of Zebedee and Salome, by profession a fisherman. Some have thought that he was a disciple of John the Baptist before he attended Jesus Christ. He was brother to James the greater. It is believed that St. John was the youngest of the Apostles. Tillemont is of opinion that he was twenty-five or twenty-six years of age when he began to follow Jesus. Our Saviour had a particular friendship for him; and he describes himself by the name of "that disciple whom Jesus loved." St. John was one of the four Apostles to whom our Lord delivered his predictions relative to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the approaching calamities of the Jewish nation, Mr 13:3. St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were chosen to accompany our Saviour on several occasions, when the other Apostles were not permitted to be present. When Christ restored the daughter of Jairus to life, Mr 5:37; Lu 8:51; when he was transfigured on the mount, Mt 17:1-2; Mr 9:2; Lu 9:28; and when he endured his agony in the garden, Mt 26:36-37; Mr 14:32-33; St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were his only attendants. That St. John was treated by Christ with greater familiarity than the other Apostles, is evident from St. Peter desiring him to ask Christ who should betray him, when he himself did not dare to propose the question, Joh 13:24. He seems to have been the only Apostle present at the crucifixion, and to him Jesus, just as he was expiring upon the cross, gave the strongest proof of his confidence and regard, by consigning to him the care of his mother, Joh 19:26-27. As St. John had been witness to the death of our Saviour, by seeing the blood and water issue from his side, which a soldier had pierced, Joh 19:34-35, so he was one of the first made acquainted with his resurrection. Without any hesitation, he believed this great event, though "as
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This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.
Six days afterwards Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high hill by themselves; in their presence he was transfigured, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes turned white as light.
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, "Sit here till I go over there and pray." But he took Peter and the two sons of Zebedaeus along with him; and when he began to feel distressed and agitated,
He would not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
Six days afterwards Jesus took Peter, James and John, and led them up a high hill by themselves alone; in their presence he was transfigured,
And as he sat on the Hill of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him in private,
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, "Sit here till I pray." But he took Peter and James and John along with him; and as he began to feel appalled and agitated,
Then after speaking to them the Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God,
In the days of Herod king of Judaea there was a priest called Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; he had a wife who belonged to the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both just in the sight of God, blameless in their obedience to all the commands and regulations of God; read more. but they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren. Both of them were advanced in years. Now while he was officiating before God in the due course of his division, it fell to him by lot, as was the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, the mass of the people all remaining in prayer outside at the hour of incense. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him he was troubled, and fear fell on him; but the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard; your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you must call his name John. It will be joy and gladness for you, and many will rejoice over his birth: for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.
When he reached the house he would not allow anyone to come in with him except Peter and James and John, and the child's father and mother.
It was about eight days after he said this, when he took Peter, John, and James, and went up the hillside to pray.
And as he blessed them he parted from them [and was carried up to heaven].
So when Jesus saw his mother and his favourite disciple standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, there is your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "And, there is your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his home.
only, one of the soldiers pricked his side with a lance, and out came blood and water in a moment. He who saw it has borne witness (his witness is true; God knows he is telling the truth), that you may believe.
(For as yet they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.)
While they were speaking to the people, they were surprised by the priests, the commander of the temple, and the Sadducees,
This filled the high priest Annas and his allies, the Sadducean party, with bitter jealousy; they laid hands on the apostles and put them into the public prison,
When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they despatched Peter and John, who came down and prayed that the Samaritans might receive the holy Spirit.
He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and he preached and taught about Jesus with ardour and accuracy, though all the baptism he knew was that of John.
It was when Apollos was in Corinth that Paul, after passing through the inland districts, came down to Ephesus. There he found some disciples,
but whoever obeys his word, in him love to God is really complete. This is how we may be sure we are in him:
Beloved, I am not writing you any new command, but an old command which you have had from the very beginning: the old command is the word you have heard.
He who says he is 'in the light' and hates his brother, is in darkness still. He who loves his brother remains in the light ??and in the light there is no pitfall; read more. but he who hates his brother is in darkness, he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, for the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Love not the world, nor yet what is in the world; if anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
'Born of him!' Think what a love the Father has for us, in letting us be called 'children of God!' That is what we are. The world does not recognize us? That is simply because it did not recognize him.
For this is the message you have learned from the very beginning, that we are to love one another: we are not to be like Cain, who belonged to the evil One and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's just.
We know we have crossed from death to life, because we love the brotherhood; he who has no love [for his brother] remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining within him. read more. We know what love is by this, that He laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the brotherhood. But whoever possesses this world's goods, and notices his brother in need, and shuts his heart against him, how can love to God remain in him? My dear children, let us put our love not into words or into talk but into deeds, and make it real.
Now this is what he commands, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he has commanded us to do;
Beloved, let us love one another, for love belongs to God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God; he who does not love, does not know God, for God is love. read more. This is how the love of God has appeared for us, by God sending his only Son into the world, so that by him we might live. Love lies in this, not in our love for him but in his love for us ??in the sending of his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God no one has ever seen; but if we love one another, then God remains within us, and love for him is complete in us.
well, we do know, we have believed, the love God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. Love is complete with us when we have absolute confidence about the day of judgment, since in this world we are living as He lives. read more. Love has no dread in it; no, love in its fulness drives all dread away, for dread has to do with punishment ??anyone who has dread, has not reached the fulness of love. We love, because He loved us first. If anyone declares, 'I love God,' and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who will not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot possibly love the God whom he has never seen. And we get this command from him, that he who loves God is to love his brother as well.
Everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ, is born of God; and everyone who loves the Father, loves the sons born of him. This is how we are sure that we love God's children, by loving God and obeying his commands read more. (for love to God means keeping his commands). And his commands are not irksome,
I was overjoyed to find some of your children leading the true Life, as we were commanded to do by the Father.
The children of your elect Sister greet you.
For I was overjoyed when some brothers arrived and testified to the truth of your life, as indeed you do lead the true Life; I have no greater joy than to hear of my children living in the Truth. read more. Beloved, you are acting loyally in rendering any service to the brothers and especially to strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. Pray speed them on their journey worthily of God; they have started out for his sake and declined to take anything from pagans; hence we are bound to support such men, to prove ourselves allies of the Truth. I have written to the church; only, Diotrephes, who likes to take the lead among them, repudiates me.
Everybody testifies to Demetrius, and so does the Truth itself: I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true. I had a great deal to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with ink and pen; read more. I am hoping to see you soon, and we will have a talk. [15] Peace to you! The friends salute you: salute the friends one by one.
I am hoping to see you soon, and we will have a talk. [15] Peace to you! The friends salute you: salute the friends one by one.
I John, your brother and your companion in the distress and realm and patient endurance which Jesus brings, found myself in the island called Patmos, for adhering to God's word and the testimony of Jesus.