John the Baptist

• Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
• 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

The first and second coming of the Messiah is mentioned here. A messenger comes first to prepare the way before the Lord. In verse one it refers to the 1st coming of the Messiah and verse two refers to the Second Coming which is one of judgment.

He is not going to come a second time to be crucified and die. He is going to come to gather all His people who believe in one place to forever be with Him, then He will bring judgment against all enemies of the gospel and righteousness. He will then set up an everlasting Kingdom. Death will be swallowed up in victory and Christ shall reign eternal. Those that endure to the end and do not deny the faith will reign with Jesus Christ ruling on the earth forever.

Fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 in the New Testament:

• Luke 7:25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
• 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
• 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

John the Baptist came for a purpose. He didn't stray from that purpose for one moment. He didn't take a wife or raise a family. He didn't indulge in any fun and activities. He dwelt in the wilderness preparing for the time when he was to preach and prepare the way for the 1st coming of the Messiah. He preached repentance and he preached strong. He wasn't afraid of what people thought, he just wanted to obey God. We would probably label him as a hell, fire and brimstone preacher today.

• Matthew 14:3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
• 4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
• 5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
• 6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
• 7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
• 8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
• 9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
• 10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
• 11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
• 12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

He was bold enough to tell the king that it was wrong for him to take his brother's wife.

 This boldness led to his death because Herodias hated John for his righteous stand. I have heard preachers in the past that reminded me of John the Baptist. Yet, if you search the Old Testament scriptures, you'll see that true prophets were not out to win any popularity contests. They were hated. People who preach against sin are not always welcomed because the majority of people are comfortable in their sins and do not want anyone rocking the boat and stepping on their toes.

John was willing to tell the truth. That is really true commitment. We sometimes think that people who are friendly and go around making everyone feel great are people who love but that is not always the case. If we really loved someone, we would love them enough to tell them the truth. If we saw that the way they lived would lead them to trouble, we would warn them. If we knew that without Christ a soul would die and spend eternity in hell, we would warn them. If we knew that committing adultery was wrong, we would warn them.

John told the truth and it cost him his life but John is now in heaven with God. Had he not told the truth, his life might have lasted a little longer but the blood of Herod would be on his hands because he didn't tell him the truth.

We must get out the message that a soul that sins shall die eternally. Christ came to take that sin away, forgive that sin and grant each believer eternal life. We become born again. Old things pass away and all things become new. We are new creatures in Jesus Christ. We can't keep this quiet.

I know everyone who believes are not always bold witnesses, but if we ask and seek God, He will show each one of us how to witness in our own environment and fulfill the part of the body of Christ that He gives us the gift to fulfill. Whether it is teaching, preaching, praying, helping, encouraging, giving, writing, singing, etc., there is a place for each one of us and there is something we can do to help people to be saved.

When Jesus Christ appeared on the scene, John knew right away that the time had come for him to decrease and let Jesus take over. John's duty was to preach repentance and lead people to Jesus. He knew that the day when he would depart had come. He did not fear or have any jealousy. He boldly proclaimed that he was even unworthy compared to Jesus Christ.

Here are some of the words of John the Baptist:

• Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

John's baptism was a with water which a person does as a sign of faith and obedience after he or she repented of sins. John told of a greater baptism that was to come and that was a baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire.

• Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
• 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The baptism that Jesus gives follows repentance and water baptism. It is a gift of God. Repenting of sins and receiving Jesus Christ comes first and He baptizes in the Holy Ghost. It is not something that is done by man. The spirit baptism comes from God. This is a gift. This is a gift that will abide within believers.

The indwelling Holy Spirit comforts, teaches, discerns, heals, draws sinners to repentance, corrects, gives wisdom, gives knowledge, does miracles, convicts of sin, leads us to righteousness, prays through believers, prophesies and gives us power to witness. He is also God's witness to us. When one is baptized in the Holy Ghost there is no doubt that God is real and that He stills exists and cares about people in this day and age.

My memory of the Holy Spirit baptism is my own personal proof that Jesus is real, the gospel is true and God exists. Once you've been baptized in the Spirit you will know that God is real. God requires us to believe first before this gift is given though. When we believe, He gives and rewards our faith with proof that He exists and is real. He will prove Himself to you if you only believe.

Blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe. The Holy Spirit baptism is part of our inheritance after receiving Jesus Christ. When Jesus comes again visibly, we then receive the rest of our inheritance which is a new body that can never die and eternal life. In fact when one receives Jesus Christ, that eternal life is already within us.

After receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit all spiritual growth doesn't stop there but it is only the beginning. Walking in the spirit is a daily thing. In fact if we stop seeking, we start sliding back.

Many have paid a great price even with their lives to bring us the gospel of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ. The prophets suffered, John the Baptist suffered, Jesus Christ died that we might live. There have been many afterward who risked their lives to print the bible in a language that all could understand, to preach the gospel in places where it is forbidden, and suffer many things for the gospel's sake.

Think about it: If the gospel was not true and Jesus did not rise from the dead, why would the apostles risk their lives, die a martyrs death and suffer to preach the gospel into all the world? Why didn't they just go back to fishing and make a living and leave everything alone? Why do all that for a lie?

They saw Jesus after He was resurrected. If they hadn't seen Him and it was not true, why go to all that trouble and suffering? It would be hard for some of us to suffer a little pain for the truth much less suffer for a lie. Some of you may read this and wonder if I could be telling the truth.

I know surely that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is alive and not dead. God gave me proof of that. I can't prove it to anyone else but you can ask God to reveal truth to you. Ask and ye shall receive. If you are willing to forsake your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God will reveal Himself to you. You will know that He is real.

Messiah Index

Messiah Part 16

The Anointed One
part 1
part 2
part 3

The Messiah's Birth
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5

The Forerunner
part 1
part 2
part 3

The Son of God
part 1
part 2

His Ministry
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

Prophet & Priest
part 1
part 2

Suffering Messiah
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

Death & Resurrection
part 1
part 2