CHARACTER STUDY: JOHN THE BAPTIST

Lesson Two: Identity

INTRODUCTION

A few weeks ago while preparing for this study, I curiously asked my wife what she thought of when I mentioned the name, John the Baptist. She told me that what came to her mind was that John was weird. When I pressed her for an explanation, she described John as an eccentric character who dressed oddly and ate insects. John reminded my wife of a hippy.  In the last lesson, we discussed the miraculous infancy and tragic death of John the Baptist. However, in today’s lesson, we will be looking between John the Baptist’s infancy and death by exploring his identity. We will first discuss John’s “odd” lifestyle and potential connection with the Qumran community. In addition, we will investigate who John thought he was and who Jesus claimed John was to the people during New Testament times. Finally, we will use the exploration of John’s identity to see what we can learn about finding our own.

ASCETIC

The Gospel of Mark begins with an appearance of John the Baptist “in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). David Carlson points out the impressive connection between the Old Testament and John’s affiliation with the wilderness.[13] For example, God revealed himself to Moses in the wilderness when proposing the covenant to the Israelites (Exodus 19). Furthermore, the wilderness was the site where David took refuge (1 Samuel 23:13-14). It is also the place that Elijah took refuge (1 Kings 19:1-6). Additionally, the wilderness became the place of restoration for Israel (Hosea 2:14-15). Finally, Mark correlates John the Baptist to the messenger in the wilderness that Isaiah referenced who would prepare the way for the Messiah (Mark 1:2-3).

The wilderness seems to be a perfect location for John’s calling. When announcing John’s birth, Luke explains that John “will drink no wine or liquor” (Luke 1:15). Accordingly, Walvoord and Zuck suggest that John was a Nazarite from birth.[14] A Nazarite vowed to abstain from alcohol, refrain from cutting his hair, and separate himself for the service of the Lord (Numbers 6:1-8). The Gospels do not specifically say that John observed all facets of the vow.[15] However, the separatist nature of John’s lifestyle was critical to his ministry in order to provide appropriate distance from the defects of the first century religious system. Accordingly, the wilderness appears to be the ideal headquarters for John’s ministry.

John’s clothing and diet supported the separatist nature of his ministry in the wilderness. The Gospel of Mark states, “John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6). Bob Deffinbaugh believes John’s unique attire signified separation and he suggests John “stuck out like a sore thumb.”[16] Deffinbaugh also identifies two other purposes for John’s appearance. First, John’s clothing had the purpose of connecting him with the prophet Elijah.[17] Elijah’s description in the Old Testament was that of “a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins” (2 Kings 1:8). Second, the simplicity of John’s clothing and diet supported his message of repentance that naturally should lead to a compassion for the poor.[18]

QUMRAN

John’s simple lifestyle has led some scholars to question its origin and hypothesize a relationship between John the Baptist and the Qumran community. Qumran is a site where archeologists discovered a number of ancient scrolls in 1947 that scholars subsequently named the Dead Sea Scrolls.[19] Accordingly, the Qumran community is the name given to the people that hid their scrolls in the caves. The most extensive material discovered pertained to the “life, thought, and expectations of the Qumran group.”[20] Carlson explains that certain scholars hypothesize that the Qumran community adopted John the Baptist and provides three reasons for the potential connection.[21] John the Baptist and the Qumran community exercised a form of asceticism, practiced baptism associated with repentance, and maintained an eschatological perspective.[22] However, the evidence is sparse, and F. F. Bruce goes so far as to suggest that John may have actually avoided a connection with the Qumran community’s practices.[23]

PROPHET

Without a doubt, the relationship of John the Baptist to the Qumran community remains a mystery. Likewise, John the Baptist’s biblical identity is also in some ways shrouded in mystery.  The Gospel of John records that the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask John, “Who are you?” (John 1:19). John replied by stating that he was not the Christ, not Elijah, and not the Prophet, and then John references Isaiah 40:3 and explains that he is a “voice of one crying the wilderness” (John 1:20-23). All three of the Synoptic Gospels also reference Isaiah 40:3 and associate Isaiah’s prophecy with John (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). Regardless of John’s humble assessment of himself, Bruce suggests that John was the “last and greatest member of the prophetic succession.”[24] Bruce supports his assertion by referring to the Gospel of Luke, which states, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John” (Luke 16:16).

Although John was clearly a prophet, a special prophetic connection existed between John and Elijah in three ways. First, the Gospel of Luke states that John will “go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” and fulfills the prophecy of Malachi 4:6 “to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:17). Second, A. R. Meyer recognizes that John baptized people east of the Jordon, the same location as Elijah’s activity took place.[25] Third, as mentioned earlier, Meyer also suggests that John’s lifestyle descriptions of clothing, food, and calling set John “in the tradition of Elijah.”[26]

APPLICATION

John’s lifestyle, which exemplified a strong detachment from the world, prepared him for his purpose as the forerunner to Christ.  Bob Deffinbaugh appropriately points out that John the Baptist completely rejected three locations the world places its identity. John was free from the bondage of people’s opinions, free from the performance mentality of the ancient Jews, and free from needing a position of power in which to place his identity.[27] John the Baptist experienced the freedom that comes from understanding that his identity was detached from popularity, prosperity, and position and paves the way, not just for Jesus, but also for modern readers to follow his lead in detaching from the world.

CONCLUSION

Before we meet next week, take time to document an area of life that, if taken away, would cause significant distress. This exercise helps identify areas of your life where attachment to the world exists. Be prepared to share with the group next week what freedom may look like if you detached from this area of life.  Now that we have explored John the Baptist’s identity, we will investigate his ministry. What was John the Baptist’s message? Our next lesson will explore concepts very dear to John’s heart including repentance and, of course, baptism. We will also learn some valuable lessons from John regarding humility.

CHARACTER STUDY: JOHN THE BAPTIST

Lesson Three: Ministry

INTRODUCTION

In the last lesson we spent time focusing on who John the Baptist was, in other words, John’s identity; however, in today’s lesson, we will explore what John did, that is, John’s ministry. First, we will discuss John’s ministry of preaching. John’s primary focus in preaching was the topic of repentance. Accordingly, we will discuss six aspects of his message followed by a brief look at John’s effectiveness. Second, we will investigate various aspects of John’s ministry of baptism. Finally, we will spend a few minutes exploring what we can learn from the solid character of this incredible man.

PREACHING

The Gospel of Matthew summarizes John’s message in one brief sentence, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Bob Deffinbaugh provides six significant aspects of John’s message. First, John communicated a prophetic message.[28] Prophecy appeared to be outdated during New Testament times. Even Zechariah proclaimed that there would come a day where the Lord will “remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land” (Zechariah 13:2). In fact, the Lord did remove prophecy from the land. The last prophecy had occurred almost four centuries before John, but the Jews expected prophecy to reappear before the messianic kingdom and John fulfilled these expectations.[29]  Second, John communicated a messianic message.[30] The expectations of a Messiah were quite diverse during the intertestamental period and entailed a focus on both a national restoration of Israel as well as a potential person to fulfill the role.[31] Accordingly, it was clear to many Jews what John meant when he announced that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).  Third, John communicated a preparatory message.[32] As discussed earlier, the angel Gabriel made it clear that John would “go as a forerunner” (Luke 1:17). Deffinbaugh observes that John pointed to Jesus in a similar manner as the Old Testament prophets designated Israel’s King, and that John’s task “was to prepare the people spiritually for [the] Messiah’s appearance.”[33]  Fourth, John communicated a negative message.[34] Carlson notes that John’s message warned of judgment and demanded an ethical response not only from Gentiles, but also from the Jews.[35]  Fifth, John communicated a partial message.[36] In other words, at the time of John’s message, Christ had not died, resurrected, or ascended. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit had not descended upon the disciples. Accordingly, John’s preliminary message knew more about the bad news of sin than the good news of Christ’s sacrifice.[37]  Finally, John communicated a message of repentance.[38] C. G. Kromminga explains that the Greek word for repentance is metanoia and means to change one’s “mind, affections, convictions, and commitment,” which “results in an outward turning from sin to God.”[39] Furthermore, John preached that trusting in religious ancestry was futile (Luke 3:8). In other words, John’s message of repentance focused on an inward change that affects outward behavior, rather than relying of the Old Testament covenant for salvation.

Three pieces of evidence point to the effectiveness of John’s message. First, the Gospel of John claims that John had his own disciples (John 1:35). Second, even the non-Christian Jewish historian, Josephus, acknowledges that the crowds were “greatly moved by hearing his words.”[40] Finally, years later there were individuals who still only knew “the baptism of John” (Acts 1:25). In addition, John’s humility further enhanced his message. Even when John’s disciples became envious of Christ, John modeled humility by stating, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:26-30).

BAPTISM

Although John’s preaching ministry was incredibly effective, his legacy is his baptism ministry.  First, we will explore the background of intertestamental baptisms, followed by answering why Jesus sought baptism, and finally, summarizing the overall purpose of John’s ministry. Meyer observes that the Greek word for the act of baptizing is baptizo, which can refer to ritual cleansing or forgiveness.[41] Additionally, Carlson suggests there was an eschatological anticipation of the prophets of God to cleanse the Jews prior to the Day of Judgment.[42] However, John advanced the intertestamental definition of baptism by focusing on the forgiveness component stating, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance” (Matthew 3:11).

The question naturally arises that if John’s perspective on baptism was based on forgiveness, then why would a sinless God incarnate need baptized? John poses this same question to Jesus, to which Jesus replies, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Carlson clarifies Jesus’s response by suggesting that Jesus felt baptism was an act of obedience, a validation of John’s ministry, a way to identify with sinners, and an inauguration of his ministry.[43] The inauguration interestingly occurred through the joint activity of the Trinity, which included Jesus’s baptism, God’s voice of approval, and the Spirit’s descent as a dove (Luke 3:21-22).

In light of the diverse nature of John’s activity, it may now be helpful to summarize the overall purposes of his ministry. Thomas D. Lea and David Alan Black propose that John achieved three purposes. First, John prepared the masses for the arrival of Christ with a message of repentance.[44] Second, John communicated the purpose of Christ, and third, he inaugurated the ministry of Christ through the process of baptism.[45]

APPLICATION

Although John’s baptisms were certainly the most prominent aspect of his ministry, his humility may have been the most prominent aspect of his character.  John provides a model of servanthood surpassed only by Christ. C. S. Lewis once stated, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”[46] In our self-centered society, it is difficult to find people who have the humility to point to someone other than himself. John the Baptist exemplified a humility we all can learn from in a religious culture that in some ways is similar to ours. Specifically, it spent enormous effort on making itself look good. However, John lived a life of humility that looked away from self and pointed to the perpetuation of the message.

CONCLUSION

Next week, take a few minutes to write down the people you have looked down on during the previous week. This exercise helps identify areas of pride. After identifying the individuals, document what may change in you and in your relationship with them, if humility replaced pride.  During the past three weeks, we have learned an enormous amount of information about John the Baptist. First, we spent time looking at his birth and death, then attempted to discover John’s identity, and finally, investigated his ministry. However, what we have learned from John may be more important than what we have learned about John. Specifically, we have learned the power of purpose, identity, and humility. These three lessons from John the Baptist are not only powerful, but also transformational.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barry, John D., and Lazarus Wentz. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012.

Deffinbaugh, Bob. “John the Baptist.” Bible.org. http://bible.org/seriespage/john-baptist (accessed November 17, 2012).

Easton, M. G. Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996.

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.

Flavius, Josephus. The Works of Josephus. Translated by William Whiston. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.

Lea, Thomas D., and David Alan Black. The New Testament Its Background and Message. 2nd ed. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003.

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. New York: Harper Collins, 2001.

Powell, Mark Allan. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated). 3rd ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Scott, J. Julius. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1995.

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, eds. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty. New Testament ed. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1983.

Wood, D. R. W. and I. Howard Marshall. New Bible Dictionary. 3rd ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

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