The Spirit of Elijah 4 - The Birth of John the Baptist

 

T he Birth of John the Baptist

As with many miraculous births in the Bible, John's  is no exception.

Luke 1:11-17   And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.   And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.   But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias:   for thy prayer is heard;  and they wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.   And thou shalt have joy and gladness;  and many shall rejoice at his birth.   For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;  and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.   And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.   And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;  to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Isaiah 40:3-5   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.   Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:   and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:   And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:   for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

John 1:6   There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

Here was a man that was not sent from God:   he was not called of God:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  

The most persecuted truth ever restored to the Christian Church is water baptism

God gave him a voice.  So many teachings, messages, concepts and words today are not voices;  they are echoes;  they are "repeats";  they are "reruns" of that which others are saying. 

John was an original.   He was a voice.   He was sent from God.

His ministry was to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord:   to prepare a people for the glory of the Lord.   And when this glory comes it will be seen by all flesh together!   The whole world will behold the glory of the Lord.

So it is today.

In the New Testament application, the church finds itself at the altar of incense.   This speaks of prayer, praise and worship, and it is no coincidence that God is speaking so much  in these areas.  A people is being prepared for the second coming of the Lord.   Mountains and hills are being made low;  valleys are being exalted;   crooked places are being made straight;  rough places are being made plain.

And for what purpose?

As surely as the altar of incense was set nearest the ark of the covenant (the vessel that housed the glory of God), so the church is scheduled to be shrouded in the same glory.   It is this glory that will prepare the people of this generation to meet the Lord Jesus Christ at his second coming.

The Ministry of John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1-12   In those days came John the Baptist, preaching the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye:   for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.   For this is he that was spoken of  by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.   And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins;  and his meat was locusts and wild honey.   Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, And they were baptised of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Saducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned ye to flee the wrath that is to come?   Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:   And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:   for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.   And now also the axe is laid at the root of the trees:   therefore every tree  which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.   I indeed baptise 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 baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:   Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner;  but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Jesus is Baptised by John

Matthew 3:13-17   Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptised of him.   But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptised of thee, and comest thou to me?   And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now:   for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.   Then he suffered him.   And Jesus, when he was baptised, went up straightway out of the water:   and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:   And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Disciples of John and Fasting

Matthew 9:14-17  Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?   And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?   but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.   No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.   Neither do men put new wine into old bottles:   else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish:   but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Messengers From John the Baptist

Matthew 11:2-19   Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two, of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?   Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see:   The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.   And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.   And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see?   A reed shaken in the wind?   But what went ye out for to see?   A man clothed in soft raiment?   behold, they that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.   But what went ye out for to see?   A prophet?   yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.   For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.   Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:   notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.   And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.   For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.   And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come.   He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.   But whereunto shall I liken this generation?   It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced;  we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.   For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.   The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.   But wisdom is justified of her children.

The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12   And at that time Herod the tetrach heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist;  he is risen from the dead;  and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.   For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.   For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.   And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.   But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.   Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.   And she, before being instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.   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.   And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.   And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel:   and she brought it to her mother.   And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.