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It is within the pages of the Bible that we look for the answers to the many questions posed for us about John the Baptist. Was John the Baptist, a New Testament figure or did he belong to the Old Testament? Did he bring New Testament baptism or was it Old Testament ritual? Did Israel have a baptism that was the same in mode, purpose, and was Israel the authorized agency to perform such an act by way of a commission? Was John's baptism Christian? And was John a part of the Bride? Who was John the Baptist???
By Jake Hiebert
I. The Name "John the Baptist." Matt. 3:1
Interestingly enough that those who would write of John the Baptist, want to make him no more than a Mascot of Christ. But scripture clearly identifies him, with the designation allotted him by the God of Heaven."In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,... "This now is not man's recognition but God's designation of him.
Let's look at 2 other scriptures which add to his identification:
1.) John 1:6, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John."Few men in the scripture have so been Divinely sent and Divinely designated for us. He was a very special person.
2.) Matt. 11:11,"Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist."What a tribute to a specially prepared servant of God who faithfully carried out the purposes for which he was sent.
II. The Value of the Designation "the Baptist."
A. First, we can see where the term "the Baptist" separates him from all others that are called by the name of John. But other things would have separated him from the other Johns in the scripture. e.g. His dress of camels hair and a leathern girdle about his loins (Matt. 3:3,4). The food he ate locusts and wild honey; the place where he abode and where he preached his messages (the wilderness), even the message that he preached would have set him apart as being different than other people named John.
B. Secondly, the term "the Baptist" in Matt. 3:1 is a noun not a verb. It is not simply trying to tell us that he was the one baptizing, for he had not yet baptized any one when the name "the Baptist" was given him and so recorded in the Inspired Word of God.
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