Who is John?

(the Baptist)

 

John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

John 1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

John 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

John 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

 

Mal. 3:1a Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:

 

Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

 

Is. 40:3 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.

 

 

Re Elijah—

 

Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Luke 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his motherŐs womb.

Luke 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.

 

Matt. 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

Matt. 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

 

Matt. 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

Matt. 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

Matt. 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

Matt. 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

 

Mal. 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Mal. 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

Mal 3:1b 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.

Mal. 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refinerŐs fire, and like fullersŐ soap:

Mal. 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal. 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Mal. 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal. 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

 

 

Re the offer of the Kingdom of heaven—

 

Matt. 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Matt. 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matt. 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

Matt. 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

Matt. 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matt. 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

 

Re the Prophet--

 

Deut. 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

Deut. 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

 

John 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

John 7:41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

 

Acts 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

Acts 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

 

 

Observations from GodŐs word:

 

  1. John said he was NOT the Christ, Elijah or The Prophet.
  2. John said that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3.
  3. Mark 1:1-3 ties that truth with Malachi 3:1a.
  4. As is often the case, Malachi is speaking of two different times without breaking stride.  The rest of Malachi 3:1b-6 speaks of the 2nd coming of Christ in judgment, to rule, and for purification of the nation of Israel (which is yet future).
  5. Both John and Elijah came to turn the people back to God.
  6. John came to minister with the same spirit and with the same power as Elijah.  (Luke 1:17)
  7. The offer of the kingdom of heaven at JesusŐ first coming was a legitimate offer.  (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7)
  8. God is omniscient, so, of course, knew in advance that His Son and the offer of the kingdom would be rejected.  That is why Jesus said that John would have fulfilled the prophecy re the coming of Elijah had Israel accepted him as the messenger preceding the Messiah and Jesus as the Messiah.  (Matthew 11:14 & 17:12-13)
  9. Jesus specifically says that the physical return of Elijah was future in Matthew 17:11.
  10.  Elijah will come before the Ňgreat and terrible day of the Lord.Ó (Mal 4:5)
  11. The Jews were looking for another ŇunnamedÓ prophet according to Deuteronomy 18:18-19.
  12. This Prophet would be a Jew (of their brethren) and raised up by God like Moses.  (Acts 3:22)
  13. This prophecy seems to apply to Jesus, especially when studied in connection with the verses in Acts 3:20-23.
  14. The verses in John 7 indicate that the public had not been taught to understand that this Prophet and the Christ were one and the same.