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ABOVE: The tranquil waters of the Jordan River in Israel. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan.
John the Baptist knew what his mission from God was because like the Old Testament prophets such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, the word of God came to him. JAH let him know that he was being sent to fulfill 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."
John's mission was to be a messenger similar to an angel sent from Almighty God to prepare the way for the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ: the Son of God.
He was to introduce to Israel the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Like an introduction to the keynote speaker Jesus Christ (John 1:19-39).
John began by baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And that:
"There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latches of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mark 1:1-4, KJV).
John Baptized Jesus
Jesus journeyed from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in River Jordan.
After John baptized Him, Christ saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove plus the illuminating glory of God lighting up on Himself. And a voice from Heaven announced that Jesus was the beloved and well-pleasing Son of God (Matthew 3:13-17).
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted for 40 days and nights by Satan. Jesus made the Devil flee after resisting the wiles, offers of earthly wealth and power in exchange for worshiping Satan (Matthew 4).
Jesus began His ministry by preaching "repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
Conclusion
After the word of God came to John, then he started preaching in the wilderness of Israel’s desert and exhorting people to repent and be baptized in River Jordan. Many people, including the Jewish elite religious leaders, came to be baptized by John.
Some people wondered if he was the Messiah.
According to the Holy Bible, JTB began his Messianic Jewish ministry in the 15th year of the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar’s reign (Luke 3:1-6).
Tiberius led the Israel-occupying Roman Empire from AD 14 to AD 37.
When John began his ministry, Roman governor Pontius Pilate oversaw Judaea in Israel. Herod Antipas was a tetrarch or the Roman Empire’s local puppet ruler of Galilee. The Jewish high priests were Annas and Caiaphas during both John the Baptist and Jesus’s lifetimes.
The latter two men led the ground roots movement to have Jesus crucified.
John the Baptist was the first person in the Holy Bible to specifically point Jesus out as the Savior aka “The Lamb of God.”
The Baptist told his followers on consecutive days, as Christ was walking by, that Jesus was the one: “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”
Some 40 days after being baptized, tempted by the devil in the wilderness and ministered to by angels, Jesus began His ministry.
Among many, many other topics, Jesus preached repentance for the remission of sins, that He was to be crucified as a sacrifice to appease God the Father so that the sins of the world would be forgiven.
He also taught and preached that He was the future resurrected Savior who would send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter during His visible absence (Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4).
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist truly prepared the way for the Lord and risen Savior.
Long live the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
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Blessed love.
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