Who was John the Baptizer!

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent and for the Gospel reading today, we read the passage about the Preaching of John the Baptist, which you can find in Luke 3:1-6.

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.

3John went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah;
"A voice of one crying out in the desert
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
And the rough ways made smooth,
6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

The coming of the Messiah whom we know later as our Lord Jesus Christ was heralded by John the Baptizer, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, (a cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary) whose coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. The amazing story of the birth of John the Baptizer can be read in Luke 1:57-66; when Elizabeth and Zechariah named him John even if no one in his family bore that name. Apparently this was because an angel came to Zechariah and told him to name him John. But since Zechariah did not believe in the angel, he was rendered speechless... until the day of John's circumcision and finally given the name John and only then was Zechariah's tongue was set loose.

You can read this great Bible story in Luke 1:5-25. It is interesting to note that in verses 13-17 we read, "But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, 16 and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

When finally John the Baptizer saw Jesus in the river Jordan waiting to be baptized... John said something that all of us repeat when the Holy Eucharist is raised up by the priest during the mass, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." But when John knew that his life would soon be over when Herod had him arrested, John's messengers went to Jesus asking him "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus replied, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." You can read all this in Luke 7:18-23.

Please take note as you read Luke 1:17 "He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord." This brings us to the question, was John the Baptizer also Elijah, who did not die but was taken to heaven in a flaming chariot?

In Mark 9:11-13 we read what Jesus said about John, "Then they asked him, 'Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? 12 He told them, "Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet now is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."

John the Baptizer came to this world to prepare the people to make straight the path of the Son of Man... and so we read about John today as Christmas draws near. Finally, when we have a personal relation with our Lord Jesus Christ, we bring to mind what John said when he saw Jesus on the banks of the River Jordan... "I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Just like what John said when he found the Messiah... we too when we find Jesus in our hearts, Jesus must increase in us, while we must decrease before him. God Bless you!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit's columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com