Lessons from the Life of the Baptist
Lessons from the Life of the Baptist
The Greatest Born of Women:
Many people have been praised by others for greatness, but such testimonies were false, mistaken, ignorant, or flattering. Yet John the Baptist was declared great by God Himself and by His angel. It was said of him: “He will be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:15).
Thus, greatness was attributed to John before he was even born—by the testimony of the Lord.
Many great works were said about John: that “he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,” “turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,” “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” “prepare the way before the Lord,” and “go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah.” If we ask the angel who announced his birth about the secret of this amazing greatness, he answers: “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Truly, this is the secret of John’s greatness.
We have heard in the Holy Scriptures that the Spirit of the Lord came upon many—Samson, Saul, David, and many prophets—but never before was it said that anyone “was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb.” This grace was unique to John the Baptist; none preceded him in it.
As a result of this fullness, he leaped with joy in his mother’s womb as a greeting to the divine Child in the Virgin’s womb. He was granted knowledge to recognize the Lord and even the spirit of worship while still in the womb—something never said of any prophet or saint before him. He knew Christ, believed in Him, and worshiped Him before being born.
His mother Elizabeth said: “The babe leaped in my womb for joy.” He rejoiced in the Lord, in the salvation that was about to come into the world from the Virgin’s womb. Amazing indeed is such joy from an unborn child who neither perceives nor understands—but the wonder fades knowing he was filled with the Holy Spirit, “for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). It was by the Spirit that he moved in the womb, believed, and rejoiced. Truly, he was great before the Lord!
And John’s greatness was not only testified to by the angel but also by the Lord of Glory Himself. The Lord did not merely call him great but said: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
The Lord Himself bore witness that John was the greatest born of women. What higher testimony could a human receive on earth? Scripture even gives him another title—“the angel” or “messenger” who prepares the way before Christ (Mark 1:2; Matthew 11:10). The Lord also said that John was “more than a prophet” (Matthew 11:9). Thus, John was an angel, a prophet, and a priest, being the son of Zechariah the priest.
Perhaps the greatest event in John’s life was that he baptized Christ the Lord.
Jesus came to him to be baptized like the rest of the people, and in obedience, John baptized Him. He was deemed worthy to see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and to hear the Father’s voice saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16–17). Thus, he experienced the Holy Trinity—spiritually and visibly.
The greatness of John also appears in that he completed his great mission in a short time—perhaps six months or a little more. This is the difference between his age and Christ’s, as both began their ministry around thirty. John served for those six months, and when Christ appeared, he began to fade. Yet in that short time, he led many to repentance, bore powerful witness to the Lord, and prepared the way before Him. He proved that the power of ministry lies not in its length but in its depth and fruitfulness.
It is indeed wondrous that many faithful servants are not allowed to serve long. It suffices that they offer an example of holiness and a testimony to God, after which He receives them in peace—just like a brilliant student who answers a deep question perfectly in an oral exam, and the examiners, convinced, let him go. God likewise values the quality of service, not its quantity. John offered an outstanding example of serious ministry and deep spirituality that pleased the Lord, who let him depart in peace.
John’s greatness also shone in that he lived a pure life despite the darkness of his age.
It was a wicked generation, especially its religious leaders—the chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. False teachers like Theudas and Judas of Galilee had already deceived many (Acts 5). It was a time marked by legalism and lack of spirit, and the religious men were known for hypocrisy and pride. The Lord called it “a wicked and adulterous generation” (Matthew 12:39).
Yet John was not corrupted by his generation. On the contrary, he was a blessing to it—a cause of repentance and guidance. He was a man of the wilderness, a man of asceticism. He had been hunted by death since childhood, when Herod killed the infants, and so he was taken to the desert, where he lived and grew strong in spirit (Luke 1:8). He drank no wine nor strong drink (Luke 1:15). He wore camel’s hair, a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6). Thus, he was trained in ascetic life. Saint Isaac the Syrian was right when he said: “Even the sight of poverty kills worldly movements in the heart.” God prepared him in the wilderness as He prepared the Virgin in the Temple—brave, fearless, and ready for a divine mission.
John’s greatness was also in his courage—he boldly declared the truth regardless of the cost. Truly, the ascetic fears no one.
When Herod the king sinned, who dared rebuke him? Who would confront him with the truth? Only John the Baptist. He alone said to Herod: “It is not lawful for you.” Perhaps people warned him, saying: “You will be imprisoned.” But John believed that if this door was opened by God, no one could close it. If God wanted him to preach, no one could stop him; and if God willed otherwise, His will be done. With that mindset, John bore witness to the truth—come what may.
And indeed, his head was cut off. Yet the voice of the one crying in the wilderness continued to echo in Herod’s ears, troubling his conscience and sleep, always reminding him: “It is not lawful for you.” John’s voice did not die with his body—it continued to thunder against the enemies of truth. Even after his death, Herod still feared him. When he heard of Christ’s powerful preaching and miracles, he said to his servants: “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works show forth themselves in him” (Matthew 14:2).
John treated Herod the same as he did everyone else. He called all people to repentance—kings, soldiers, leaders, and commoners alike. All are equal under the law of God, all in need of repentance. He cried: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). His call was stern, rebuking and convicting, yet people received it with open hearts, and his ministry succeeded: “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6).
When crowds gathered around him, he turned their eyes away from himself toward Christ. He made every effort to decrease so that Christ might increase—this was his greatest virtue. He said: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11); “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8).
He proclaimed: “After me comes one who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and untie” (Mark 1:7); “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me” (John 1:30); “I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him” (John 3:28).
John’s thoughts were not centered on himself but on Christ. He sought not his own glory but the kingdom of Christ. He knew he was not the light, but came to bear witness to the Light (John 1:8). He was merely a forerunner before the coming King, whose role was to prepare the way.
Self-interest was dead in John; it had no place in his service. For him, Christ was all in all. May he be a lesson to servants who build their own image through ministry, or who treat service as a stage for self-display.
The most beautiful phrase that expresses John’s ministry is his saying about Christ: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This was the secret of his success and the principle that guided all his work. Thus, when Christ’s preaching began to surpass his own, John rejoiced, saying: “Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled… He who has the bride is the bridegroom… He who comes from above is above all… He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:26–31, 36).
When John met Christ, it was as if he said: “Here is the bride—it is Yours. I only received her to deliver her to You, pure and adorned. I called her first to repentance and said to her: ‘O bride, behold, the Bridegroom is coming; prepare to meet Him.’ Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people and your father’s house. So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him” (Psalm 45:10–11). As soon as Christ came, John handed over the bride and withdrew from the scene—standing as a friend of the Bridegroom, watching and rejoicing.
