The = king. wer. ple. 27 Lesson 4. John the Baptist Introduces Jesus In Lesson 2, you briefly studied how the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias while he was serving in the temple. Zacharias was married to Elizabeth, who was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this lesson you will read more about what Gabriel said and the results of his message. In the great temple compound at Jerusalem, the priests began their work before the sun came up. Because there were more priests than were needed at one time, they were divided into twenty-four groups. Each group served in the temple for one week. Then they would returr: to their homes while the other twenty-three groups each served their week. Each morning the priests on duty cast lots to decide who would perform the various daily services. The most important lot determined which priest would enter the holy place and offer incense upon the golden altar. Since a priest who had offered incense was not usually included in this lot again, he would have this special privilege only onee in his lifetime. While the chosen priest was inside the tem- ple, offering incense, the rest of the priests and anyone else who had come to worship prayed outside. They waited there until the priest returned from offering the incense. Perhaps the most important day in Zacharias’s life was the day when the lot to offer incense fell on him. It was a special day, not only for Zacharias, but for the Jews and for all people. Time Line The Life of John the Baptist ‘An angel appears to Zacharias John is bom, 6 586 John baptizes J Herod kills Joh John preaches and baptizes. John lves in the wildemess, 20,26 27 General Scope: Luke 1:5 ————— Luke 3:22 Note: All dates used in this course are approximate. The thick black section of each bar represents the time span covered in the lesson. Gray bars represent specific periods. Using the Time Line 1. About what year did John begin preaching? 2. About how old was he? A. ANSWERS FROM THE BIBLE ‘About four hundred years before Christ, the prophet Malachi had written, “Behotd, | will send my messongor, and he shall prepare the way before me" (Malachi3:1). God planned that this messenger, John the Baptist, would be a forerunner of the Mossiah, Aimost Zacharias to announce John’s birth, year and a half before Jesus was born, the angel Gabriel appeared to28 ChapterOne __Jesus Comes to Minister John’s Miraculous Birth 3 Luke 1:5-22 1. Why did Zacharias and Elizabeth not expect that they would ever have children? (Choose two answers.) a, They were very poor. c. They did not want to have children. b. They were old, 4. Elizabeth could not have children. 2, The altar of incense stood in the holy place of the temple. When Zacharias stayed in the temple longer than normal, no one entered to see if something was wrong because a. they were too busy praying to notice that he had not returned. b. they often waited a long time for the priest who burned incense. . only the officiating priest could enter the temple while the incense was being offered. 4. God had sent a message telling them to leave Zacharias alone. 8. Zacharias’s response to the angel’s message (Luke 1:18) was most similar to a, Sarah’s response in Genesis 18:10-12. b. Hagar’s response in Genesis 16:7-14. ¢. Hannah’s response in 1 Samuel 1:17, 18. 4, Before Samson was born, an angel told his mother that he would be a Nazarite. John the Baptist may have been a Nazarite too. What part of the Nazarite vow was John the Baptist to fulfil? (Compare with Numbers 6:1-5.) 5. a, To what Old Testament prophet was John compared? b, What was John to prepare? 6. Zacharias asked the angel for a sign that his words would come true, but God had already given 1 him a sign, What was this sign? a. God had given him a son. ©. God had sent an angel to him. ; b. God had made him a priest. d. God had heard his prayers 7, How was Zacharias punished for not believing what the angel said’ John the Baptist was filed with the Holy Spirit from his birth. We are not told anything about John’s boyhood years, except that he “grew. and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). His parents may have died before he began his ministry, since they were quite old when he was born. Jesus and John were close relatives. Their younger years were spent in entirely different environments, each suited for the calling that God had given him to full John’s Ministry and Message John the Baptiat lived in the wilderness near the Dead Sea and along the Jordan River Valley. He baptized peo- ple in the Jordan River, perhaps at several locations. As the son of a priest, he was qualified to be a priest. But instead of serving as a priest under the Old Testament Law, he helped prepare the Jews for the New Covenant.= two nple sptist alfill? siven Lesson 4. John the Baptist Introduces Jesus__ 29 Matthew 3:1-12 8. Even though John the Baptist lived in the wilderness, he became well known, How do we know this? 9. John’s message was a. “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” d. “Listen to my voiee, for I am the prophet Esaias.” ©. “Bring forth fruits for a true and holy sacrifice.” 4. “Be baptized, and turn to Abraham your father.” 10. What did John the Baptist eat? What did he wear? 11. John’s simple lifestyle strengthened his message by showing that he a. was the prophet Elijah, b, believed the Messiah would also wear coarse clothing. . considered the things of God more important than the things of this world. 12, By saying that he was not fit to carry Jesus’ shoes, John tried to a. impress people with his own humility, h b. show Jesus’ greatness to the people. Semin ¢. teach the Pharisees how to treat Jesus. Rie 4. humble himself'so that in due time he might be exalted. fm John Baptizes Jesus ea Matthew 3:13-17 ora hoy a 13, Jesus did not need to repent, for He had no sin. Why did a eee He say He should be baptized? 14. Suggest a good reason why John did not want to baptize Jesus. 15, At Jesus’ baptism, God was present in three Persons. How was each of these Persons manifest? a. God the Father b. God the Son ©. God the Holy Spirit John 1:35-42 16. Two disciples of John the Baptist were Andrew and John (the writer of the Gospel). What moved them to follow Jesus? 17. Whom did Andrew bring to Jesus?30___ChapterOne__Jesus Comes to Mir Jesus said John the Baptist was the “Elijah” whom prophets of long ago had said would come before the Messiah (Matthew 17:10-13). Jesus also called John the greatest among them that are born of women (Luke 7:28). Matthew 11:18, 19 ‘Many Jews came to hear John preach, and later many of them also flocked after Jesus. However, there were many others who criticized both of them and would not accept their words, 18. Apparently John fasted frequently. When he did eat, his food was locusts and wild honey. He prob- ably seldom ate regular meals with others. What evil thing did the Jews say about him? 19. Jesus ate regular meals with His friends, and sometimes He ate with sinners. How did the Jews still criticize Him? ‘The Winding Jordan River Possible Site of Jesus’ Baptism The Jordan River measures about 90 to 100 feet wide, and varies from around 3 to 10 feet deep. It flaws through the Zor, the floodplain of the Jordan, which varies in width from about 1/4 mile to 2 miles. The total distance from the Sea of Galle to the Dead Sea is 65 miles, but the Jordan River twists and turns for 135 miles between these two bodies of water, John’s Death John was not afraid of men. He rebuked sin wherever he saw it, even in Herod, In the end, this was why he was killed. But his work was accomplished, for he had done what God had sent him to do—to prepare the Jews for the ‘coming of the Messiah. (Note: This Herod was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.) Mark 6:14-29 20. What sin had Herod Antipas committed that John rebuked him for?Lesson 4. John the Baptist Introduces Jesus__31 21. Herod refused to kill John at first, even though his wife wanted him to. In a short paragraph, explain how Herod's wife and her daughter managed to have Herod order John’s death B. BIBLE WORD STUDY 1. The New Testament was written in Greek, but a few non-Greek words were used. Some of these non-Greek words are interpreted in the Bible. Find the following words in John 1:38-42, and give the Bible's interpretation of them. a. Rabbi b. Messias ©. Cephas 2. The word Christ is also used in these verses. Find its meaning in a Bible dictionary. 8. In Matthew 11:18, 19, people were deseribed as winebibbers, gluftonous, and publicans. Find the meaning of each of these words. a, winebibber b. glutton ©. publican in C. THINKING ABOUT BIBLE TRUTHS 1. John preached that all men needed to repent. According to Matthew 3:8, 9, what excuse did he say the religious Pharisees and Sadducees should not make? 2, Read John 1:29. Under God's Old Covenant with Israel, God required the sacrifice of a lamb as a temporary covering for sin. Under God’s New Covenant with the Christian church, a Lamb was also sacrificed. a. Who is that Lamb? b, What more can He do than the lamb sacrificed in the Old Testament? 3. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, Satan tempted Him. Satan wanted Jesus to serve him. How does this prove that Satan does not have the good of mankind at heart? 4, What was probably the reason for the Jews’ criticism of both John and Jesus?32 __ChapterOne _ Jesus Comes to Minister D. LEARNING MORE ABOUT BIBLE TIMES Who Were the Essenes? John the Baptist was not the only person who Iied inthe wildemess. In lonely settlements around the Dead Sea, ‘other men lived in simple communities. People called them Essenes (eh SEENZ). When a man or boy joined the Essenes (there were few Essene ‘wormen), he received three things—a pickax, an apron, and a white garment, He used the pickax to ig. He wore the apron while taking baths. (Essenes took a bath before every meal.) And the white garment was to remind him to keep, himself pure at all times. Essenes had strict laws about food. They ate ite (nothing 01 the Sabbath), and only special foods prepared by special priests were served. They considered their meals to be sac- tices to God, ‘All Essene property was held in common, The Essenes made fearful vows to tell each other everything about themselves and to keep their teachings secret from outsiders. Because many Jews had corrupted the true wor- ship, they did not worship or sacrifice at the temple. Instoad, thoy worshiped God while facing the rising sun, For many years people knew very litle about the Essenes, But along with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ‘which the Essenes had hidden in caves, came a wealth of information about the Essenes themselves. John the Baptist lived more like the Essenes than Jesus did, but neither of them followed or taught the doctrines of the Essenes. Jesus worshiped at the temple, even though not everything done there was right, And Jesus rebuked those who rejected God's plan and tried to ezin their own salvation, # For many years some people thought that John the Baptist might have been an Essene. Compare Matthew 3:1-6 with the information in this section, and list three ways that John the Baptist was different from the Hssenes.