Holy Boldness

Who was John the Baptist?

At the time of Jesus’ baptism, John was a public enigma. He was a complicated figure in Israel. He was reputedly born of miraculous birth to Zechariah and Elizabeth but he lived and matured in the wilderness away from the dulling influences of normal life in the city. Rugged, strange, fearless, untamed, and uncivilized with a diet of “locusts and wild honey,” (Matt. 3:4) he was a wild figure unafraid of controversy who challenged the low state of morality in Israel and acted as a crucial catalyst that deeply stirred the people of Israel in Jesus’ day. The people consid ered John to be no less than a reemergence of the prophetic voice of God in Israel which had been strangely silent for 400 years. But what is most significant about him was that Jesus recognized him as one having authority. Later Jesus would access John in glowing terms saying that there had never been another prophet greater than John, that he was Elijah and the forerunner of the promised Messiah (Matt. 11:12-14). When Jesus came forward to be baptized by John it was a turning point in the history of Israel. When Jesus stepped into the Jordan River to be baptized, it was His first act of public alignment with the move of God. 1 . Interestingly, Jesus’ first public act was not only to join a movement already in progress but furthermore, He joined a movement that was popularly acknowledged, but not officially endorsed . Consider the significance of this. John was not officially recognized by the Jewish reli gious authorities. The Pharisees and priests were still trying to figure out what to make of him. He was not in the temple but out in the desert. He was provocative and controversial. He was wild and unpredictable. Even his dress and food were provocative. Furthermore, John challenged the religious leaders of the day as being a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). Nevertheless, Jesus did not hesitate. By submitting to John’s baptism, rather than initiating something himself, He aligned himself with what God was already doing. 2. When Jesus submitted to the baptism of John, He simultane ously endorsed John’s ministry and became a witness to it. It established Jesus’ solidarity with John. In other words, Jesus judged John’s ministry to be from heaven and identified himself with it. Subsequently, Jesus’ Why is Jesus’ submission to John’s baptism significant?

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