Christmas is an odd time to be writing of John the Baptist. John was Jesus' forerunner, born, according to Luke, six months before Jesus. And so the church celebrates John's birth at the opposite end of the year, on June 24th, midsummer, while we recall Jesus' birth at midwinter. It is as if the lengthening and shortening of the days echo John's words "He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30)
Indeed, in Luke's account the symbolism is starker. John is born to an old woman, Elizabeth, when it is too late for her to have a child. Jesus is born to a young virgin, Mary, when it is too early for her to be giving birth. In the church's calendar (which may, or may not, have anything to do with real dates and times!), John is conceived in autumn, at the dying of the leaves, Jesus in spring when new life is everywhere.
The Benedictus ("Blessed the Lord, the God of Israel"), which we sometimes sing at Morning Prayer, reminds us of the hope brought by John the Baptist's birth - someone who would "go before the Lord to prepare his ways" - to "guide our feet into the way of peace." (Lk 1:68-79)
After his birth, John went off to "live in the wilderness, until the day of his manifestation" (Lk 1:80). The sect at Qumran, which produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, used the term "living in the wilderness" to refer to their community and some people think that John spent time being educated at Qumran. But in fact we know little before John appears "baptizing by the Jordan."
The Jordan was not an ideal place to lead a mission of repentance. It was more than a day's journey from Jerusalem. But it had one major advantage. It was the place from which the prophet Elijah had been swept up to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:4-11).
John's audience would have included Jerusalemites with their families and hangers-on, staying in their winter homes in Jericho. By now, he was speaking out against the injustices of the wealthy and powerful, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that benefits repentance" (Mt 3:7-8). He invited people who came to him to accept baptism as a sign of sincerity and offered them instruction on how to renew their lives (Luke 3:10-14).
Jesus' baptism at John's hands shows how Jesus identified with John's message and ministry. At the same time, both John and Jesus were aware that this was the end of one age, and the start of another. The Holy Spirit confirmed the Christmas message: "Here is My beloved Son." A new age had begun. In Jesus' words, "John is a prophet and more than a prophet. He is the one of whom Malachi wrote, the messenger who comes to prepare the way of the Lord. No man born of woman is greater than John, but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John." (Mt 11:11)
Similarly Jesus said that John "was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light," yet this is immediately followed by, "But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John." (John 5:35-36).
John continued to preach, calling on everyone to repent. For a time his and Jesus' paths ran alongside each other. In John 3:22-24, we find Jesus and his disciples baptizing, while John is also baptizing at Aenon near Salim ("because there was much water there"). Aenon was on the slopes of Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, and the ministry to the despised Samaritans formed part of both John's and Jesus' ministry.
John's ministry came to an end when, after condemning the wealthy, he targeted the king (Mark 6:17-18). Herod Antipas had divorced his wife, the daughter of Aretas IV king of the Nabataeans, in order to marry his niece Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod (not Philip, as Mark says). Aretas, from his capital in Petra, prepared to avenge this insult to his family, and John's condemnation of an unlawful marriage (Lev 20:21) was political dynamite. John was arrested, and while for a time his transparent holiness saved him, the hostility of Herodias finally secured his execution (Mark 6:20-29). (According to Josephus, Herod's defeat by Aretas was the divine punishment for this crime.)
Like Jesus, John had disciples - perhaps "followers" is a better word. And after his death, John's influence lived on for a while. We find accounts (Acts 18:24; 19:3) of devout men in Greece who had received the baptism of John. Yet these saw that Jesus offered something more - companionship with God and redemption from sin. They gladly received the full message of the Gospel of Christ when it was told them. And so with joy do we.
HD