Israel and Judah had not seen or heard from a prophet since the days of Malachi, approximately 400 years prior. Malachi himself had made mention of such a man as John who was to come in chapter 3:1; "Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. (New Living Translation)
Jesus Himself refers to John from this passage in Malachi in Matthew 11;10, Mark1;2, and Luke 7:27.
Another note of interest concerning the arrival of John the Baptizer; the conditions of the times in both Israel and in Judah. Roman rule had been clearly established, and the pagan influence of Roman culture had filtered down into the minds and hearts of the Jewish people themselves.
Although the Law was still being taught in the synagogues, the heart of the message and the original purpose of the Law had been "covered up" for quite some time. Now, the Law was nothing more than a hierarchy putting demands on the poor, and then having the arrogance in exalting themselves as to how "holy" they are because of the strict adherence to Jewish Law...which now was saturated in customs and traditions (over 2000) that were never intended or had origin in the Old Testament scripture themselves. Life had become one big "blur"....Jewish traditions and Roman law...nothing seemed to make any sense anymore (kind of sounds familiar to me...like maybe that is how we are today?).
In fact, in some writings of ancient historians pointed to clear indicators of how perverse this generation of John's time had actually become. "Absolute", or to "know what is right" was pretty much "down the tubes" during that time in history. The sanctity of marriage had been severely diluted, abortion was more common than one might think, and it was tolerated to have new-borns murdered for the "sake of family" or for the economic future of a particular region.
The understanding of Scripture and following the Law was at an all-time low, a vivid example being when Jesus cleared out the Temple. It was a "dog eat dog" world, and the hatred between Jews and Romans escalated with the arrival of John and soon to be the Messiah.
In the first chapter of Luke, it is written John was born of a Jewish priest named Zechariah who was a priest of the order of Abijah, and Elizabeth, who also was of the priestly line of Aaron. Then, in verse 6 the scriptures declare Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Hmmm...
I think it was quite apparent at that point and time the priesthood had been badly abused, and a righteous priest had to be identified from those who were not.
John mirrored the ways of Elijah, of who many thought he was. Elijah was regarded highly by the Jewish community and as John grew his reputation also grew...and was respected if for no other reason than for his identity with Elijah. The scriptures mention of three distinct areas John baptized people in water; 1) in Bethany beyond the Jordan 2) near Aenon, and 3) an area located at the Jordan River itself. These specific areas had been brought up in scripture before...these were 3 specific places Elijah had been.
John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt....he wasn't the first...Elijah had wore the same when he was here on earth.
One other interesting note. When John sent his disciples to ask Jesus about who He was, for at this time John had now been imprisoned and was soon to be beheaded, Jesus response to John's disciples were taken from the prophet Isaiah. Jesus said to tell John "the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is announced to the poor" (Luke 7:21-23). He quoted these from Isaiah 26:19, 29:18-19, 35:5-6, and 61:1-2.
In all the references to Isaiah, Jesus left out one from the Isaiah passages when speaking this to John's disciples who would in turn relay this to John. Jesus left out "and the prisoners will be set free"......
Jesus Himself refers to John from this passage in Malachi in Matthew 11;10, Mark1;2, and Luke 7:27.
Another note of interest concerning the arrival of John the Baptizer; the conditions of the times in both Israel and in Judah. Roman rule had been clearly established, and the pagan influence of Roman culture had filtered down into the minds and hearts of the Jewish people themselves.
Although the Law was still being taught in the synagogues, the heart of the message and the original purpose of the Law had been "covered up" for quite some time. Now, the Law was nothing more than a hierarchy putting demands on the poor, and then having the arrogance in exalting themselves as to how "holy" they are because of the strict adherence to Jewish Law...which now was saturated in customs and traditions (over 2000) that were never intended or had origin in the Old Testament scripture themselves. Life had become one big "blur"....Jewish traditions and Roman law...nothing seemed to make any sense anymore (kind of sounds familiar to me...like maybe that is how we are today?).
In fact, in some writings of ancient historians pointed to clear indicators of how perverse this generation of John's time had actually become. "Absolute", or to "know what is right" was pretty much "down the tubes" during that time in history. The sanctity of marriage had been severely diluted, abortion was more common than one might think, and it was tolerated to have new-borns murdered for the "sake of family" or for the economic future of a particular region.
The understanding of Scripture and following the Law was at an all-time low, a vivid example being when Jesus cleared out the Temple. It was a "dog eat dog" world, and the hatred between Jews and Romans escalated with the arrival of John and soon to be the Messiah.
In the first chapter of Luke, it is written John was born of a Jewish priest named Zechariah who was a priest of the order of Abijah, and Elizabeth, who also was of the priestly line of Aaron. Then, in verse 6 the scriptures declare Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Hmmm...
I think it was quite apparent at that point and time the priesthood had been badly abused, and a righteous priest had to be identified from those who were not.
John mirrored the ways of Elijah, of who many thought he was. Elijah was regarded highly by the Jewish community and as John grew his reputation also grew...and was respected if for no other reason than for his identity with Elijah. The scriptures mention of three distinct areas John baptized people in water; 1) in Bethany beyond the Jordan 2) near Aenon, and 3) an area located at the Jordan River itself. These specific areas had been brought up in scripture before...these were 3 specific places Elijah had been.
John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt....he wasn't the first...Elijah had wore the same when he was here on earth.
One other interesting note. When John sent his disciples to ask Jesus about who He was, for at this time John had now been imprisoned and was soon to be beheaded, Jesus response to John's disciples were taken from the prophet Isaiah. Jesus said to tell John "the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is announced to the poor" (Luke 7:21-23). He quoted these from Isaiah 26:19, 29:18-19, 35:5-6, and 61:1-2.
In all the references to Isaiah, Jesus left out one from the Isaiah passages when speaking this to John's disciples who would in turn relay this to John. Jesus left out "and the prisoners will be set free"......
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