What would it have been like to grow up knowing that an archangel had announced your birth...knowing that you have the unique and perilous calling of a prophet? That's what John the Baptist knew his own destiny.
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The oracles of a prophet seem like such a mysterious and radical concept. It's the kind of wild, supernatural work of God that we usually try to leave behind in our modern world. It's just a little too "out there" and uncomfortable.
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When was the last time someone caught you doing something wrong? Did you get embarrassed? Angry? Did you start to argue? Make a joke? Hide? Or do you get sad and quiet? Did you repent?
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The crowds continued to flock to John, the wild preacher who gave his message in the open places, far from the Temple in Jerusalem. As he baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan River, the people could see that his bold declarations were full of the Spirit of God, and so they began to wonder who he was. Is he the prophet Elijah come back to life as foretold in Malachi 4:5?
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The Spirit of the Lord had come to anoint the Son of God in a special and powerful way. After Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus away from the Jordan and the bustle of ministry that surrounded John. Jesus was compelled to go out to the wilderness and to the silence of utter nature.
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After his baptism, Christ was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. Meanwhile, the counsel of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the most powerful religious leaders in the country, sent more priests to question John the Baptist.
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The time had come for the most important work in human history to begin...the ministry of Christ. But He didn't go it alone. During His final days at John the Baptist's encampment, John continually pointed out to his own followers that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. This lit a fire under some of the men and they went to Jesus, seeking Him as their rabbi.
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After the Lord and His disciples left Jerusalem, they went out to the hilly region of Judea. Jesus spent time with His disciples there and they baptized those that came to Him. John the Baptist was baptizing people in an area called Aenon. There was plenty of water there and many people journeyed to him as well. His disciples began discussing something that they thought was a real problem.
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As Jesus made His way through Galilee to tell the people of the region the Good News of the Kingdom of God, He traveled to His home town of Nazareth. They had waited for so many years through history for the Kingdom of God to come.
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John the Baptist was in prison. You see, he had said some things that Herod, the pretender king, did not like. Herod had taken his own brother’s wife and married her. John the Baptist spoke out against it, so Herod threw John in prison and kept him there.
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