Prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist
is also refered to as John
the Forerunner because he was the forerunner of Christ. He was an ascetic
and great prophet, who baptized Christ and became
one of the most revered saints in the Orthodox Church. John is a cousin of Christ
through his mother Elizabeth who was the daughter of Zoia. Zoia is the sister of
Christ's grandmother. He was later beheaded by
Herod in the first century to statisfy the request of Herod's stepdaughter,
Salome, and wife Herodias. Because he baptized Christ, he is the patron saint of godparents. He is sometimes called the Angel of the Desert;
because of this title, he is sometimes depicted with wings.
Isaiah 40:3-5 is commonly read as a prophecy of
John. His father, Zacharias, was a priest
of the course of Abia (1 Chr. 24:10), and his mother, Elizabeth, was
of the daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5). John held the priesthood of Aaron,
giving him the authority to perform baptisms of God.
His birth took place six months before that of
Jesus, and according to the Gospel account was
expected by prophecy (Matt. 3:3; Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1) and foretold by an angel. Zacharias lost his power of speech because of his
unbelief over the birth of his son, and had it restored on the occasion of
John's circumcision (Luke 1:64).
John was a Nazarite
from his birth (Luke 1:15; Num. 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous
tract of Judea lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matt. 3:1-12). He led
a simple life, wearing rope (gamla) fiber clothing and eating "locusts and
wild honey" (Matt. 3:4).
As an adult John started to preach in public, and
people from "every quarter" were attracted to his message. The
essence of his preaching was the necessity of repentance and turning away from
selfish pursuits. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a
"generation of vipers," and warned them not to assume their heritage
gave them special privilege (Luke 3:8). He warned tax collectors and soldiers against
extortion and plunder. His doctrine and manner of life stirred interest,
bringing people from all parts to see him on the banks of the Jordan River.
There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in
Nazareth (Matt. 3:5), and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by
John, on the special ground that it became him to "fulfill all
righteousness" (Matt. 3:15). John's special office ceased with the baptism
of Jesus, who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He
continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus.
He pointed him out to his disciples, saying,
"Behold the Lamb of God." His public ministry was suddenly (after
about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by
Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of
his brother Philip (Luke 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus, a
fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and
here he was beheaded at the instigation of Herodias; later tradition also
implicates Salomé. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the
grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Matt. 14:3-12). John's death
occurred apparently just before the third Passover of Jesus' ministry.
Jesus himself testified regarding John that he was
a "burning and a shining light" (John 5:35). John was the last of the
Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge figure between that period of
revelation and Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his death,
John descended into Hell and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah
was coming.
Hymns
The Just are celebrated with praises but for you O
Forerunner, witnessing the Lord was adequate. Truly, you were proven to be more
honorable than the prophets, for you were deemed
worthy to baptize in the river, Him who you proclaimed. Wherefore, having
mightily contended for truth, you joyously brought to those in Hades the glad
tidings of God who appeared in the flesh, and who takes away the sins of the
world and grants us great mercy.
