John The Baptist

10 Pages 2547 Words

ill have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:13:18). Zechariah doubted the angel because both him and his wife were too old to have a child. Gabriel made Zechariah mute because of his doubts until the birth of his son. Six months later the same angel told Mary that she would have a son. Mary heard about her cousin Elizabeth bearing a child so she went to visit her. The baby John was filled with the Holy Spirit and leaped for joy in the womb when Mary was present.
John’s mission in life was to prepare the way for Jesus, Mary’s son. John was born in the Country of Judea, south of Jerusalem. On the eighth day of John’s birth, he was brought to the temple to be named and circumcised. It was a custom that the father usually named the children. However, Zechariah still unable to speak, could not perform the task: “And, behold, thou shall be dumb and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words; which shall be fulfilled in their season". (Luke 1:20 Vs) In obedience, Elizabeth said: “He shall be called John”; Zechariah confirmed the child’s name by writing on the table and he began to speak again. Friends and relatives had fear written on their faces, for they knew that something special was about to happen.
John grew up as a hermit in the desert. Because of this, he was unspoiled by the world and close to God. He spent many hours meditating to God. When he was 27 or about AD 30, he began preaching ...