John the Baptist

uh...why are covering John the Baptist in a study of "Christ in the Synoptic Gospels"?

cuz, my textbook did, and there is some really interesting stuff to be covered!!

If you really want the most details about John the Baptist (can I just call him John, it would really make this easier...thanks!) the best place to look is the book of Luke chapter 1.

• Born to Zechariah and Elizabeth
• They were "well along in years" and past the age of having children. Zechariah was a priest, and as he was serving in the Temple the angel Gabriel appeared and told him he was going to have a son, and to name him John
• Gabriel identifies John's 3 main purposes to be:
1. to be a joy and delight to his parents...ahhh, isn't that great! (apparently Gabriel never dealt with a tantruming toddler...or worse...a tantruming teenager!!)
2. turn many of the people of Israel back to the Lord
3. prepare the people for the coming of Christ
• John was a Judean
• John was a relative of Jesus
• John was a rough mountain man who lived in the desert until the Lord called him to ministry at the age of 30. (John was about 6 months older than Jesus, so this gives us a good reference for how old Jesus was at the beginning of his ministry)
• John preached in Judea
• He preached a baptism of repentance. First repent, then be baptised as an outward sign of an internal change. (Isaiah 40:3-5)
• Many people believed that John was the Christ.
• He responded to this with...(Luke 3:16-18)   yup, I'm going to make you read it yourself!
• John baptised Jesus in the Jordan river
• John was put in prison and beheaded. Mark 6:17-29
• John was Elijah returned. Matthew 17:1-13

The important thing to remember about John the Baptist is that he prepared the people for the coming of Jesus.