This chapter is based on Luke 1:5-23, 57-80; 3:1-18; Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8.
(HLv 57)
From among the faithful in Israel the forerunner of Christ arose. The aged priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth were “both righteous before God,” and in their quiet lives the light of faith shone out like a star amid the darkness. To this godly pair was given the promise of a son, who should “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”
(HLv 57.1)
Zacharias had gone to Jerusalem to minister for one week in the temple. Standing before the golden altar in the holy place of the sanctuary, suddenly he became conscious of an angel of the Lord “standing on the right side of the altar.” For years he had prayed for the coming of the Redeemer; now these prayers were about to be answered.
(HLv 57.2)
He was greeted with the joyful assurance: “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John... . He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost... . And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
(HLv 57.3)
For a moment the aged priest forgot that what God promises, He is able to perform. What a contrast between his unbelief and the faith of Mary, whose answer to the angel’s announcement was, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38, RSV.
(HLv 57.4)
The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of the child of Abraham, and that of Mary, was to teach a great truth: that which we cannot do will be wrought by the power of God in every believing soul. Through faith the child of promise was given. Through faith spiritual life is begotten, and we are enabled to do the works of righteousness.
(HLv 58.1)
Five hundred years before, the angel Gabriel had made known to Daniel the prophetic period which was to extend to the coming of Christ. The knowledge that the end of this period was near had moved Zacharias to pray for the Messiah’s advent. Now, the very same angel through whom the prophecy was given had come to announce its fulfillment.
(HLv 58.2)
Zacharias had expressed doubt of the angel’s words. He was not to speak again until they were fulfilled. “Behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” RSV. It was the duty of the priest in this service to pray for pardon of sins and for the coming of the Messiah; but when Zacharias attempted to do this, he could not utter a word. As he came forth from the holy place, his face was shining with the glory of God, and the people “perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple.” Zacharias “remained dumb” but through “signs” (RSV) communicated to them what he had seen and heard.
(HLv 58.3)
Soon after the birth of the promised child, the father’s tongue was loosed. “And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’” RSV. All this called attention to the Messiah’s coming.
(HLv 58.4)
The Holy Spirit rested upon Zacharias, and he prophesied of the mission of his son:
(HLv 59.1)
Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; ... To give knowledge of salvation unto His people By the remission of their sins.
(HLv 59)
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.” God had called the son of Zacharias to the greatest work ever committed to men. And the Spirit of God would be with him if he heeded the instruction of the angel.
(HLv 59.2)
John was to bring to men the light of God. He must impress them with their need of His righteousness. Such a messenger must be holy, a temple for the indwelling Spirit of God. He must have a sound physical constitution, and mental and spiritual strength. Therefore it would be necessary for him to control the appetites and passions.
(HLv 59.3)
In the time of John the Baptist, greed for riches and the love of luxury and display had become widespread. Sensuous pleasures, feasting and drinking, were causing physical degeneracy, benumbing spiritual perceptions, and lessening the sensibility to sin. John was to stand as a reformer. By his abstemious life and plain dress he was to rebuke the excesses of his time. Hence the lesson of temperance given to his parents by an angel from the throne of heaven.
(HLv 59.4)
In childhood and youth the power of self-control should be acquired. Habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life. Youth, the sowing time, determines the character of the harvest, for this life and for the life to come.
(HLv 59.5)
In preparing the way for Christ’s first advent John was a representative of those who prepare a people for our Lord’s second coming. The world is given to self indulgence. Errors and fables abound. All who would perfect holiness in the fear of God must learn temperance and self-control. See 2 Corinthians 7:1. The appetites and passions must be held in subjection to the higher powers of the mind. This self-discipline is essential to that mental strength and spiritual insight which enable us to understand and practice the truths of God’s Word.
(HLv 59.6)
In the natural order of things the son of Zacharias would have been educated in the rabbinical schools. But since this would have unfitted him for his work, God called him to the desert, that he might learn of nature and nature’s God.
(HLv 60.1)
John found his home in the barren hills, wild ravines, and rocky caves. Here his surroundings were favorable to habits of simplicity and self-denial. Here he could study the lessons of nature, of revelation, and of Providence. From childhood his mission had been kept before him by his God-fearing parents, and he had accepted the holy trust. The solitude of the desert was a welcome escape from society in which unbelief and impurity had become well-nigh all-pervading. He shrank from constant contact with sin lest he lose the sense of its exceeding sinfulness.
(HLv 60.2)
But the life of John was not spent in ascetic gloom or selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle with men, ever an interested observer of what was passing in the world. Illuminated by the divine Spirit he studied men to understand how to reach their hearts with the message of heaven. The burden of his mission was on him. By meditation and prayer he sought to gird up his soul for the life work before him.
(HLv 60.3)
Although in the wilderness, he was not exempt from temptation. He was assailed by the tempter, but his spiritual perceptions were clear, and through the Holy Spirit he was able to detect and resist Satan’s approaches.
(HLv 60.4)
Like Moses amid the mountains of Midian, John was shut in by God’s presence. The gloomy and terrible aspect of nature in his wilderness home vividly pictured the condition of Israel. The vineyard of the Lord had become a desolate waste. But above, the dark clouds were arched by the rainbow of promise.
(HLv 61.1)
Alone in the silent night he read God’s promise to Abraham of a seed numberless as the stars. The light of dawn told of Him who should be as “the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.” 2 Samuel 23:4. And in the brightness of noontide he saw the splendor when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Isaiah 40:5.
(HLv 61.2)
With awed yet exultant spirit he searched in the prophetic scrolls the revelations of the Messiah’s coming. Shiloh was to appear before a king should cease to reign on David’s throne. Now the time had come. A Roman ruler sat in the palace on Mount Zion. By the sure word of the Lord, already the Christ was born.
(HLv 61.3)
Isaiah’s rapt portrayals of the Messiah’s glory were his study by day and by night. See Isaiah 11:4; 32:2; 62:4. The heart of the lonely exile was filled with the glorious vision. He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven’s messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.
(HLv 61.4)
John did not fully understand the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom, but the coming of a King in righteousness and the establishment of Israel as a holy nation, was the great object of his hope.
(HLv 61.5)
He saw his people self-satisfied and asleep in their sins. The message God had given him was to startle them from their lethargy. Before the seed of the gospel could find lodgment, the soil of the heart must be broken up. Before they would seek healing from Jesus, they must be awakened to their danger from the wounds of sin.
(HLv 62.1)
God does not send messengers to lull the unsanctified into fatal security. He lays heavy burdens on the conscience of the wrongdoer and pierces the soul with arrows of conviction. Ministering angels present the fearful judgments of God to deepen the sense of need. Then the hand that has humbled in the dust lifts up the penitent.
(HLv 62.2)
When the ministry of John began, the nation was verging on revolution. At the removal of Archelaus, Judea had been brought directly under the control of Rome. The tyranny and extortion of the Roman governors, and their efforts to introduce heathen symbols and customs, kindled revolt, which had been quenched in the blood of thousands of the bravest of Israel.
(HLv 62.3)
Amid discord and strife, a voice was heard from the wilderness, startling and stern yet full of hope: “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” With a new, strange power it moved the people. Here was an announcement that the coming of Christ was at hand. With the spirit and power of Elijah, John denounced the national corruption and rebuked the prevailing sins. His words were pointed and convincing. The nation was stirred. Multitudes flocked to the wilderness.
(HLv 62.4)
John called the people to repentance. As a symbol of cleansing from sin, he baptized them in the waters of the Jordan. Thus he declared that those who claimed to be the chosen people of God were defiled by sin. Without purification of heart they could have no part in the Messiah’s kingdom.
(HLv 62.5)
Princes and rabbis, soldiers, publicans, and peasants came to hear the prophet. Many were brought to repentance and received baptism in order to participate in the kingdom he announced.
(HLv 62.6)
Many scribes and Pharisees came confessing their sins and asking for baptism. They had led the people to entertain a high opinion of their piety; now the guilty secrets of their lives were unveiled. But John was impressed that many of these men had no real conviction of sin. They were timeservers. As friends of the prophet, they hoped to find favor with the coming Prince. And by receiving baptism they thought to strengthen their influence with the people.
(HLv 63.1)
John met them with the scathing inquiry, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance.” RSV. Because the Jews had separated themselves from God, they were suffering under His judgments. This was the cause of their bondage to a heathen nation. Because in times past the Lord had shown them great favor, they excused their sins. They flattered themselves that they were better than other men and entitled to His blessings.
(HLv 63.2)
John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a deadly curse to the people. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen. God was not dependent on them for fulfilling His purpose. He could call others to His service.
(HLv 63.3)
“And now,” said the prophet, “the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” If the fruit is worthless, the name cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that if their life and character were not in harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.
(HLv 63.4)
All who became subjects of Christ’s kingdom, he said, would give evidence of faith and repentance. Kindness and fidelity would be seen in their lives. They would minister to the needy, shield the defenseless, and give an example of virtue and compassion.
(HLv 63.5)
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” RSV. Isaiah had declared that the Lord would cleanse His people “by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” Isaiah 4:4.
(HLv 64.1)
In all who submit to His power, the Spirit of God will consume sin. See Hebrews 12:29. But if men cling to sin, then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them. At the second advent of Christ the wicked shall be consumed “with the Spirit of His mouth,” and destroyed “with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8. The glory of God which imparts life to the righteous will slay the wicked.
(HLv 64.2)
In the time of John the Baptist, Christ was about to appear as the revealer of the character of God. His very presence would make manifest to men their sin. Only as they were willing to be purged from sin could they enter into fellowship with Him.
(HLv 64.3)
Thus the Baptist declared God’s message to Israel. Many gave heed and sacrificed all in order to obey. Not a few cherished the hope that he might be the Messiah. But as John saw the people turning to him, he sought every opportunity of directing their faith to Him who was to come.
(HLv 64.4)