John 3:22 - John 4:3

John 3:22-24 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)

After His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus left Jerusalem and settled for a little while in the province of Judea, not far from where John the Baptist was still calling for people to repent and be baptized.

John 3: 25-26 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

People began to leave John the Baptist and go to Jesus. This upset John’s loyal disciples. They didn’t think it was fair. John could have been bitter or jealous, but he wasn’t. Here’s his reply:

John 3:27-30 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

“A person can receive only what is given them from heaven” John knew the work God had given him and he was content being “second place.” God gives different roles to different people. The type of service to which God calls us is not what matters, but whether we do it for Him from our heart. The Bible says that God has prepared good works for each of us. When we do them they will bring Him Glory and us fulfillment.

John rejoiced that God sent him to point others to Jesus. John called Jesus the bridegroom and referred to himself as the friend who brings the bride to the groom. His disciples understood this idea, because the Old Testament speaks of Israel as God’s bride to explain His faithful love for them.

When Israel worshipped idols, God used the picture of an unfaithful wife to show Israel their dangerous spiritual condition. The New Testament calls the Church the bride of Christ and Jesus the bridegroom.
In this case “the bride” was the group of Jews John was to gather and bring to Jesus. When people left him and went to Christ – that meant he was doing his job!

“He must become greater; I must become less.” This should be the goal of every Christian: to live so others see Christ.

John 3:31-36 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

This lists 4 distinct and divine qualities which set Jesus apart from John the Baptist.
His origin: Jesus was and is above all. He is from heaven; John is from earth.
Hi insight; Jesus spoke of what He had actually seen and heard in heaven. John’s knowledge was limited.

His truthfulness; “No one accepts his testimony” refers to the majority in John’s day – and sadly in ours too. The words of Jesus, Creator of the Universe are God’s words too. All that He says is true.

Jesus has the Holy Spirit without limit. John the Baptist ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit, but his power was limited. Jesus alone baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

John 4:1-3 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

When you compare the other gospels it seems like this is about the time King Herod imprisoned John the Baptist. Jesus still had much to accomplish, so got out of the limelight and went back to Galilee.

John 1:19-30

John 1:19-25  Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

When John the Baptist first started preaching in the wilderness east of the Jordan River, a wide-cross section of Jewish society poured out of Judea and Jerusalem to listen. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully and many were convicted of their sins, repented and were baptized as an outward sign of their repentance and God’s work.

This was shocking to Israel. Before John’s day, only Gentiles were baptized and that was to become a Jew. Many Jewish people didn’t think they needed cleansing; after all they were God’s people! But now listening to John they saw their sin and realized they DID need cleansing.

This began to stir up hope in the Messiah’s coming. And people began to ask John if HE were the Messiah. Finally the spiritual leaders couldn’t ignore what was happening and they came out and asked him too.

Now they had special interest in John because he was the son of a priest and he himself was a priest. And they took his call to repent deeply offensive. He seemed to be declaring the entire nation was unclean.

The Sanhedrin was made up of two Jewish sects, the Sadducees and Pharisees. The chief priests and other wealth men were Sadducees, who rejected belief in resurrection and judgment as well as most of the Old Testament. The Pharisees believed passionately in these points that the Sadducees rejected. They wanted to bring the nation to strict observance of God’s law, but according to their own burdensome traditions.

The men from Jerusalem asked five questions based on Old Testament prophecies and related traditions.

Who are you? Messiah?

Israel was expecting the Messiah. And there were two main lines of messianic hope:
Messiah would be King David’s descendant leading Jewish armies to victory and the Jewish nation to world dominion.

OR he would be an almost supernatural figure, bringing world peace and a reign of righteousness. Most thought He would reveal Himself in a miraculous way.

More than once in this period, messianic figures rose up and led rebellions.

The priests MAY have hoped John would also claim to be Messiah so they could denounce him. But he didn’t.

Next they asked if he was Elijah.

While the Bible firmly denies reincarnation, the prophet Elijah, didn’t experience death: he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. The prophet Malachi spoke of Elijah’s return to prepare God’s people for “the day of the Lord.” (The final day of judgment of the world.)

John said he wasn’t Elijah either.
And in case you are remembering later in the Bible when Jesus was asked about Malachi’s prophecy, He said that “Elijah has already come.” Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father had been given a prophecy that his son would come “in the spirit and power of Elijah” – so while he was NOT Elijah, he came with the same spirit and power, so in a sense, Elijah came.

Are you a prophet?
The prophet may refer to Messiah whose coming Moses promised.
Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

Next they asked, “Who are you?”
John replied in words from Isaiah’s centuries-old prophecy, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness “make straight the way of the Lord.”

Get ready! The Lord is coming!

Then they asked, Why do you baptize?

What they meant was, What right do you think you have to baptize? And again John points people away from himself – to –

John 1:25-28 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Rabbis said that untying someone’s sandals was too demeaning for anyone, but a slave. John was a priest and God’s appointed prophet, renowned among all people, yet grasped his own unworthiness compared to Jesus. He always kept his own personality out of the picture. His attitude to questions about himself was, “I am only a voice who points to the Messiah.” “I’m the one who draws back the curtains so Jesus occupies the center stage.”

Bold proclamation combined with deep personal humility when pointing to Christ is an essential combination.
In the end the delegation couldn’t find anything to fault John with. He wasn’t making false claims and no one could fault him with preparing people’s hearts for the coming Messiah. Apparently Jesus stood unrecognized in the middle of the crowd as John the Baptist answered these questions. They never thought to ask John to point out the worthy One! They traveled all the way from Jerusalem to confront John and left without asking the most important question!

 John 1:29-30  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

Jesus was 6 months younger than John, but John is saying that Jesus existed from eternity past. He is the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world, the true deliverer from sin who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and sacrifices.

The Lamb of God. Jesus alone can atone for sin and make us right with God. From the very moment sin entered the world God prepared humanity to grasp that we cannot save ourselves from the deadly effects of sin. The Jewish sacrifices pointed to the true meaning of the sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross. In Israel, someone who sinned brought a lamb to the temple, laid hands on the head of the lamb, confessed the specific sin against God and then killed the lamb.

The lamb was the innocent substitute that paid the price for a sinful person to be made right with God. The priests then sprinkled the blood of the lamb on God’s altar to show that death had accomplished the judgment of sin.

The prophet Isaiah applied the picture of the sacrificial lamb to the Messiah, saying “the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed…and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus died as the true Passover Lamb. He fulfilled the Old Testament sacrifices that foreshadowed Jesus’ blood, “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Mark 6:19 – 29

Mark 6:19 – 29 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

No well bred Jewish girl would have danced in public like this. Apparently it was a very suggestive dance. But these were just really wicked people all the way around! Herod has this huge party filled with important people and lots of wine flowing. He’s bragging in front of them when he promises her anything. He was showing off.

And then the party took a horrible turn. Just like sin often does. The people at the party never expected to see the head of Israel’s greatest prophet on a platter that night. Sin never tells us how bad it’s going to get.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who are never forsaken by God and those who are. Herod was forsaken. John was not. Even as he sat in prison and was then beheaded. Don’t let worldly circumstances confuse you. John was at peace with God. Herod Antipas wasn’t ever at peace. That’s why he thought maybe Jesus was John back from the dead. Because of his guilty conscious. Even when John was alive he was afraid of him. He feared his popularity, he worried about the crowds, he worried about John’s message. That too is what sin does. It leaves us worried, uneasy and paranoid.

How different John was. He was a great man and yet ego free. He was truly humble. He said about Christ, “He must increase and I must decrease.” Most people are filled with pride and most often for no reason! He lived to honor Christ. To point to Him.

Luke 3:15-17 15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God coming to take away the sins of the world.”

Our lesson from him is to always magnify Jesus. Always point people to Him.

In Luke 23:8-12 Herod Antipas also had a lot to do with Jesus’ death: 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

He was pleased to finally see Jesus because he could finally see he wasn’t John risen from the dead! But then after Jesus wouldn’t entertain him, he mocked Him and “sent Him back to Pilate.”

Mark 6:14 – 18

Mark 6:14 – 18 14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Jesus had just sent out the 12 disciples and Herod heard about all their healings and miracles. He also heard about Jesus, but had never seen Him. He thought Jesus was John the Baptist back from the dead!

John’s background is covered in Luke 1:5-24; 57-80. John was a relative of Jesus’ and brought to earth to bring the message of Christ’s coming.

Matthew 3:1-4 tells of his spartan lifestyle. He lived in the wilderness and ate locust and honey. The wilderness was mostly in the area of Perea along the Jordan River where he baptized people. There was nothing in this area; yet it’s been estimated that one million people made the trip out there to hear his message of repentance.

Luke 3:7-9 7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

His was a call to God! He told the Jews it didn’t matter that they were part of God’s chosen race; it was their individual heart that mattered. He exposed their sin and didn’t beat around the bush while doing it! “If you desire to draw near to God you must repent of all sin, which keeps you from Him.” His was a single focus – God!

John also reprimanded Herod because Herod had married one of his own brother’s wives. So Herod threw him in prison. At first he doesn’t kill him mostly because of John’s wild popularity, but later we’ll see that he does.

Herod was a family name so there are several Herods in the Bible. Herod the Great was the father of Herod Antipas (the Herod in our Mark story.) The father’s rule ended in 4 BC and it was he who had ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys when he heard that a king had been born. He was a wicked man and a descendent of Esau. He was made a king of the Israelites by the Romans. The Romans had one Caesar, but lots of kings. These were lesser rulers with no true authority. They were really magistrates who called themselves kings to seem more important then they were. The Romans could dethrone them on a whim.

Herod the Great built a lot, including the great temple. And he had many wives and LOTS of children! He was totally paranoid, even killing family members because of his paranoia. He “ruled” many years, but died a horrible death, his body filled with disease, probably caused by his lifestyle.

Before he died he broke down his kingdom into four sections; one for each of his four favored sons. He had two different sons named Phillip. One got a section, but the one that Herodias married was just a regular citizen. Herod Antipas got Perea where John the Baptist was and also Galilee where Jesus was. Herod actually lived in Tiberius in Galilee, but he also had both a palace and a prison in Machaerus in Perea.

Herodias was also both her husbands’ niece so the situation was also incestuous! And she had great ambition! Philip, the regular brother, wasn’t good enough. Herod divorced a woman to marry Herodias which caused a huge problem with her people too, but that’s another story! Herodias’ brother was another Herod you may have heard of; Herod Agrippa. In the end her ambition gets them exiled to Gaul. They would lose everything.
But not yet: we'll continue in tomorrow's post.