"'See, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way
before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come
to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire,
will come,' says the LORD Almighty" (Malachi 3:1).
The prophet Malachi gave God's final promises of the Old Testament. One of the greatest of these promises is found in Malachi chapter three, verse one. God assured His people that He would send a messenger. This messenger would have a special task--"to prepare the way." For whom? He "will prepare the way before ME," said the LORD (Yahweh)!
VOICE IN THE DESERT
Also in the book of Malachi (4:5) God promised to send a prophet, "Elijah." Elijah had lived in dry, desert places. An earlier prophet, Isaiah, had foretold the coming of a voice in the desert.
"A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for
the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our
God....And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all
mankind will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken'"
(Isaiah 40:3-5).
For over a thousand years, from Moses to Malachi, God had spoken often. He had sent many prophets to Israel. Their work had resulted in the Old Testament. But after the prophet Malachi there were about 400 years of silence--no recognized prophets spoke from God. There were no new writers from God for the Old Testament. God's people wondered when God would fulfill His promises. When would the messenger come to make preparation? When would God's glory be revealed?
THE YEARS OF SILENCE
During those long years more and more people were hearing about God's promises. New rulers captured the land of Israel. While some Israelites (by then called Jews) stayed in their homeland, others were scattered far and wide. In distant countries they told others of the one true God. They were able to use Greek, the language that many peoples shared at that time.
OLD TESTAMENT IS TRANSLATED INTO GREEK
About 150 years after Malachi the full Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew language into the Greek language. During the following 250 years, trained workers made copies of this Greek Bible. The copies were carried to many places. In their weekly meetings, Jews read the Old Testament aloud (Acts 15:21). Even some non-Jews came to believe in God's promises. More and more people looked forward to the Lord's coming.
GOD SPEAKS AGAIN
Then people in Israel began to hear of amazing events. A child named John was born to a couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-24, 57-80). Yet Elizabeth was well beyond the age for giving birth! An angel, using words from Malachi 4:5-6, had announced,
"He (John) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power
of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).
John's father, Zechariah, had also used words from Malachi 3:1. By God's Spirit Zechariah prophesied:
"And you, my child (John), will be called a prophet of the
Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare
the way for Him" (Luke 1:76).
God's promises, made through Malachi 400 years earlier, were coming true! God was ending His long silence! He was speaking again. Just as He promised, He was speaking through an "Elijah."
THE NEW ELIJAH
John was not the Elijah of the past (John 1:21; Luke 9:30). But John was like that ancient prophet in many ways. Those who knew the Old Testament could recognize John, not only as a true prophet, but as a new "Elijah" (Matthew 11:7-14; 21:26).
Elijah spent much time in the wilderness -- 1 Kings 17-19
John spent much time in the wilderness -- Luke 1:80;Matthew 3:1
Elijah dressed in rough clothes -- 2 Kings 1:8
Like Elijah, John dressed in rough clothes -- Matthew 3:4
Like Elijah, John's preaching was full of courage. He had "the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). He spoke out against all sin, even the king's sin (Luke 3; Matthew 14). John commanded the people of Israel to prepare for the Lord's coming. John himself quoted from the prophet Isaiah (40:30),
"I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight
the way for the Lord' " (John 1:23).
How could they make the way straight? How could they prepare for the King?
JOHN THE BAPTIZER
John told them to prepare by repenting and being baptized.
"In those days John the Baptist came preaching..."Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is near' " (Matthew 3:1-2).
John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a
baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4).
"Repentance" is making up one's mind to leave sin and to live for God. By repenting the people promised to do right in the future. Yet that decision alone could not change their wrongs of the past. For the pure and holy King there had to be FULL preparation. Even past sins had to be removed, by forgiveness.
Those who repented had to be baptized. John thus became known as "John the Baptizer," or "John the Baptist." (The word "baptize" comes from the Greek Language. In that language it means to immerse or plunge under water. That is why John baptized "in the Jordan River" and there was "much water," Mark 1:5; John 3:23).
Through baptism John separated the people. Those who wanted to get ready for the Messiah confessed their sins and were baptized. But others, especially the religious leaders, were too proud. They would not admit how sinful they were. They refused to be humbled by being dipped under the water. Baptism required simple obedience to God's command. It meant trusting God for forgiveness. Their hard hearts had no room for such trust and obedience.
All the people, even the tax collectors...acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John (Luke 7:29-30).
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ONE GREATER THAN JOHN
The leaders should have listened to John. He was "a prophet...and more than a prophet," a truly great man (Matthew 11:9-11). Yet, as great as John was, the Coming One would be much greater. John himself said,
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will
come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am
not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire" (Matthew 3:11).
John hardly dared to touch the shoes of the Coming One. John used water for baptism; the Coming One could do something far greater--he would baptize using God's Spirit! The Holy Spirit is part of God Himself. Who would be so high and exalted that He could use the Holy Spirit as John used water?
Yet this Coming One looked like an ordinary man. So John, by himself, had no way to recognize Him. God told John to look for this sign: The Holy Spirit would take the shape of a dove and come down on the Coming One, the One about whom John preached (John 1:33).
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
While John was prophesying about the Coming One, Jesus was over 100 kilometers (62 miles) away, at the village of Nazareth. He was a humble carpenter, helping to care for his mother, brothers and sisters.
Jesus then traveled to meet John and to be baptized by him. John knew of Jesus' goodness. He did not want to baptize Jesus. John said,
"...I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to
me?" (John 3:14).
Jesus had no sins to confess. He had no need of forgiveness. But He always fulfilled God's righteous will. He commanded John to baptize Him (Matthew 3:13-15). When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God came down and settled on Him. A voice from heaven said,
"You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased"
(Luke 3:21-22).
John realized then that the Coming One was JESUS. The One for whom John had been looking had arrived!
"...John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is
the One I meant when I said, A Man who comes after me has
surpassed me because He was before me. I myself did not
know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was
that He might be revealed to Israel.' Then John gave this
testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a
dove and remain on Him. I would not have known Him, except
that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me,
testify that this is the Son of God" (John 1:29-34).
LISTENING TO JOHN
Isaiah and Malachi had drawn a picture of the special messenger who would prepare the way. John the Baptizer was the only one who fit that picture. John prepared for the Great One to come.
For whom did he prepare? Jesus!
John led all the people toward Jesus (John 3:22-36). John's part is so important that it helps to begin each of the first four books of the New Testament -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Anyone who seeks to know the truth about Jesus should give careful thought to the report of John. For John too was a lover of truth.
John spoke the truth so boldly that he was later killed by King Herod (Mark 6:14-29). He was an eyewitness of heaven's sign, which pointed to Jesus. Through John's testimony we can be sure that the Coming One promised by the Old Testament is JESUS. John helps us to see the Light.
"There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.
He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light, so
that through him all men might believe. He himself was not
the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light"
(John 1:6-7).
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