The next person on our list of prophets recognized in the Qur’an as well as in the Bible is a man very respected not only by Christians but also by Muslims, who know him by the name of Yahya, and by the Jews—although his name and story do not appear in their scriptures. Christians call him John the Baptist. According to the book of Mark, the second book of the New Testament, the story of John the Baptist represents “the beginning of the gospel (or Injil) of Jesus Christ.”
One possible reason why each of these religions respect him is perhaps the obvious holiness of his life. No one can deny that John accepted a hard life instead of allowing himself to be defiled by the world. He did not seek comfort or the favor of powerful men. He dressed as a poor man, he totally abstained from wine, and he ate what could be found in the desert. According to Matthew 3:4, “John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” Even when he set himself to preaching publicly, John did not participate in the life of Jewish society. Instead, he lived in uninhabited places and the people came to him to listen to him.
His Mission
But what was John’s mission? We have already had a preview of his mission in our study of Zechariah, his father. Actually, even before John’s birth, the angel Gabriel spoke about him: “And he will go before Him [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people” (Luke 1:17). Through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Zechariah declared that his son would walk “before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76,77).
When he had grown up, he began to preach, saying: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2). The repentance that John called for was marked by baptism (v. 6). In being baptized—that is, immersed in water—the person confessed his need to repent, his intention to change his ways. The act also carried the idea of a bath of purification from sin. This was for the remission, or forgiveness, of sins. John gave the Jews warnings like this one:
“‘And don’t start saying to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’
‘What then shall we do?’ the crowds were asking him.
He replied to them, ‘Everyone who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.’
Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’
He told them, ‘Don’t collect any more than what you’ve been authorized.’
Some soldiers also questioned him, ‘What should we do?’
He said to them, ‘Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.’” (Luke 3:8-14)
“This is John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, ‘Who are you?’
He did not refuse to answer, but he declared, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
‘What then?’ they asked him. ‘Are you Elijah?’
‘I am not,’ he said.
‘Are you the Prophet?’
‘No,’ he answered.
‘Who are you, then?’ they asked. ‘We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?’
He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord”—just as the Isaiah the prophet said.’
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. So they asked him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?’
‘I baptize with water,’ John answered them. ‘Someone stands among you, but you don’t know Him. He is the One coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.’” (John 1:19-27)
So John’s mission was simply to prepare the way for another. In speaking of making straight the way, we are, of course, not speaking of repairing or improving a physical road. John is making a comparison to the preparations made for the arrival of a king by cleaning and repairing the road on which he will travel and by sending a messenger to announce his coming. It is necessary that the arrival of a king be observed in a royal manner. In this specific case, as we have seen, it was a question of calling the people to repentance. Who was the king for whom John prepared the path in this way? If we continue the reading of the same text, we see the answer:
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One I told you about: “After me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, because He existed before me.” I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel.’” (John 1:29-31)
John probably knew Jesus since his childhood, because their mothers were cousins. But it was apparently on the day when Jesus came to be baptized that God revealed to John that Jesus was the one for whom he was preparing the way. The Gospel of Matthew tells us:
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?’
Jesus answered him, ‘Allow it for now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him to be baptized.
After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven, ‘This is my beloved Son. I take delight in Him.’” (Matthew 3:13-17)
This experience confirmed for John what he had understood about Jesus. He said:
“I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. I didn’t know Him but He who sent me to baptize with water told me ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on’—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!” (John 1:32-34)
One of the great qualities of this prophet was his humility. We have already seen that he considered himself simply “a voice” that brought a message about another One. If he spoke about himself, it was only to magnify the importance of the One who came after him. He had no desire for personal glory or any sense of rivalry. One day some of his disciples said to him:
“So they came to John and told him, ‘Rabbi, the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, is baptizing—and everyone is flocking to Him.’
John responded, ‘No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said “I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.” He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.’” (John 3:26-30)
Another great quality of John the Baptist was his courage. The governor, Herod Antipas, who was the son of the evil king Herod the Great, seduced Herodias, the wife of his own brother and, after having divorced without cause his own wife, married Herodias. Despite the power and wickedness of this governor, John the Baptist had the courage to condemn this behavior. He said clearly to Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have her” (Matthew 14:4). Even though Moses’ law allowed him to divorce his wife, it did not allow him to covet and seduce his neighbor’s wife. In Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21, it also prohibited having sexual relations with or taking the wife of a brother. The way John explained this is significant. He didn’t say, “It isn’t permitted for you to take or marry the wife of your brother.” In that case, Herod could have said, “I repent. I won’t take any other sisters-in-law as wives.” Instead, John said, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18). In view of what John said, repentance would demand that he separate from Herodias. When you make a marriage that the word of God opposes, it is the relationship that is sinful – it is not just the ceremony or action of contracting marriage that is a violation of God’s will.
Because Herod did not like the message, which was from God, he got angry with the messenger, who was only a man. He had John arrested. But Herod’s conscience was not dead. “…Herod was in awe of John and was protecting him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him, he would be very disturbed, yet would hear him gladly” (Mark 6:20).
Unfortunately, Herod’s pride and concern for the opinions of men influenced him more than his sense of right and wrong and his belief in God. Herodias, who had nothing but hate for John, the prophet who wanted to place an obstacle to her marriage, figured out how to exploit this weakness in Herod. When Herod took a vow in front of his guests to give Herodias’ daughter, who had danced for him, whatever she asked, Herodias told her daughter to demand the head of John the Baptist. Herod was sad, but because of his guests who heard his promise, he didn’t want to refuse. He sent a guard who decapitated John and brought his head on a platter.
Like Jesus himself, John the Baptist was relatively young when he died. The value of a man’s life, however, is not determined by the number of days he spends on Earth, but instead by the nature of his acts and of his character. The tragic death of John takes nothing away from his honor. On the contrary, Jesus himself said in Matthew 11:11, “I assure you, among those born of women, no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared.”