Mark 1:2 says, “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” My fellow believers, you can find the righteousness of God only if you throw away your preconceived notions and follow the Bible as the Word of God guides you. So when you read God’s Word, you must read it after forsaking your own thoughts and carnal desires. Only then can you realize and believe in the will of God that He wants to fulfill. The same principle applies to today’s Scripture passage as well. It is when you cast aside your fleshly thoughts and follow the Word of God as it leads you that you can properly understand the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus.

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Exactly what ministry did John the Baptist fulfill before Jesus? Many Christians today do not understand John the Baptist properly, and so they all need to take another look at him to understand him and appreciate his ministry properly. All of us need to have the correct understanding and appreciation of the relationship between the ministry of Jesus and that of John the Baptist. By properly understanding this relationship, you need to get the first-hand experience of receiving the remission of your sins by faith.
In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus Christ said to the disciples of John the Baptist, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

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Today’s Scripture passage comes from Matthew 17:1-13. Here it is said that Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, and led them to a high mountain. Something stunning happened there. Moses and Elijah had descended from Heaven. And Jesus’ garments turned blindingly white, and his image was completely transformed as well. Jesus talked with Moses and Elijah. When Peter saw this, he said dreamingly, “Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. We’d like to build three tabernacles and live beside You.” Then a cloud covered the sky and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

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The Gospel of Luke chapter 1 verse 17 records that John the Baptist was the person who came in the spirit and power of Elijah and did the work of bringing the people back to God before the presence of the Lord. John the Baptist was different from other people from birth. We ordinary people just get married and have children intentionally or unintentionally as time passes by. But John the Baptist was the person whose birth was already prophesized and prepared in the Old Testament. It says that John the Baptist will be coming to us in the spirit and power of Elijah.

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The Gospel of John, the three Books of 1, 2, and 3 John, and the Book of Revelation are the Scriptures written by the Apostle John. Through these Scriptures, we can see what the faith of the Apostle John was like, and also what the faith of the disciples of Jesus was like. The Apostle John believed that Jesus was the very God who created the whole universe and us humans, and that God was his Savior and the Savior of all mankind. We must also have this kind of faith.

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The Nazirites such as Samson were especially set aside by God even before they were born to dedicate their lives to Him. Like these Nazirites, John, who baptized Jesus, was also born on this earth as a man especially set aside by God even before he was conceived in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. So when Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist, an angel said, “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). As this passage shows, John the Baptist was a man especially set aside and chosen by God.

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Many people do not know why Jesus came to this world and received baptism from John the Baptist. But we must understand clearly the purpose of the baptism Jesus received, John the Baptist who baptized Jesus, and the relationship between these two people. Therefore, I would like to first examine the background and the purpose of Jesus’ baptism that was given by John the Baptist in the Jordan River through the relevant Scripture verses. And to do so, we must turn to the Gospel of Matthew and examine John the Baptist who baptized Jesus.

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In the Bible, John the Baptist must have been an extremely important figure. John the Baptist cried out for repentance from the people of Israel. We must remember precisely the work of Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus, who came to this world saved mankind, obeying the will of God along with John the Baptist. John the Baptist and Jesus came to this world and accomplished righteous deeds.
John the Baptist urged the people of Israel to return to God. We can see in Matthew 3:7 that John the Baptist boldly rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees saying: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” when he saw them coming to him while he was baptizing. This John the Baptist rebuked the people of Israel severely as a prophet: “Repent, you brood of vipers!” John the Baptist was a prophet who did righteous deeds in God’s eyes and was the last prophet of the Old Testament era.

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