Page 18 - Life of Christ w videos

legend has it that Zacharias was slain by Herod the Great, forcing Elizabeth to flee with her young son
into the wilderness area of Judea. Whether Elizabeth took John to Jerusalem for Passover is not known.
If she did, perhaps Jesus and John met when young boys, but their appearances changed drastically as
they matured into adulthood. All these factors could explain why John had difficulty recognizing his
relative, Jesus.

Zacharias was told that the child to be born is to “drink no wine or liquor” – in other words, to not drink
or eat nothing from the vine. This is usually taken to mean he was to be a lifetime Nazarite (Numbers
6:1-7). Along with abstaining from eating or drinking grapes or raisins, the Nazarite was not allowed to
cut his hair and was never to touch or even go near a dead body. The symbol of a Nazarite was his long
hair.

John was born to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah which declared that one would be born to prepare the
way for the Messiah. Malachi also prophesized of John’s coming.

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a
highway for our God.‘ (ESV)

Malachi 3: 1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom
you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight,
behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew tells us that John was a man of the wilderness. He was arrayed in a “camel’s hair “garment,
secured by a leather belt, and his diet was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). And most likely, he
had very long hair in keeping his Nazarite vow.

The “hair” cloak might have been a rough fabric woven from camel’s hair, or a camel skin itself. The text
is ambiguous. It was, however, quite reminiscent of the adornment of certain Old Testament prophets
(Zechariah 13:4), particularly Elijah, who, as we have noted, foreshadowed John (cf. 2 Kings 1:8). His
dietary fare was that generally consumed by the poorer elements of society. He stood in bold relief to
the wealthy, indulgent Jews of his day. He was a veritable walking sermon!

John’s mission can be summed up by one word, “preparer”. It was his happy chore to prepare a people
for the coming Messiah. Both Isaiah and Malachi had announced that he would “prepare” the way for
the coming of “Jehovah” — a firm affirmation, incidentally, of the deity of Jesus.

The angel Gabriel had informed Zacharias that his son would be instrumental in turning many unto the
Lord, going before his face, making ready a people prepared for him (Luke 1:16-17). Zacharias himself
prophesied that John would be called “the prophet of the Most High” who would “go before the face of
the Lord to make ready his ways” (Luke 1:76). And an inspired writer asserts that John came from God
in order to “bear witness of the light,” in other words, Christ (John 1:7-8).

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