Father: Zacharias (in Greek)/Zechariah (in Hebrew)

Mother: Elisabeth

First mention: Matthew 3:1

Final mention: Acts 19:4

Meaning of his name: "Grace of God"

Frequency of his name: Referred to 90 times

Biblical books mentioning him: Five books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts)

Occupation: Prophet and Nazarite evangelist

Place of birth: Hill country of Judea

Place of death: In a dungeon near the Dead Sea

Circumstances of death: He was beheaded by the sword.

Age at death: Approximately 35

Important fact about his life: He was the forerunner of Christ; he both introduced and baptized the Messiah.

Copyright 1999, used by permission from Dr. H.L. Willmington.

John the Baptist was the child of Zacharias (in Greek)/Zechariah (in Hebrew), the priest, and Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. "Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years" (Luke 1:6-7:Life Application Bible, 1784).

John's birth was announced by an angel to Zechariah when he was serving in the temple. "Do not be afraid Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he 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 1:13-17). Because of this angelic injunction, John was set apart as a Nazarite (compare Numbers 6:1-21).

Thus John's purpose in life was set; he was to be a prophet, proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. He was an unusual man for his time. He wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He lived in the desert and spent his time preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, John began to preach, and many from Jerusalem, the region of Judea, and area surrounding the Jordan River were attracted to his ministry. Jesus, too, came to be baptized by John. When John saw Him coming, he proclaimed: "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, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God" (John 1:29-34).

NOTE: "John's acquaintance with Jesus. Much discussion has arisen concerning the apparent contradiction in Matthew 3:13,14, and John 1:31,33. In the former John evidently recognized Jesus, while in the latter he says, 'I knew him not.' The truth seems to be that John knew Jesus, but was not certain of His Messiahship. It was necessary for him, before asserting positively that Jesus was the Christ, to have undoubted testimony of the fact. This was given him in the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, as John himself declares (John 1:33)." (Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois 1974, 600.)

After baptizing Jesus, John's ministry began coming to a close. He was the herald, the announcer that the Messiah was coming, and since John had proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah there was no longer a need for his ministry. He was eventually imprisoned because John had reproved Herod Antipas for his many sins and specifically for taking Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, to be his wife. Herod would not put John to death because he considered him to be a just man (Mark 6:20), and he feared the people (Matthew 14:5). Herodias, embittered toward John, was eventually able to have John beheaded because of a promise given by Herod to her daughter. Herodias had her ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod reluctantly complied. (Life Application Bible, New International Version. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois and Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1991.1871; D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer, eds. The New Bible Commentary: Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1970, 894; Merrill F. Unger. Unger's Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1974, 599, 600.)