洗礼者ヨハネとは誰だったのか? 洗礼者ヨハネは男性でした, 神によって選ばれ、人々から区別され、人々に屈しなかった人. 洗礼者ヨハネは祭司ザカリアとエリサベトの息子でした。, who was of the daughters of Aaron. John the Baptist’s parents were both righteous before God and walked blamelessly in obedience to all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 彼らを通して 神への従順 and their works, they were righteous before God. We don’t live in the Old Covenant anymore but in the New Covenant. 新しい契約で, people can no longer be made righteous before God by their own works, but only by faith in Jesus Christ through His sacrifice and His blood. しかし, when people have become righteous, なることによって生まれ変わった in Jesus Christ and are もはや罪人ではありません, they shall bear the fruit of their righteous status. This means obedience to God and living according to His will; 彼の戒め, それも イエスの戒め そして彼の意志. 今, let’s look at the birth and life of John the Baptist.
The appearance of the angel Gabriel
Elisabeth was barren and couldn’t have children. Zacharias and Elisabeth were both stricken in years. According to the natural realm it was impossible for Elisabeth to become pregnant and bear a child. But nothing is impossible for God!
そしてそれは起こりました, that while Zacharias was executing the priest’s office before God, he was chosen to burn incense. When Zacharias entered the temple of the Lord and while Zacharias burned the incense, an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, appeared to Zacharias and stood on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw the angel of the Lord, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. But Gabriel told him, that he shouldn’t fear and that the prayer of Zacharias was heard. Gabriel told Zacharias, that Elisabeth would bear a son and that he should call him John, which means the grace of Jehovah.
The angel Gabriel continued and said, that he would have joy and gladness and that many would rejoice at his birth. Because John would be great in the sight of the Lord.
John would not drink wine and strong drinks. But John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb and would turn many children of Israel to the Lord their God.
John would go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (ルーク 1:17).
Instead of being joyful after hearing of the words the angel Gabriel, Zacharias doubted his words. Zacharias didn’t believe the words of Gabriel and the promise of the Lord. Zacharias and his wife were both old. Therefore it seemed impossible to Zacharias, that they would have a child and so Zacharias asked Gabriel for a sign. But asking for a sign belongs to the unfaithful generation; ザ 肉欲の老人 (マシュー 12:39). Due to his unbelief, Zacharias became dumb and couldn’t speak until the day, そのこと, which Gabriel had spoken of came to pass.
The birth of John the Baptist
Elisabeth became pregnant and gave birth to a child. When the child was 割礼を受けた の上 8日目, according to the law, they called the child Zacharias. But Elisabeth told them to call him John. しかし, since there was no one in the family whose name was John, they asked Zacharias. Zacharias wrote on a writing table ‘his name is John’ and immediately Zacharias’ tongue was loosed and Zacharias spoke and praised God.
Fear came upon all that dwelled round about them. And all that had been taken place, was announced throughout the hill country of Judaea. 人々, who heard them, 言った: “what manner of child shall this be!” And the hand of the Lord was with John.
Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; The oath which He sware to our father Abraham, That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
そしてあなたは, 子供, 至高者の預言者と呼ばれるであろう: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; 神の民に罪の赦しによる救いの知識を与えるため, 私たちの神の優しい憐れみによって; そこでは高いところから夜明けが私たちを訪れました, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (ルーク 1)
John the Baptist grew up in the deserts
John the Baptist didn’t grow up among his people and didn’t have a childhood like most boys of his age. John was set apart by God for His service and he grew up in the deserts (ルーク 1:80). We can only speculate about the age of John when Herod gave the command to kill all boys under the age of two (マシュー 2:16).
Since John the Baptist was approximately six months older than Jesus, John could have been older than two years. But it could also be that John was two years and that this was the reason, why Elisabeth and John were led to the deserts by God, to prevent John to be killed by Herod.
Although Joseph and Maria went back to Israel after they stayed in Egypt, John stayed in the desert and grew up in the deserts until John was sent by God to His people.
John the Baptist was being prepared in the deserts by God, without being influenced and defiled by the culture and habits of the people of Israel. 世界によると, John led a lonely quiet life, but it was all part of 神の計画 for his life.
Because if John would have grown up among the people, he maybe would have considered their habits and works, which were sinful in the eyes of God, as normal. But because the Lord taught him in the silence of the deserts, separated from the people, he was totally devoted to God. John learned everything about the Kingdom of God, and he grew and waxed strong in the spirit.
John was being prepared in the desert, in order to prepare God’s people for the メシアの来る イエス
John the Baptist preached the baptism of repentance and the remission of sins
時が来たとき, the word of the Lord came to John in the wilderness. John the Baptist obeyed the word of the Lord and went in all the country about Jordan, 説教 洗礼 of repentance and the remission of sins, according to the words, which were prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (イザヤ書 40:3-5). By preaching the baptism of repentance and confronting the people with their sins, so that they could remove their sins, he prepared God’s people for the イエス・キリストの到来.
John was led by the Holy Spirit, instead of being led by his senses. Because he didn’t behold with his natural eyes, he confronted the people without making a distinction. John brought the works of darkness into the light.
John was bold and spoke with such authority, that they had to listen to him. The majority did listen to John, and asked him, 彼らは何をしなければならなかったのか, and John answered their questions (ルーク 3:10-14)
John the Baptist didn’t preach a gentle, motivational man-pleasing gospel. He didn’t preach what the people wanted to hear, but John the Baptist preached the truth of God; the gospel of God, and therefore John the Baptist preached corrections and chastened the people of God.
The people wondered if John the Baptist was the Christ, but John answered them, that he wasn’t the Christ. Because he only baptized with water (悔い改めへ). しかし, キリスト, Who would come, would be stronger than him, and John wouldn’t be worthy of unloosing the latchets of his shoes. Although John baptized with water, the Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (ルーク 3:15-7 (こちらもお読みください: ‘火の洗礼とは?「))
John the Baptist didn’t bow to people and didn’t compromise
John was a bold man and spoke the words of God with authority. He wasn’t intimidated by the people and didn’t make any distinction between the people, but John the Baptist treated everyone equally. He made the will of God known to everyone and told them what they had to do and what they shouldn’t do. 事実, that John didn’t make any distinction between people became not only visible in the fact, that he confronted and addressed the evil works (the sins) of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but also the evil works of Herod.
John the Baptist didn’t bow to people and didn’t compromise and didn’t speak words that would please Herod the tetrarch. But John the Baptist stayed 神に従順 and showed his love for God by staying faithful to Him and by keeping His commandments, を表す 彼の意志. Therefore John the Baptist reproved Herod for his adultery with Herodias; the wife of his brother, and for all the evil works which Herod had done. Herod wasn’t pleased with John the Baptist’s reprove and therefore Herod locked John the Baptist up in prison.
While John the Baptist was in prison, John the Baptist’s disciples came to John and told John all the things about Jesus Christ. When John the Baptist heard all the things, which they told him, John the Baptist called two of his disciples and send them to Jesus to inquire Him, if He was the one, who would come or that they had to look for another.
John the Baptist had testified of Jesus and while John had baptized Jesus he was a witness of the fact that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and that the voice of God came out of heaven and testified that Jesus Christ was His Son (マーク 1:9-13). しかし、これらすべてのことにもかかわらず, John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to inquire Him.
Jesus answered the disciples of John that they had to tell him, all the things, which they had seen. なぜなら イエスは癒されました many of their infirmities, 疫病, and evil spirits, and unto many that were blind He gave them their sight (ルーク 7:18-23)
Why was John the Baptist the greatest among all prophets?
Jesus witnessed about John the Baptist in front of the multitude and told the people that among those, who were born of women there was not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but that he, who would be the least in the Kingdom of God would be greater than John (ルーク 7:28).
What did Jesus mean by John the Baptist being the greatest among all prophets? イエスが言いたかったのは, that John was the greatest among all the prophets and of all man, who were born of women, and belonged to the generation of fallen man; 古い創造物 and lived in the Old Covenant. Because although John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost, John still belonged to the old generation of fallen man. But anyone, who would be 生まれ変わった in Jesus Christ and therefore would be born of God and transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God would, despite his or her position, be greater than John the Baptist.
John preached the gospel of God, which is the truth of God to the people and didn’t bow to the people. And because of the truth John the Baptist preached and because of the fact that John the Baptist didn’t bow to people, including Herod, and didn’t compromise, John the Baptist was taken captive and brought into prison.
How did John the Baptist die? Herodias hated John the Baptist, because John was responsible for not getting what she wanted, namely her brother-in-law Herod. And because of Herodias’ 憎しみ, John the Baptist was beheaded.
John the Baptist’s loyalty and 神への従順 cost him his life, like so many others.
John the Baptist didn’t love his own life and had given his life to God. He didn’t want to be loved and accepted by the world, but he wanted to be loved by God. ジョン 何よりも神を愛した. John proved his love for God, by keeping His commandments and by preaching the call to repentance and the remission of sin.
God had separated John the Baptist and set him apart from the world, to prepare His people for the coming of His Son Jesus. だからこそ, John preached the baptism of repentance, the forgiveness of sin, and commanded everyone to remove their sins from their lives.
The world has become the valley of death
私たちは時代に生きています, where the world has become the valley of death, in which sin abounds. Most people do what they want to do, instead of doing what God tells them to do. They don’t listen to 彼の戒め, それも イエスの戒め, and don’t live according to His will. Many think that they have a relationship with God, but the fact that they reject His commandments proves the opposite. Because if someone really 何よりも神を愛する, then the person would do what pleases God, instead of pleasing ‘self’.
It is just like the time of Noah, when all the people ate, 飲む, and were feasting and had pleasures and only considered themselves.
While Noah obeyed the words of God and built the ark, in order to be prepared for the coming of the rain, the people didn’t have an eye for him. They didn’t listen to Noah, but they were too busy with their own lives and their own daily activities. Until fate struck, そして雨が降った.
While Noah and his family and the animals were saved in the ark, the people and the rest of the animals drown in the water. No one wanted to listen to Noah, who was a preacher of righteousness, but they only had an eye and interest in themselves, and fulfilling the 欲望と欲望 of their flesh (こちらもお読みください: ‘ノアの時代の7つの特徴は何ですか?「)
It won’t be long before イエスが戻ってくる. And although many believers sing about His coming and pray for His coming, many live as though Jesus will never return.
But God wants His people to be ready for the coming of Jesus. And that’s why God prepares His people, just like God did in the time of John the Baptist when John prepared the people of God for the coming of Jesus Christ.
今, it all depends if the believers are bold enough to show their love to Jesus Christ and God the Father, by staying obedient to His Word, そして彼の戒めを維持することによって, and confronting those, 世界に属する人, including those who go to church, but still belong to the world and keep living in sin, with their sins and 彼らに悔い改めを呼び掛ける and the removing of sin. となることによって, they won’t be lost but will be saved and receive eternal life. Don’t let the end be the same as in the time of Noah when only a few were saved by their obedience to God.
「地の塩となれ」’
