5 Lessons From the Life of John The Baptist

How do you describe or properly qualify the man who literally commissioned Jesus Christ into ministry? [Matt. 3:13-17] John the Baptist, as he's called in the scriptures, was a force to reckon with.  He was a forerunner of the Messiah (Christ Jesus). His early days of ministry commanded such an effulgence of Grace and God's glory to the extent that all men looked for him even into the wilderness where He lived [Matt. 3:5-6]. 

 

The description of his assignment was to come and prepare the way of the Lord, making the path straight for him to begin his ministry. So, with all these fantastic credentials in the life of John the Baptist, surely there must be some notable lessons to draw from his life. Unfortunately, these lessons are both good and detestable.

HERE ARE FIVE (5) LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE LIFE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.

1. There's A PRE-Ordination for All Men [Luke 1:5-25].

Like every individual on earth, John the Baptist was born with a definite purpose. But his assignment is so unique that God had to send an angel, Gabriel, to announce his birth.

[Luke 1:11-17] The Angel Gabriel came to Zechariah, John's soon-to-be father, giving him the full description and scope of John's ministry. 

According to the prophecy from the Angel Gabriel, Part of his assignment was that he would bring back the people of Israel, the Lord their God. He was supposed to continue the ministry of Elijah, the prophet of the Lord who ascended into heaven via whirlwind. [Luke 1:17]

With such a detailed revelation of his life and ministry even before his arrival, you should understand that God's-hands were indeed upon him; he came at that time to serve a definite purpose. 

The same can be related to our lives today, except that several people are unaware that they have a prophetic destiny. 

So, you'd see many people living their lives carelessly and with such indifference to their pre-ordination. I hope that narrative will change for as many who'd read this article.

2. There's great power in growth and discipline

The importance and power of Growth and discipline in the life of every believer cannot be overemphasized. The Bible revealed to us how John the Baptist lived a life of discipline and dedication to his calling. In [Luke 1:80], the Bible says, "The boy (John) grew strong in the spirit, and he lived in the desert until the day of his public appearance to the people of Israel."

Now, having realized how much is at stake with his destiny, John chose to pay the price for Growth and also separated himself from every distraction. In fact, his discipline also affected his meal. The Bible said he lived in the desert. 

In [Matt. 3:4], the Bible revealed John's food to as locust and wild honey. He did that for years as one of the prices to pay for his incontestable destiny.

Today, several people would instead take pleasure in God's will and assignment for them. Unknown to them, there's a personal commitment from them before that glorious destiny evolves.

3. Dedication to Purpose.

Passion and dedication are the primary ingredients you need to succeed in any endeavor. John the Baptist consistently pursued purpose and relentlessly manifested it with proofs and notable results. 

In [Luke 1:1-15], John began the work that God sent him. He taught from the wilderness that he was. Several people from several parts of Israel came to him, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Soldiers, and many teachers of the Law. He taught all of them and attended to all their needs.

It was during those times he started baptizing people as well, and ultimately gave him the title," The Baptist." 

He was so dedicated to his calling that it at some points, people began to wonder if he was the Messiah. Until he countered their thoughts and whispers with a loud disclaimer that he is not the messiah, but only here to prepare the way for him.

Even at that confession, many people still believed he was the messiah, because he demonstrated several attributes of the promise of the messiah they had received, through his commitment and dedication to serving his God-ordained purpose.

4. Misalignment from Destiny.

Alas, John did not maintain this fire till the end. A time came when John the Baptist, although compared with the messiah, although thought of to be an exceptional leader and a force that could not be reckoned with, although commanded extraordinary results and impact; however, he didn't finish his race well, like Apostle Paul would say.

He allowed offense to creep into his life. He was angry and disappointed in Jesus because he didn't attend to him while he was in prison. He even sent his disciples to go and ask Jesus if he was indeed the messiah they were expecting, or perhaps there's yet another coming. [Luke 7:18-22]

John was imprisoned by Herod, when he accused him of illegally taking his (Herod) brother's wife, Herodias. [Matt 14:1-12] eventually, Herod killed John the Baptist in prison, by beheading him, after the request of the princess during a festival.

He (John) who Jesus Christ himself called "The greatest of all prophets" reduced to a mockery and a scape goat before Herod and his guests. Such a great lesson to be learned.

5. What Could Have Been.

John the Baptist at the end missed it big time. The same can be narrated for several people on earth today. 

There's so much expectations (from God) on your life, yet you choose to allow some ignorable situations form up a garrison against God's diving plan an ordination for you.

According to Jesus Christ [Matt. 11:11-12], John the Baptist was greater than anyone that ever lived before him. Although he was dead, Jesus still acknowledged what he stood for, but also emphasized what more he could have represented had he not be prematurely cut off from the face of the earth.

Conclusion

No doubts, we have learned tremendously from the life of John the Baptist. We all are uniquely ordained by God to carry out His purposes on earth. However, whenever you prove to be unfruitful or deviate from the pattern He has given you, He sees to be the one who sent you. We hope you have been blessed by this article.

John the Baptist! Amongst my list of lessons from Bible characters, John the Baptist didn’t make the list (not that there’s nothing to learn from him, but when I was compiling the topics, he wasn’t in the scope of my thoughts then. But…) his name was dropped in my heart a couple of weeks ago when I was listening to a message of Apostle Joshua Selman (one of those short snippets on YouTube). I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to write something about him. At the moment, I really have no idea what we’re to learn from him. Whatever you read from this point onwards is spontaneous. Nonetheless, I trust the Holy Spirit we’re going to learn something. Tighten your seatbelts brethren, we’re going on a trip!

Let’s start our lesson from what Apostle Joshua Selman said about him (I’ll be paraphrasing with few of my thoughts penned in brackets). He said, “Men might die and be forgotten, but systems remain. John the Baptist came in the Spirit and power of Elijah, he never really walked in the shoes of Elijah. Elijah was feared in his time except by one woman, Jezebel. She promised she was going to kill him (ref. 1 Kings 19). God was with Elijah and her plan was truncated. There was a reversal of the supposed action (you know our ‘back to sender’ thingy? Yeah, that kind of thing). Elijah was scared at first, but later, he understood the kind of anointing that was upon his head (what is fascinating about this story is that the Elijah that fled because of Jezebel’s threat was the same man standing fearlessly before her and her husband in 1 Kings 21 declaring God’s judgement upon them). Fast forward to John the Baptist in the New Testament, the angel sent to his father told him in Luke 1:1-17 that the son to be born to him will go in ‘the spirit and power of Elijah.’ We see with these few explanations that Elijah came back in the form of John the Baptist but there’s a plot twist! Guess who also returned? Jezebel! if you guessed she came back as Herod’s wife’s brother, Herodias, you’re on track. Herodias came back in the spirit and power of Jezebel. This time, Jezebel (through Herodias) was able to bring down Elijah (through John the Baptist). Both parties had died long ago in the Old Testament, but the system remained. Sadly, this time, Elijah was taken down.”

Nothing hurts me more about the story of John the Baptist than the fact that he just “died like that.” I believe coming in the spirit and power of Elijah is not something to be taken with levity. I guess John the Baptist knew because his parents must have educated him, but there’s every possibility he never understood the power and spirit Elijah walked in. He shouldn’t have died “just like that.” His remembrance was wiped out too soon. Just two to three things are mostly remembered of John the Baptist. The first is that he baptized Jesus, the second is he wore camel’s skin and ate strange meals, and the third is probably what led to his death- standing up against the King (Herod). Elijah did the same, and he even did more. He spoke against Ahab when his wife killed Naboth in order to get the poor man’s vineyard. Jezebel threatened Elijah and her life went for it. Herodias also sought to kill John the Baptist (Mark 6:19) and his head was brought to her in a charger.

I am a lover of stories and simultaneously a deep thinker, that’s why when I read stories in the Bible, I tend to create pictures in my mind and then think about why the story went the way it did. I’ll explain. Anytime I stumble on the story of the tragic death of John the Baptist, I always wondered why of all things to ask for, Herodias chose his head! I mean, up until I listened to Apostle Selman’s short message on the topic, I didn’t quite understand. With his explanation, understanding came to me. I now understood why. Yes, Herodias must have been hurt by what John the Baptist said about him being against her marriage to her husband’s brother (I’m not so sure it was a legal marriage, and judging by John the Baptist’s intervention, Phillip, Herod’s brother must have been alive when his wife was taken away from him). From the realistic point of view, Herodias had the right to be pissed that someone else was intruding in her business. That she had John the Baptist killed meant Herod didn’t snatch her forcefully from his brother, but she also willingly went with him. But looking at the case from the standpoint of common sense, going to the extent of killing the man is an act of the highest form of cruelty. (Before we go on, lemme quickly tell you this…) Jezebel and Herodias had some things in common, so did Elijah and John the Baptist. Jezebel turned Ahab’s heart away from the Lord and subtly murdered a man (1 Kings 21). Herodias also made Herod sin and murdered a man in the process (Matt. 14). Only difference is one died tragically, while the other carried on her legacy (if you know what I mean). Both Elijah and John the Baptist dared authorities. Only difference is the other character paid the with his head. This is more reason why Apostle Selman’s explanation resonates with me. I believe I had been able to lay a strong foundation for this topic. Now, here’s where the lesson comes in…

John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah; not a part of Elijah, but all that makes Elijah Elijah! You know what that means? He had the capacity to walk in the shoes of Elijah. Ditto! Unfortunately, John the Baptist must have walked in one aspect; “his spirit,” not his power. Meanwhile, he was supposed to walk in both. This is where you come in… I’ve heard this times without count that you should be able to find yourself in the scriptures, meaning there should be e particular personality in the scripture whose persona resonates with yours. I could give you a list… the story of Moses and Jonah respectively is pointing us to the persona of what Jesus is coming to do (writing time will not permit me to give a detailed explanation, but if you’d like to know, let me know in the comment section). Practically everything in the Old Testament is pointing us to the person of Jesus. There are however, some specific scenario like that of Moses and Jonah that points us to Christ (check the lesson from Moses and the children of Israel here- The story behind the story of the children of Israel). The Apostles themselves walked in the spirit and power of Jesus. As for me, from the scriptures, I know whose spirit and power I’m walking in (Nope, I’m not telling. Sorry. It’s not like it’s supposed to be a secret, but if you tell me yours in the comment section, I’ll tell you mine).

All of us as Real Christians (you know Christian means Christ-like, right? I think we have an article relating to this. Check here- Surely, you're one of them) should walk in the spirit and the power of Jesus. Putting aside other Bible characters, you should walk in the spirit and power of our Lord Jesus. If you have no persona to relate to in the scriptures, pick Jesus (I mean, c’mon. It’s not debatable).

Have you taken out time to study in the scriptures about the man or woman you think you’re walking in their shoes? I have done my own study, and I look forward to doing another study soon. Whatever you do as a believer should have a basis from the scripture. You should have your “this is the scripture the Lord gave me when I inquired of me OR this is the person the Lord told me to study his lifestyle and walk therein.” I want to believe you must have heard people speak about men of God and how some people’s life in the scriptures relate with theirs. Not just the scriptures now, but also other men of old that have walked in this land. For denominational reasons, I won’t give a list, but I’m convinced you know what I’m trying to point out.

In order to walk in the shoes of these men and even have more influence than they did, you’ll need to do a thorough study on them and also give place to the Holy Spirit to give you more explanations (and oh, you can also relate the information to your mentor). Let it not be that you came in the Spirit and power of Elijah, and you ended up in the wrong path. Or that you came in the spirit and power of an Evangelist and you’re busy with the work of a Teacher. Let it not be heard that you came in the Spirit and power of Apostle Paul (not referring to his marital status now) and you’re walking in the shoes of a mere floor member in the church. Brethren, let it not be heard that you didn’t walk in the shoes that have been kept just for you. Let it not be known, most especially, that you didn’t walk in the power and shoes of Jesus.

If you have the knowledge of yours, you’re good to go. If you do not, start with Jesus. Would you rather I list for you things Jesus did that you should do? Need I mention how to live like Jesus? That’s the job of the Holy Spirit. I believe He’ll expound these things in our hearts.

In whose spirit and power are you walking??