John the Baptist in Smiths Bible Dictionary
was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father,
Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or
Abijah, 1Ch 24:10 and Elisabeth was of the daughters of
Aaron. Lu 1:5 His birth was foretold by an angel sent from
God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of John
preceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained
to be a Nazarite from his birth. Lu 1:15 Dwelling by himself
in the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead
Sea, he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which
he had been divinely called. His dress was that of the old
prophets --a garment woven of camel's hair, 2Ki 1:8 attached
to the body by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the
desert afforded --locusts, Le 11:22 and wild honey. Ps 81:16
And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the discharge
of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and the
general expectation that some great one was about to appear,
were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude from
"every quarter." Mt 3:5 Many of every class pressed forward
to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himself came
from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [JESUS] From
incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples
continued to baptize some time after our Lord entered upon
his ministry. See
Joh 3:23; 4:1; Ac 19:3 We gather also that John
instructed his disciples in certain moral and religious
duties, as fasting, Mt 9:14; Lu 5:33 and prayer. Lu 11:1 But
shortly after he had given his testimony to the Messiah,
John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring
disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to
himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when
John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins, Lu
3:19 Herod cast him into prison. (March, A.D. 28.) The place
of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, a fortress
on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here that
reports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was
working in Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would
satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was
kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday. After
supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the king
by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her
whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned
mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave
instructions to an officer of his guard, who went and
executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to
feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had
denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred just
before the third passover, in the course of the Lord's
ministry. (March, A.D. 29.)
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