John Condemns the Priests and Levites
Suddenly some Priest and Levites came out to the wilderness, and they were sent by the Pharisees in Jerusalem. They noticed John baptizing, and wearing camel skin garments, and they questioned him:
"Who are you?" And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." They said then to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." - John 1:19-23
Then they asked him directly:
"Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. "It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing." - John 1:25-28
The Priest and Levites were those who ministered within the
Holy Place at the Temple in Jerusalem. They also pridefully took up the
majority of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel. They were the ones who
administered justice in the land, and their reputation in New Testament times
was to be heartless, unsympathetic, and without compassion. This can be clearly
seen in the Story of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus mentions a Priest and a
Levite who happened to be walking by and saw the man who was suffering, and
passed by on the other side of the road (Luke 10:32).
Drawing of Priests Ministering
John the Baptist Appears,
John Appears Preaching in the Wilderness,
Prophecies about John the Baptist,
John's Physical Appearance,
People Came from all Around,
John's Baptism of Repentance,
John Condemns the Pharisees and Sadducees,
John Condemns The Priests and Levites,
John's Message about the Holy Spirit
John the Baptist Appears
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." - Matthew 3:1-2
The New Testament - A Brief Overview
| The Beginning of John's Ministry Scriptures and Topics Covered: John Appears Preaching in the Wilderness (Mat 3:1-2; Mk 1:1; Lk 3:1-2). Prophecies About John the Baptist (Mat 3:3 Mk 1:2-3; Lk 3:4-6). John's Appearance (Mat 3:4; Mk 1:6). People Came From All Around (Mat 3:5; Mk 1:5). John's Baptism of Repentance (Mat 3:6 Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3-14). John and the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mat 3:7-10). John's Response to the Priest's and Levites (Jn 1:19-28) John's Message About The Holy Spirit (Mat 3:11-12; Mk 1:8). |
"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being
governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch
of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto
John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness."
Luke 3:1-2
John Appears Preaching in the Wilderness
John the Baptist was born about 5 BC, and now about 26 A.D. about the age of 30 he appears in the wilderness of Judea. He was preaching to everyone that they should repent and turn from wickedness and prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah. His message was a cry for repentance, that the time was at hand for people to prepare for the coming of the King.
