Editorial June 15, 1957 Issue

THE LESSON OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Helen Wood Bauman

Christ Jesus said of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:10,11): "This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." These statements should inspire one to seek an understanding of so great a character as John.

John was the kinsman of Jesus. Before his birth an angel had appeared to his father, Zacharias, and had declared that John would turn many to God and "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17). Grown to manhood, John preached repentance in the wilderness with the sternness and zeal of an Elijah. He baptized with water and spoke of the coming of the Messiah, who, he said, would baptize "with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matt. 3:11).

John's mission typifies the purification of the senses, a purification which must precede the coming of the Christ to human thought with its power to destroy mortality. Jesus himself sought John's baptism as an example for others, plainly showing that purification of the senses is a demand for one who seeks to prove man's true and spiritual sonship with God. For as Jesus came out of the water, "he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16,17). This was the Father's benediction.

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