LESSON FIVE
JOHN THE BAPTIST

1.	PROPHECIES OF HIS COMING
a.	Those who held to the Messianic Hope believed that the reign of the Messiah would be preceded by the appearance of a forerunner
b.	John called the people to repent
c.	John’s mission was to summon the people to make ready the way for the Lord

2.	JOHN'S BIRTH:
a.	Time: John’s ministry started around 26AD-27AD at age 30, so that put his birth 30 years earlier
b.	Parentage: Zacharias an aged man and belonged to the lower class of priest and Elizabeth – they felt the humiliation of childlessness
c.	Miraculous birth: When Zacharias became responsible for placing incense on the coals of the altar of sacrifice – as a result he was truly blessed and John was born
d.	John’s Boyhood: lived a normal boyhood and was taught in the local synagogue
e.	 Both his parents were of the priestly lineage – so he probably spent his early years preparing for the priesthood
f.	John was brought up as a Nazarite – He drank no wine or strong drink and never cut his hair 

3.	JOHN'S APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER:
a.	At some point during his youth, He retired into the desert, adopted the life of an ascetic
b.	He was on a restricted diet of wild fruits, locust, wild honey, and applied himself to study and communion with God
c.	He used camel’s skin for clothing
d.	When he emerged from his retirement, he was regarded as a holy man
e.	He had disheveled hair and only raiment of camel's skin about his body, held in place by a leather girdle, bare-footed, bare-armed, and uncropped beard, must have been very striking.
f.	He spoke with such earnestness, wisdom and pious zeal, that crowds flocked out to hear him, to be convicted and converted.

4.	JOHN'S MESSAGE:
a.	Repentance
b.	Preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven
c.	Baptism by immersion

5.	JOHN'S DEATH: 
a.	So great was John's reputation that even Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Peraea, went to the Jordan to hear him. 
b.	John boldly denounced the great sin of Herod's life.
c.	Herodias hated John and plotted to destroy him.
d.	Herodias saw her opportunity at Herod’s great festival on his birthday 
e.	When Herod told her she could ask anything to the half of his kingdom, she asked for the head of John the Baptist.
f.	Herod consented and had John the Baptist beheaded he was 31 or 32 years of age at the time

Lesson Five
Self Help Test

A.	Describe the appearance of John the Baptist.
B.	Describe the message that John the Baptist preached.
C.	Write briefly the story of John's death.