Do I know John the Baptist?

How do we know people? From the direct knowledge that I will meet them, I talk, see them with my own eyes, and so on. We can also know a person by not completing him directly. For example, he lives far away or has already died. Nowadays, film, cameras, etc., can help us. When it comes to the distant past, such as the time two thousand years ago, it can help us in the specific case of John the Baptist, the Scriptures, and the tradition of the Church.

Why are we so interested in the person of John the Baptist even today? These are the words of the Gospel where we read, “Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist” (Mt 17:13). This happened after the transformation on the mountain, where Peter, James, and John saw him talking to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and Peter exclaimed, “Lord, we are well here. If you want, I’ll make three stalls here … ”(Mt 17: 4). And as they came down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Mt 17:10). The Jews were convinced that Elijah would be born before the Messiah. Although the Lord Jesus confirms this opinion, he declares John the Baptist to be Elijah, who has fulfilled Elijah’s mission for the time being. We know about John the Baptist, what the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias when he offered the sacrifice in the temple: He will go before him with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and to bring the unbelievers to the wisdom of the righteous and to prepare the perfect people for the Lord ”(Lk 1: 15-17).

The words “in the spirit of Elijah” mean that John will speak with the same determination against the sins of the people and especially against the evils of their leaders, as Elijah once did when he said against the pagan queen Jezebel and her pagan priests. With the same zealous spirit, John will encourage the people to repent. And John fulfilled this prediction of the angel. Herod Antipas was one of the sons of Herod the Great. From his father’s inheritance, he received Galileo and Transport, Peru. He lured Her brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, and lived with her. She could not listen to what John the Baptist had allowed her to say when he accused her of not living with her husband’s brother. John was more afraid of God than she was, so he acted like a prophet. Herodias used her power at the first opportunity to control Herod, and when her daughter, who liked Herod and his guests, performed, she showed to ask Herod’s head of John the Baptist. This completes John’s mission. John honestly fulfilled his mission as the announcer of the expected Messiah.

It is genuinely his humility, his devotion to the cause of God, when he declared, “A mighty man than I am coming after me” (Lk 3:16). When asked if he was the one to come or wait for another, John did not deny and confessed, “I am not the Messiah” (Jn 1:20).

At this time of Advent preparation for the feasts of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, we should know the person of John the Baptist as best we can. Not as he looked physically, but we should look at the content of his words, which he proclaimed as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus. These words are timely even today. They remind us of what is essential in preparation for the feasts of the Nativity and which we should not overlook. When we realize all this, we are to adjust our lives accordingly, which John likens to the path: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mark 1: 3b). John’s words sound to us as an announcement of the Messiah’s salvation – Jesus Christ will bring us.

The answer to this short gospel should not belong in coming. We must not think long, make decisions. Time is fast approaching, the birth of the Son of God is at hand. Let us ask for the strength to profess our faith, to fulfill our religious duties with all faithfulness to God. Behold, our God is coming! John’s words are important to us. Let’s not despise John! When we learn to know John, if we keep his words in the practice of the lives of believing Christians, then the world will know us not only by name, that we are believers, but above all by our words and deeds. The world thus learns that living with faith is a source even today.