God sent Jesus relative,
John to prepare the way for Jesus
ISAIAH 40:3. LUKE 3:4
A voice of one calling:
In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God
BACKGROUND TO JOHN (prophecy in Isaiah; isaiah 40:3)
His BIRTH (Gabriel Luke 1:12-15) His parents
His LIFESTYLE
His MISSION
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Matthew 3:11 NIV
John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah.
John baptized people with water in the Jordan River.
It was a time of confession and repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
This encouraged the people. It gave them strength and hope. Baptism in the Jordon River did not save them, but it prepared them for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.
Read Luke 3:1-18 (John the Baptist Prepares the Way)
Discussion Questions:
1. What did John the Baptist say would happen to every tree that didn't produce good fruit? (It would be cut down and thrown into the fire.)
2. After the people asked John for advice, what did he say a person with two shirts (tunics) should do? (Share one with a person who had none. And the same goes for food.)
3. What did John the Baptist tell the tax collectors to do? (Collect no more than what was required.)
4. Whom did the people think John the Baptist was? (They thought he was the Messiah.)
5. How did John the Baptist prepare the way for Jesus? (He preached a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins, symbolic of what Jesus would actually do for us. John persuaded the people to live godly lives in preparation for following Jesus.)