John the Baptist

John the Baptist was born March 25, 7 B.C. as promised by Gabriel to Elizabeth in June of the previous year. For five months Elizabeth kept secret the angel's visitation and when she finally told her husband, Zacharias, he was greatly troubled and fully believed her narrative only after he had an unusual dream about six weeks before the birth of John. Accepting the visit of Gabriel to Elizabeth and the dream of Zacharias, there was nothing unusual or supernatural connected with the birth of John the Baptist. On the eighth day of his life, John was circumcised according to the Jewish custom. He grew up as an ordinary boy in the small village known as the City of Judah, about four miles west of Jerusalem.

The most eventful occurrence in John's early childhood was the visit, in company with his parents, to Jesus and the Nazareth family. This visit occurred in the month of June, 1 B.C., when he was a little over six years of age.

After their return from Nazareth John's parents began the systematic education of the lad. There was no synagogue school in their little village. However since Zacharias was a priest and fairly well educated, and Elizabeth was far better educated than the average Judean woman, being one of the priesthood and being a descendant of the "daughters of Aaron." As John was an only child, they spent a great deal of time on his mental and spiritual training. Zacharias had only short periods of service at the temple in Jerusalem so that he devoted much of his time to teaching his son.

John the Baptist's role, as ordained by God, was to be the precursor to the Messiah And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.

The Bible prophesies the role of John several times: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

The part of the story that is the most sexy is when John dies. You see, King Herod was the King of the Jews and he was fierce and bloodthirsty. He was being entertained one night by Salome and her dance of the seven veils which left almost nothing to the imagination. He was so aroused by her performance that he breathlessly told Salome that she could have anything that she wanted, anything! What did she request? Well, influenced by her mother Herodiatus, who was once insulted by John the baptist, she requested John's head on a silver (Ag) platter. And that is how it all happened.