JOHN THE BAPTIST played a most significant part in bringing about the transition from the Old Testament to the New, and may well be described as one of the chief links uniting the two volumes of our Bible.
Born in a priestly household, he was still essentially a prophet, and so in himself he helped to heal the ancient breach between priesthood and prophecy so often apparent in the Old Testament, thus preparing for the broader and more tolerant Gospel of the New. In the Hebrew Scriptures we read how "the word of the LORD . . . came unto Hosea" (Hosea 1:1), and the same phrase is used with reference to Jeremiah, Joel, and other prophets; so when we read, "The word of God came unto John" (Luke 3:2), we can readily see the connection between his work and that of the earlier seers. But among the Old Testament prophets it is Elijah who is most definitely John's prototype. In the book of Malachi it is foretold that "Elijah the prophet" would come before the "day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5), and Jesus affirmed that John the Baptist fulfilled this prediction (Matthew 11:14). The parallels between John and Elijah are, indeed, striking. Both lived in retirement in their early years, wore rough clothes, and subsisted on the simplest diet. Both were courageous reformers who would not stoop to compromise, for while Elijah steadfastly upheld true religion in the face of hundreds of pagan prophets, John confronted the leaders of the Jewish church, demanding from them, as from the common folk, immediate and practical repentance.
Jesus' description of John as "a prophet . . . and much more than a prophet" (Luke 7:26), and his further statement that ''all the prophets and the law prophesied until John" (Matthew 11: 13), provide additional evidence of John's importance. Like the earlier Hebrew seers he foretold the coming of the Messiah. He was a prophet who saw his prophecy fulfilled. John's teaching prepared definitely for that of the Way-shower, laying stress upon the coming of the kingdom of God and upon the necessity of repentance. "Repent ye," he cried, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and it is not without significance that later, when John's work was brought to a standstill by his imprisonment, Jesus himself used these words when inaugurating his mission (see Matthew 3:2; 4:17). Thus John's work merged naturally into that of Christ Jesus, though the Master's teaching soon advanced far beyond that of his forerunner.
