Group 6: Alyssa, Jacqueline, Jessica and Andrew

 

 

Matthew 3:1-3   “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

 

Children's Bible Sing-a-long

 

John, oh John, cousin of the Lord

Sent by God to prepare the way.

Telling all the people to repent.

"You should change your ways while it still is day."

 

Be baptized in the river here.

God will forgive and your way make clear.

There is One who will come with great pow'r,

And the Holy Spirit give that hour.

 

His food did not cost money.

He ate locusts and wild honey.

Repent, repent change your ways.

You must not keep sinning every day.

 

 

John the Baptist

 

       John the Baptist was, according to the Bible, the cousin of Jesus Christ. He was the son of Mary's sister, Elizabeth. He was a little older than Jesus. He was Jewish and lived in Israel. As with Jesus, we don't have any information from that time about John the Baptist except what the Bible says. According to the Bible, when John grew up, he began to live a very holy life. He wore skins and went barefoot and ate only wild food - locusts  and honey. Because John was clearly such a holy man, a lot of Jewish people in Israel began to pay attention to John's ideas, and follow him around.

 

 

Baptism of Jesus

 

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river near Bethany. Jesus was about 30 years old when he was baptized.

 

 

                                              

John was reluctant to baptize Jesus, for he said "I have need to be baptized by you." John knew that Jesus was the son of God. Jesus had no need to be forgiven of sins because he was sinless.  Knowing John's reluctance, Jesus told him, "It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." So John obeyed Jesus and baptized him in the Jordan River.

                                              

God's response

 

When Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove, and the voice of God spoke from Heaven, saying

"This is my beloved son,

in whom I am well pleased."

 

 

                                                  

 

 

- Mary, the mother of Jesus was a relative of Elizabeth, the mother of John. After the angel appeared to Mary telling her of the coming of Jesus, she went to see Elizabeth and learned that she, too, was expecting a child.

 

- Now Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were advanced in years and their child was a very special child. He had been chosen by God for a special mission. That mission was to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah.

 

- The prophet Isaiah spoke of John as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" telling the people to get ready for the coming of Jesus. John told them that Jesus would be greater and mightier than he, and that he was not worthy to loosen the straps or even carry the sandals of the Lord.

 

- He was dressed in clothes made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. He lived in the desert and ate locusts and wild honey.

 

- He went through all the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Crowds of people came confessing their sins and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

 

- He told them that they must live right. They asked him what they should do. He said that if they had two coats, they should share with a person who did not have a coat, and if they had food, they should share with those who did not.

 

- The tax collectors asked what they should do, and he told them to be honest in their collection of taxes and to not collect more than they were required to.

 

- The soldiers asked what they should do, and he told them to not take money from people illegally, to always tell the truth and not falsely accuse people. They were to be content with their pay and not grumble about it.

 

- John always spoke the truth, even when people didn't want to hear it. He fearlessly confronted King Herod with the evil things he had done. Eventually, this stand for the truth cost John his life.

 

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John the Baptist in Film 

 

 John the Baptist and Jesus

 

We expect to find a family resemblance among relatives. John and Jesus were cousins. Not surprisingly, then, they were “look-alikes” in many respects.

 

Both were at home in the wilderness, the venue of extraordinary temptation and trial and testing, but also the venue of extraordinary intimacy with the Father.

 

Both preached out-of doors when they began their public ministry.

 

Both gave their disciples a characteristic prayer. John gave his followers a prayer that outwardly identified them as his disciples and inwardly welded them to each other. In no time the disciples of Jesus asked him for the same kind of characteristic prayer, with the result that we shall never be without the “Lord’s Prayer.”

 

Both John and Jesus lashed hearers whenever they spoke of God’s severity and the inescapability of God’s judgement.

 

Both summoned people to repent.

 

Both discounted the popular notion that God favoured Israel with political or national pre-eminence.

 

Both were born through an uncommon act of God.

 

And both died through having provoked uncommon rage among men and women.

 

John insisted that the sole purpose of his mission was to point away from himself to his younger cousin, Jesus.  Jesus, for his part, never uttered one negative word about John. Jesus even endorsed John’s ministry by submitting to baptism at John’s hand. Indeed Jesus said, “Among those born of women (that is, of all the people in the world), there is none greater than John.” 

 

- Matthew 3:1-12

 

  

 

 

 

John the Baptist Word Search

 

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Bibliography 

1) John the Baptist, October 24, 2009, www.gardenofpraise.com/bibl36.htm

2) Palmer, K. (1998-2009) John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ, October 24, 2009

http://www.lifeofchrist.com/life/johnthebaptist/baptism.asp

3) Carr, K. (1998-2009) John the Baptist, October 24, 2009

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/religion/christians/johnbaptist.htm 

4) Sheperd, V. (2007) John the Baptist and Jesus, October 24, 2009

http://www.victorshepherd.on.ca/Sermons/john_the_baptist_and_jesus.htm

5) Palmer, K. (1998-2009) Disciples of John the Baptist, October 25, 2009

http://www.lifeofchrist.com/life/johnthebaptist/disciples.asp

6) Puzzlemaker at discoveryschool.com, John the Baptist Word Search, October 26, 2009

http://gardenofpraise.com/puzzle36.htm

7) Song - John the Baptist, October 22, 2009, http://gardenofpraise.com/bibsong33.htm 

8) John the Baptist, October 22, 2009, http://www.lightuntomypath.us/JohntheBaptist.htm