The Gospel according to John the Baptist

Though he—unlike Isaiah, Zechariah or even Obadiah—left us no writings, and though Herod curtailed his ministry to probably less than two years, John the Baptist was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Matt. 11:11). At least three prophecies foretold his coming (Isa. 40:3–5, Mal. 3:1, and Mal. 4:5–6), the angel Gabriel himself announced his miraculous birth, and to him God gave the inestimable privilege of presenting the Lamb of God to the people of Israel (John 1:29). Out of all the heralds of the Old Testament who prophesied about the king, John alone was able to say, “The king has come and is among you.”

From the records opened to us in the four gospels, we know that John focused his preaching on a few significant themes. 1) The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 2) The king is coming to judge. 3) Therefore, repentance is necessary. 4) Repentance includes a bearing of fruits worthy of repentance. Matthew 3:1–12 touches all of these. 5) I am not the Christ, but “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). These five themes make up the heart of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please note that in the discussion of these themes that follows I will assume that the kingdom of heaven and the church are the same and that Jesus is both Lord and king of one people consisting of Jews and Gentiles from both Old and New Testaments. Sufficient proof of it is found in Ephesians 2:11–22, but this article is not the place to discuss it.

1. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God in its spiritual and heavenly form, the reality which the shadowy and earthly kingdom of Israel prophesied, the universal and everlasting kingdom of David’s son and Lord. When John preached that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he meant that the great king himself was present and about to establish that kingdom. This is the same kingdom that we preach today. But we preach both that the kingdom has come and is coming in the second coming of the Lord.
2. The king will judge. John used two metaphors to describe the king’s judgment: “The ax is laid to the root of the trees” (Matt. 3:10), and “His winnowing fan is in His hand” (Matt. 3:12). “Every tree which does not bear good fruit will be cut down”, and “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The gospel is not only a proclamation of salvation to those who believe but also a proclamation of judgment on those who do not (Rom. 2:1–16).
3. Therefore, repentance is necessary. Some say that the Jews believed that their repentance was necessary to the coming of the kingdom: no repentance, no kingdom. Some even attribute this thinking to John. This is not true. John’s message was that the kingdom was coming whether the people repented or not, but that the only way to enter the kingdom is through repentance: no repentance, no citizenship. And this is the gospel message. On the day of Pentecost Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 3:38). And Paul said to the Athenians, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world” (Acts 17:30–31, cf. Acts 26:20). The gospel is the proclamation that all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. No one who enters the kingdom will enter without a turning away from sin and to God (1 Cor. 6:9–10).
4. Repentance includes a bearing of fruits worthy of repentance. John not only declared this in a general way (cf. Matt. 3:8), but also called specific groups of people to specific fruits of repentance. To the people he said, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise;” to the tax collectors, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you;” and to the soldiers, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:10–14). Repentance is both a putting off of the old man and a putting on of the new. “My brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ… that we should bear fruit to God” (Rom 7:4).
5. “Behold! The Lamb of God.” John’s announcement of the presence of Christ among them implied a command to believe in Him and to become His disciples. He told “the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4). This is the heart of the gospel of salvation, the same word that the church of God proclaims throughout the world today.

Luke says (Luke 3:18), “With many other exhortations he [John] preached to the people.” The Greek word for preach is the word that means “to proclaim good news,” or to evangelize. It is the same word found in Luke 1:19 (“bring you these glad tidings”), Luke 2:10 (“bring you good tidings of great joy”), and Luke 4:18 (“He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor”). Luke 16:16 also uses it: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time [the time of John] the kingdom of God has been preached [evangelized].” John’s work was to preach the good news, “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). It was the same gospel that we preach today as we seek to prepare people for the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.