Saint John The Baptist
Born in the late 1st century, Saint John The Baptist was the son of the Jewish Priest Zacharia. The Angel of the Desert’s mother Elizabeth was a blood-relation to Virgin Mary. John The Baptist was born after extensive prayers, even when the parents were in there old age.
John was sent by God to be a predecessor of His Divine Son, to help Him and preach the word of God and warn them of the inevitability of the Hereafter. In the former years of John The Baptist’s life, he led a simple life and meditated, till his thirtieth year of age when he was chosen for the great work of God. John went out to propagate the teachings of God and was received as a true messenger from Him. People came out in huge numbers and declared their faith. Those he addressed to him in dispositions, were baptized in the river.
The Life of John The Baptist
The Life of John The Baptist was a living example and his ways were unique. His baptism, unlike from the Great Christian sacrament of baptism which was a symbol of the effects of living in fear of God, delivered the original sins and consequences and made all children of God. From Nazareth, Lord Jesus presented Himself to be baptized. He purified the waters and presented Himself to the world.
John The Baptist reprimanded immorality and wrongdoings of everyone, alike. The life of John The Baptist is an epitome of charisma and chastity. He exposed and denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a “generation of vipers.”
John’s public ministry was brought to close by imprisonment by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of unlawfully taking his brother Phillip’s wife. The Patron Saint has accomplished his mission and had spread to the people, the word of God. On the king’s birthday anniversary celebration, he promised his daughter to grant her wish. On consultation with her mother, Salome, the daughter, requested John’s head to be presented. Saint John was beheaded and his bloody head was brought in the hall, where they made merry and feasted. He was, however, not put to death until he had accomplished his duty as a forerunner of Lord Jesus Christ.
The life of John The Baptist is courageous – he was a teacher, a virgin, a prophet, and a martyr. Jesus Christ Himself testified regarding John that he was a “burning and shining light” (John 5:35). He was the last of the Old Testament prophets. Saint John is remembered by Orthodox Church till date, at six different feasts, beginning on September 1st. It includes his birth, the commemoration as a forerunner, his beheading, first, second and third finding of the head and more. John’s life was a brilliant example to live by.
