The Life of John the Baptist, Part 1 of 6.

In the mid to late 1990’s Steve Brennecke was an attorney here in Grinnell. Recently he was back in Grinnell on (10-13-19) at Calvary Baptist Church and he presented an amazing lesson on the life of John the Baptist (or as Steve calls him, John the Immerser). It was evident that Steve had spent a good amount of time on this study, and the lesson was so intriguing to me that I knew I needed to share it with the rest of you as well. I’ll use the NKJV for this study…pretty sure that’s what Steve probably used to build this lesson.
Outline of this 6 part study…
Part 1...Background
Part 2...Upbringing & Preparation
Part 3...What was John the Baptist’s understanding of the divine truths of Scripture?
Part 4...John’s Message and his pointing to Christ as the Messiah
Part 5...Life Lessons from John the Baptist
Part 6...My (Nathan’s) thoughts concerning John the Baptist’s humility and focus

​Today we’ll jump into part 1, the background of John the Baptist’s life.
John the Baptist, part 1 of 6
Background:

• John the Baptist and his Ministry Prophesied of in the Old Testament…
  • Isaiah 40:3-5
    • The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
      “Prepare the way of the Lord;
      Make straight in the desert
      A highway for our God.
      4 Every valley shall be exalted
      And every mountain and hill brought low;
      The crooked places shall be made straight
      And the rough places smooth;
      5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
      And all flesh shall see it together;
      For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
• “Bookends” on John’s life.
  • Luke 1:5, 6, 15…John’s Parents / Ancestry / Unique Character.
    • 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias (also known as Zechariah), of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 15 For he [John the Baptist] will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
    • Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
• Ancestry: Descended from Aaron X 2.