AKA: The voice crying out in the wilderness.1
Did you know? With clothes made of camel fur and snacks of bugs and honey, John the Baptist was no ordinary guy! His mission was to call people to repentance and tell them that the Messiah was soon to come. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus asked John to baptize Him. John did and saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus in the form of a dove.2
Startling fact: Elijah was another wild-looking prophet who lived during the time of the Old Testament and who was prophesied to one day return! In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus stated that this was referring to John the Baptist: “‘Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.’ … Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”3
Coolest trait: When people began following Jesus, a few of John’s disciples were concerned that John might be losing his following, but John humbly declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all.”4
You can too: Be humble, even if you have great talents—it’s a pretty cool thing to do.
Footnotes:
1 See John 1:23.
2 See Matthew 3:16.
3 Matthew 17:11–13 ESV
4 John 3:30–31 ESV
Authored by R. A. Watterson. Illustrated by Y. M. Designed by Roy Evans.Published by My Wonder Studio. Copyright © 2022 by The Family International