In the preceding chapters, we have covered two cases in the book of Matthew. The first case is that of conceiving Christ and bringing Him forth, as seen in Mary and Joseph, and the second is the case of the heathen wise men finding Christ. How can we find Christ? It is simply by following the heavenly star, as we have seen in the last chapter.
Now we come to the third case in the book of Matthew, that of testifying for Christ. The first case was found in Matthew 1, the second in Matthew 2, and now the third case is found in Matthew 3. These three cases show us how to have the New Testament service. In later chapters, we will see the fourth case, the case of following Christ.
The case of testifying for Christ is the case of John the Baptist. In the entire universe, among all mankind, John the Baptist was the first one to personally testify of Christ. He did not prophesy about Christ, he testified of Christ. No one before him had this privilege. Again we have the principle of first mention.
Mary, with the coordination of Joseph, was the one to conceive Christ and bring Him forth. The heathen wise men were the first ones to find Christ, and John the Baptist was the first one to testify of Christ. Later we will see that Peter and John were the first ones to follow Christ. The interesting point, however, is this: all four of these first cases occurred outside of religion.
Some may say that John the Baptist differed from the others because he was born in religion. His father was a priest, and he received the vision concerning John in the temple. This seems to be something of a religious background. However, the New Testament tells us that from the time John was conceived in his mother’s womb, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The revelation concerning his birth was given to his father in the temple, but John himself was filled with the Holy Spirit from the very beginning. This has nothing to do with religion. The first thing mentioned regarding John is that he was filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.
After John was born, according to custom, he was circumcised and named after his father, Zachariah. This is according to the old way of religion. John’s mother, however, said that he was not to be named according to the traditional way, the old way, because she had received a revelation that his name was to be John. According to my knowledge, John was a new name, a name not found in the Old Testament. When the others called the child by the name of his father, John’s mother said, “Not so.” I like this word. From this time on, tradition should be over. Religion is ended with John’s father. Zachariah is an old name. From the time of this one on, something new should come forth. Therefore, his name should be John.
According to Jewish custom, what the mother says means little. Therefore, they asked the father to make the decision. As you know, from the time of the vision concerning John’s birth, Zachariah had been unable to speak because of his unbelief. The father asked for a tablet and wrote “John” (Luke 1:20, 59-63). In this way, from the very beginning with John the Baptist, religion was over. Even his name was new. He was not named according to the Old Testament, but in a new way. His name was not Zachariah, but John.
Furthermore, not only his name, but also his living was completely outside of religion. Luke 1:80 tells us that he became strong in spirit. This verse does not say that he was strong in learning, or strong in the mind or in the body, but strong in spirit. In addition, he lived not in close association with the temple, but in the wilderness. Everything about John was contrary to his background as the son of a typical priest. He should have served in the temple as a priest, but he did not serve in this way. He came forth to minister in the wilderness. He was outside of Jerusalem, outside of the temple, and outside of religion.
Furthermore, the Gospels tell us that he wore a garment of camel’s hair, even though Leviticus 11 tells us that camels are unclean. Nevertheless, John wore such a garment. He was outside of religion, and his way was different from the way of religion. He did not wear the priestly robe, and he did not eat the priestly food. Instead, he ate locusts and wild honey. In a certain sense, everything about him could be considered “wild.”
John did not offer any offerings or sacrifices on the altar. There was no altar, there was no temple, and there were no gifts. Whatever he was and whatever he did were altogether different from religion. He did not retain one bit of the religious system. He abandoned the whole thing.