Before Christ began His earthly ministry, the Scriptures prophesied of a recommender who would be a forerunner of His ministry. This recommender was John the Baptist. John is from the Hebrew Johanan (2 Kings 25:23; 1 Chron. 3:24; 2 Chron. 28:12), meaning “Jehovah is gracious,” “Jehovah gives grace,” or “Jehovah the gracious Giver.” According to Matthew 3:1-3 John the Baptist, who appeared and preached in the wilderness, was the one referred to by the prophet Isaiah, who said, “The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness” (Isa. 40:3). This shows that John’s ministry of recommendation was not accidental; neither was it according to John’s will. Rather, it was planned by God and prophesied by the prophet Isaiah.
Malachi 4:5-6 prophesied, “I am about to send Elijah the prophet to you before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes; and he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers.” The Lord Jesus said clearly that John the Baptist was the coming Elijah prophesied in the Old Testament (Matt. 17:10-13). He said, “Elijah indeed is coming and will restore all things” (v. 11). This refers to the time of the great tribulation when Elijah will be one of the two witnesses who strengthen the people of God (Rev. 11:3-12). But the Lord Jesus also said, “I say to you that Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him, but did with him the things they wished” (Matt. 17:12). This shows that the recommender of Christ—Elijah—had already come; he was John the Baptist. In Luke 1:17 the angel spoke to John’s father Zachariah concerning John the Baptist, and said, “It is he who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” Thus, the Lord Jesus said, “If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah, who is to come” (Matt. 11:14).
Concerning the prophecies in the Bible, first there is a partial fulfillment and then a complete fulfillment. Thus, in the aspect of partial fulfillment of the prophecies, Elijah had already come as John the Baptist. In the aspect of complete fulfillment of the prophecies, the complete coming of Elijah will occur during the great tribulation in the future.
Isaiah 40:3-4 also prophesied the recommendation of Christ’s ministry by John the Baptist, saying, “The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God. / Every valley will be lifted up, / And every mountain and hill will be made low, / And the crooked places will become straight, / And the rough places, a broad plain.” This was fulfilled in Matthew 3:3-6 through John the Baptist’s ministry. To prepare the way of Jehovah is to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus, which is also to make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Practically speaking, to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight His paths is to change people’s minds, to turn their minds toward the Lord and make their hearts right, to cause every part and avenue of their heart to be straightened by the Lord through repentance for the kingdom of the heavens (Luke 1:16-17). The ministry of John the Baptist was to deal with man’s heart so that it would be ready to receive the coming Christ. When John came, he commanded the people to repent (Matt. 3:2), which was the real preparing of the Lord’s way and making straight His paths. The purpose of Christ’s coming was to regenerate man by entering into his spirit (John 3:3, 5). However, in order to enter into a person’s spirit, Christ must pass through his heart. Before a man is saved, there are valleys in his heart that need to be filled up, and there are mountains and hills that need to be made low. The heart of man is crooked and needs to be made straight, and it has rough places that need to be made broad. John came to preach repentance and lead people to repent. When a person repents, the way in his heart is made flat, and the path is made straight so that Christ the King can enter his spirit to regenerate him, making him a child of God and a citizen of the kingdom of God. This is the recommending ministry of John the Baptist as prophesied in the Old Testament.
The prophet Micah prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, and Jeremiah also prophesied that Christ as the righteous Shoot of David, raised up by God to David, would reign as King. The New Testament shows that these prophecies were fulfilled by God’s sovereign arrangements. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David: Joseph was of the line of Solomon, and Mary was of the line of Nathan. Jeremiah prophesied that no descendant of Solomon’s son Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) was qualified to inherit the throne of David. However, Christ came out of Mary, a descendant of David, not out of Joseph. Thus, He can sit on the throne of David’s house because He is fully qualified to reign as King. By the sovereignty of God, the forefathers of both Joseph and Mary returned from the land of captivity. Thus, Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a descendant of David. Soon after Jesus was born, King Herod wanted to destroy Him. But the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take the child and His mother and flee into Egypt. This fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet Hosea. After the death of King Herod, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and returned to Galilee, settling in Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets, that He would be called a Nazarene. The title Nazarene may refer to the branch in Isaiah 11:1, signifying that Christ is a sprout out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David. This sprouting and growing were in a situation of humiliation. Jesus was born in a poor home and grew up in a despised town. Isaiah 53 prophesied that Christ would grow before Jehovah like a tender plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no attracting form or beautiful appearance. Our Lord did not have outward beauty, but He was full of beauty within. To those who truly know Him, He is altogether lovely.
Before Christ began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist was His recommender. The name John means “Jehovah is gracious,” “Jehovah gives grace,” or “Jehovah is a gracious Giver.” The recommending ministry of John the Baptist was planned by God and was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. Malachi 4 prophesied that John would be the coming Elijah. He would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the heart of the fathers to the children. The Lord Jesus also said that John was Elijah, who was to come. The ministry of John the Baptist was mainly to deal with man’s heart so that it would be prepared to receive the coming Christ. The purpose of Christ’s coming was to regenerate man by entering into his spirit. John came to preach repentance and lead people to repent. When a person repents, his heart is prepared for Christ the King to enter into his spirit to regenerate him, thus making him a child of God and a citizen of the kingdom of God.