His name was divinely given. It was to be “John” ( Luke 1:13 ), which derives from a Hebrew term signifying “Jehovah is gracious.” He was known familiarly as “ the Baptist ” (bearing no relation to the modern sect), which simply means “an immerser , one who administers the rite of immersion” ( Matthew. 3:1; 11:11; .. ). The Jewish historian Josephus even refers to John by this designation (Antiquities 18.5.2). The importance of John in the divine scheme of things probably is summed up best in the testimony of Jesus himself. “ Among them that are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist ” ( Matthew 11:11 ). Luke does say of John: “ And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel ” ( Luke 1:80 ). This desert (or deserted) area “stretches from Jerusalem and Bethlehem eastward some 20 miles down to the Jordan River and th e Dead Sea.” It is “a barren region of rugged hills and valleys” (Earle...
