The childhood of John the Baptist

The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 1 - The Birth of a *Saviour - Part 6

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An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.

Easy English Bible homepage | Matthew (commentary) | Mark (commentary) | Luke (commentary) | John (commentary)

John learned from his parents

We do not know what John was like as a child. His parents were good people. They wanted to please God.

John learned from the Bible

We can be sure that John and his parents studied God’s Word [the Bible]. They would have read about the *Messiah. They would have read about the *Messiah's fore-runner. [A fore-runner was a servant who went first, in front of an important person. He had to prepare people for his master. He had to say that his master would come very soon.] The *Messiah’s fore-runner was to say this: the *Messiah would come very soon. People should prepare for Him. Jewish children learned to repeat many words of the Bible.

John learned from other people

John would have learned about what happened in the *Temple. He would have learned about the meaning of the sacrifices [gifts to God] and customs. When John was a young man, he prepared for his special work. He lived in the deserts, near the Essene people. They were men who lived together. They lived in a very simple way, with discipline. They studied the *prophets.

John learned from God's *Holy Spirit

The *Holy Spirit was with John from his birth. We can be sure that God spoke to John. God would tell him about his work. He would teach him also about the character of Jesus, the *Messiah. Probably John’s and Jesus’ families met each other when John and Jesus were young. Before their births, God had told their parents about their sons. They all knew that their sons were special. All this must have helped John. He knew that he had to look for a different kind of *Messiah. Most people expected a king who would be a political leader. John knew that this was not God’s plan.