The document discusses John the Baptist as the bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It describes how after the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, Palestine was governed by various countries until the Maccabees rebelled and regained independence. Around 4 BC, John the Baptist was born to prepare the way for Jesus. John preached repentance and baptized people in the wilderness. He baptized Jesus and told his followers to now follow Jesus. John fulfilled his role of introducing Jesus and paving the way for his mission before being arrested and beheaded by King Herod.

1. The Bridge Between
the Old and New
Testaments

2. • After the Israelites returned to Jerusalem in 537
BC, Palestine was governed by many different
countries

3. • In 167 BC, the king of Syria who governed
Palestine at that time forbade the practice of
Judaism
• The people rebelled and defeated their enemies
• They did this under the leadership of a group
called the Maccabees
• The Temple was rededicated to God
• These events are celebrated as the feast of
Hanukkah

4. • Palestine remained
independent until 63 BC,
when Rome conquered it.

5. • Around the year 4 BC, a Temple priest named
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had a son, even
though they thought they were too old
• They named their son John, as instructed by a
messenger of God
• John’s mission was to prepare the way for the
savior
• He did this by preaching and baptizing the people

7. • John the Baptist was an Essene
• The Essenes believed in adherence to God’s laws
and practiced penance and self-discipline.
• They lived simply
and often went into
the wilderness to fast
and to pray

8. • The prophet Isaiah had spoken of a prophet
who would come after himself
• This new prophet would be a “Voice crying out
in the wilderness…” and would instruct the
people to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
• This was Isaiah’s
prophesy of John
the Baptist

9. • John’s main message was, “Repent, for the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
• Many people were baptized by John an heard his
message
• One day, John’s relative, Jesus of Nazareth, came
to the Jordan River where John was preaching
and baptizing

10. • John told Jesus that Jesus should be the one
baptizing him, but Jesus wanted to set an example
for others
• John baptized Jesus and told his own disciples
(followers) to now follow Jesus, for he was the one
God had promised
• John called Jesus the “Lamb of God”
• Many of John’s disciples began following Jesus

12. • After Jesus’ baptism, he went into the desert of
Judea to pray and to prepare for his own mission
• From this point on, John’s role faded. He had
fulfilled his mission.
• Soon after baptizing Jesus, John was arrested,
then beheaded, by King Herod
• John the Baptist is the bridge between the Old
and New Testaments

13. • Jesus went on to fulfill his mission of Redemption
• In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “Do not think that I
have come to abolish (end) the law or the prophets;
I do not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”

14. • What we read about in the Old Testament comes to
fruition in the New Testament through Jesus.
• John the Baptist preaches the Law and the
prophets, and introduces the savior to the people
who were waiting for a Messiah
• John the Baptist is often
called the Forerunner
of Jesus