John was supposed to stay with Jesus. He had prepared his disciples to attend the Messiah. He should have sent them to Jesus. But unfortunately they never followed Jesus except two. John was supposed to be the greatest after Jesus. But he betrayed Jesus and became the least of least in the Kingdom of Heaven. John was very respected in Israel, if he had followed Jesus, then the Scribes and Pharisees would have also come to Jesus and accept Jesus. Tragically, John’s disbelief in Jesus, led to the disbelief of the Scribes and Pharisees and ultimately became one of the main causes of our Lord Jesus’ crucifixion.

1. 1
The Mission of John-the-Baptist
Here is what the Bible tells us about
John’s mission.
Luke 1:13-17
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not,
Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife
Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt
call his name John. … And he shall go before
him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:76
“And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of
the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of
the Lord to prepare his ways.”
John’s mission is to be the forerunner of the Messiah and to
prepare his ways to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

2. 2
Israel waits for the Messiah
Malachi 4:5-6
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The Jewish people were eagerly waiting for the Messiah.
The Old Testament is closing with these words of Malachi:
Because Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah, the Jews
were also eagerly waiting for Elijah!
Even today, when Jews celebrate some important religious celebration,
especially the Passover, they put on the table a dish for Elijah with a
glass of wine. At the end of the meal, they send a child look at the door
to see if Elijah is coming before removing Elijah’s dish from the table.

3. 3
Malachi 4:5-6
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the LORD: And he shall turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children…”
Luke 1:17 The angel told Zechariah
“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children.”
John-the-Baptist is Elijah
What the angel told Zechariah was clearly pointing to Malachi 4:5-6.
In fact, the angel was telling Zechariah: Your son is the Elijah that
Malachi announced!
Apparently Zechariah and John-the-Baptist got the message because John is dressing like
Elijah! Matthew 3:4 indicates that : “John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a
leather belt around his waist.”
The only other person dressed like that in the Bible is Elijah !!
“He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was
Elijah the Tishbite.“ (2 Kings 1:8)

4. 4
Matthew 17:10 reports this story:
“The disciples asked him (Jesus), "Then why do the scribes say that first
Elijah must come?"
The disciples had been telling people that Jesus was the Anointed One, the
Messiah. The Scribes knew very well Malachi 4:5 that told Elijah must come
before the Messiah, so it was natural to ask the disciples where was Elijah.
If no Elijah, there could be no Messiah!
Jesus answerered:
“He (Jesus) replied, "Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things
….Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the
Baptist.”
Earlier on, in Matthew 11:14, Jesus had already told:
“…and if you are willing to accept it, he (John) is Elijah who is to come.
Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus was confirming what the angel had told Zechariah: John was the
Elijah coming before the Lord.
John-the-Baptist is Elijah

5. 5
Jesus said John-the-Baptist was Elijah.
Did Jesus mean that John is the re-incarnation of Elijah?
No!
Elijah and John-the-Baptist were two different persons, with their
own unique personalities.
So why was John called Elijah?
The reason is that from God’s providential point of view John
carries a similar mission as Elijah to prepare the way for the Lord
and to make a people ready for the Lord;
that’s why the angel and Jesus called John, Elijah
In Which Sense John-the-Baptist is Elijah?

6. 6
John baptizes Jesus
John 1:32-34
“Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the
Spirit come down from heaven as a dove
and remain on him.
And I myself did not know him, but the one
who sent me to baptize with water told me,
'The man on whom you see the Spirit come
down and remain is the one who will baptize
with the Holy Spirit.’
John testified that Jesus was the Messiah.
It’s puzzling though that John would say “ I myself did not know him”.
God had revealed to his mother, Elisabeth, that Jesus was the Messiah.
Even John, aged 6 months in her belly, jumped of joy.
Apparently, it seems their faith had gone cold. It looks like John didn’t
expect his younger cousin to be the Messiah.
I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One."

7. 7
Where are the people prepared for the Lord?
After John baptized Jesus, he went back to his own business, baptizing as
if nothing happened.
John’s mission was to:
“Make ready a people prepared for the Lord”
Who were the people prepared for the Lord?
They were John’s disciples.
John had prepared his disciples to attend the
Messiah when he would come.
They naturally were to become Jesus’ disciples.
But, except two, they all stayed with John, away from Jesus.
John, too, should have become one of Jesus’ main disciples.
There was nothing greater for John to do than follow and serve the
living Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus!
Because the people prepared didn’t come to Jesus, sadly Jesus was
lacking laborers, as we can read in Luke 10:1 “He told them (his disciples),
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
John and his disciples

8. 8
As we saw, Jesus had said John is the Elijah in
Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 17:10.
John 1:19
“Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish
leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask
him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but
confessed freely, "I am not the Messiah.“
They asked him, "Then who are you?
Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?" He answered, No.”
It is very disturbing that John said he is NOT Elijah,
Because Jesus said John IS the Elijah to come.
We have a problem here.
Jesus says John is Elijah but John says I am not Elijah.
Who to believe?
Jesus or John?
John denied he was Elijah

9. 9
Who appeared more credible and respectable in the eyes of the people:
John or Jesus?
Who to believe?
John
John is the son of a priest
Miracles surrounded his conception
and birth
He lived on locusts and honey in the
wilderness
He was respected and he had well
educated disciples
Even people thought he could be the
Messiah
Jesus
He grew up in Nazareth, in the
poor and lowly home of a carpenter
Jesus appear to be uneducated
His disciples were from low society
He was friend with tax collectors
and prostitutes
He didn’t respect the Sabbath day.
John had a much better image than Jesus. He appeared more credible than
Jesus. So when John said : “No, I am not Elijah”, the Jewish leaders believed
John. And they thought Jesus was lying and saying this only to support his
dubious claim to be the Messiah. Jesus then was considered as a liar and
impostor. If there is no Elijah, there can be no Messiah.

10. 10
John doubts Jesus
Matthew 11:2-3 “Now when John had heard in
the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of
his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he
that should come, or do we look for
another?”
Instead of going with Jesus, the King of
Kings, John get involved in the love affair
of the king Herod and was put in prison.
At the Jordan river, John got a striking revelation from God himself that
Jesus was the Anointed One, then how can he say: “Are thou he that
should come or do we look for another”?
Now, not only the Jewish leaders, but John, too, was doubting Jesus!
Who has ever understood the heart of our saviour Jesus
betrayed by John?

11. 11
Jesus disappointed by John
Mat 11:4-6 Jesus’s answer to John
“Jesus answered and said unto them (John’s disciples), Go and show
John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
Jesus didn’t answer yes or no!
Jesus was in fact quoting Isaiah 61:1 which is a prophecy announcing
the coming of the Messiah.
Indirectly, Jesus was telling John: “I am fulfilling Isaiah 61:1, so I am
the Anointed One, the Messiah you expected.”
And Jesus added “Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in
me.” Jesus is telling John: “I am sorry you are offended by me.”
He is expressing his disappointment toward John.
God had raised John as a giant to support, protect and serve our
Lord Jesus but now even John had lost faith in Jesus.
Jesus was left alone to face the opposition of the Jewish leaders.

12. 12
Mt:11:11: “And as they departed, Jesus
began to say unto the multitudes
concerning John, What went ye out into
the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with
the wind? ….
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are
born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (John).”
Jesus was saying that John was the greatest born of woman, because he
was the one who could directly testify and serve the Messiah.
In fact John was destined to become the right hand of Jesus.
Then all the scribes and Pharisees, who thought John might be the Messiah,
would have come and followed Jesus.
That was God’s plan to establish the kingdom of heaven in Israel.
If John had done that, there would have been no one
greater than John in the kingdom of heaven, except Jesus.
John was supposed to be the greatest
in the kingdom of God

13. 13
Mat 5:19
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
The least in the Kingdom of heaven is someone:
- who breaks one of these least commandments
- teach men to do so
By saying that John was the least of least, Jesus was expressing that John
did a grave fault. In fact, John betrayed the expectations God had placed in
him to serve and protect Jesus.
John failed Jesus
This new understanding of John-the-Baptist is based on the revelation that Jesus
gave to Rev. Sun Myung Moon as related in “Exposition of the Divine Principle”.
Christian theologians didn’t realize that John failed Jesus and so they have been
puzzled by Jesus’ answer: “notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he (John).”
How can John be the greatest born of woman but the least of least in the kingdom
of heaven? How to make sense of this saying?
Let’s see from Jesus’ own words what is the meaning of the least and the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven.

14. 14
In conclusion:
We have discovered the sad reality that even if at the beginning, John
did testify of Jesus, it was just lip service, he didn’t follow Jesus and
didn’t send his disciples to follow Jesus.
With John’s support, our Lord and Saviour Jesus would have been
received and accepted by the Scribes and Pharisees. Israel would
have become the peaceful kingdom of God that Jesus came to
establish. Tragically, John’s disbelief in Jesus, led to the disbelief
of the Scribes and Pharisees and ultimately became one of the
main causes of our Lord Jesus’ crucifixion.
In Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus tells us more about the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven:
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever then humbles himself as this
child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
From this, we can deduce that John didn’t humble himself. He probably was not
humble enough to serve his younger cousin Jesus as the Messiah.
John failed Jesus